Where In the World!?

I have been thinking and discussing with various people over the last couple of days about places on this dear earth that I would like to visit. Sure, I have been around quite a lot compared to the next guy, but lets be honest, there is still so much to be seen, and it would take a couple of lifetimes to really say one has "seen it all". A mere mortal as myself cannot, so I have narrowed down  the places I'd like to visit in the next 10 years to five different cities. Bucket list of travel destinations if you will.

Enough talk, here they are in no particular order:

Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

Rio... there is so much good crammed into one place here. Beautiful ocean and landscape, plenty of football, people from all over the world, Portuguese, beautiful statues and architecture, hot weather, hot girls ;) I have had Brazil on my "go to" place for a long time. I have a feeling I would really like the culture there, where everything and everyone is just one whole mixture of different places. Definitively a top travel destination. Oh, and the fact that the World Cup 2014 is held here is just a nice little bonus.

Korea: Seoul

This particular choice has a lot to do with the fact that I have many friends and former classmates who come from this country. One's interest are influenced by one's surroundings, this here a perfect example. Other than wanting to see my friends' national capital, I also am yet to really experience Asia. Obviously this is a huge continent, but as far as the Far East is concerned I think Korea would be a nice choice. Its not as communist and creepy as China, and not as crammed and chaotic as Japan (at least, this is the notion I get). It is a nice in between ("lagom" if you speak swedish). I hear the have pretty intense internet connections here as well, and the Swedes have Pirate Bay; this could be the start of a wonderful partnership =)

Czech Republic: Prague

This choice might come as a bit of a surprise to some people, but Prague is a seriously underrated city, and absolutely worth traveling to. Czech Republic shares a border with Poland, so it's not like it's on the opposite side of the world, and for many Poles it is a favorite tourist destination. Spending a weekend roaming around the Staré Město, exploring all the little cafe's hidden around the corner is something I am planning to do sometime within the next few years. It doesn't get more European than that =) 

United States: New York

America... the country where everything is bigger and better =) Nah, but jokes aside, going to America one day is an absolute must for me, and what place could be better than the Big Apple itself. If Jay-Z and thousands of other artist are to be believed, this is the place to be. Another reason for me being interested in America is obviously, since just like Korea, I have a lot of friends there. Maybe not in New York in particular, but hey, if I made it across the Atlantic, one would think they would jump on the Greyhound and meet up. Wishful thinking? Hope not! =) Central Park, World Trade Memorial, Broadway, Times New Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the sights to see go on and on and on. Might have to spend a month here to see it all, probably more.

England: London

I see your smiles, that's right, LONDON! If you even know me in the slightest you can be assured that I have one motive and one motive only in going to London. This is of course to see the Emirates Stadium. The Mecca of any Arsenal fan, the Holy Grail of English Football. Without a doubt, if I am ever in England, Ashburton Grove is where I will be. After I have seen the stadium, however, there is of course a lot of other things to see in London, for example The Eye, Big Ben, The Tower of London etcetera etcetara. As a side note, I do have a little bit of a connection to England, as my dad was in fact born under the Queen's rule in the British Empire. Ghana got their Independence a year after he was born, which we all are thankful for, but there is my claim to England.

There you have them, my wishlist for travel destinations in the next 10 years. Let's see how many of them I can fulfill. 

Golden Scapula 2012

As I think many of you have heard, I participated in a competition called Golden Scapula and did quite well. I decided to take the time to explain exactly what it is, especially so that my non-UWM friends will understand what it is going on. I guess the best way is just to tell the story as it happened, so here goes...
Golden Scapula, or in Latin Scapula Aurea, is an anatomy competition that is held annually in Poland. Polish divisions of the Medical Schools compete against each other, and the English Divisions, which are composed of international students, compete against each other. The competition consists of a 2 hour Anatomical Theory section, which is composed of 100 MCQ, followed by a Practical Anatomy consisting of a "Pin" test on specimens of all different types of body parts, from brain tissue to metatarsals. Each year it is held at a different University in Poland (Krakow, Szczecin, Warsaw etc.) and this year we had it on home turf as it was held in Olsztyn.
The test day was Friday June 1, and we started with the MCQ. It was quite difficult, and tiring, like an AP exam, except more intense but a little shorter.

                                                          Getting ready for the MCQ

Then after this we all went to hotel to have lunch. We were treated to some nice Polish cuisine and a quite marvelous dessert. However, after this we had the next session of the test, the practical part. There were 50 specimens, and each worth 2pts (Correct name and correct side of the body) so all in all 100pts to be had.
It was most definitely the hardest Pin test I have ever taken, with extremely complicated CT and MRI images, and terribly tricky specimens. After that test the term "Mind Raped" was most fitting, as to get an idea of how it was.
The following day we got to know preliminary results. It was very positive as we were told that my team from Olsztyn, along with the teams from Krakow and Warsaw had progressed to the the Team Competitions. That we were quite excited, Krakow and Warsaw are the two biggest cities in Poland and have very bright students.
The team competitions which were the following day were less serious, and more like anatomy games. Our professor, Prof. Gielecki has been working on a virtual anatomy program for quite a while, and games from that was used. Games included anatomy puzzles, quizzes on arteries and the different Brodmann's areas of the brain. Xbox Kinect was used, allowing us to move things around on the big projected screen by simply moving our hands, grabbing things and moving it to the right area etc. Very futuristic and quite cool actually. Well, I was impressed anyway, I have lived in Africa for far too long =)

Anatomy games on Xbox Kinect, that's the future =)

Then came time for the award ceremony and everyone got back to being all serious. First they gave the prize for the best Team. The scores of students were added together, and results from the Team Competitions were also factored in. Olsztyn came third! We were very excited, and me and my teammates (Justyna and Peter) went to claim our prize. 

Receiving 3rd Place Award for Team Competitions

Then it came to the individual competition, every man's and woman's score counted for themselves, and no team competition involved. There was a quite a tense feel in the air, everyone fancied their chances. Third place was given to a lad from Canada attending the Medical University of Warsaw, he had got 145 points from the MCQ and Pin tests. Second place was to be announced, and it went to a Norwegian attending the Medical University of Krakow. He had accumulated 146 points from the MCQ and Pin tests. First place of Golden Scapula English Division, cue drumroll.... went to Joshua Manu of Olsztyn! 147 points! (yes, that's how tight it was!!) I was literally over the moon!!, but at the same time also in a state of disbelief, had I actually pulled this off!? I went up to receive my award, which not only included a trophy and a certificate, but also hundreds of dollars worth of medical books. Yes, textbooks as prizes, as anticlimactic as it may sound, it is actually great since they are quite expensive for a poor MK like myself ;)

After receiving the First Place award.

Medical Textbooks for Prizes

For all the success of Olsztyn English Division, (the best Team Competition placement for the Division as well as the first individual competition win) Olsztyn Polish Division absolutely killed it! As in they won basically everything! They won their Team Competition, and in the individual competition they claimed first place AND second place. So overall a very good day for Olsztyn and Prof. Gielecki (teacher for both divisions) He is the somewhat shorter and content-looking gentlemen at the front of this picture.

                                                                        Olsztyn = Najlepszego

Oh! and another cool thing, we were recognized for our efforts by not only the University TV, but also got a full page in the local newspaper!  

                                  The title reads: "Anatomy Demystified" or something like that. 

The reportage from TV Kortow:

Dean's Cup 2012

This week was the first annual (we'll, hopefully it will be annual) Dean's Cup. There were four teams competing, one made up mostly of Swedish students, one made up of students from the Polish medical division, two teams of Saudi students.
In our first game we came up against one of the Saudi teams, the team from Pre-Med. The Saudis at my school are decent at footy, but most importantly, they have all played together for quite some time, so their chemistry is pretty good. The match started with them doing most of the pressing, and we looking to catch them on the break, but we gradually built confidence and started getting into the match.  We managed to go one ahead as I was put clean through on the break, coolly poked it past the 'keeper, and watched as the ball slide in for 1-0. The crowd went wild, and I kissed my Ghana badge as I had decided to wear my Ghana jersey, since it also is yellow, it could double for both Sweden and Ghana. See what I did there =)
However, Pre-Med managed to get a lucky goal back from a corner, and even though we pressed for a second goal, sort of Barcelona-Chelsea style, it was them that managed to get the vital goal a minute from time, and they proceeded to the finals as we were left to play for third. It was a bitter blow, especially since we had so many chances, but that is life.
Against the Polish Division, who had lost their game against the Saudi Medical division, we started brightly. Lots of possesion, and when I was allowed the space to turn in midfield I found Atul with a pass and he made no mistake and buried it into the net for 1-0. Get In! We even got a penalty which was dispatched Zambia style by  Alaa, and we were looking good value. We increased our lead to 4-0, after a goalie-defender-striker scramble, I could just tap it into an empty net for my second goal of the cup. Someone else scored as well, and we entered sort of cruise mode. However, they Polish managed to pull back to 5-3 before we finally woke up and finished the game in style, winning 8-3.
We got the bronze, but our sights are for next year, when we will be looking to grab the gold.