許金陽さん（汕頭大学医学院第4学年次）

During 9th July to 4th August, Hyogo College of Medicine and Shantou University gave me a chance to have an extraordinary experience in Japan. Before I came to Japan, I have already been interested in Japanese culture, famous animation and excellent clinical skills. I was looking forward to this exchanging trip. When I got out of the plane and met some clerks who were working in the airport, I thought they were very nice. Even though they didn’t know who you were, they checked your passport and knew that you were a student. At that time, I felt astonished and thankful. Beause I was a little bit nervous before coming to Japan. After we got out of the airport, we met a Teacher Torii who was very kind and I want to say thank you very much for taking care of us in Japan.During the way to the accommodation where we lived in, I was surprised to see how clean roads were, and it seemed everything was peaceful.

My clerkship started at the Department of Hepato-Biliary- Pancreatic Surgery. I was excited about what I would do at this department. Dr. Suzumura showed me how to go to the nurse station and operation room. He was very thoughtful that he gave me a map of the hospital. Because the hospital is big and it’s easy to get lost. Thanks to the map, I could find my way. Although not everyone’s English was very good, they still tried to communicate with me. On the first day, I met Prof. Fujimoto who was strict, knowledgeable and kind, I joined the professor’s round with other three 5th-grade students and learned a lot. After the professor’s round, I knew that I still needed to work hard to improve my medical knowledge and clinical skills.
During the 2 weeks, I observed several operations. I was very grateful for doctors in this department. They were very patient and they always explained procedures of operations to me when they performed, so that I could understood them. And the other three students really helped me a lot. They wanted to help me translate Japanese into English. I talked to doctors a lot and discussed differences of treatment between Japan and China. I was surprised that Chinese traditional herbal medicine are being used a lot in Japanese hospitals. What I was impressed was the communication and relationship between doctors and patients. I noticed that almost every patient and their families left the hospital with smile. I think I learned a lot of communication skills from doctors and nurses. In my opinion, doctors and nurses in this hospital are outstanding.

Before I came to the Department of Genetics, I thought that maybe I don’t like basic science researches. Because, as a medical student, I always want to learn more clinical skills and knowledge. After my first day at the Department of Genetics, I knew that I was totally wrong. Those knowledge and experiments are very interesting and have close connection between basic science and clinical work. Prof. Nakano told me about what he has been working recently and gave me a few lectures. I thought that I have learned a lot and I have had great interest in basic science researches. With the medical technology and knowledge developed, researches have become more and more significant. For example, some malignant tumors and serious diseases are decided by genes. It’s still a problem that although you know how to detect those virulent genes, sometimes you have no treatments. Therefore, this area is very interesting, there are a lot of problems waiting for us to solve.
During these 2 weeks, I have done some experiments like PCR, DNA sequencing and so on. I spent 2 days to be familiar with PCR with 4 students who study at Hyogo College of Medicine, I even presented my homework to students and teachers. At the beginning, I was nervous because I might miss one of the point of the homework. But when I stood in front of the people, I suddenly became relaxed. Because teachers and students were very nice to me, I just needed to present what I have found. It was Prof. Ohmuraya that made my interests grow more in Genetics. He was very kind and excellent and so as Teacher Imanaka. I am looking forward to meeting them again.

During weekend, we spent our time in traveling around, so we could know this country more and feel those cities. When I was a child, I saw a lot of Japanese animation and comic books, I still love them now. At that time, there are many comic books mentioned baseball, and this sport is kind of like the most famous and popular one in Japan. Then we went to Koshien to feel the culture of baseball and know the history of it. When I saw the baseball stadium, I was very excited, although I don’t know how to play it as well as the rule. It was a pity that the day we went didn’t have a game.
We also went to Osaka for shopping and visited Osakajo, which is the traditional Japanese castle. It was very beautiful.
Nara is a city which is famous for those lovely deer, they are very smart. If you have a chance to go to Nara and touch the deer, you will feel connected between you and the nature. At that time, everything is pure and simple. I was very lucky that I saw several Geisha who was buying some stuff in a shop in Kyoto.

I think I am a little bit addicted to Japan, not just because those outstanding teachers and kind people, but also their lifestyles and culture. I have experienced an amazing 1 month in Japan, and I hope I can get a chance to visit this country again. I also learned a lot from this experience and made a lot of friends. Hyogo College of Medicine, see you again!