APDSA 2010 IN JAPAN – THE UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES

On the 16th-20th August 2010, 5 UKM dental students; Nasiha Sakina,Brian Anak
Asem, Teh Lay Ann, Noor Malisa Ayu, and Nadzirah Hanis accompanied by Prof Dato’ Dr Ghazali Mat Nor, went to the 38th Asia Pacific Dental Student Association (APDSA) congress which was held in Japan. Within the 5 stays in Japan, a lot of interesting activities were held.

Arrived at Narita Airport around 6.45 am, we waited for other participants from other countries to head together to Hakone. The journey by several trains took about 5 hours to before we reached Okada Hotel. Eventhough the journey was extremely tiring, (with our bags, summer, fasting ) we got to know other participants, the Japanese and also the culture and environment in Japan. In Japan, travelling by train is the most preferred way of travelling as the system is extremely well established and the trains are on time. It’s hardly to see any train that would be late even a minute.

Arrived at the Okada Hotel, we’re amazed with the Japanese etiquette that was incorporated in the room, our dinner and even the hot spring (Onsen). We could really learn the culture of the Japanese by staying in the hotel! The opening ceremony was held after dinner. We were then divided into 20 groups. We got to know other participants from other countries around Asia including Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and lots more. One thing that’s different compared to APDSA in Surabaya and Malaysia was there’s a huge language barrier. However, as the MC said, “Eventhough we don't speak the same language, we can still use our body language to communicate. As long as the message is delivered, the communication is a success”. Well said!

The next morning was continued with the Scientific Research Competition presentation. On the evening, we went to the Hakone City and had a trip on a gigantic ship. The scenery was amazing. During this trip, we got to know our team members much more and exchange our stories. At night, we took the chance to travel around the Okada Hotel.

The Scientific Research Competition was continued on the next morning. After that, we packed our things and ready to head by train to Funabashi. There, we travelled around the city with our group members. Some of us went to Asakusa and some of us went to Akihabara.

The next morning, we’re separated into different groups to take a visit to different universities. There, we learned on how the dental faculty runs in the universities. Unlike in Malaysia, in Japan, the course runs for 6 years whereby 4 years of theory and then 2 years of clinical practise. But, during the clinical practise, they don’t treat the patient but they assist the qualified dentists. After graduated from dental school, they need to take a national test to ensure they are qualified to be a dentist.

After the university tour, we had our free time. Thus, we took our chance travel the city by ourselves. Our choice of destination was Akihabara. But travelling around Akihabara for about 3 hours was definitely not enough!

The night was the night that we’ve been waiting for, the cultural night. It’s filled with fantastic performances, joyful faces, beautiful costumes and the night was a blast. We exchanged our gifts and took lots of great pictures.

It felt really hard to leave Japan the next morning. We’ve made a lot of new friends, gained a lot of great experiences, learned other countries’ culture, unforgettable memories and we left Japan with hope to come again to the country someday.