Thursday, November 5, 2015

Building a HISTORY in the States

These tips and tricks are entirely based on the advice of a VERY wise senior. When you first come to the States for residency, you will need a couple of things to setup.

SIM CARD
Firstly a mobile number. Given that a good number of residents come from outside the States, having a network which gives you free calling to your home country is a BONUS. That's where UltraMobile comes into place. I know in my previous post I said H2O is good, but trust me when I say that UltraMobile is the real deal. For 30$ per month, you get unlimited calls to India with 1GB of 4G data, which is PRETTY IMPRESSIVE! It also has an option of getting nano sim, so in case you decide to upgrade your phone, which many of you will do, it has got your back covered! :) You can get the initial sim on Ebay for 10 bucks which gives you the first month for FREE!
It is totally up to you on how risky you want to be. If you want to buy it directly from UltraMobile, here is your link

BANK ACCOUNT
Next is for earning cash back when you open a bank account. Generally find the bank which your institute has a tie up with. Go to their site and check for any promos that they are running. They might have an offer that should you open an account with their bank you will get a bonus of $ XYZ for signing up!!! which is PRETTY AWESOME!
P.S.- I used Keybank and got 1/3 of a $1000 :P

CREDIT CARD
The last trick that again, my senior taught me, was regarding getting a credit card. Most of the USA banks DO NOT give you a credit card UNLESS you have a credit history. However, Discover does give you one with no credit history with a credit line of $1500 which is PRETTY COOL! So in case you are still hunting around for a credit card do head out to Discover and check it out. You can shoot me an email @ neilnf@gmail.com if you want a referral, following which you and I get a referral bonus for $50 each.

That's it, folks!

UPDATE: Just FYI for the bank you need a direct deposit to get the bonus. For both SSN is needed. For the credit card you need address proof as well.


If you do have any other tricks, please do let me know. After all we are here to help each other! :)

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Personal Statement Tips

Firstly, ignore the grammatical errors in the post, was a bit tired! :P

Now to begin, a good number of individuals have asked for tips on how to write a Personal Statement for the Match. There are a million results that pop up when you google search personal statement & your specialty.  

Tips for writing PS

It is hard to create one, that is for sure, but you must attempt to make one at least. Firstly just read a couple to know what a personal statement should have. Keep reading online PS's till you get that one which strikes you that your life was shaped like that one. 

Once you have created your personal statement, keep reading and re-reading it. Send it to your OLDER siblings or friends to proof-read it. Once this phase is done and ALL GRAMMATICAL ERRORS are corrected send it to your seniors to check if they are impressed by it. For heaven's sake DO NOT THINK THAT THEY ARE JOBLESSLY sitting around just to read your PS. They have a lot of other commitments. If they do give you a feedback well and good, if not still thank them for going through, since they have taken time from their busy schedule to actually read it.

Lastly, before FINALLY uploading it on ERAS, do check it for Plagiarism. You really do not want to use a completely copied PS from the web. It there is NO originality in the PS, you can be rest assured it will be discarded by the PD. Try to have 80 or higher original content

These are a few sites that help you in the plagiarism area
A reader even suggested the following link https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/best-plagiarism-checking-tools/  with their review as follows 'What I like the most about the article is their honesty and objectiveness when choosing/ranking the best and more accurate plagiarism check tools available out there, in addition, they suggested a few free tools, so it’s great for someone who would want to try it'

Finally, this is how I structured my PS
  1. An opening line by one of my profs or an online quote which hit me hard and caused me to think.
  2. An event which caused me to like the field (in my case pediatrics)
  3. Why this field, I mean to say what is so special about it and what I have done to show my interest in the field
  4. Steps I have taken to be prepared for residency in the States
  5. My strengths and why the program should choose me
  6. Summary- Which has the HIGHLIGHTS of the PS

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Drivers License in the states PART 2

Read the previous test for documents needed for the knowledge (written) test.

Once you pass the driving test you will have to produce the following documents to get your driving license

  1. Utility bill or something that has your name and address on it (Lease agreement might not work from what I got by the look of the guy)
  2. Passport
  3. i94
  4. Letter from employer
  5. Indian license
  6. SSN card
  7. The paper which your examiner gives you stating that you have passed
  8. A USA CHEQUE to pay the money for the license. CARDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED!!
  9. And do dress nicely since you ll be taking a picture which will be on your license :P
That's all folks :)

P.S: The sad part is that the license is for the duration of your visa. So most of us will have to renew it yearly :(

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Driver's License in the States

The Driver's license test generally has 2 parts. 

Knowledge and the ACTUAL driving test

If you have an Indian license, take the same along with the following documents
  1. Passport
  2. I-94 printout
  3. Letter from employer stating that you work there
  4. SSN- Details on how to get one is in the previous post.
For the knowledge test, you can practise online by doing practise one's according to your respective States. You can get few here (http://driving-tests.org/) In Ohio, the test has 40 questions and you just have to get 75% of the questions to clear the exam and then schedule your DRIVING test.

Best of luck!

P.S.- I read the manual and did the above questions. Most of the questions just need plain common sense answers :) So it really won't take too much time.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

SSN for H-1B individuals (Medical residents)

You can get an SSN as soon as you land.

Steps are as follows
  1. Open this LINK
  2. Fill in the last page with the correct details
  3. Take your passport and the current I94 
  4. Go to the nearest SSN office near you by checking HERE.
  5. Once in the office they will take your forms and fill in the details and that's it!
  6. In a week or 2 you should get your SSN in the mail!
P.S.- I do not think that the rumor that you have to wait for 2 weeks is true since I have done it 3 days post landing.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Few sites that I felt were useful for the USMLE

This is most likely going to be among my last few posts regarding the Match process.

Do go through the following sites as they are useful in varied ways. Not only in interview tips but also in general :)

An amazing blog by Kaplan. Gives you good insight into many things :)
http://www.residencysecrets.com/

http://www.imgresidencytips.com/index.php - Has almost everything from the beginning to the end.

http://rookiedoctor.com/ - Written by a guy who has gone through the process and gives advice where deemed necessary

This is the closest to the best thing with which you can prepared for the residency interview questions :)
http://exams.emedicinelive.net/index.php/usmle/2/52-residency-interviews--real-interview-questions-with-answers
http://exams.emedicinelive.net/index.php

This is for the Tell Me about Yourself question for which most of us panic
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-interview/interview-questions/intreview-tell-me-about-yourself/article.aspx
http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/how-to-answer-tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question
http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/10-good-ways-to-tell-me-about-yourself

The following blogs are written by guys  like me
Dr Benji Ho (a Caribbean grad) -  http://www.caribbeanmedstudent.com/
Dr Jagjit - https://iamjagjit.wordpress.com/
Dr Karthik - https://helpingmedicalhands.wordpress.com/


On another note if you want to try your clinical solving you can try the following app Daily Clinical Case rounds

Hoping they help you guys in your journey. I'll keep updating it as and when I come across anything interesting :)

Best of luck!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Steps to H1B for new medical residents

  1. Apply for the medical license to your respective state board- From Receipt to Acknowledgement around a week; from there to the actual license around 2 weeks. So, a total of 3 weeks.
  2. Get yourself an attorney from the list that your program sends you/ ask your colleagues where they are doing theirs from
  3. Talk to the attorney regarding fees and stuff (generally program pays for all except the premium processing fees) Fees find below
  4. Depending on your attorney’s liking, apply for a visa based on an acknowledgment letter/Training license certificate
  5. He then sends the application to the USCIS who then will issue you a petition number
  6. Based on that you CAN complete the next 2 forms i.e. [you need the petitioner’s name and dates approved for, and your point of contact in the States which generally is your PC]
    1. DS 160 - Tips for filling the forms can be found HERE (thanks to Dr. Vikas)        
    2. US travel docs form 
  7. OR  
  8. You can wait for the approval and use the exact dates the petition got approved for and the Petitioner
  9. Get an appointment- Pay the visa fees according to the exchange rate.
  10. Go for the interview with the documents the Attorney sends and ta-da you have your visa.
OFC DAY
Take the following for the appointment
  1. DS 160 confirmation page
  2. Appointment confirmation
  3. Passport
Stand in line, get your fingerprints and photo clicked and you are done for day 1. If you have already done for visitor visa(B1/B2), this should be a cake-walk since you know what to doJ
P.S. Please take a photo according to the instructions on the consulate website since there have been problems with the IT aspect for quite a number of my colleagues and me. {2*2 inches and stuff}
INTERVIEW DAY
Take the above and supporting documents which HAS to include (I-797B i.e. H-1B petition approval notice)
Please note- Some people also say that you have to take the other forms like i129 (Petition application for H-1B), I-797C (Receipt for the premium processing). But frankly speaking, they are not needed, if you have it, then well and good but, the I-797 B is a MUST.
Questions asked
  • Where will you be working? – In a Hospital
  • Oh, so you are a doctor? – Yes
  • *He was delighted by that* May I know your salary? $ XXX
  • Good, your visa is approved.
And I walked out a happy man J
For Chennai, passport collection is from the OFC. Please refer to the consulate site for documents to be taken while collecting the Passport.

Fee  Type
Fee
Who Pays for it ? Why ?
Base filing fee
$325

Program

It is employer’s business expense
Fraud prevent & detection fee
$500

Program

It is employer’s business expense. Just like above, it is mandated by law.
Fee based on attorney charges
$1000-$2000

Program.

It is employer’s business expense.
Premium processing fee (Optional)
$1,225
Generally we pay for it ourselves, but you never know if the program will be good enough to pay for you J Please read the note at the end of the post
Visa fee (fee involved in getting H1B visa at US consulate)
varies by country
Your expense. All the costs involved in obtaining visa, including cost involved in translation of your credentials, etc. It will NOT be an employer’s expense. The employer will only send you the documents required for visa stamping.


NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
  • Even if you are approved well in advance of your start date at your program, you cannot enter the US in H-1B until 10 days before the start date of your Residency i.e. June 20 considering your start date is July 1st
  • The Attorney generally requests for the full 3 years of H-1B, however, there is no guarantee that the immigration Service will give all 3 years. According to their regulations, they should give 1 year (even if we request 3 years) since the Training license is for 1 year (license issued by the State of OH). Some examiners will give 3 years (depends on your luck as to which examiner gets your case). So if you get 3 years, count yourself lucky. If you are approved for 1 year, there is no problem renewing the H-1B status again next year in the US.
  • You will need someone, who has a bank account with a US bank to send a cheque for the $1225 premium processing fee. At least that is what my attorney insisted on, but guess this part varies from attorney to attorney.



Saturday, May 23, 2015

Brief summary for the road to USMLE

Had given a talk in my college on the road map to residency. Thought will just share it here for those you could not attend :)


Sunday, April 12, 2015

Timeline for a Match!

Since a lot of people have asked me how to create a timeline and what happens when, thought will write this post so that all get benefitted :)

N= Your desired year of matching

By April-June (N-1)
By August (N-1)
  • Be ready with your personal statements and have your LOR’s uploaded
  • Be done with all your Steps (Step 1, Step 2 CK & CS) and if possible graduate and be ECFMG certified since some programs require ECFMG-certification before applying.
  • Finalize your documents and upload as necessary. 
  • If you haven’t taken Step 3 do consider taking it as it could strengthen your residency application.
  • Know which colleges you plan to apply to, which are IMG friendly or so. Talk to your seniors and check where they applied and stuff.

 September 15th (N-1) Check the date!
  • AAMC’s MyERAS opens! Apply early and stay organized.
  • Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores are strongly encouraged to be considered for interviews.
  • Sometime later register with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)

 From October (N-1)- January or February (N)
  • It’s time for interviews!
  • Be patient as many programs invite interviewees late into January or February

 February (N)
  • By mid Feb submit your rank order list.
March (N)
  • Get your match results.
  • If you didn’t match, consider the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) to find your spot.
March To June (N): 
  • Matched Candidates should start and complete Visa Processing if needed and find a place to Stay during this period
July (N):
  • Residency Begins after initial 1-2 weeks of Orientation and ACLS + BLS training 
PS- 

  • ERAS creates a CV for you
  • It is said that latest to apply is by September end at least since most programs finish downloading all their applications by the last week of September.
Some kind person named Dr Harshal Awasthi has painstakingly written about the Matching process and terms. You can find the link HERE or here

Another guide to Residency by some guys from Pakistan is HERE

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

My Match 2015 timeline

This is the simplest way I could tell how I Matched and what I did in each month.

Hope this helps some of you :) All the best.

P.S.- I applied with my CS pending on Sept 27th 2014.

Step 1                              Feb 10th                    
Step 2 CK                       July 24th                    
Step 2 CS                        August 12th                  Pass 1st attempt (Result- October 8th)
Graduated                       October 09th
ECFMG certified            October 29th
Step 3                              December last week     Awaiting results (Update 25th March 2015- Pass)

Research - 2 ICMR projects and 1 college project.

Applied to

Pediatrics
     42 programs.
     10 interviews.

People who MATCHED could you please fill in this Excel sheet :)




Year
Month
What I was doing
2013
March
M.B.B.S. Internship starts
Electives hunting without Step 1 scores
April
Chilling plus Intercollege fests plus USMLE material hunting.
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
Step 1
December
2014
January
February
March
Proper electives hunting with Step 1 scores + little CK studying

April
May
June
Step 2 CK
July
August
Electives +  Step 2 CS
September
October
Graduation and Credentials verification
November
Interview season + Step 3
December
2015
January
February
Praying to Match + Junior Residency
March
Match

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Google Voice and it's uses for USMLE

Did it ever happen that try what you may, your mobile service provider’s voice-mail just refuses to get set-up??!!

I experienced that and I am thankful that it happened, else I would not have stumbled upon Google Voice. The only unfortunate part was that I really did not realized the potential of it until late in the interview season, to be frank towards the end.

So before I go into the details let me explain the reason why this post is here. The first thing that most of us do when our plane lands in the States is to hunt for a USA mobile service provider. Once that is done, it becomes the mode of contact for you and almost everyone else you get in touch with. But have you ever thought that once you are done with your electives, and it’s time to come back how will they contact you or vice versa? I do agree WhatsApp is a wise alternative, but it is generally registered on your home country number, which I do not think you will share with all of them except for the residents or your colleagues. Here is where Google Voice comes to the rescue.

So once you have finalized a decent USA mobile service provider and have the sim in hand, it is the ideal time to set up your Google Voice account. The different options for buying a sim are mentioned in my other post here. Registering for Google Voice is pretty simple and straightforward and the link is here. Once registered, there is an option to opt for a Google Voice mobile number, where you get pretty cool phone numbers to choose from to be frank. My number for example is +1-916-936-3451 (+1-916-93NEIL1). You can try various combinations and options to get a cool one for yourself. Once you have finished fiddling around to get a number, I would recommend you share this number with all your colleagues instead of the USA service provider’s number. The reason being, should anyone call you it automatically gets forwarded to your USA service provider’s number and, supposing you are unable to answer your phone when they call, Voice offers a voicemail service which even transcribes the voicemail to text which you can read when you do check your phone.

The advantage of Google Voice is that it does not lapse like the number that you get from your service provider should you not recharge it for 2-3 months. I mean once you  are back in your home country, why will you want to recharge your US number and not even use it? So even though your US number will be disconnected, should people message or call your Google voice number you will still receive the messages or calls on Voice or Hangouts, whichever is convenient for you. Last but not the least you can also call and send messages (SMS) from your Google Voice number as long as you have a working internet connection.

Hope this post helps future USMLE aspirants who can make complete use of this simple but potentially amazing offering from Google.


Disclaimer – I am not being paid anything by Google for this :P

Finances in the States

Regarding finances the general notion or idea is that we take maybe say around $1000 cash in hand and $1000 in cards as I mentioned in my earlier post which you can find here. Now the problem with carrying $1000 in hand or in the luggage is that you have the eternally worried about getting mugged, if not that, then where to keep the money and last but not the least remembering these places and trust me it is no small joke. I almost lost $200 in a day, thanks to my awesome super secret hiding spot, that my mind so conveniently kept it a secret even from me. Thankfully one rainy day I remembered where it was, retrieved the money and became $200 richer. My advice in this post would be to open an account in Bank of America [BOA] (since this is the easiest and most accessible bank all over the States). Easiest in the sense that this is the ONLY BANK that I know off that does not require an address proof to open an account in the States. The steps to be followed when you go to open an account would be as follows
  1. Carry 2 forms of ID (a) Passport containing a valid visa (b) Driver’s license or election card from your home country. Please note that it should be in ENGLISH for it to be valid. 
  1. Money to open the account- Either your entire cash-in-hand or $100-$200
The features of the account are that the minimum balance should be $300 if not mistaken, or you will be charged a monthly fee which I think is around $ 5-10. Now BOA is kind enough to give you a grace period of 2 months to build your balance to the target minimum balance of say $300. This 2 months period is generally the time by which you would be done with your electives or interviews and can close the account, withdraw the money and return home for no additional cost to you.The advantages that I felt of having an BOA account were as follows
  • The card that they give has your photo on it, along with your name and hence you can use it as an ID proof instead of whipping out your passport every single time.
  • The bank statement that you get has your name and the address that you staying at and you can use it as address proof in various places.
  • The staff are really courteous and sweet and generally answer all queries
  • You can withdraw the needed amount, when and where you want without having an additional transaction fee of $2 should one use their countries' foreign currency cards. This I think was the MAIN reason I opened the account. Saved me the need to roam around with wads of cash in my pocket :P
I may be wrong in some things and they might change the rules later. But I used the bank and was very happy with my experience and hence the post. Pardon the grammar, was half asleep when I typed this out.


Friday, January 30, 2015

Simple Indian Dal recipe!

This post is just to help one survive outside ones home once we match in the States. This post is NOT AT ALL RELATED TO THE USMLE STEPS! It is just a survival post :P 

Now that I am done with the interview trail I thought why not start doing some electives in the kitchen with my mom being my Attending. At least that would let me take my mind off the fear of the Match. Anyways before I start about the dish a quick overview of me. I cooked a few dishes when I was in the States with my cousins who I must say are awesome chefs. My cousins cut onions with speed equal to that which one would see on a Master Chef episode. And the slices are quite thin to be frank, I was put to shame when I thought I cut fine.

So coming back to my background in the kitchen. I have been in the kitchen since a kid. Before you start thinking I am some child prodigy in the kitchen, let me tell you one thing I am a prodigy yes but not in cooking but in eating. My friends will vouch for that one I am sure! So even though I can make a few vegetable sukkas (they are really simple, trust me when I say that) quite well I thought why not try my hand at some authentic south Indian dish and what better than a good old side dish - Dal.

So when I searched for the term Indian Dal recipes on google, my subconscious told me I will try the first recipe that popped up on the search list.  To be frank turned out decently well. At least I am surviving till now to serve as testimony to it J

The original recipe can be found here



Ingredients
  • 1 cup red lentils (Dal), rinsed well (I used a steel tumbler that I had in the house)
  • 3 cm fresh ginger, sliced
  • 1 cinnamon stick (broken into pieces)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves – Did not use since I am not aiming to be a master chef :P

The instructions to be followed are pretty simple and can be broken down into 3 parts
  1. Place lentils, ginger and cinnamon in a large pan with 3 cups of cold water. (Ratio is 1 cup Dal: 3 Cups of water for people who like be want it to be quick and simple) Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring to prevent sticking for 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes or till it turns brown. Stir in the garlic, turmeric, cumin, garam masala and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute and add salt to taste.
  3. Add the cooked dal to the pan and mix well. Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in coriander and serve hot with rice or naan bread or pappadums!



 Best of luck for both the cooking and the exams! :P

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Step 3

This post is more on the exam than on a study plan for sure since I feel that is more confusing than the study preparation itself. Basic format of the NEW exam is as follows

DAY 1
  • Total exam duration - 7 hours
  • Has 6 blocks – 42-43 questions with 60 minutes for each block.
DAY 2
  • Total exam duration 9 hours in total. Has 2 parts
  • Part 1 –
o   6 blocks with 33 questions and 45 minutes for each block.
  • Part 2 – (CCS)
o   13 case simulations with each being either 10 or 20 minutes in length.

The MAIN change according to me is in the scheduling of the exam. I mean in the new pattern you can schedule day 2 of your exam at a different date but at the SAME test centre and within 14 days.

Materials I used:

  1. OLD MTB 3
  2. USMLE world - Qbank, CCS, UWSA
  3. Archer introductory videos

The general question on everyone’s mind at the moment I think is should I read my basic science book like 1st aid for Step 1 and go through biochemistry and learn the enzymes and also to buy the new MTB 3 (I have not read it so not sure about MTB 3 new addition) My advice would be a firm NO, as I feel step 3 is basically the same as CK but they are more focused on the management aspect of the patient and how you can apply your BASIC science concepts. At least for me it wasn't like step 1 where I had to mug up a couple of enzyme names and know the deficiency of which causes what and so on and so forth. My advice would be prepare the same as you would for the old step 3 examination. In addition to the Uworld qbank do the Uworld self-assessment test and USMLE.org practice materials.

Coming to the CCS part of the exam I felt this part was my Achilles heel. I would highly recommend doing the Uworld CCS cases as many times as possible and read the explanation. Also Uworld also gives you a PDF handout for 40 to 50 cases which I think is good enough. Furthermore to help in CCS there is a person called Archer who has a course.  I recommend watching his CCS Strategies video which is 2.45 hours long which gives you a quick over view of CCS. Also do the CCS cases that USMLE has on their web site.

The difficulty of the questions were essentially according to me like Step 2 CK, but as I do not have my result I would not like to say anything for sure. Also I felt day 2 was tougher than day 1 but some guys I spoke to felt both days were easy. Any how my study time was around a month and a half technically with studies being in between interviews and Christmas festivities. At the moment as my result is unknown I cannot exactly say whether it was sufficient or not but hoping for the best.

Good luck to all who are giving it soon!

(Update 25th March 2015- Pass)


Friday, January 9, 2015

Terms you need to know during your journey!

This is going to be kind of a very general post on the common terms used in the States both in the Medical or Non-medical field.

Initially when you start your journey, you (or at least I) do get confused who is a resident or what is fellowship and so on and so forth. So here is my two piece information.

USMLE/MEDICINE RELATED
INDIA
USA
Internship/ Housemanship 
3rd/4th year medical student
PG/ Post Graduate
Resident / PGY (1,2,3)
1st year resident is called an Intern
2nd, 3rd year - Resident
4th year – Chief Resident generally
Super specialists- 
MCh, DM
Fellows, Fellowship
Lecturers/ Staff - 
Assistant, Associate, Professor
Attending -
Assistant, Associate, Professor
Super Specialists – Cardio, Neuro etc.
Sub Specialists - Cardio, Neuro etc.
NON MEDICAL
Parcel food
To go
Milk
A huge variety - 1%, 2%, Whole, Cream, Skimmed
Drive on the left side with geared vehicles
Drive on the right side with automatic vehicles
Celsius
Fahrenheit (Also there is something called as 'Feels like' meaning the ACTUAL FEEL OF THE WEATHER, It takes into account the wind speed.)
1.6 Kilometer
1 Mile

I know that most of you might know about the terms used in this post. This one goes out to the average person like me who used to get confused when I was searching for electives like what exactly comes under the purview of sub-specialties

I also had a fun time talking to the cashier about parceling food- I kept shooting all the random terms I knew like parcel, take out and what not till finally at last I said the words to go. Similarly when I went to buy milk for the first time I was overwhelmed at the variety, since back home though variety is available we generally go for whole milk or maybe skimmed if one is very health conscious. 

Moving on, when they ask what would you like to have with your coffee I was a little taken aback since in my head it is natural reflex - MILK. Thankfully my cousin was nearby and realized that I had no clue what just happened and he told me that cream is considered like milk in fast food places and so you specify the number you want. E.g. - 2 cream and 2 sugar is my standard. You can increase or decrease based on your preference. Also coffee is not like the one we have back home. So should you say you want coffee it is considered BLACK coffee, you will have to say cream along with it or you will repent your decision.


Oh and it is common courtesy to tip the waiter here 5% of the total bill. I know it is not something that most of us follow back home since it comes in the service tax of the bill, but as the saying is ‘When in Rome behave like Romans’.  I am NOT saying that you HAVE to tip 5% exactly, since we are students and we are literally living off our parent’s money but at least 1-2 dollars maybe. This is my personally opinion. I am sure most will not agree with me on this.

Should I realize that I missed out anything I will try updating this post.

Again best of luck for the journey towards USMLE!