It's official now.  It's been two years since I've embarked on my filipino journey towards a medical degree.  Although I've clocked a bit less time than that due to my 2-month visit in the US in 2008, I can feel undeniably the impact of these two years on my mind and my psyche. Two years.  In Asia.  In Philippines.  A country which I would have previously been unable to find on a map without labels.  A country whose culture and people were a total mystery to me just two short years ago.  I remember after I took my NMAT in LA, I had lunch with the first SELF-ADMITTED filipinos i'd ever met (turns out much of my former classmates and colleagues were pinoy, I simply had no idea that they were).  I remember asking, "is filipino culture more like Mexican or like Chinese?"  Perhaps asking if eggplant tastes more like chocolate cake or like baked chicken would have been a more intelligent question...  

I read over my first post here, and I have to say that nothing I've stated regarding Carribean vs. Philippine education has significantly changed as I gained more experience attending medical school in Cebu.  To anyone who doesn't qualify for acceptance in the US, I still say that the Philippines offers a much better value for offshore education than the Carribean.  And having seen many of my upper classmen go abroad to do some of their 4th year rotations leaves me with no doubt that attending a Carribean money factory for "US rotations" alone is a poor justification for the exorbitant cost.

At the same time, I became a bit wiser in that I know that a single prescription cannot fit every patient.  There are certain students for whom the extravagant cost of a carribean education would not be a hinderance especially if:
1) A student doesn't care about a California license.  There are a few reasonably priced, and adequately run Carribean schools (i.e. Windsor) which are not accepted by all 50 US states.
2) A student cannot and will not give up Western excesses and all aspects of Western-style living, and/or does not wish to integrate into another culture.  In that case, the Carribean campuses, isolated from their island society, are perfect "incubators" for such medical students.  They can effectively limit their interactions to fellow students all of whom are from the US - and avoid the pitfalls and challenges of an intercultural education.  
3) A student with family attachments requiring them to come home on a moment's notice.  Fact of the matter is, flying from the Carribean might take at most 9 hours, or as little as 4 hours depending on location.  In an emergency, a student can fly home after friday's class, spend saturday at home, and fly back in time for Monday's quiz.  A 16 hour direct Manila - New York or a 12 hour direct Manila - Los Angeles flight makes that option impossible.  And at a much higher ticket price.

However, for a student with my set of preferences and goals, the Philippines is the best offshore option.  And so far, I feel Cebu is the best option within Philippines. Also, after toying with the possibility of transfers to other schools within the Philippines for second year, I've come to realize that my choice of MHAM - Southwestern University was the best one for my needs and goals, and remaining there is the best move for me.

So, I am here.  Two years.  And Im happy.  And Im moving forward.  And Im looking forward to my return to the US as an MD.  Three years to go!