With Love from Japan

Three years ago I set out on two ambitions missions.  One: Survive and thrive in medical school.  Two, Eloquently describe this adventure of becoming a doctor through a series entertaining, engaging blog posts.  I’ve almost succeeded on the former.   And subsequent to said former, I’ve failed drastically on the latter.  Having blogged in the past, I was aware of the emotional energy and time commitment required for a blog.  Not having a freaking clue about what medical school was like, I was naively blind to how emotionally draining and time consuming the whole Making of a Doctor process would actually be. 

I’m now technically a fourth and final year medical student.  The cadaver lab, endless lectures, late night study sessions and stressful tests joyfully lingering in my past. Only a few more clinical rotations of my choosing and the residency application and interview process keeping me from the loving arms of residency, where real doctors are made. 

Had I been blogging as promised, any faithful reader (most likely only my mom, grandparents, and a few others out there who love me enough to read this) would have known the difficulty and anxiety regarding my future in medicine that I experienced during my clinical rotations. All the horror stories I’d refused to believe about medical school came true.  I became the cynical, skeptical, cranky third year student I always begrudged for hating medicine. But that story if for another time and place. I really want to tell you about what’s happening right now.  

From the skepticism about medicine, and my future in it, came my attempt to figure out what the heck I’m doing with my life.   This search has manifested itself in me taking a one year hiatus in Atlanta, Georgia working for the CDC.  But before I leave for Atlanta, I jumped on the opportunity to finish my last medical school rotation for the year at Nagoya University School of Medicine in Nagoya, Japan.  I now right to you from my 7x11 foot bedroom in the international student dorms in this crazy country called Japan.

At the urging of my friend Adam to write a blog, I remembered that ambitious mission I set out on three years ago.  I technically already have a blog, neglected as it may be. But I’m not up late studying, so why not write about my experiences in Japan? And after ten days in this country, I’ve figured out how to do it.  Japan is a place of culture, tradition, ambition, honesty, ethics, orderliness, Buddhist temples, ancient castles, bullet trains and extraordinary cuisine.  It is also a place of Manga, Sumo, American baseball, Karaoke, and beer gardens.  But most importantly, Japan is home to some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.  This blog will be about all those ideas, places, activities that make up Japan, told through the incredible people that have share those experiences with me.