I recently came across a journal entry from 2010 or so – a life-planning entry of sorts. The fact that I was already talking about becoming a doctor at the time kind of surprised me, because I distinctly recall feeling lost as to what I’d do with my life until discovering MD/PhD programs in my second year of undergrad. Now that I’m in medical school and working towards my dream career, it seems strange to be doing something that I’d premeditated on so long ago, given my generally indecisive nature.
I’m in São Paulo right now. After an overnight flight I *actually slept on* (thanks to Diphenydramine Hydrochloride), I took a taxi to a hotel near the domestic airport I fly out of tomorrow. My initial impressions are of a busy concrete jungle full of white skyscrapers. I’ll be exploring this city in greater depth with my roommate on a weekend trip to Rio de Janeiro later this month. I’m loving the cooler temperatures here (they’re very welcome, especially coming from Toronto), though the earlier sunset caught me a bit off guard.
At 17, I made a bucket list on my friend’s back porch. One of the items was to make it to every continent by the age of 25. So far I’ve been to Asia (Thailand and Cambodia), Oceania (Fiji), North America (Canada, USA, Mexico), Europe (Germany, Benelux, Iceland), and now South America (Brazil). I never did make it on internship in Africa as I’d been planning during undergrad (and blogged quite extensively about in earlier days), so that’s on the shortlist for next summer’s plans.
I’m unbelievably excited to be here. Tomorrow I’m heading to the city where I’ll be working on a medical research project. I can’t wait to meet the people I’ll be working alongside! It’s going to be an amazing adventure. 🙂
Northern demoiselle 