Wrapping Up

"You know, I like the feeling of waking up in the morning in an unfamiliar place. Over time, you get to know the butcher and you master the art of ordering breakfast for yourself. That's always a deeply satisfying thing, even if it's only two weeks." - Anthony Bourdain in an interview from Eater National.


It´s funny, I both love and hate my solo travel experiences. The first time I traveled solo was also for "work" in that I spent my days working on a research project and the rest of my time exploring the city (Paris). I had tons of fun and really got to know the city well. I had my favorite bakery near my house where I would pick up a demi baguette every other day and ate Nutella for breakfast. I really enjoyed the feeling that I was actually living there for a short time, and not just a perpetual tourist. It was fun making friends randomly with French people from work and in the apartment... but a part of me that summer really longed for a friend I already knew who could experience this with me and take it back to remember together.

Another thing I realized about going to a foreign non-English speaking country the first time is that it takes about 1-2 weeks for me to start to feel comfortable in a place. It can be incredibly frustrating - but I think it´s this initial struggle to assimilate and work through the challenges that make the experience even richer. In France, it took me about that long to get comfortable venturing out to explore and talking to strangers with my French, which undoubtedly improved while I was there. This time around, it definitely took about a week to finally feel settled, in part because I didn´t even have a sure place to stay until about a week in. Unlike the previous solo trip, though, language skills were not on my side, and I spent a good amount of time lost in translation. Actually most days I still go home tired just from focusing the majority of my brain energy on listening hard to discussions and trying to understand all the Portuguese.

Today, however, I finally felt like things gelled. I felt happy and satisfied that I understood the great majority of journal club, and was able to figure out most of Chagas clinic patient interviews before they were summarized and explained to me. I even got a few jokes (yay!). I suppose this rotation is ending just like many others - just when I feel most comfortable with the patients, challenges, and tasks at hand, the rotation is over... and it´s on to the next thing.

The great thing about tomorrow is that it´s my last day of medical school, and I am finishing it right here in Brazil. I´ll still see patients tomorrow, but the next thing is a couple weeks of nothing and then graduation! And then a month of respite (but actually a bit more traveling) before the real work truly begins. I am a bit ambivalent about my emotions surrounding the end of my time here in Brazil. I have truly grown to love the country in all its inefficient, crowded, and wonderful ways. It is one of the few countries that Americans can relate to with respect to its size and its melting pot of ethnicities and cultures. And Brazil is just full of amazing things to see, eat, and do. I will miss the friends I have made here, who have shared a lot about their lives and taught me much. Despite my still poor grasp of Portuguese, I find the language quite beautiful... and listening to it more and more makes me wish I knew it better. Perhaps next time I will be able to do more than just order food and ask where the buses leave or how much they cost.