The next adventure!

In a couple of days, I will be starting the traveling bit of what I've been calling the "Last Summer of my Life." Given the academic and career path that I chose (side note - hoo let me finish/pass first year??), I'm not going to be able to enjoy a nice three month break in the heat of summer sunshine (which to this date have mostly been spent forcing my family to eat my cooking and watching hours of West Wing, Bob's Burgers, and any and all Gordon Ramsey programming on the telly) anymore. So I strategically planned (waited until the last minute, panicked, cried a little, and then watched as six pound seven ounce baby Jesus threw something together for me) my M1 summer around my interests. Though it is technically a free summer, I feel like most medical students are expected to do some sort of resume building activity. I didn't really love the idea of doing research, so I did what any other person would do: started a 'Donate money to send Abena to the World Cup in Brazil' campaign and waited for the cash to just flow in.

give me the money. give it to meeeeeee

Sadly, everyone hates me and no one wired me any money, so I took to Google to look for the summer of my dreams. I'm super passionate about traveling and basically seeing the world from the other side of the opportunity filled shores of the land of liberty and bravery, and wanted a summer experience that would let me combine my interests and get a more global view of medicine. So the words "medical," "summer exchange," and "abroad" made their way into my search bar, and I spend a couple of days/weeks sifting through pages and pages of programs and opportunities that I wasn't qualified for. Eventually, I found a program that incorporated all of my interests pretty perfectly. It had french, medicine,  public health (which is something I hope to delve into more in the future), and the potential for me to eat my weight in pastries and crepes AND stalk my favorite singers from the Voice France. To cut a long and somewhat stupid story about googling short, after a weekish-long trip to Ghana (during which, assuming the lights don't go off, I can write about as well) I will be heading to Paris for 4 weeks for a program in Comparative Practices in Public Health and Medicine!

this is how I will be dressed when I step off at CDG. Madeleine ain't ready

I am super excited about the chance to see medicine and the health care system in action in Paris, both in the classroom and later during my stay in the hospital, and hopefully can be a good representative of and for my school (Gooo EVMS Mermaids!!). But I am also excited for the other stuff too. Like how I'm going to seduce all da garcons with my sensual mastery of 'l'art de la drague' like my childhood hero Dexter:

I think I'm mostly looking forward to incorrectly incorporating the words 'zut' and 'biche' back into my vocabulary.

Real talk though: I feel so fortunate to be able to continue my weird mostly-love-affair with France and venture to its macaroon filled hills for the third time. My last trip to France in 2011 took me to the wonderful city of Lyon, where I learned about French culture, read some middle-French poetry, fell in love with the old and the new parts of the city, played ukulele by the Rhone and the Soane...

Lyon (and Johnny Walsh's irish pub) inspired one of my own favorite songs I've ever written

Croix Rousse tu me manques!

 ... ate lots of quiche lorraine, and made some of the loveliest friends that basically helped make fourth year the best. Nothing can probably beat that place and time and those people and what that summer was, but it gives me good vibes going forward for this one. My last trip to Paris was when I was a weird(er) 16 year old, and I haven't really been back since (barring the one night after the Lyon trip when I stayed at a family friends' house in a town outside Paris, ventured into the city with their son who was my age, and promptly fell asleep for most of the movie 'Limitless' because I'd been packing the whole night before). I have pretty great memories from that trip in 2007 as well, capped off by a wonderful last night in our host mother's apartment eating pasta and reading the last Harry Potter book with my roommate into the wee hours of the night and morning. Though its never completely smooth sailing, I always seem to have a good time in France, and I hope that the streak continues in the capital. I'm just super excited to explore the city a bit more than I did the last time I was here, and just 'profiter un peu de Paris.'

Though my bank account hates me right now, I hope my reward is a wealth (get it?) of knowledge, experience and cultural competency.

...And some busking money because they raised tuition by 2%.

will sing for euros

Like last time (three years ago lolz), I can't promise that I'll actually update very regularly, but I'm banking on mildly-interesting things happening on the reg so that I can embellish them profusely for your (whoever you are...mom) entertainment.

Paris n'est pas prêt pour this jelly, je pense.

A plus!

Abena

p.s. I will be continuing to react to the World Cup  in the only way I know how over here.