I grew up cloistered in the SF Bay Area.
My fourth year of medical school meant I had to do what are called βaway rotations.β This involves going to various neurosurgery programs and spending a month on service, basically as a month long audition for a residency spot.
The three programs I chose were scattered across the country.
So I decided to drive, spending the next 3 months on the road.
It was an amazing experience.
I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time. I ate Rocky Mountain oysters with some random cowboys in Amarillo. I saw fireflies in Virginia, fireworks over Cincinnati, and baseball games in four different stadiums.
I wandered into a bbq festival in Nashville and a crawfish boil in New Orleans. I saw where they made both Louisville slugger bats and jack Danielβs whiskey.
I encountered my first summer thunderstorms in Missouri and came back to California to catch an autumn snowfall in the sierras.
24 states in all.
Now thereβs a bunch of Europeans discovering America for the first time. I know how they feel. I wish I hadnβt waited until medical school to do it, though.