Some days from my diary in USA!

From my diary:

"This is the first of -hopefully- many pages describing my experience towards my journey to the States. Today is the 3rd of April, 2008, my first day. Me, mum, dad and my brother headed toward Cairo International Airport, terminal 2 at 7 am. During the preparation of the whole journey, several things took place that turned the whole journey to an ideal one.

The airplane took 11 hrs and half. I prayed Al Maghreb and Al Eishaa, although the sun was in the middle of the sky!!!

After we landed, checking in was smooth, and I was able to get my luggages. I rode the air train to the terminal of my second flight, and checked them in, and now I am waiting for my flight. It will be at 10:30 pm to Syracuse and a friend will be waiting for me at the airport. We booked the flight that late because we were afraid of any difficulties that might face me, and would delay me.

All through the journey, I did not feel any strangeness. The main difference that I noticed is the language, and thanks be to God this was not a problem for me. People are nice, and sometimes even helpful. The weather is warm inside the airport, although outside it is really cold (3 degrees centigrade).

Tuesday 8th April, 2008. 10:15 pm

I was just watching a documentary called “Winged Migration”. It is about the migration of birds across continents. It is amazing and the music is fascinating. The way the birds' feathers are beautifully decorated and how they coordinate together is too complex. I was thinking about how things would be really beyond imagination if we thought how did all of this arise, I mean the molecular basis of all of that. It is breathtaking.

The way the documentary was photographed to provide as possible a realistic representation as possible, is outstanding. It took them 4 years to shot such a movie that is no longer than 2 hrs. And it took them a lot of work, effort and planning so that it is made that way. It shows the capability of human beings. We can make a lot of things. Actually, we can do whatever we want, only if we truly wanted it. I hope that I want my dream about molecular psychiatry and bioinformatics to be true strong enough so that I would tell anyone who might come in my way “Mr., I am going to do that whether you liked it or not”.

Wednesday 9th April, 2008. 11:00 pm

Today my observership seems to be delayed for a while because the lady who is responsible for processing the papers is on vacation and will return by coming Monday. I decided not to wait and I continued my readings in bioinformatics, molecular neuroscience and developmental neuroscience. These fields are really AMAZING.

Thursday, 10th of April, 2008. 11:10 pm.

I was worried about my parents. But they are accepting the idea of my traveling (or at least, they were not showing me that they are sad),

Tuesday, 15^th of April, 2008. 11:30 am.

I have just returned from Upstate Medical University hospital. I went there to finish any needed paperwork before I start my observership tomorrow. It was a very nice experience. My appointment with Ms. K the secretary of Dr. M.K. and others was 9:30 am. I was at the hospital by 9:15 am. I passed through the front desk, where she had left my name the day before, and they produced me a sticker of a visitor that I put on my jacket. I then passed to room 1702, which is the room for the liaison psychiatry service. I met Ms. K and she was very nice. She gave me a form to fill so that I can issue my Identification form. After I finished and while waiting for Dr. M.K. to arrive, she introduced me to another Prof, an attending doctor and a resident. Dr. M.K. then arrived. He was really nice and he filled the rest of the form. I told them that I finished my residency in Egypt and that I am interested in a residency with a research track. The lady Prof asked me about do I like a lot of writing. I told her that I don't mind. She said that then I will be able to help her with her paperwork (Just let her ask :) ). She then offered to give me the paper that they will speak about in the journal club tomorrow, I said sure. It was a paper about Delerium.

I then went to the Payroll office, to issue my ID. The lady there was extremely nice, and after we finished everything, she told me that she studied Arabic around 10 years ago, and that she likes it so much and that she is fascinated by the history and how they were able to conquer most of the civilized world. She was fascinated and she wanted to know a number of words like WELCOME and THANK YOU SO MUCH. I wrote it for her and she was extremely happy. She told me that she called her hawk SAQR. She was extremely nice and we agreed that I might pass her by every now and then to exchange a number of arabic phrases.

My impressions are overwhelming. I cannot but remember Dr. AbdelWahab AlMessery' s autobiography book where he described his journey to the States. Tomorrow I will start my observership. Hope that things will go extremely fine, AMEN.

Wednesday, 16^th of April, 2008. 10:00 pm.

I feel now very tired. I am in my bed ready to sleep. Yet, this day cannot pass uncommented upon. Today, I started my observership at Upstate Medical University. It is in the consultation/liaison psychiatry service.

We started by a journal club where they were discussing a paper about delerium. Then we discussed the patients that they saw during the past 2 weeks. After that, each attending psychiatrist went to check some of the consultations, and I went with them.

My level of knowledge was good and I was able to deal with the attending psychiatrists. I was really impressed by my level. It was not bad at all. Plus, my meeting with the attending psychiatrists including the senior ones made by decision regarding the research work more supported. I do enjoy research work."

Hope that these few pages from my diary would help to fuel your enthusiasm more towards pursuing the USMLE goal. I will try to put some more in the near future.