Welcome!

Hi Folks! Daniel here. Thanks for taking the time to check out this blog-- it's meant for friends, family, colleagues, and any other folks that might take an interest in a these upcoming adventures.
So here I am, a LA kid, born and raised, in the middle of medical school at UCLA, spending a year doing medical research in Peru through the Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholarship. Even though it was rough saying goodbye to friends and family for a year, this is a pretty great opportunity to experience medicine in the international setting.
But what's with the "somewhere to land"? Well that comes from a conversation I had with my dear friend Jean Rao, sitting in Sweetie's Bar in North Beach, San Francisco, back on Memorial Day. Even though our group of close friends has been scattered all over, from DC to LA and soon to New York, we can't shake this feeling of needing to see each other. At least I know that whenever I need to recharge, I can take a trip up to the Bay and spend time with some great folks, or spend time with the people I love down in LA. The memorial day trip was just that-- I basically walked into SF and instantly had people to be with and a place to crash. And even though folks are moving away all over the place or matching into residencies, and everything's in this state of flux over the next few years, that will always be there-- the open arms of a friend to take you in, no matter what city you're in. Though we're circling around up in the air for the next few months/years, it's reassuring to know that we'll still always have somewhere to land...

Anyway! Let's get to it! Expect more posts soon about orientation, arriving in Lima, and plenty of other stuff! Okay folks-- until then...