Family Ties

One of my favorite parts of interview season was visiting family across the country. For my final interview run, I made a snowy journey up to the Midwest. First stop: Uncle John and Aunt Sherri's place in St. Charles. We ate a wonderful dinner at Francesca’s by the River and shared a relaxing, peaceful night at home. I interviewed at the University of Chicago, which had an amazing emergency medicine program, then drove up to Madison.

I ate dinner with the welcoming residents at the University of Wisconsin then made it to the Brehms. Joe and Sue also made the interview trail a bit more friendly and homey. After my interview at UW, I met up with Uncle Steve for coffee and great conversation. Then I drove to Milwaukee for another resident dinner- this time at Cafe Hollander in Wauwatosa. The day wrapped up with a nice comfy bed in Oconomowoc at Uncle Dave and Aunt Sue's place.

Following my visit to the Medical College of Wisconsin, I sloooowly drove back to Oconomowoc in a snowstorm. Uncle Dave, Aunt Sue, and I ate some fish and chips for dinner. The next day we took a trip to Madison, ate dinner at Dotty Dumplings, and watched a Badgers hockey game. It was also great to catch up with Lizzie, who is finishing up her degree in finance. Before I knew it my Midwest tour was over and I was on a plane bound for the Bay Area.

After arriving at the Stanford campus, I had a bit of free time to visit the Cantor Art Museum. The evening social with the residents at Old Pro Sports Bar was a bit chaotic because the 49ers lost to the Giants in the NFL playoffs. Nonetheless, I had a great interview day at Stanford and loved a lot of things about the program. The best was yet to come as I boarded the train bound for San Francisco. I met up with my cousin Beth at her awesome home. We ate a lovely dinner, exchanged stories over wine, and finished the visit with a mini tour of her neighborhood the next morning.

Taste Tests

January was a month of exploration- investigating new places and new food. My dear sister Sarah sent me a magazine clipping way back when that included a reference to a new local meat market in the Heights called Revival. I enjoyed an awesome pulled pork sandwich with a side of ginger lime slaw.

Interview season continued with another trip to southern California. Adam and I got to see each other again and celebrated with some conveyor belt sushi. Adam gifted me Scene It 2 for my birthday, and we enjoyed playing games and relaxing. Then it was back to business for interviews at UCLA-Olive View and UC-Irvine.

The post-interview dinner at UCLA was one of the highlights of the entire interview trail. The assistant program director (a former writer for the show ER) invited all of the applicants over to his home for a bountiful Mexican dinner including brie and papaya quesadillas, carne asada, roasted corn and poblano pepper salad, and more. The sopapilla cheesecake was incredible.

Next stop: Portland, Oregon. Everything about my stay in the Rose City was super cool. No rental car needed in this easy-to-navigate public-transit-friendly city. I ate a tasty lunch at Blueplate consisting of juicy Northwest sliders and a chai bomb soda float. I'm salivating just reflecting on it! Anyway, I then met up with my gracious host Desiree (Chelsey's friend, a nurse at OHSU).

The pre-interview social happened at McMenamins Bagdad Theater and Pub. I really enjoyed my visit to OHSU, including the scenic trip on the Portland aerial tram. Everyone seemed so happy and healthy in the fun and funky city. Later in the evening I reconnected with a couple interviewees for a night on the town. We crafted ourselves a little pub crawl through Portland's downtown area.

We had spicy Mexican dinner at Santeria that just happened to share a bathroom with another Portland specialty: a strip club. Crazy! Just when I thought the night couldn't get kookier, I stopped by Voodoo Doughnuts for some unique pastries ranging from Double Bubble to Cap'n Crunch to Maple Blazer Blunt. My trip wrapped up with an early morning bus ride sitting next to a pleasant older guy who looked like Ben Franklin... and wore a pink skirt and heels. Amazing.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Bowl Birthday

In celebration of my 27th birthday, I invited my friends to a royal bowl at the Palace Lanes. Dressed in strictly Disney attire, my friends showed up and laced up their not-so-glass bowling slippers. Though we were truly novice bowlers in the lanes, we did strike up great conversation in our spare time.

Amy and Aaron brought a fairy tale fabulous cake to complement my Cinderella getup. I enjoyed being princess for an evening and was thrilled to share the day with friends from med school, Rice, and Houston. (Thanks to Diana for the card-turned-crown)

The final head count included three Gastons, two Cruellas, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Prince Eric, Scar, Peter Pan, Prince Naveen, Tron, a Mickey Mouse Club member, Snow White, and of course Cinderella. It was a magical way to start off a new year of life!

Discovery Channels

In no time we found ourselves back in the north with the help of a sleek high-speed train. We stuffed ourselves with the most delicious and highly-anticipated dumplings at Din Tai Fung. We also made time for some spicy hot pot. The food in the north was really phenomenal.

The six of us spent a day in Taipei starting with the best Vietnamese food (and coffee!) I've ever had at Yue Yuan Pho (expertly reviewed here). Then we took the metro to the expansive Taipei Zoo. We visited the popular Giant Panda House then checked in on koalas, hippos, flamingos, and several nocturnal species- including a sloth.

Though I may not have made it clear after my visit to the San Diego Zoo, the primates are my favorite beasts of the jungle. After spending a good time monkeying around, we left the zoo for higher ground. Soaring above the zoo on the Maokong Gondola, we rode 2.5 miles and climbed 903 feet to the scenic center of Taipei's tea culture.

At dusk we enjoyed watching our tea being traditionally prepared for us. While resting our weary feet, we sipped the soothing and medicinal herbal blend. We wandered our way through the mountaintop village returned on the gondola to see the glowing cityscape and Taipei 101 at night.

For our final stop on our Taipei adventure, we went to a bustling night market. Adam and I tested our gastronomical limits by trying the tastiest stuff we could find. Ending the busy day with some shaved ice cream was the perfect conclusion to a full day. Before I knew it we were flying back across the Pacific to ring in the New Year stateside. Thank you to the Tuttles for an amazing Taiwan adventure!

Southern Charm

We continued our southward trek by train with our sights set on Kenting. We stayed at a nice beach resort and really took advantage of everything from the sandy walks at sunset to the interactive pool area. Adam, Alex, and I went on a snorkeling excursion and saw all sorts of colorful fish (unbeknownst to me, my siblings were also snorkeling at different spots across the globe).

Despite all being in our mid-twenties, the kids kept busy with arts, crafts, and games. We each made our own surfer bracelets in the hotel's activity room with the help of a sun-tanned, shirtless instructor. In the evenings we played a variety of games including Phase 10 and Scrabble Slam.

I especially enjoyed our walks in the south. At night we frequented the street shops, and during the day we soaked in the scenery. We took a drive out to Cape Eluanbi and walked out to the southernmost point of Taiwan. The remainder of our time in the south was spent sunning ourselves on the windy beach and looking for sea glass.

Gorging Ourselves

After getting our feet wet in the north, we took a train southeast to Hualien. We visited a night market, perused the Engrish t-shirts, ate tasty snacks, and mingled with the locals.

We stayed at Hotel Bayview, which was a nice hotel with with scenic ocean views. Adam and I enjoyed a windy morning stroll and fish museum tour before our van of travelers headed into the main area attraction: the Taroko Gorge.

Upon entering the breathtaking national park, I felt like it was something straight from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lush green vegetation covered the dramatic mountains that disappeared into a veil of fog. Absolutely amazing.

We hiked around to see highlights including the Eternal Spring Shrine, the Taroko Bell Tower, the Changuang Temple Zen monastery, and the Cimu Bridge (above). We had lunch in Tianxiang before heading back out of the gorge.

We spent the afternoon cruising the gorgeous coastline. The water was an amazing blue-green. Every once in a while we stopped to stretch our legs along the way and take in the natural beauty.

We made it all the way to a chili pepper museum, which looked like a popular tour bus stop in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed some chili ice cream and left the hotter, spicier offerings to the men.

For our final night in Hualien we went to another night market. I enjoyed watching the preparation of our tasty milk tea almost as much as I enjoyed slurping it down from a plastic bag.

Emily sated her craving for cong you bing. In an exchange of culture and currency, Alex made some friends who got a big kick out of our whiteness and American accents.