Traveling in Europe
Irene and I never had a honeymoon after we got married. I was in the middle of my psychiatry sub-internship rotation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami and she was in the middle of her clinical training as a physician assistant, and I was grateful that my attending gave me a day off to celebrate. When it came time to schedule my surgery rotation, a friend of mine who I rotated with me in Miami told me about her amazing experience rotating in England. With the great teaching there and the opportunities to travel on the weekends, I was sold, and immediately requested my clinical advisor at AUC to schedule me for a rotation in Romford (in London) for surgery the following January. It was perfect timing because Irene would have just completed PA school, giving her some free time before working.
I had previously gone to the UK last year for my psychiatry core rotation in Blackburn. Blackburn was a great base to travel from because of its central location within the UK, and I easily took weekend trips to the northern (Scotland), southern (London), eastern (Wales), and western (York) parts of the UK. I had never been to continental Europe or other neighboring countries at that time, and so going again this time for my surgery core rotation, with Irene, we were going to explore it together. Funded by the wedding gift money that we received from our friends and relatives, we called it our “three-month honeymoon to Europe slash surgery rotation.”
My attendings in the UK were pretty nice about giving me a day off here and there to extend my weekends to travel, and often even encouraged it. Official rotation policy is to make up for however many days you take off. While Blackburn was a great jumping point to see the UK, London is a great jumping point to explore the rest of Europe. Taking advantage of our weekends, occasional British holidays, and the break I had after finishing my rotation, we got to see quite a few places in Europe: France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, and Italy. It was three months of memories that we will always share with each other.
Check out some videos that Irene and I took during our three months in Europe.
Links
The Gunghos: Things to do in London
The Gunghos: Top 10 Tips Before Coming to Romford for AUC Students and Spouses
Hi Benji,
I am spouse and was just wondering, with the recent Visa changes, if your wife had any issues getting back into England after you left the UK to travel? Thanks!
Hi Shana!
Irene went to England as a tourist as she was only there for 3 months, so she didn’t run into a lot of issues. Every time she re-entered the UK, she just had to explain that she was visiting me (and avoid using the word “living”) and that she was a PA and had a job she was committed to back in the US. The border patrol are mainly worried that she was coming to the UK to “live” and to “work” so it was important to make sure they know she was not doing either of these.
Benji
Okay, thanks for the information! I appreciate it!