Part 2. “The How”

I have arrived in Germany, a new journey to start. I was pretty excited and motivated yet the desires deep inside me were telling me to keep looking and aiming for what I wanted “to continue my learning journey in France”.

I have never stopped trying even though I have applied and completed the process.
My genuine interest encouraged me to keep following up with the person in charge.

Things were not easy between studying German, adapting to a new lifestyle and the desire to leave for France as it remains the choice I wanted.

Time was flying, yet I never lost hope, an e-mail arrived one day from Professor Philippe THOUMIE replying to a follow-up email I have sent indicating that even though no clear information was available yet but I should follow up with the educational officer.

Shortly after that and exactly on July 14th, 2010, I received an email with the acceptance letter asking me to confirm whether I accept the post for residency.  Without hesitation, my answer was “YES”.

New challenges arise daily when we are studying abroad, many of which we learn, grow more passionate and acquire experience.
The “How” part was one of those learning points to me as I was in Germany and on a scholarship, yet I wanted to be in France!

Just after accepting the residency post, I started contacting the scholarship office and things did not seem simple.
Shifting a residency location from an accredited place to another is not an easy task.
The first response from the scholarship office was neither positive nor negative. I was asked to provide a justification for changing locations.

I started looking into the curriculum of the specialty in both countries. The task wasn’t easy as my scholarship was for residency in “Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation” and fellowship in “Sports Medicine”. I have finally managed to obtain the details of the training programs in both countries.

After submitting all the documents to the authorities; I had faith in their experience to compare and evaluate especially that both programs are accredited.

By the beginning of 2011, the decision was made and I have received the news approving my studies in France and a new journey of learning new things about medicine, culture, history and many other things was waiting for me, things that have made me a better person, that taught me a lot and brought me to where I am today.

I will surely mention all of those details to you in the soon to come “The arrival”.

Abdullah Alrahoomi