Medical school in France was very cheap and open to anyone who wanted to enroll — at least for the first year. Only those who scored highest on year-end exams were allowed to continue to 2nd year.
Over 600 hopeful students enrolled that first year — but I worked extra hard and placed 38th. Only about a hundred were admitted. I was in!
Soon after I passed the “elimination contest” that was meant to let those of us who had scored best (and were allegedly the smartest) continue with the business of medical school. We had to get down to the business of learning things that we would need to function as doctors. Read more on My Training As A French Country Doctor…
It was August or so of 1973 when I traveled first to Amiens.
I had known I would never go to medical school in Paris. It seemed to me tradesmen striking was a sort of French National Pastime.
I decided to visit as many as needed of the official government medical schools and register. The cost was minimal and I had to pick the best, because my school’s heritage would be associated with me for the rest of my life. Read more on My Introduction To France And Locating My Medical School…
Filed under medicine, News by on Jan 4th, 2019. Comment. 
She was one of the regulars at Mme. Mareschal’s Cafe “les Arcades.” She took a hot cocoa on the morning of each market day — Thursdays and Saturdays and even Mondays. She had one of the best placements in market, just across the street from the street perpendicular to the rue Leon Blum. I gave some of her mentholated honey candies to a girlfriend in my medical school class for her birthday. She found them exotic, like me.
“Wow, those candies are like a high or something. I mean, they could clean your fingernails. ” Read more on When You Are Not Pretty Enough…
Filed under Family, life, News by on Jan 17th, 2019. Comment.
t was an ordinary weekday in August. I had registered at the medical school in the morning. Walked around downtown a little (I was a powerful walker in those days).
I walked to the synagogue, not knowing if I would find anyone From the history in Wikipedia, the long tradition of the synagogue of Amiens is immortalized for all time. Read more on My First Day In Amiens…
Filed under Family, life, News by on Jan 23rd, 2019. Comment.
If you enjoy my memories of when I struck out on my own to France to attend medical school — an innocent abroad — you might want to read other entries on my Facebook page.
In this episode, after arriving in the small city of Amiens, I finally make it to the quartier de la rue Leon Blum where I would lodge. Read more on A Student Settles In…