It certainly did not help my cause that, while in Turkey, virtually the only people I spoke Macedonian with were my parents. That left me with an in-depth knowledge of Macedonian 80s pop hits, not quite the understanding of how to communicate with kids my age. On the first day of class, I was asked to introduce myself by narrating my summer. Trying to talk about a bracelet I had gotten, I used the archaic word for “bracelet” which my father loved. Though my teacher appreciated the ornate phrasing, most of the kids just laughed. It was a while before I mastered the Macedonian vocabulary of my peers. For at least a year, I …show more content…
Although moving to Turkey was not a choice I made, coming to Columbia was. Certainly, I wanted to be a part of a community of some of the best scientific minds in the world, but I also wanted to branch outside my national and ethnic bounds to craft my own story. Though I do miss my friends from home and make sure to spend at least part of each break in my native Skopje, I do not doubt my choice to continue my education on this side of the ocean. Because I want to spend the next decade of my life in a transcultural context within which I will join the international community of physician-scientists, I am applying to your