I sat by a med student on the plane ride home.  Ironically, he is at the same point in his career as me and was flying home from a residency interview.  I just had an interview yesterday too.  Like me, he has been doing two-week externships for three months too. We've both been checking out residency programs (and being subjected to more-or-less two-week-long interviews too).  He was a joy to talk to and made me appreciate my human medical colleagues more.  He had a very positive outlook on life and mentioned that our population is growing, so maybe it's not so bad to have growing medical class sizes.  He also said that med students take many certification tests, including some that include their bed-side manner.  We talked about how family practitioners vary in their knowledge and skill and how residents work long hours for not a lot of money.  I'm that sure he found me interesting as well.  I gave him an overview on food animal medicine, pet insurance, and vet med in general.  It is rather interesting that some of our patients are part of our families and some are what we eat for dinner and veterinarians must learn how to treat them all.  The med student was keen enough to question me about species differences, which encompass a large part of our veterinary education.  He gave me a slightly renewed enthusiasm for clinics to which I will return on Monday.  I started reading my bible (I'm on to Deuteronomy now), and the med student was inquisitive about it.  I told him that I like it.  It's the story about the beginning of my religion and makes me think about all different aspects of it. 

Speaking about thinking about my religion, I had a long conversation with Danny, one of the guys living in the hostel about religion the other night.  He is an atheist and a very smart, intellectual man that really made me question my faith.  Alas, I continue to believe because there are just too many signs that point towards God's existence.  Danny is a beautiful, loving person and it makes me sad to realize that he is missing out on the one that loves him more than anyone else--God.  I'm sure that God misses him too. 

I'm home and this is my last blog entry.  It has been an adventure and I have loved every day of my travels.  I have met many wonderful people and seen many beautiful places.  I return to Iowa with a better sense of what is out there in our big world, as well as where I come from and how I fit into the world.  God has a plan for each of us and if we follow His will, we will leave the world a better place than that into which we were born.