Dr. Myers Returns to Italy

Ciao! From Italy. Returning to Italy is another grand adventure for us. Thirty six years ago my wife, Beth, and I traveled to Italy. We had been married only six months and at 21 years old neither of us knew just what we were in for. All we really knew was we were off to Perugia, Italy to learn Italian before I was to start medical school in that country. We were courageous, confident and much more naïve than either of us realized. Why not start medical school like a normal person in the US, my native land you ask?

Although I grew up in Ohio, I had gone out of state to the college of my choice in Springfield, Missouri and completed my bachelors degree at Evangel College in three years. Going to this college was one of the best decisions I ever made because I met the love of my life and she agreed to marry me, We had returned to Ohio where I had been a PhD candidate at Ohio State University in Physiological Chemistry but what I really wanted to do is to go to medical school to become a doctor. At that time there were too many of ” baby boomers” like me trying to go to medical school and not enough positions available. In fact I noticed that nearly everyone else in my PhD program also wanted to go the medical school and were not getting in!

Beth found out I could start medical school in Europe and we selected Italy. We proceeded to Perugia, Italy to begin language school I told myself “How hard could it be to learn Italian? Even little children learned Italian and since I survived organic chemistry I should be able to learn a new language”. Oh boy! What I should have known is that the skill set needed to learn a language is very different than the skill set necessary to learn the sciences. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Beth passed her language exam and I received a certificate of attendance!

Still I was able to begin medical school at the University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy in the fall despite my language challenge. Of course all the courses were in Italian and the exams were oral exams. This was indeed a challenge but I still did well. After completing the first 2 years in Italy I took the board exam in the US and was able to transfer to the University of Cincinnati for my last 2 years of medical school. I was privileged to be elected into the medical honor society and gradusted with my MD fron the U of Cincinnati in 1980.

Now as I sit on this Delta flight next to my precious bride of 36 years to return to Italy I have much to reflect on and much to be thankful for. Beth says the first week of this vacation is a second honeymoon to enjoy together before our adult children and grandchildren will arrive. This is a trip of a lifetime. The first week we will travel to Venice and on to visit some Italian friends from many years ago who now live in the mountains of northern Italy. After we meet the rest of our family a week later we will be taking over and possibly overwhelming a bed and breakfast in a vineyard 20 minutes outside of Florence. It should be fun and more than a little crazy with 11 of us. Like my 3 year old granddaughter Maddie would say ,” Granpa Steve, that’s im-pwessive. Get ready Maddie, there is much to be impressed about in Italy and it might be a little crazy too!