Now that the exam is over, I wait for the results. Hope they come soon and hope I pass. I also will have to start studying very soon for the next exam. And also look for potential residencies. Such as Family Practice or Internal Medicine. I need to do lots of work to get things going here. Meanwhile my parents warm up at times and cool down at times about me getting married. It is ridiculous that my girlfriend doesn't even come over or meet my parents. They are so unreasonable. I can't take it anymore. On the other hand, she asked her parents if she could marry me next spring. Her father said it would be cruel to say no! Her mother agreed. Basically if I have a residency in place her parents will agree. That puts pressure on me to study really hard. Why can't my parents understand? They won't meet with my pastor or hers. They won't give me a Biblical reason, or any valid reason why we can't marry. As my friend's dad said, they are just stubborn! And they have won over my family as well. They all do not talk to me about her. Zero. Not at all. I need to take a stand, and that includes telling them that on weekends we will meet, and that she is a part of my life.

The other thing I am dealing with is financial issues. I think that I need to get a private loan from a bank in order to pay for my expenses, the exams, travel to interviews and living expenses are a lot. In addition, I can't work full time, right now, because I need the time to study.

I need to pray and seek God about these things...

Day Trip

Last Thursday, I got up really early, before 6am! I was still tired from the exam (which went pretty well). I got up and drove to a suburban train station and then took a train to meet my girlfriend, who was visiting some friends in a nearby city. I got to her friends place pretty early, so early she was still sleeping and pleasantly surprised to see me there! :-)

The friends weren't Christians, but were childhood friends of hers. They had some houseguests apart from my girlfriend. They were pretty busy people, both husband and (pregnant) wife with extremely well paying jobs. They were easily millionaires. The condo was worth several million dollars. The house was dead quiet. Probably had insulation in the walls to deaden the sound. There was someone at the front desk of the building to announce visitors. Everything was first rate. Yet they were so busy, they didn't have time to talk to us for that long. Despite this, they were truly wonderful people. Their home was obviously open to friends and his wife always remembered my girlfriend, even the social and status levels had changed. It was interesting to see the exclusive lives of millionaires living in the US!

But one things that struck me is that they had to make choices and decisions. Those entailed leaving little time for each other. The pressure of staying at the top was intense. I could see it in their lives. They were constantly on the go. This came at the expense of their marriage. It placed stress on their marriage, just like anything else would. I am not judging them, just saying that everything comes at a cost. I suppose you could develop the best marriage by staying with your wife 24/7 and living on welfare. But that doesn't work either. Successful relationships stand the test of time.

I am sure I will be seeing these people often in the future. Hopefully I will be able to share with them more about me and learn more about who they really are.