JB & Wendi School: A Guest Post by Bara Zuhaili

Today -- a VERY special treat. Our friend Bara is going to be featured as a guest-poster!! Bara is from Syria. He is an MD but wanted to come to the U.S. to get more training. He came to Mayo to get some training for a few months and is currently living in Boston and working at Harvard for more training. For a full explanation of how we met Bara, you can check out my post on Bara. I was actually a guest poster on Bara's blog today as well (we swapped.) So click on Bara's name on the right if you want to read my post about Bara and how we became such great friends with him. (I'm not sure when Bara will put it up but it will be up there some time today.)

Also, Bara asks a GREAT question at the end of his blog. PLEASE provide a comment and help answer his question.

Okay, okay. Here he is in his own words and own photos!

I'm so glad and honored to be with you on this blog!

I am writing you today about JB & Wendi School! I bet you are wondering what that school is? Well, it's a school based on very simple idea: some minor actions can make a difference!

I am not sure if you know how I met John! If you know, that's totally fine! If you don't then I would rather not talk about it as I really feel embarrassed! I was really lost in men's locking room and I was just freaking out like a little kid!

Not to mention JB's first reaction and help in site! He generously invited me into his house on thanks giving day!

Now here is the first touch! I didn't expect anyone to do so ever! My idea about American at that time that they just hate us! This really was a big difference for me!

Then, I would never ever forget when I made it to their house how Wendi came out the house with big smile saying: welcome Bara! We are so blessed to have you with us today!

"So blessed!!" give me a break!

Well from my side, I was "so surprised" to be with them at that day, and "so shocked" to hear someone saying that to me!

I won't go any further, because we simply became friends, and you all know what a friendship is! It was just those two hints that made a huge difference in the way I look at the "others" and the way I approach people who seems different from me but might be very close!

I don't know if you ever watch the movie "Pay it forward"! This movie, together with what JB & Wendi did, simply indicate that we can make a difference in others life by simple attitude!
From my side, I will pay it forward! I promise!

Now, just to give you an idea of what I am doing, here is a photo gallery of my usual day!

I wake up at 6:30 and look immediately through the window and smile! Usually I look again 5 min later and groan! The first smile is for the clear weather I notice! The groan 5 min later is because it usually starts raining!

Then I use my bike to go to work!


I work in Gene Transfer lab! We try to enhance wound healing in general and especially in plastic surgery through the transfer of genes into the wound! Such fancy subject but still quite immature! We have to check our pig and anesthetize every day to see how wounds treated with genes are doing!

Also, I am working on another project which seems even more exciting and promising but still going on very slowly! We are trying through rabbits experiment to find a way to replace the any major defect in Knee cartilage! Cartilage is such a valuable and important structure of our body! Unfortunately, once damaged, it's never replaced! Well, you can say, we are trying to change that!

For some reason, rabbit's operating room seems cleaner and more complicated!

Here is my favorite rabbit (Infinity ∞)


And here is me at 7:00 PM at the end of my regular work day!

One thing I never understand is: how do you guys organize your weekends? I'm really confused about it and I want to know how Americans do in their weekends?

The reason why I'm asking is: every weekend I seem to have a lot of free time and then I end up doing almost nothing! Is that normal?

It's been really a pleasure to be with you today!

As I always end up my postings: Keep smiling!