UB Around the Globe: Catching Up With Efrain Solis
Category: WebExtras
Solis at the Petronia Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Remember Efrain Solis, B.S. ’11, M.S. ’12, who traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to represent the Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Surgery at a conference (“UB Around the Globe: You Say Hello, I Say Dubai!” spring 2012)?
This time, he’s found himself even farther east, living in the city-state of Singapore in southeast Asia. Solis is the outpatient services manager for Johns Hopkins International Medical Centre, the only fully branded Johns Hopkins entity outside of the United States, for which he oversees five divisions with 18 employees. “The multinational experience is what really appealed to me when the role came up,” Solis says. “I manage a diverse, multicultural group with many different backgrounds and beliefs.” And Solis has taken full advantage of his location to see more of the world.
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve been to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bali, Indonesia; a list of places in Singapore and I’ll be in Vietnam twice over the next eight weeks,” Solis wrote in July, when he and his wife had been in Singapore for nine weeks. He sent the University of Baltimore Magazine photos from his travels in Kuala Lumpur, saying, “I’m pretty sure I was the only guy in Asia that day wearing a UB shirt!”
More recently, in October, Solis checked in with us from Vietnam, where he visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Here’s what he says about the photos he sent (view them in the gallery), in his own words:
-
Thap Rua temple, Hanoi: Legend tells of a general (Le Loi) during the Ming Dynasty who was presented with a magic sword by a divine golden turtle that lived in the lake the temple sits on. This sword helped expel the Chinese from Vietnam, and the general became known as Emperor Le Thai To. Sometime later, the turtle rose again to reclaim the sword, and the lake took on the name Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake of the reclaimed sword).
-
Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City: This was the building that was so famously overrun when the United States left Vietnam. If you Google it, you will see the images of the tanks rolling over the gates. In this building is where South Vietnam surrendered to the north, and Saigon became known as Ho Chi Minh City.
-
Room inside the Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City: This mural is a lacquer form of art using primarily the shells of duck eggs. They would be toasted for a number of hours to different shades. After the pieces were laid, it would be lacquered and polished for around a month to get the polish you see in the images.
Solis may not be traveling as extensively in the near future, as he and his wife recently have welcomed a baby girl.
Batu Caves
Solis at the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
Batu Caves
Solis at the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
Indonesian Monkeys
a parent monkey and its baby, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
Indonesian Monkeys
a parent monkey and its baby, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
Thap Rua
Thap Rua temple in Hanoi, Vietnam
Thap Rua
Thap Rua temple in Hanoi, Vietnam
Reunification Palace
the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Reunification Palace
the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Reunification Palace
a room inside the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Reunification Palace
a room inside the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
