In his eyes, however, one city block represented freedom from periods of alienation and boredom. Walking was a healthy alternative to sometimes, endless hours of television; it allowed his lungs to breathe fresh open air, and strengthened the tone of his muscles. One city block represented freedom and an opportunity to see and be seen.

Before we ventured into the park, I had asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. While shaking his head with approval, I suggested that he walk…without the wheelchair. Illness and fatigue had made a wheelchair his usual mode of walking. He resisted initially, but finally consented. When we returned to the centre, his face was aglow with a smug grin. I said to him “Next week, two blocks?”

Week after week, I walk up the steps to the Dr. Peter Centre for a two-hour volunteer shift in the Dr. Peter Centre Residence. Whether it is learning how to make a fresh brew of coffee, or witnessing something deep and insightful into human nature, I always learn something new. Every time I go, this is the case. I have yet to prove myself wrong.

As an incoming medical student at UBC, I often ask myself why I volunteer at the Dr. Peter Centre. Is it to give back to the community? To feel good about myself? Or pad my resume so it looked good enough to get into medical school? Parts of these are all true. But, what I have come to value is the endless learning that I have come to experience at the Dr. Peter Centre. It is learning that goes both ways; in effect, it is a “learning exchange.” It is no coincidence that I first heard the words “Dr. Peter Centre” through a UBC organization, by that very name, the Learning Exchange. The learning I am experiencing transcends the confines of an incommodious lecture hall. It is a dose of rich life experience that can be acquired no other way than through doing. In one of my classes, I remember learning about HIV/AIDS, and the drugs used to treat the disease. The real-life experience of the Dr. Peter Centre has made the UBC learning worthwhile and relevant.

The Dr. Peter Centre has revolutionized the way I think about and understand social justice and health issues. No longer do I only have to hear about HIV/AIDS through the eyes of the media or the confines of a classroom. Rather, I witness HIV/AIDS and Comfort Care first-hand at the Dr. Peter Centre through the people who are benefiting from this care, and through the example of caring multi-disciplinary health professionals.