Abu Dhabi: Three weeks ago, Nicolas Cobos Rodriguez knew no one in Abu Dhabi.

He is 18, in a new country, with three months of internships ahead of him and a dream he had never been close enough to touch: becoming a doctor.

He had no friends here and, as he said himself, no idea “what teenagers do” in this city.

Two days after he first stepped onto a basketball court in Khalidiya park, he had a group of friends who he jokes and hangs out with almost daily.

Two weeks that changed the picture

For two weeks, Nicolas has been interning at Harley Street Medical Center, following the daily life of the clinic: the consultations, the procedures, the operations. He has seen what doctors actually deal with, every single day.

“It is something you normally do when you end your studies but here in Abu Dhabi, I was able to do it before starting my career.”

He has been able to look at the goal at the end of the road before taking the first real steps toward it.

He expected to stand in a corner and observe.…