Falling out of Buses

Well ladies and gents!  I just finished my third week!  It’s been an incredible week jammed with farm visits, festas, confusion, delicious food, embarrassing moments, learning and exhaustion!

My week started Monday afternoon, when we returned from Caxias, with a sheep lecture.   The school hosted a four-day course on sheep in vitro fertilization/reproduction type stuff for a good price, 50 reis.  At first I really, really didn’t want to go.  I knew that it would be in Portuguese and I wouldn’t be able to grasp what they were telling me.  I figured it would be like a lecture I had the previous week where I concentrated really hard trying to at least identify a few words she was saying, and when I finally thought my brain was going to explode, I just stared at the wall and tried to recover.  I am not an auditory learner at all.  Like at all.  (Which makes it very hard to learn new Portuguese by the way!) I can’t even pay attention to classes at home, and here I find myself with the same problem except that the material doesn’t just SEEM like it’s a foreign language, it actually is!!!

How I feel in class

Any who, so my point here is that I really wasn’t looking forward to the sheep course.  I went because they wanted us to try and it ended up going a lot smoother than I expected because the two professors taught in Canada and so their power point slides were in English!   It was neat to read about synchronization programs and super ovulation even if I couldn’t actually follow the professor!    The courses lasted from two to five pm and we planned to go Monday – Wednesday.  We didn’t make it to Wednesday (more on that later) but the Monday and Tuesday lectures were interesting.  It’s frustrating at times because if I knew the language I could learn so much more veterinary medicine.   For example, Friday I got to sit in on a small animal practical class with Vivian and Mariani.  It was an AWESOME class where the professor presented a group of students with a case, then brought the animal in, ran some tests, and then talked the class through results, diagnosis, possibilities, etc. etc.   I love things like this where you can actually take the veterinary medicine you have learned in class and apply it to a case!  I defs learned something from the class but probably only took away about 10-20% of what I actually could have if I could understand what the professor was saying! ( I do have to give the teacher credit here.  He spent time after class talking to us about the case in English.  The professors here are amazing and really take time to help us!)   I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining or unhappy!  This exchange program is so much more than learning just veterinary medicine and I am extremely gracious for the opportunity to be here!!  I’m learning Portuguese, exploring another part of the world, and learning things about myself! 

Speaking of veterinary medicine, I’ve been able to so much this week!  It’s been great!  Here are a few bullets since I’m lazy!

-       Deworming cattle and vaccinating against foot and mouth disease back at Hotel Fazenda

-       Random class trip out to the school beef farm where we were able to assist in ultra sounding pregnant cows.  We got to see the placetomes. (Areas of attachment between mom and fetus) Woo hoo!  I’m always amazed when I actually understand something on the mysterious ultrasound screen.   We also were able to watch the class process a group of calves.  They were dewormed or vaccinated, branded, given an ear tag if needed, and castrated if needed.

-       I was able to watch students wash out an abscess on the neck of a cow.  This happens occasionally at the injection sites of vaccines, especially if the needle was dirty. 

-       Horse endoscopy lab/ultrasound - Watched as a teacher performed/explained the procedures

-       Worked in the embryolab.  We make a test kit that creates a fast way to check to see if the foal got proper antibodies from mom's colostrum.

-       The biggest thing this week was the embryo lab pony.  She was around twenty years old was the beloved tease mare they have used for years and years.   On Wednesday, she was found around noon colicing.  Colic is a general term used for horses when they are having some time of GI pain.  She went down hill very quickly.  I was able to assist as a team of vets inserted a jugular catheter, started fluids, administered meds, and worked to diagnose the problem.  After ultra sounding her, it was determined that her GI system was all kinds of contorted.  The only option was surgery or euthanasia.   The sweet little pony was put out of her misery and euthanized.  

-       The pony was then taken to pathology where a necropsy was performed to identify the cause of the problem.   She ended up being an exciting case because she had a lipoma!  It was the size of an orange and hanging from the mesentery in her abdomen. Her intestines had wrapped themselves around the hanging lipoma and strangulated.  Woah!  You don’t see that every day.   The professor in necropsy was extremely nice and explained what was happening in English.   During the necropsy, they examine the whole body. This was a great anatomy review for me and made me want to go study!  Insert nerdy snort here…  #Nerdstatus 

Living in another country where everything is new and different, it’s impossible not to make a fool out of yourself!  For me, I’m a champ.  In the words of Fergie,  “I do it on the daily.”   Really though, it’s pretty impressive just how much of goof I can be!

My favorite story comes from the second time Ashlee and I ever took the bus home.  Backup... Monday night, Ashlee and I took the bus home not only for the first time by ourselves, but for the first time ever.  We conquered it like champs!  Boom, we got on the right bus, convinced ourselves that just because people were staring doesn’t mean we have something on my face, got off at the right stop, crossed the super scary, crowded, dangerous highway in the dark, and made it home!  How you like them apples!  Well, this peacock got on the bus Tuesday not worried about a thing.  The bus was really crowded so we stood and then made it to the door at our stop.  Unfortunate for me there was some guy sitting on the steps.  (uh… A.  Illegal.  I can’t understand Portuguese and even I understand that sign.   B. Rude C.  Weren’t you tired of people bumping into you?) The guy slowed me down and I guess I didn’t get off the bus fast enough because the doors closed on me and I found myself sandwiched in, unable to go back or forward, as the bus started to pull away.  I threw myself forward and tumbled out into the ground, past the small strip of dirt on the side of the road, and slumped down into the knee high grass on the downward slopping hill.  Yep.  This Gringa (white girl) catapulted out of the bus and fell into the grass.  Luckily for me, the bus driver, having realized I was stuck in the doors, stopped the bus so that everyone was able to witness my graceful performance!  :p 

 .....but really though

I feel like my trip into the center of the city this morning really sums up my daily ride on the struggle bus….

  Ashlee and I wake up at 7am after going to bed at 2am to get ready for a horse research project.  Poring outside.  Research canceled.  Decide to head to center of the city.  Walk to bus stop. Realize we should have grabbed an umbrella.  Starts raining harder.  Really wish we had an umbrella.  Realize we don’t actually know when the bus comes.  Deny some nice old man trying to lend us his umbrella.  Instead, stand beside nice old man for fifteen more minutes in the rain getting soaked.  A bus comes.  Not sure if we should take it.  Everyone at bus stop gets on bus.  Still not sure if we should take it.  It leaves.  Regret not getting on the bus.  Wait in the rain for another fifteen minutes for another bus to come.  Get frantically on to that bus. Jump off at a stop that heads to the mall.  Decide not to go to mall.  Turn left and hope it heads towards the center of the city.    Look a in a few shops for a warm jacket/sweater.   Can’t understand employees trying to help us.  Refuse to buy because things are so expensive.  Continue walking.  Soaked from the rain.  Feel sweet relief when we make it to the center of the city.  Successfully run a few errands.  Deem ourselves adequate.  Buy the most delicious donut thing from street side vender.  Enter a state of heaven.  Devour treat.  Speculate I’m ready to take on anything.  Attempt to enter the bank to use an atm. Doors locked but see people inside.  Look for another door.  Press our faces awkwardly against the window.  Try doors again.  Give up in desperation. Watch man enter bank through handicap door we had not tried.   Bust out laughing.  Play it cool. Follow man into bank.  Continue to run a few more successful errands.  Decide to catch bus home.  Realize we have two different opinions of where the bus stop is.  Convince Ashley to trust me.  Remember we forgot to bring the list of buses Vivian made for us.  Accept that we aren’t 100% sure which bus to get on.   Surrender and call Vivian to ask.  Told to stay where we are.  Picked up by Vivian and taken home!

Yep.  So that’s that.  It isn’t always pretty but it’s an adventure!  I’m heading to a weeklong artificial insemination course tomorrow.  It is taught in Portuguese and we don’t know anyone who is going.  It should be interesting all right!  I just hope there is someone there that maybe knows a little bit of English and is patient enough to deal with our broken Portuguese!  He he!  Bring it on!