This is the post that never ends!

Hello Beautiful people!  It’s Kaylee!  Yeah, remember that girl that use to write blog posts on this very website!?  Well it turns out she didn’t actually fall off the map of the world!  I apologize for being so slack!   The guilt has finally won and I’m writing in my blog.  I’ve found all kinds of things to keep me otherwise preoccupied.  I’ve read Eat, Pray, Love and I’m currently watching Orange is the New Black.  I’ve also seriously started to attack DuoLingo. I swear, if I leave Brazil without finishing that thing I’m going to be upset!

So let’s jump in the time machine and go back two weeks.   I finished up the week (not last week but the week before… stick with me here)  with a few necropsies, surgeries, and another trip to the Dairy Farm.  We ultra sounded around thirty cows again and then headed home because it was actually a holiday.  Thursday was the day of Corpus Christi.  We didn’t have school and many people didn’t work.   Friday was a bit like the days after Thanksgiving, it’s not really a holiday but people treat it like one!  Ashlee and I went to the university Friday morning and there was barely a soul in site.  We hung around that morning with Professor Mara.  She is our host professor here and takes excellent care of us.  It’s quite funny how mother like she is!  She’s constantly chasing Ashlee and I around cleaning up our muddy shoes, bandaging our cuts, and ensuring that we are doing alright.   Friday happened to be really cold.  I MEAN REALLY, REALLY COLD!  It was around 40 degrees and rainy and with no heat in buildings it makes for a frosty time.  

When the sun broke out that afternoon, I was tired of being so pathetic and I was itching to explore!  I excused myself from the lab and headed to the center of the city.  It was the best decision I could have made.  The city was alive.  There were so many people and colors.  The streets were full of laughter and music.  I loved it.  It was the first time I’d been able to wander around by myself.  I went down streets, in and out of stores, and had my fair share of sweets!  I walked for three hours and then walked home.  It was just the afternoon of adventure that I needed!

Saturday we had a full day.  Vivian took us to a churrasco that company was hosting.  (The company is student led and works with producers to better there farms.  Pretty cool!)  It was out at hotel Fazenda.  (The same place I was able to ultrasound cattle and sheep!)   The food was, of course, drop dead delicious and I really enjoyed speaking to a few of the professors.  I love being able to practice my Portuguese.  I don’t do it near enough.  This is a problem I’m working on!  

 

Beer from Rio Grande do Sul!  Those are the colors of their flag!

At the churrasco , I also learned how to play a game where you have to roll balls to a marker and see who gets the closest.  I of course can’t remember the name of the game but I’m pretty sure we have something similar to it at home.   After stuffing ourselves to the brim, rolling around with the dogs, and being the typical Americans taking too many pictures, we left and headed to meet our friend Cristinia.  She is the vet who does acupuncture at the clinic we are fortunate enough to visit!  She took us to see her daughter’s horse lesson.  The facility was on military grounds and absolutely beautiful! Vivian was ecstatic because it is where she used to ride.  Ashlee was ecstatic because she is head over heals in love with horses. I was ecstatic to be having such a great experience!  We were like a kids in a candy shop!  After watching Cristinia’s daughter ride, the super nice trainer let us each have a turn!  I warned them that my riding skills were that of a three year old but they didn’t mind.   Every time I ride a horse, I become jealous that I’ve never done horse back riding lessons.  But really, there’s just not enough time to do everything you want to do!

 Our active weekend continued on Sunday with none other than PAINTBALL! I had a blast.  We met Vivian’s friends at a place less than two miles away.  There were several exchange students so we had people from Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the US.  We were quite a group.   We split into groups of four and then had to make it to the other side of the “obstacle course” to capture the flag without being shot.
I had no idea it could be so much fun.  My adrenaline shot up as I played James Bond meets hide and seek. It WAS AWESOME!  I mean really.   I want to go back tomorrow.  Actually, my birthday is coming up…. Hmmm maybe I can force my friends into a good ole paintball match.  J     

Phew,  Are you guys still with me?  I apologize for this being a day by day account of my life.  I guess that’s what happens when you wait to long to update stuff.  It’s just so overwhelming!  Okay,  So on to the next week, which is indeed this last week! 

On Monday, I just wasn’t quite ready to go back to school.  It was also a day that Brazil played in the world cup so everything shut down in the afternoon anyway.  I played hooky in the morning and Vivian and I went on a small hike.  It was really pretty! Our favorite neighborhood dog joined us on our hike. He followed us several miles to the entrance, hiked the trail with us, and escorted us back home!  He's such a ham.  I love him.  

That afternoon we headed to the exchange students apartment so that they could work on a school project.  We were able to watch the soccer match there and it was really neat because every time Brazil scored you could hear cheering coming from everywhere.  It was unifying and exciting!  Being in Brazil during the world cup is really an experience!

The rest of the week Ashlee and I spent each day at school watching surgeries, helping with necropsies, and doing fun things with the embryo lab ponies.  Our routine is to get to school around 9 and check in with people to see what’s going on.  We help with what we can and then go to lunch around 12.  We walk down to the “RU”, the dining hall.  The food there is super cheap and pretty decent.  Sometimes, I’m too lazy to walk there and fight the crowd, but I’ll miss the place when I’m gone!  After lunch, there is usually a necropsy to help with. I’ve sure learned how to get my hands dirty. I’ve been able to see many different cases and causes of death. I’ve seen really bad endocarditis, what CPR can do to the lungs, and effects of having failing kidneys that are half their normal size.   I know that when I am learning things in the classroom next year I will be able fall back on my experience in necropsy.    I was also able to SCRUB IN for surgery this week! That's right!  ME!

Talk about a terrifying, awesome experience.   I mean, no idea what I was doing.  “Hello,  My name is Dr.  Imposter!”   I’m so fortunate for the experience!  I learned so much.  They taught me how to scrub in and then I had to quickly learn the names of the instruments so that I could hand them to the doctor.  I guess they say you learn better under pressure!  It hit me, as I was standing there at the surgery table, that I’m going to be a doctor.  Dr.  Quinn.  Woah.  Crazy.  It’s an exciting life.  I’m just glad that right now I’m not in charge.  I’ll let the professionals handle that and I’ll just hand them the scalpel!  J   Last but not least,  we were also able to visit our favorite vet clinic and watch more acupuncture!   I love it there!  They have a clinic cat that is a real live mystery.  His hind limbs are non-functioning.  It's almost as if they are frozen in place.  He also does not have a diaphragm so his organs are able to mix and mingle and get really cozy with each other!  He's adorable!  

It’s not all work here!  On Wednesday, I convinced Ashlee to go to the center of the city with me again. My favorite part was that we were able to talk to many people in Portuguese.  It’s fun to meet new people!  It’s so easy to get stuck in the same routine of going to the university and hanging out with the same people, but there’s a whole city of people to interact with!!  I bought a homemade dessert from the cutest little old man. He thought it was great that we were doing an intercambio  (exchange program).  I bought a cuja from three women at a small vender table.  I could just see them sitting there sharing the gossip of their city knitting away. I bought a churro (dessert) that was fresh, warm and melted in your mouth from a guy who was very emused at my confusion.  It was a rainy day so Ashlee and I decided that we needed to try out the new coffee shop/bookstore.  We both ordered expensive, fancy coffees.  Sweet Baby Jesus.  

Espresso Frappuccino, whip cream, carmel dripping down the sides.  Heaven.  I found heaven!  It’s crazy how no matter where you go, what comforts you stays the same.  

On our journey home, we stumbled upon the coolest book store!  It’s pretty much out of the movies!  Really old books on shelves that go up to the ceiling.  I can’t even explain how awesome it was.  New bookstores have nothing on this little place with so much character.  If the books weren’t enough, it was stocked with an endless supply of impressively nice people!  An older gentlemen, the owner of the store I assume, introduced himself and patiently communicated with us!  He introduced us to many different people.  One man had lived in Chicago for a short time period.  He spoke flawless English, but instead spoke to us in very slow Portuguese so that we could understand and learn.  I loved that!  We also met three guys who were there to play chess and invited us to join.  It was already dark and we still needed to walk home so we declined but we promised to  “Vamos voltar!”  We will return! 

This weekend has been another action packed masterpiece.  Friday night, we went to a Churrasco hosted by professor Mara for the embryo lab.  We all went to her apartment complex’s party room and stuffed ourselves.  The food was tasty, the drinks were cold, and the company was awesome.  You can’t get much better.  We baked chocolate chip cookies and took them for dessert! I think they were a hit!  :) 

Saturday, Ashlee and I woke up to lots and lots of rain!  It has been raining here nonstop. It’s a big problem because many roads in the sate are flooding.  Santa Maria is currently unaffected. The one good thing about there being rain is that it’s not cold.  The cold comes in spells here.  One day you think you’ll never be warm again and the next day you don’t even need a jacket!  The rain brings in the warm weather.   

Anywho, Saturday.  It was raining steadily but we refused to be held back by the rain.  Brazil was playing in the world cup and we wanted to go somewhere fun to watch the game!  We figured there surely had to be a bar open and a raging crowd to cheer with.   We sloshed our way to the bus stop, jumped on, and kept our eyes peeled open for just the right place.  Unfortunately for us, everything was closed.  We rode the bus to the last stop where the driver politely informed us to get off.  We jumped out into the rain and headed in the direction of the city center.  By this point, we were soaked but determined.  We were not going to go back home with our tails tucked.  Lucky, for us we stumbled upon the perfect location!  Directly downtown, they had a big screen set up with the game and a fair crowd of people. 

We got here just after the start of the game where we joined the onlookers. We ordered up a big cup of Quentao, a type of hot, mulled, wine!  It warmed us right up!  It was such a great experience to be able to cheer or shake our fists in frustration with the crowd.  When Brazil scored people waved flags and blew horns!  We also got interviewed for the newspaper.  Oh boy. I can see the headlines now  “Look at these American girls. They are soaked to the bone, one is dressed in a pancho the size of a small island, and they are attempting to speak Portuguese!  It’s adorable!”  he he.  But really,  It was an incredible experience. 

That afternoon, over banana smoothies and popcorn, we created our costumes for the costume party that night.  We had neglected to plan in advance so we were forced to get our creative juices flowing.  I can honestly say, I’m very impressed with what we came up with.  I went as a gypsy and Ashlee went as a pirate.  Vivian and Mariani went as Guns and Roses!  They looked great!    The costumes were all around really impressive.  So many of them were homemade!  It blew my last Halloween out of the water!

(As you can see, I discovered the creative shot option on my camera!)

So there you go!  You are somewhat caught up with my life here in Brazil!  Sorry, for the longest post ever.  I will try to be better about updating!   Next week, I am heading towards Porto Alegre to shadow a vet for a week!  I'm not sure if I'll have internet or not but I'll try to keep ya posted! 

Love you all more than sunshine and dry tennis shoes!  :)