I am officially half way through my first semester of my first year of vet school! Only six more weeks left of actual class time and then it's winter break. I write my last final on June 8th- just over two months away! Things have been moving steadily along here. I have now completed my first round of intrasemester exams (I wrote anatomy last Monday), and the ones that I know about went well. I think anatomy went pretty well too, despite the fact that I have NEVER been so nervous before an exam in my life. I woke up the morning of feeling physically sick and that feeling did not subside until I opened up my exam paper and went to town. I sure felt good after it was done, though!
I have an anatomy practical exam in a week and a half, as well as another physiology/histology exam the following week. I also have a couple of group projects coming up, and several smaller bits of homework to complete. Still, I am generally enjoying my school work and learning so much. Last week, during our cardiology practical, a group of us were gathered around the school horses in the barn, in our lab coats and stethoscopes. We took notes, and answered questions posed by the lecturer about ECGs and heart murmurs. At that moment I could have cried...I really and truly am a vet student. Sometimes it really just hits me in a very tangible way! During that prac, we auscultated horses (including one with a murmur than sounded like "lub WHOOSH dup), goats, sheep, and dogs. We did an ECG on a horse and on Leo the greyhound. I LOVED it.
Speaking of hounds, this week we got our two to the beach for the very first time one evening. A lovely vet school friend offered to pick all of us up at our place with her two dogs, and go down to North Freo to a beach that is always completely deserted at night. We went at about 9:30, and her dogs were safely tethered in the back of the truck while our two crowded in the back seat with me. Our friend has a beautiful three-legged pit bull, and a lovely black and white mix. Chester loved the other two dogs, and was thrilled to be able to tear around in the sand and surf. Dixie did so well with the other two dogs (she was on leash of course, and obviously didn't meet either of them face-to-face). We did the slow approach, and in no time she was happily parallel walking with one of the dogs on leash just 5 or 6 feet away from her. The "look at the dog" game has done wonders for her reactivity to other dogs. Both of them *loved* the beach, and we walked from 9:30 until midnight! On the human end, we had great conversation and a wonderful time. So I got home and worked on my biochem lab report until 2:30 in the morning...a small price to pay!
Yesterday, some friends and I went to the beach during the day, which is something that we had resolved to do for ages now before the weather turns. It feels difficult to take a whole afternoon off of doing/worrying about schoolwork, but I think it's very important to do sometimes! We went to Freo, did some fruit and veggie shopping at the markets, and then went to South Beach. We lay around on the sand a little, but mostly swam in the turquoise water. There were a lot of little puffer fish, and they seemed to really like following us around. It was a little disconcerting, especially when they would brush against you unexpectedly (as you were gazing at the shark-spotting helicopter in the sky above)! After the beach, we went to a little dining area called Old Shanghai, which is sort of a food court with lots of different types of food. Best of all, it's nice and cheap- I had delicious veggie pizza and fresh pineapple/orange juice. Yum! It was such a gorgeous day, all in all.
It's been a nice, long summer here. Though technically we're now well into autumn (which doesn't make sense and kind of blows my little Northern Hemisphere mind), it has been unseasonably warm. Apparently the weather changes very quickly though- one day you are lying on the beach and swimming for hours in the ocean (like yesterday!), and the next day, you're wearing your long-sleeved hoodie and mittens and shivering in your non-insulated house. I cannot imagine the day when I might experience feelings of being *too cold* here...it seems impossible!
I am heading off to uni today (Sunday) to get a bunch of work done. I need to study for anatomy and physiology, do some research on the pathophysiology of acute canine pancreatitis, and do a little biochemistry reading. Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment