The last leg of the journey...

Well, tomorrow is the beginning of the home stretch for my veterinary career. I now have to put to use all the knowledge that I have been given over the past 3 years.

Here is how much knowledge needs to be in my head:

Yes it is a bit daunting, isn't it? Not to worry, I am handling it just fine.

One crazy week

This has been a memorable week, so I just need to document it (even though I'm pretty sure nobody reads my blog anymore). The beginning of the week was depressing, as I was having a quarter-life crisis. There is TOO much information for me to know and I can't see how I can ever succeed as a vet. So, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I cried and ate left over birthday cake. Thursday, one of our rather pompous professors forgot to turn off his microphone during our 10-minute break so we were subjected listening to him pee. It was very hard not to laugh during the second hour of class, and I was digusted that we didn't hear the faucet running after the peeing so I made it my goal to not touch anything he touched. On Friday we received an e-mail from the student affairs office that someone in our class has been looking at porn during class and would they please not do that. This has resulted in a "porn witch hunt" as everyone began speculating about who it is. After class on Friday, my friend Erin (from vet school) and I went on an eight hour shopping marathon at the MOA. We refused to stop for anything (eating, bathroom, etc.) and it was good. The end.

The quest still continues...

Ah, yes my all too often futile struggle for the coveted DVM continues. I've finished up my last summer, as now we go to school straight through until graduation (we still get some breaks though). But, oh what a wonderful summer! Please allow me to make a plug for unemployment:

My dear fellow Americans:

Since the beginning of time, our way of life has revolved around labor in some form. What began as a back-breaking struggle for survival has been reduced to mere "office butt". Call it what you will: the daily grind, the 9 to 5, slavery, or force x distance x cos theta. I have taken the opportunity to buck the oppression that work has imposed upon us since the boot from the garden of Eden. My eyes were opened in this new way of life, and I saw the beauty of laziness in all its glory. A day of sleeping in, sunbathing, watching movies, and fishing is like a milkshake made of forgiveness and angels. Alas, work has once again accosted me and drug me back into the dark cavern of daily drugery and half-hour lunch breaks. I feel it is my duty now to tell you what it is like on the other side, and urge you to pursue it with wild abandon. Now, when I see a heavy-set woman with four bi-racial children at Walmart, I give her a nod...a nod that says "I get it".

This year we got a new classroom, new instructors, a new classmate, and heavier expectations. Sometime I don't know how I will ever get all this information in my head. At least this semester we only have ~26 credits, instead of last semesters 34. Very soon I will pick my rotations, and our clinics will start in April. There is an underhanded attempt going on by the administration to make us wear maroon coats instead of white when we go on clinics. Apparently, nametags and introducing yourself as "the student" is still too confusing for clients. We are petitioning for white coats, so if you can help me out with good reasons why please let me know and I'll include them in my portion. Anyways, I guess God has gotten me this far...two more years to go!!!!

The Journey

I can't believe it has been over a month since I got back from Uganda. Even so, I still reflect back on the trip nearly every day and God continues to cause me to grow from it. I officially left for Uganda on June 4, after spending the weekend in Orlando with one of my team members. It was a long flight but I was really excited. We had a day layover in Amsterdam, so we went to a cheese farm and the Anne Frank museum. The cheese was scrumtrulescent and the Anne Frank museum was quite moving. Here are a couple photos from Amsterdam:

This is Grand Central Station (where Ocean's Twelve was filmed)

Windmill seen on the way to the cheese farm.

The outside of Anne Frank's house (pictures inside are not allowed).

When we got to Uganda, we had to do a lot of traveling but met lots of great people along the way. We took care of some horses, spayed/neutered and vaccinated dogs and cats for rabies, and vaccinated chickens for Newcastle's disease. We wore skirts out of respect for our hosts, since they value modesty greatly. They really only had to go to your knee, but mine all went past my ankles. It actually wasn't that hot wearing a skirt, which was a plus. The sun was hot so we stayed in the shade during the day. At night it cooled down quite a bit, so it was comfortable to sleep. On Sunday we went to church, which was such a blessing. The people were so welcoming and honored us as their guests. Afterwards, we spent some time with the younger people in the church (they were around 18 or 19 years old) and had lunch. The young women were so sweet and kept passing us notes that said "let's be friends and pray for each other". Here are just a few pictures of Uganda (I will post them all on Facebook when I figure out how to do it).

A roadside fruit stand where we bought some very delicious pineapple, guavas, mangos, tangerines, bananas, passion fruit, and sugar cane.

The mighty Nile River! We were fortunate enough to go white water rafting on this powerhouse of God's creation.

A miracle occured and I actually hit a jugular vein! I had to have it documented :).

The little church in Namalu where we had a lovely service. It lasted almost three hours but it didn't seem that long.

Here I am with two new friends hanging out after church (as you can see, both are already married with kids).

I was assigned to vaccinate poultry in this village. We just had to put a drop of the vaccine in any mucous membrane (i.e. mouth, eye). The lady in the back has a bunch of chickens in a bucket on her head. It made me hungry for KFC.

Some breathtaking scenery....

More breathtaking scenery; seriously every picture was worthy of being on a postcard.

It was a busy trip and I really didn't have a whole lot of time during it to reflect on things. I tried to journal every night, but I did the most pondering upon return. I prayed before I left that God would reveal Himself to me in new ways, and He went above and beyond my request. I was filled with unspeakable joy each time I met a Ugandan believer. It was amazing to me to see another person who is very different from me yet loves the same Jesus that I do. All barriers-- be they race, language, class, whatever--were instantly rubble in the face of our common bond in Christ. It made me excited to see all these other brothers and sisters and imagine how we would all be in heaven together one day. Meeting and fellowshiping with these fellow believers made heaven feel a little closer. Something I wasn't expecting God to teach me was that I didn't feel sorry for these people. Yes, there was poverty and great need but there was also contentment and generosity. These people have little but they work hard and are proud of what they have. We were honored as guests everywhere we went; we ate first, sat at the head table, meat was served to us, and we were greeted warmly by everyone. The people didn't seem to feel awkward at all to serve "rich Americans". They gave us their best and God received the glory. I didn't come back hating myself and feeling the need to sell everything and move into a cardboard box like I thought I might. On this trip, God further directed me to focus on eternity instead of this life by realizing that what you have or don't have on earth is insignificant. Cleaning up your earthly life by getting rid of everything isn't going to bring you closer to eternity. I'm in no way bowing down to materialism, but I think anti-materialism can be an avenue that Satan uses to deceive people because it still causes the focus to be on material possessions. What I came away with is to commit all that I have to God and put it to use for His glory, no matter what I possess and what it looks like in the eyes of the world. The parable of the talents in Matt 25:14-30 is a reminder to cultivate and grow the gifts the Lord gives us and that we have a responsibility to do so. I could really go on for hours about what the Lord is doing in my life since this trip, but it's getting kinda late. To sum up the trip, I love Uganda and I am CONVINCED that I belong to a very big, powerful God!

I'm off

Well, tomorrow I set off on my greatest adventure yet. Our flight leaves at 7pm (Orlando time) and we'll have a day layover in Amsterdam. Then it's two weeks of vaccinations and spay/neuters, finishing off with a safari. I ask that you all would please pray for our safety. My group members are Fonda, Michelle, Denise (Michelle's mom), Cynthia, and Denise(not Michelle's mom). Please also pray that we get all of our vet supplies across the border (especially the rabies vaccines) and that our traveling goes smoothly. Most of all, please pray that we would seek to glorify God and further His kingdom. I feel like this trip is the beginning of something wonderful in my life and I am excited beyond words to see what wonders await me in Uganda. I know that Jesus is going to do some amazing work through us and in us. Thanks for your prayers!

You wish you were here

1/2 doctor, 1/2 mortal

Well, by a miracle of God I have reached the halfway point in my pursuit of the magnificent DVM. I am half a doctor but unfortuately my hands and head are not included in this portion. In due time... This year has been a whirlwind of "ologies", and I can't say I remember a very large percentage. My greatest accomplishments are my spay and my anesthesia role, as both animals lived. I also got to hold a Great Horned owl. My less than perfect achievements include when one of our surgery cats had a 106 temperature when I went in to check on her in the evening, and I couldn't think of a complication (infection *duh*) she could be experiencing when quizzed by the technicians. I also stabbed my finger with a capillary tube and, the morning of my surgery, I impaled my finger on a needle (it went in on one side of my finger and came out the other). That morning my finger bled profusely and I was hiding it from the faculty because I thought I would get in trouble. Ahh...memories. Next March I'll start on clinics...yikes! In summary this year really chewed me up and spit me out, especially spring semester. In fact, I think that I was Jonah and spring semester was a whale. Especially since now I'm being sent to Africa (posing as Nineveh). As you can see, I've gotten quite weird. I learned many interesting things but I am READY for a summer of doing nothing. It's my last free summer so I had better make it a good one!