Speaking of the Russians, the US beat Russia in our Rugby World Cup match! Take that, Ruskies! Not that the US team is anything to be afraid of. By comparison, Australia absolutely spanked us 67-5.
Another reason I'm not terribly concerned about my grades is my classmates. Being average in this group is pretty impressive. Obviously, they're all smart, but beyond that I've met some really lovely people. A lot of the younger ones (many kiwis are 18 or 19) live on campus. Some of us 'mature' people are still stuck in squalid student flats. Of course, I'm lucky to have found a room in a beautiful house with flatmates I like. But one of my new friends really hit the jackpot and is house-sitting for a couple of physicians with a frankly pants-crappingly beautiful home. She hosted a cocktail party at the end of midsemester break, where we all got together to pretend to be grown ups, complete with requisite grown-up costume:
I'm not sure who this guy is, but he looks like New Zealand's James Bond.
These are some of my international vet pals. 3 Canadians, 3 Americans, and 1 Brit.
Don't be fooled. Everybody in this classy gang has been at least elbow-deep in a cow. You know what smells worse than a wet dog? A dead dog.
I don't want to be a downer, though. Say hello to the most recent addition to the home!
Sooty belongs to my flatmate, Beth, who recently brought her up from Christchurch (of earthquake fame). She is an ideal dog: I get to live with her, cuddle her and play with her. I can take her for walks if I want to, but I'm not obligated, and I don't have to pay to feed her. It's the best of all possible scenarios. She's also got a bodacious howl, which we like to pretend might keep burglars at bay.
My most recent adventure was, regrettably, undocumented in photos. Yesterday was the Massey SVECCS conference. I wouldn't have gone, but a friend of mine bought a ticket without remembering that he had to leave town, so I got to go for free! SVECCS is the Student Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society. The day was fantastic. First, a series of talks about some common emergencies and remedies; blood transfusions, kidney failure, jaw fractures. All very cool. Then we got to actually practice the relevant procedures! I was excited to learn some sutures, but it was all pretty cool. I saw one of the more advanced students neuter a dog.
That brings me to an important point. I know that you, my friends and family, are all responsible pet owners, and I applaud you for it. Continue to have your pets spayed and neutered. Dead dogs are so easy to come by that it's shameful. I'm grateful that we have so many cadaver dogs to learn from, but it turns my stomach that they are all descended from a dog with an irresponsible owner. Somebody didn't go to the trouble to get their dog fixed, it had puppies, and now nobody can be bothered to take care of them, so they wind up at the pound for a week, then we gas them and students like me hack them open and carry their hearts around making Edgar Allan Poe jokes. My group's cadaver dog for anatomy didn't even have her grown-up teeth, and hadn't grown out of her puppy fat.
Sorry, that's all for my little public service announcement. Bob Barker had it right, have your pets spayed and neutered!
Lots of love to everybody, enjoy the weather cooling off.
