Rotations, Bingo and Mr. Squiggles

Im going to put out an advisory that there may be a picture or two in this post of "graphic" content from rotations. I have chosen the most PG photos but just be prepared to scroll past them if you wish.

We kicked off our 6th term adventures with many trips to the local brewery (finally some good beer on the island) as well as bingo night at a restaurant up in Lance Aux Epines. Bri, Celene and I had never been to bingo and we figured we couldnt leave this island without trying it at least once. It was alot of fun and for the majority the prizes are more "gag gifts" than anything. Toilet paper, maxi pads, kid toys etc, but at the end of the big rounds they do tend to give away cash or even livestock! As we got to the end of a bigger round the MC announced the final prize would be 400 EC and a pig! We all freaked out and decided we MUST win this round and the prized Mr. Squiggles as he had been aptly named. Slowly but surely we got down to 3 spots, then 2, then 1, then PANDAMONIUM!! We all screamed and Bri shot out of her chair to go accept the prize....which you have to dance for :)

As for rotations I have gone through Clinical Pathology, Pathology, Small Animal Medicine, Ambulatory and the combined Radiology/Shelter Med course. Thus far ambulatory and shelter medicine have been my favorite rotations. The small animal rotation was shortened due to a tropical storm threat. The university took the necessary precautions to cancel classes and urged everyone to prepare. Fortunately the storm pushed slightly north and we really didnt get much severe weather. However, now the storm has been upgraded to a Hurricane 4/5 and is due to really hit Jamaica hard.

                         Oink oink up close and personal                            Physical exams on baby goats

Pig castrations-- Dont worry it may look brutal but we injected them with antibiotics for any post op infections and gave a local anesthetic to prevent any pain. All in all the whole thing takes only a few minutes and they go back to rooting around in their pens. Production management is a whole different ball game but these producers truly care about their animals. I wasnt expecting too much at a local farm but the pens were extremely clean, protected from the elements and the pigs had minimal health issues.

Rotations are on hold this week, as are classes for our midterms. 4 tests and one practical. Cant wait for it to be over. As always, the procrastinator in me starts to freak out trying to catch up. But the senior in me doesnt care too much :)

                                                 This place does have amazing sunsets