Hugs and kisses (on the cheek)

Our last day at Itaipu was special. We spent the morning working with deer and tapirs along with exploring the area with Zalmir. He let us get up close and personal with more jaguars and ocelots, clearly I was in heaven yet again. That afternoon we went with Domingo, a doctor of fish husbandry. He showed us the spawning channels associated with dam and the benefits of them. It was incredible to see and hear how much work and intelligence must go into such an important concept. It was especially lovely because we were able to do a hike while observing the canals. The jungle is a incredible home to so many amazing animals and plants. Honestly, it is one of the most beautiful places I have been. That afternoon we spent with Marcos and learning about falconry and proper bird husbandry. It was amazing! We were able to hold owls, hawks, falcons and even go into the harpy eagle cages. Even though they were 5 months old, I am pretty sure they could kill me if they wanted to; after a while, they definitely were thinking about it! We started to get a tad bit creeped out so left them quietly (without turning our backs of course). 

 (Zalmir and I with the day old baby tapir. We named her "Watermelon" because of her adorable stripes.)

(She was my favorite, "Princesa")

Before we left, we had a goodbye party. Took several photos, ate great food and hugged and kissed over and over. Zalmir told us that while "2 weeks may not have been enough time to learn a lot, but it is long enough to form a friendship." I will miss them all dearly. Marcos said that next time I will stay there for a whole summer; there is nothing I would love more. 

This was a Wednesday, we were in Foz for 2 more days but no more work because it was a holiday in Brazil. The next two days flew by, but were some for the books. We spent Thursday morning at the Brazilian side of the falls. It was amazing to view it from a far, an entirely new look. The Argentinian side you literally walk through the falls, but the Brazilian side you see it all. The photos all turned out gorgeous with more rainbows and waterfalls. It was much quicker than the other side, we were back at the hostel by early afternoon. It was gorgeous day so we walked to the mall to get Brazilian açaí bowls (one of my favorite things). Can I just say, Brazilian malls are interesting. The style is very different and the stores can be quite odd but it was another great cultural reality check. Needless to say, I probably won't be coming back with new clothes. Well, the trip ended up falling short; they were out of açaí! As a result, I seized the opportunity and finally tried a Brazilian McFlurry. They make them with very strange chocolate candies and I had been wanting to get a taste. Now that I had, I can happily say I will never need to try it again. This is one thing that I prefer in the States. 

Paraguay for a Day

Another lovely day for a little vet student such as myself. We headed to Paraguay with the Itaipu team. Marcos gave us our new identification tags in order to cross the border and visit the zoo. Zalmir's best friend is one of the men we met when we arrived. They were so thrilled to see one another it was special to watch them embrace and laugh. Even though they are so close (literally, regarding distance) it is difficult for either to cross and see the other very often. We went to the museum that explained the history of Paraguay and to be incredibly honest, I was not that impressed. The information was interesting and plentiful but it was just a bunch of reading. Endless amounts in fact. We only had a certain amount of time and I think I only made it to the 1930s? 

By the way, today was a rough one for me. I have had back pain (a terribly poor SI joint for a 25 year old) on and off for a few days, but today hit a new level. I could not walk without a limp and sitting made it worse. So either I had to stand and not move or wince every time I picked up my leg. Clearly I had to walk, but I am just trying to paint a picture for you! Well we went to the zoo next, which was pretty interesting. It is not one of the better institutions out there, in fact most of the enclosures were to small for the poor animals. But we learned a lot nonetheless. Zalmir taught us about each of the species and we even got to pet and play with the jaguars, pumas, panthers, otters and baby caiman alligators. Some were more friendly than others, in fact we should probably not have been allowed to do what we did. The other visitors clearly wanted to jump over the ropes and join us. However as soon as they saw we were with the zookeepers, it was clear that they could not follow along and break the rules too. Again, thank you Zalmir for a wonderful, unique and free experience. I tend to take a lot of photographs and animals are my favorite subject to capture. While I was trying to get an epic shot of a jaguar, I happened to step onto the home of a trillion red ants. They weren't happy that I forgot to knock first, so they showed their concern by attacking my feet and legs. I ran to the bathroom and took off my pants, slapping my legs and shaking the pants repeatedly. I literally had ants in my pants. The rest of the day my ankles began to swell with ant bites. As if living from an injured back wasn't bad enough. But guess what, I'm in Brazil! So life could be worse.

 (Me with a baby caiman!)

That afternoon we went on tour of the Itaipu technical center. They have 3 universities, a planetarium and some amazing views. We ended up having a pretty interesting conversation with the  young man who gave us the tour. He had a tattoo on his forearm and I commented on how much I liked it. I realized that not many Brazilians had tattoos (or visible ones at least). He said that culturally it is looked at differently than the states. He said he hopes it changes soon but thinks it will take 20 years. Regardless though, he said "I will finish a sleeve tattoo when that day comes, even if I'm 45." We told him to come live in the US, he won't have to wait until 45. I always find it interesting how different cultures can be and I love when I become aware of something new that a travel book wouldn't be able to share. 

 (The different color buildings show different universities!)

That night in the hostel, I went outside to blog. It is too beautiful not to be outdoors as much as possible. Well, just so you can get an example of what hostel life is like. I had just taken a shower, was in sweats but dancing in my seat to the music that played from the bar. Low and behold, a British boy comes up to me with tequila shots. He doesn't say a word except for "hello" and then gestures at the shots and hands me a lime, counts to three. I laughed but clearly, you only live once so I took it with him. He apologized for interrupting my writing and after finding out what I was doing he asked if I would please write and mention him. Well it was the start to a wonderful night, one of my best in Brazil. Made lots of friends and memories. Thanks Pat for getting me to join the party. 

 (New friends from England and Brazil!)

Touching a Toucan

Have you ever touched a toucan? Before today I would have said no too. Today we spent the day at the Parque das Aves with the veterinarian Mathias. Real quick, I would like to note an observation I have made in comparison to the US. In the states, vets are always introduced as Dr. Meland or Dr. Roberto. Well, in Brazil they are introduced as their first name, Zalmir, Mathias, etc. even the name tags say only their first names. I love this. I find it much more personal and easier to relate to them. The US gives people a bit of a complex and Brazil is much more at ease. I admire that about this country. 

The day began with a tour. We followed Mathias around while he explained every bird, their habitats, their reproductive strategies and success/failures, the diseases associated, their behaviors, etc. He knows so much and spoke such wonderful English, it was a blessing being able to learn from him! This place has endless amounts of birds and the full tour took a couple hours to complete with the amount of information Mathias provided us! 

(I love birds; this beautiful male was my favorite today)

After the tour we went into the hospital portion of the facilities. First he walked us through a couple of endoscopies on Blue and Gold Macaws. We asked him questions on anesthesia protocol and why he prefers masking isoflurane versus using ET tubes. He said that ET tubes can result in irritation so he prefers to control the gas with a mask (made out of a giant coke bottle I might add). The macaws had an unusual biochemistry but otherwise seemed in good health so he wanted to evaluate the livers. While scoping, we observed unusually thick air sac membranes which were unusually vascularized and covered in a mucus-like substance. The frustrating thing is that they do not have an x-ray machine so now the birds need to be sent into town for radiographs. While we did not get results of the case, it was very interesting to see my first bird endoscopy! 

 (Mathias and the endoscopy)

After this, a bird "emergency" from the park was brought into the hospital for a broken wing. Mathias said that since the toucanet (smaller breed of toucan, very beautiful) was very depressed, it is likely that the broken wing is a secondary issue. He could have been so weak that he fell off a branch or that he cold not protect himself from his mean cagemates which tend to pester the ill. Birds have bullies too! While we out the bird in an oxygen cage to stabilize we went and looked at blood smears and gram stains of previous cases. This was really neat! In vet school you learn that avian blood looks very different from that of the dogs and cats that I am used to because they have nucleated red blood cells! If you know anything about RBCs than you understand how unusual that is! We also saw lots of unusual bacteria and protozoans that caused sudden death in cases Mathias had witnessed recently. I am taking Bacteriology, Pathology, Parasitology and Clinical Chemistry all next year so to be honest when he asked us questions we all looked around like sheep waiting to follow someone's lead. It was the quietest I have ever been (rare, very rare). While we may not have understood or been able to contribute to the talk, it actually got me excited for classes this fall! I love summer, don't get me wrong, but I also love vet school and can't wait to learn more for my career!

 (Necropsy, so awesome...be thankful I didn't chose the photo where the head was cut in half!)

Well sadly, the toucanet did not survive. As upsetting as it is to lose an animal, it gave us an opportunity to learn more. We were able to observe a necropsy on the poor thing. It was so interesting!  Avian anatomy is unique and really fun to observe. Necropsies are very important especially for organizations such as zoos (which the bird park is classified under). They must report the cause of death for every case. Sometimes this can be incredibly difficult but in today's case the cause was discovered; foreign body. Some thin strips of an unknown origin had perforated the bird's stomach and intestines, resulting in a lot of bacteria. Clearly Mathias was correct, the wing was a secondary issue. This went all the way to the end of the day but Mathias made sure to get our contact information (emails and Facebook names haha) in order to keep in touch, he made sure to emphasize that in the future if we ever have questions with avian medicine to not hesitate and ask him. He is such a nice man, another great friend to add the list from this trip.

Real quick, the funniest part of the day occurred on the bus. The buses are always packed and if you get a seat, you don't want to move. They aren't comfortable but they are better than being awkwardly pushed against people, poles and backpacks. Well a young man had been sitting when an older man got on the bus and asked him to move so he could sit. It was obvious the kid didn't want to move. I am all about respecting your elders, but to be honest, I don't blame him! Anyways, what happened next was so bizarre, I couldn't help but literally laugh out loud. The man opened up his bag and just started handing the guy food. 1 orange, then another until he had to juggle about 5 in his hands, the kid starts laughing but says "thank you, it's not necessary" to the old man. The man just smiled and shared his hand and then handed him more. This time, husks of corn. The guy tried to hand them off to Rica and I but we couldn't stop laughing even to say "no". Just so you can picture the seen, the bus was crowded and hitting every bump possible. The young guy was trying to put them away in his bag but that is dangerous while not holding on. He was running into people and dropping things left and right. Rica and I tried to help but it just made things more awkward because neither of them spoke English. I have never witnessed such an awkwardly amazing public display. We got off the bus wondering out loud how much that older man had in his bag. Mary Poppins would have been impressed.

A break from Brazil

Brazil is amazing, I know you are sick of hearing this from me. So how about I tell you about how amazing Argentina is instead?

Real quick, I should tell you that the reason I began this blog was because I am in a Brazil for veterinary experience. I am even receiving course credit for traveling abroad (insane I know). In order to "grade" my class progress, I must turn in a paper, journal or blog which highlights my experiences, both veterinary and cultural. Clearly, I chose a blog and that is what you are enjoying at this exact moment. While I will be talking about my animal experience in most of my posts, I also want to share the cultural moments and the situations I find myself involved in daily. Skip the vet stuff if you want, or skip the "humorous stories" if you'd rather. That is why there is a bit of everything for everyone. With that said, it was the weekend...so there was no veterinary work to write about which means that I will tell you about my weekend adventures! This weekend I went to Argentina...and I didn't want to leave.

Iguaçu Falls is one of the natural Wonders of the World. It is shared by Brazil and Argentina but we heard that the Argentina side is worth the trip. It definitely did not disappoint. When we first got there, we went crazy chasing around butterflies. I had never seen so many different types in one area. the funny thing is, that they were everywhere and would land on you left andright the entire 5 hiurs we were there. If I was a worker at the falls I would laugh at the visiters because they clearly (like us) feel like idiots after 30 minutes when they realize that these insects are not rare. You can get photos of them all day. No need to waste your first 30 minutes chasing them around the entrance. 

After we got over the "butterfly excitement" we spent an entire day hiking in Argentina to view the 3 gorgeous layers of the falls. The top was first, where we saw the river spill over the top with unreal force and strength! The second layer was my favorite. It was the most gorgeous view of rainbows and butterflies...literally. Oh and waterfalls of course! 

The third layer was crazy. Once at the bottom, we took a boat ride...we were told this is a Must while at the falls. Can I just say that all the people we saw walking up did not appear to look that wet. Joke was on us! We got on the boat with a bunch of young kids who ran to the front to get the best view I assume? My camera is not waterproof so I did not mind being in the back. However, I decided to be a bit of a dare devil and take my cell phone out while on the boat. It takes you directly near the falls and you get the most amazing and beautiful views. I quickly snapped some photos, then the worker on the boat gestured that I should put it away so I zipped it up in my jacket hurriedly. As soon as I did, the driver went straight for the falls. He turned sharp and then what do you know, the back side of the boat right where I was gets completely submerged. Honestly, I am pretty sure I was literally underwater at one point. He did this several times and every time it was only our side. I ws sure that my phone was a goner. We got back to the dock, I slipped and slid every direction while trying to walk back to land...finally I checked my phone and God clearly sent his angels to watch over me (more specifically, my phone). It was fine, my pictures survived! 

(Right before we went under those falls...)

Sunday was my first relaxing day. I was sunny and beautiful. We got some much needed sleep and then spent the day in the sun. Rica and I layed near the pool and read all afternoon. Went on a walk that evening and then went to bed early. It was such a perfect end to a wonderful weekend. 

Monday began a whole new experience; a trip to the Parque das Aves to spend the day with an avian veterinarian, Mathias. Get ready for the next post because the day of birds was completely interesting!

Busy in Brazil

Busy barely describes the last few days. Work was exciting and full of several opportunities. The last time I wrote, I mentioned the monkeys, well the next day we worked on even more. I was so thrilled to work on a male black howler monkey! I drew blood, placed an IV catheter and did the dental and post recovery. The morning flew by, mostly due to the monkeys but also because we were interviewed for the Itaipu newspaper. They took several photos of us working and asked far too many questions, recording the entire conversations because their English was not perfect and they wanted to make sure to understand everything we said. It was exciting and also very funny. The whole community seems to be fascinated with us, it's going to be depressing when we return to the States and we realize that we aren't as special as Brazilians make us feel! That afternoon we treated several rabbits which had the unfortunate luck of being diagnosed with Giardia. If you are unaware of this organism, look it up, then you can understand the poor nature of these animals. It is rare in the states for Giardia to cause death in our typical domestic pets, however, one little individual was put down due to it's decreased quality of life. On a happy note, the others are doing much better already!

The next day, we learned about falconry from the biologists and worked on several birds with Zalmir. A falcon had bumblefoot, a terrible bacterial infection that results in severe inflammation. While in the US, bird husbandry prevents this, in cases where it does occur, the animal may be euthanized due to the difficulty in treating the infection. It was very interesting to see that here, the bird is bandaged every week with no discussion on stopping treatment any time soon. That afternoon we learned how to make a passion fruit chocolate mousse cake with Raquel and Rafaella. They taught me an amazing trick on how to separate egg yolks using and empty water bottle and physics. Ask me some time and I will teach you, it is guaranteed to change your life in the kitchen. A must have knowledge for any "chef" like yours truly (I wish). While we were waiting for cake, Zalmir taught us how to use the blow dart as a form of tranquilizing. Of course it immediately changed into a competition between all of us working, the 5 Americans, Marcos, Zalmir, Rafa and Raquella. It seemed rigged because Zalmir uses it almost daily if not most certainly weekly, but we decided to make the bet regardless. To say I was awful would be entirely accurate. I made awkward noises when I tried to blow and then I would miss the target every single time. What was even worse than it just being plain embarrassing in front of the Brazilians and my classmates was that I HATE losing. Really truly hate losing. Each person had 6 shots and the best shot won. Seems fair enough. Well, after missing every single shot, God intervened and my 6th shot went straight on target and hit the bullseye square in the center. Of course I reacted modestly and smiled like it was no big deal....not quite. I ran around the property pumping my fists while Zalmir sang "you are the champion" in a wonderfully hilarious Brazilian accent. Best part was that Zalmir went last and never hit the bullseye. If we did this again the next day, I don't think I would win again, but I will continue to pat myself on the back until my next darting competition comes along (which happens more often than one would think...this was my 3rd in less than 2 years). 

 (Very realistic target I know, incredibly life-like)

I'm sure I have mentioned several times but I feel so thankful to be here. We have gone on tours and entered museums, etc, that normally cost the public a decent sum of money, for free every time. Zalmir is a blessing. We gave a presentation one morning to the staff and he was so positive and patient, translating everything as we went slide to slide. He is fascinated with our culture and believes traveling while you are young is essential for everyone. He wants to maintain a relationship with Purdue and has hopes of it growing every year. He said we have blown him away and looks forward to our life long friendships. I couldn't agree more. One day I will be back and hopefully we will be able to speak English and Portuguese perfectly together! It really has become a new life goal of mine. Portuguese is incredibly difficult but I love learning from everyone willing to teach. 

Last night Rafa, her boyfriend, Raquel, Arthur (our favorite hostel staff member) and a few Argentineans  (also staying at the hostel) all came out with us. We went to a bar called "Zeppelin" and enjoyed one of the most interesting and hilarious nights of my life. 12 people, 3 languages, endless beers and loud music. In case you couldn't have guessed it, that is a recipe for confusion. We used a lot of hand gestures, smiles, and took way to many photographs. 

 (Rafa, me, Rica and Raquel) 

It was a blast, we returned to the hostel at 3am and stayed up talking with staff members until 4am. One who works over night, Junior, said that he didn't recognize me, that I looked "beautiful" in a heavy Brazilian accent. I laughed and asked if I was ugly normally, he smiled and clearly didn't understand the question. It made me realize how little I care about my appearance while working all day with wild animals, I could see how makeup and heels could appear as a shocking style change. All in all, it was a wonderful night and great success. Not sure if we will go out again while we are here, but if we do it will be hard to top last night. After looking at the photos this morning, I realized how sad I will be to leave in 8 days. Traveling is truly a fascinating thing. You make connections and gain friendships, only to be torn away from each other soon after. Yet, because of these friendships, we have more excuses to travel in the future or for them to travel and visit us also! 

To friendships and memories. These are the things that traveling is all about.

Pagar Mico

Pagar Mico. We have been hearing this phrase a lot. There is no exact translation into English but it is used to describe a "funny situation". Apparently, we are quite entertaining for the Brazilians and they let us know constantly. 

Today at work added to my list of proud achievements. I got to the chance to do a dental on a monkey! The monkeys were sedated and removed from their enclosure in order to obtain blood samples for an experiment by a doctorate student. However, similar to the States or any other country working with wildlife, if the wild animal is sedated for any reason you take the opportunity to complete a full physical exam and any other tests necessary. While we were drawing blood and placing catheters on the four monkeys, we each took turns cleaning their teeth. Let me tell you, the best part about dentals....the immediate visible results make you feel quite accomplished! Before and after photos are necessary in the small animal veterinary world that I am used to in the states. We use them to show clients the comparison and "prove" that their money was well spent! Here, we did not take before and afters, but we still felt completely satisfied with our work. We knew how much they needed a scale and polish with prophylaxis. The whole time Zalmir kept telling us what a quick and great team we were while working together. It is true, we all did a wonderful job!

After all the monkeys recovered, we had lunch and then headed to the laboratory. We assisted the doctoral candidate working with the monkeys and their samples. It was quite interesting to see how their lab worked. The fact that they work with wild animals, no machine/equipment is able to process the differences in red blood cell appearance between species, thus they do everything manually. We helped pipet (pipeta in Portuguese) and complete PCVs, TPs and titrations. It was a crash course in biochemistry, microbiology and organic chem. Let's just say the lab world is not a primary (or second or fifth...) interest of mine in the field of veterinary medicine. Plus, a foreign language laboratory is definitely not my forte (understatement). But, shockingly, I loved the afternoon in the lab! Time flew by and we had a blast. Michelle and Rene (don't pronounce the "r" and that is a male by the way...yes a male) are beyond helpful and unintentionally hilarious. They brought us coffee and had google translator opened up on the computer to help us all communicate. Honestly, that is a recipe for laughter and confusion. We would start talking and they would stare and point at the computer screen. then they would start and we would laugh and gesture for them to type as well. How in the world did my parents survive without the Internet for so long? (Generation problems). On top of everything else, the other workers stared at as completely confused as to who the heck we were and why we were there? I am not sure if they ever found out! We would smile and mispronounce everything. And they would just walk away. I wish I was bilingual! I swear I will master this language! And by master I mean, barely begin to speak and understand something, that's not too much to ask....I can dream right? 

All in all, it was one memorable day. I will think about the monkey who held my hand tonight while I cook dinner and get excited about what adventures tomorrow will bring. Pagar Mico...I can promise you that some will undoubtedly be this.

Lost in Translation

I woke up to a chilly and foggy day here in Foz do Iguaću. It was quite interesting this morning to see how different this traveling experience is for me as compared for the others staying at the hostel. While eating breakfast, in strolled a group of inebriated individuals only just returning from a night out. I should mention that it was 615am...impressive display by these foreign partiers. We have yet to go out and experience night life on this trip, but perhaps this weekend it will occur. I'll keeps you posted of course. But for now, I will remain in their eyes as a "lame" American. (Note: not happy with that title).

Anyways, no travel glitches today, smooth 45 minute bus ride to the Refúgio Biolólogico and let me tell you, it was one exciting day. It began with a couple of necropsies, deer (veado) and rabbit (coehlo). For those who may not know, because I suppose not everyone is fluent in veterinary terminology, a necropsy is an autopsy performed on an animal. This was a highlight of the trip for me! I realize that I slightly geek out when I say that, but you must know that anatomy is my favorite subject. I want to be a surgeon, so seeing the internal world of an animal is incredibly mesmerizing in my opinion. Yet, the best part of the necropsies was that it we were with two technicians that speak zero (to minimal) English. As a result, we came up with a game...point to an organ and say it in your language and the other responds with their language. I now know how to speak medical Portuguese! Have I said how much I love this place? Because clearly I do, more and more every day.

After the morning of necropsies, we ordered lunch and worked on translating Zalmir's book. It is filled with endless information on wildlife veterinary medicine; I can't help but become distracted by the pages. Raquel and Rafaella, the two adorable technicians/students that work for Zalmir, joined us where we taught each other the alphabets, numbers, body parts and important phrases in the others' language. It was beyond entertaining, especially whenever we taught a English word with "th" because this does not exist in their language, thus "teeth" would leave their mouths as "teef"! I had yet to laugh this hard on our trip so far and may have received sore abs because of it.

This potentially could have lasted all day, thank goodness we have 4 weeks still, but Zalmir ran in splitting the group in two. One group went with him to go dart a sick deer and bring it in to the hospital for emergency treatment. Sadly, this was not my adventure to partake in. But before he left, he grabbed me and led me to his chair, telling me to read an article on his computer. Low and behold it is on turtle shell repair! I had done a lab on this with the exotics club at Purdue last fall! He tells me to go into the treatment room and assess a turtle that had been brought in after a car ran over it, he will be back in a bit and wants a treatment plan upon his arrival. Well crap. A million thoughts ran through my head, beginning with...I am screwed. I am a measly first year (well technically second), doesn't he understand that I don't know anything? But my second thought was typical Tessa, those who know me will agree. "I can do this! No, no. I will do this and I am confident that I will impress him." Sometimes you need to pat yourself on the back to get rid of the fear and do what you know you can. Well, funny enough...I stared at the turtle with my classmate and we decided that there was no repair necessary. The skin and peritoneum were not exposed or broken and the shell seemed to have already began healing. After completing a physical exam, we went over the diagnosis about 10 times but felt confident in our final assessment. We told him confidently (somewhat) and he smiled. "Good job, you passed the test!" The turtle had been hit months ago and would be fine. Moments like these, although small and someone unimportant, are significant to new students like me; affirmation at it's best. 

Ok enough about that, now for the last part of the day. The emergency: a deer with hemorrhagic disease; the same disease that took the life of our earlier necropsy. The animal came in, shocked without a doubt. First things first, we need blood. The technician tried to hit the jugular, failed. A classmate of mine tried, no such luck. Of course, I was (politely) giving instructions to help from across the table which Zalmir noted and gestured for me to shut up and come show how it was done then. Well, this could be bad. Everyone has their unlucky days, even the most experienced person; which I'm sure was the case for those before me. But thank my Father in heaven, because today was not one of those for me. I hit the jug and the beautiful red blood flowed into my tubes. Affirmation número two, a high five from Zalmir. 

It was the most amazing, and impressive, thing; the entire time we treated the deer, Zalmir would ask for our advice. What should he do? What would we do? Colloid or crystalloid infusion? Why is he doing this or giving that drug? What is the physiology? He had me calculate dosages and talk about side affects. While being a student and learning so much, I have never felt like a colleague at the same time as much as I did today. Zalmir is truly one of a kind. I am beyond fortunate to be able to work with him and already call him a friend. Thrilled for the remainder of our time together and dreading when it ends.

While I am typing this, completely exhausted after rising early, traveling 2 hours round trip and working all day, I must say that I wouldn't trade this opportunity for a second. My fellow hostel-mates can have their drunken nights. I am blessed with this experience. Time for a sober and hard night's sleep; tomorrow, we work with monkeys.

Um Dia

Oh goodness. Where to start? 

Today was full of Ups and Downs. But I must note that the "Ups" were about as high as they get! 

First off, I woke up at 6am to get ready for the first day at Itaipu Binacional. I guess that now would be a good time to note that we explored the Brazilian grocery store last night and truly thought that I did a decent job at finding edible food (oh how wrong was I). So this morning I started to pack my lunch and make a PB&J. Well, what I thought was peanut butter (a life force of mine) was certainly not. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to eating at noon. 

 

So at this point it is 7am; time to leave for the bus stop. All we know/have been told is to get on the bus down the street from the hostel, take it to the central station and change buses to head to Itaipu via Vila C. The whole trip should take no more than 40 minutes top. Sounds easy enough right? WRONG. There are about 20 different buses at the first stop. We sat there for 15 minutes completely bug-eyed until eventually we just hopped on one and hoped for the best. Well it was a success, we made it to the central terminal. This is where trouble struck...hard. The bus we thought we were suppose to take Never showed up. We tried to speak as much Portuguese/Spanish as we could but surprisingly no one seemed that helpful. We tried our original tactic and just boarded a bus and prayed, repeatedly. Well, turns out it was possibly the right bus but we got off on the wrong stop (silly Americans). However, here the lovely brazilians were warm and helpful, calling Zalmir, the vet we are working with, and he arrived 15 minutes later on a white horse (pickup truck) to save us from our traveling nightmare. PS. It was 915am. I call this a fail.

Now, get ready because here comes the "Ups" and there are quite a lot. 

Most importantly, I get a super official looking badge. 

But I suppose what is more important is that Zalmir Cubas is, simply put, wonderful. He is hilarious, friendly, thoughtful, open and encouraging. His English is quite impressive and he makes sure to teach us Portuguese when we ask, and even when we don't! The morning consisted of introductions, drinking mate (Brazilian tea our of a strange cup with a metal straw), a tour of the veterinary hospital and lots of laughter.

They are incredibly interested in each of us and the US culture. We talked for a long time and met many people, all incredibly welcoming. Zalmir and Marcos are the two in charge but they have students, as well as other biologists, vets and zookeepers associated with their program. We found out that this week will be helping anesthetize monkeys and obtain blood samples, help with avian exams and even a deer necropsy tomorrow. During the tour, we were able to see and do more than expected, such as enter enclosures for the Harpy Eagles (they have a breeding program for these endangered animals).  

Aren't they precious? This one is 5 months old. We also were able to learn all about the drugs and anesthetic protocol they use. It was exciting to see how much I understood and how much more there was to learn. Zalmir is a wonderful teacher, really wanting you to learn and even more so, wanting to learn from us at the same time. I have a feeling these next couple of weeks will be some of my best yet.

Oh quickly I should mention...lunch is 2 hours! And we get it delivered! (My shopping fail turned out to be no problemo after all.)

After lunch,  Zalmir took us to the main part of Itaipu Binacional and set p a private technology tour of the Itaipu Dam. This hydroelectric dam produces more energy than any other in the world and is one of the largest dams, second only to one in China. This was one of the most impressive tours I have ever been on. However, we hit a minor bump before we could begin...well more specifically, Rica and I hit the bump.

Turns out the facility has it's own rules, such as "No Shorts, No Tour." Low and behold, guess who are the only two people in a 20km radius wearing shorts? Rica and yours truly. (Oh FYI,  Rica is my roommate.) So, Zalmir called up Marcos and he brought us his pants. Yes this is a true story, Rica and I had to walk around for 2 hours in giant man jeans. This was probably the most unfashionable I have looked in my adult life. Unfortunately, not my whole life...I regretfully went through some poor (understatement) clothing choices from age 6 through....18. You will definitely Not see photos of this, at least not on this blog. But let's just say that it was bad enough that I caught a group of teenagers on a tour taking a picture of my pants from behind and laughing while talking in a different language. Sadly, I didn't need to literally understand the words, to actually understand why they were laughing. Thank you Marcos for adding to my top 5 most embarrassing moments.

All in all, once I decided to embrace the clothes, I had a wonderful afternoon! The dam was amazing and I learned so much. The amount of iron and steel used can reproduce 380 Eiffel Towers and the concrete, 208 stadiums. Color me impressed. However, my favorite part of the tour was that the dam is shared between Brazil and Paraguay, directly on their border. So I was able to get a photo split between the two countries. While my passport may not have received a stamp, it is technically another country to add to my "visited" list! 

Like I said, a day filled with highs and lows but the highs definitely won. Can't wait for tomorrow. Until then, I remain in a state of bliss and wouldn't have it any other way!

(Um Dia = Day One in Portuguese)

The beginning.

Alright, let me explain...

We will begin with my name; it's Tessa. I am currently living my dream. (I know, the phrase tends to be overused but I truly feel blessed). I am a 25 year old veterinary student studying my passion. What's even more amazing is that my program (Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine) has given me the opportunity, via scholarship funds, to travel abroad this summer. I am spending 4 weeks in my chosen country of Brazil. I recruited 4 friends in the program to travel with me, where we will be working with veterinarians in several different fields. Two weeks with wildlife vets and 2 weeks at the University in Curitiba. And guess what...

I am about to experience a giant "slap in the face" and I cannot wait!

Have I mentioned that I speak Zero Portuguese and that I have only finished one year of vet school? We will be working on clinical cases in a different language with very little experience. Sounds like a recipe for success, eh? I think so too. Get ready, because it starts now and I will share every wonderful story with you. The Happy, the Sad, the Frustrating, the Funny and my personal favorite, the Awkward.

Time to be Blissfully Out of Place.