I'm Back!

I got back from Mexico around 2pm this afternoon.  I cannot hardly describe the trip, it was simply amazing.  The folks at Isaiah 55 (the organization that is down there) are absolutely awesome people.  Their main mission is a school for deaf Mexican kids but they also help out in the community.  We poured concrete, welded, cut part of a tree down, made a sidewalk with pavers, painted an outdoor cage that had been welded, etc.  We accomplished a ton and even got to eat some awesome Mexican food while there.  It was so awesome to be able to get to know the people on the trip even better.  I think many relationships were strengthened on the trip.  One big thing, they took technology away including cell phones.  That was the best thing they could have done.  I totally forgot about my phone for most of the week as did everyone else.  This allowed us to focus only on the work at hand.  I forgot my camera in the van I was in but will hopefully put up a few pictures tomorrow.  I got a lot of them, that's for sure!

Spring Break is Here!

Spring break has finally come upon us here at the University of Illinois!  After one long week of new classes (talk about information overload!) I can relax for a week.  I am leaving tonight around 630pm or so and driving with around 15 others to Reynosa Mexico.  We should get there around dinner time tomorrow (Saturday) after driving straight through the night.  I am looking forward to this trip as I have never been on a work trip before.  I am bringing my camera so stay tuned for some pictures from our trip after I get back!

Michigan

This past weekend my Uncle Dan, my cousin Andrea, and myself went up to Alto, Michigan to visit my cousin Kasi and her daughter Amy.  We left Illinois around 430AM (central time) Saturday morning so that we could have most of the day Saturday to spend with Kasi, Amy, and the Steffens who are like parents to Kasi up there.  Once we got there we had brunch and sat around and talked for awhile. 

Here's a couple photos from early in the day:

Yup, that's my cousin!  

 Amy helping herself to whatever was in Andrea's purse

We went to where the Kaeb's were working on their greenhouse.  While we were there Amy decided she wanted some exercise so she started doing pull-ups (with just a teeny bit of help from me):

Next we stopped at a pie place and we all got a slice of pie.  After that it was off to a spot where some folks were making maple syrup.  It was kind of neat to see how it was done again as it had been a long time since I had seen it made:

The sap buckets:

I tried a drop of the sap straight out of the tree but it was pretty bland

the sugar shack 

 This is where it all happens: The sap is placed in this big contraption and boiled until it becomes maple sytrup:

Pouring some of the sap through the filters hanging on the side: 

While at the sugar shack we were asked if we wanted to try sap tea.  You take a tea bag and instead of using sugar and water they poured some of the sap from the large heating contraption into your cup.  It was very sweet and absolutely delicious, even better than when it is made with sugar and water.

Andrea, Kasi, and I enjoying our sap tea

Terry and Amy.  Terry and his wife Laurie are really close with Kasi.  In fact, Kasi used to live with them.  They are super nice people and we really enjoyed getting to know them better!

Last of our stops was a dairy farm which has robotic milkers.  It was really neat seeing them in action.

The milking machines:

 I never realized that watching cows being milked was so humorous!

For those of you who have never seen one, here's a general idea of how they work:

When the cow walks in, the robot scans it's collar so it knows how many times it has been milked that day.  If it has been milked its maximum number of times, it is kicked out.  If it has not reached its limit then feed is dispensed into the feeder which the cow can munch on while being milked. 

This little contraption comes out first and cleans the teats

Then, out comes the actual milkers.  The robot arm brings them to the general region of the udder

Using lasers, the machine finds the teats and the four teat cups are suctioned to the teat.  Here, we are halfway there:

Now we're done and the cow is being milked while munching away on its food.  When the cow is finished being milked, the teat cups disconnect from the cow, a gate by her head opens and she walks out.

It was pretty slick the way it all worked.  I had never seen anything like it before!

Here are a few photos taken after church on Sunday:

Amy, Andrea, and I

Here's a couple featuring Uncle Dan, Amy, Kasi, Derek, myself, and Andrea.  Derek is one of the Steffen's boys and is like a brother to Kasi.

And finally, Kasi and I like to have a photo taken of ourselves when we're together.  Like Kasi said, the trip wouldn't count if we didn't have our picture taken together.

All in all, it was a great trip! 

Now, today was my first day of class for my last quarter of my second year of vet school.  This quarter I am taking epidemiology, clinical pathology and organ systems pathology.  We had two hours of epi this morning and man oh man, was it boring!  Epidemiology is the study of disease distribution in a population and why it distributes that way.  It has lots of math involved mostly in the form of statistics. It is not real high on my interest scale but it's only eight weeks so I think I can probably handle it!   

Friday evening I am leaving for Mexico on a work trip. Next week is spring break so I will leave Friday and get back the next Saturday. I'm looking forward to it!

Final Exam: Done!

Hallelujah!  The toughest quarter of veterinary school thus far is behind me!  I just finished the second part of my final about an hour ago and man was it a doozy!  It was 15 pages long and asked questions such as asking for what viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi could cause these certain symptoms in a cow.  Umm, let me think for awhile, nope still can't remember all the viruses, bacteria, and parasites we learned.  Oh well, let's just wing it!  So, I'm glad it's behind me and now I can go to Alto free of all schoolwork and studying.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wish Me Luck!

Day 1 of my final exam was today.  It was 100 multiple choice questions covering bacteriology, virology, mycology, parasitology, and antimicrobial pharmacology.  It was pretty challenging, there were a few questions where I think I probably just stared blankly at the question for a bit.  However, tomorrow is day 2 and it is supposed to be a doozy.  Many kids in last years class failed day 2 of this exam last year; it was so bad that they had to curve it.  Now, an exam being curved in veterinary school, that's not an everyday occurrence for sure!  One of our professors said, "It's going to be difficult but I know you guys can do it." He was also heard saying that if anything, they will just curve the exam.  Wow, sounds encouraging.  It consists of 9 cases in which a series of questions will be asked. The questions will be fill in the blank and short answer, not multiple choice.  It will cover the same subjects as before however this part of the final is cumulative, the part today was just information since the midterm.  Needless to say, everyone is pretty much dreading the exam.  So, wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!  

Cissna Park

Today I took a day off from studying and went to Cissna Park for church.  They had invited a large number of young groups from Illinois to come for church and then a dinner and singing.  There was a lot of people there and I had a good time.  Now this week it's just study, study, study.  Suffice it to say, I will be one happy guy when Friday afternoon rolls around! My exam will be over and I can head to Alto, Michigan with my uncle to visit my cousin and not worry about schoolwork at all!  Now that sounds like a plan!

Lab Final and Visitors

This morning was my lab final exam.  It consisted of two parts.  The first part was 33 multiple choice questions covering bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites.  Then, second, was the practical part.  It consisted of 10 stations at which we had 7 minutes each.  I had to identify parasites such as worms, ticks, and mites and also identify bacteria based on tests that were set out.  Overall I think I did alright although some of the questions on the multiple choice were kind of difficult.  Then, this afternoon I was taking a nap and my phone rang and it was a couple friends of mine from Connecticut asking what I was doing tonight.  So, instead of studying like I was planning on doing I ended up going out with Dave and Seth.  We had a great time; it was really nice to spend some time with them!  Now, starting tomorrow it is time to put my nose to the grindstone as my final exam will be here before I know it!