Here at last!

Hello from Lephalale! (pronounced le-pa-la-lay)

On the way here I saw my first giraffe! He was about 75 yards away but I saw him very well with my binoculars.

I am all moved in to my flat with one of the nicest families I have ever met. So, I am working with Dr. Daniel Kriel, but I am living in a flat behind the house of his mother and father-in-law, Jackie and Alfie. They are amazing and cook wonderful food every night for us, which we eat with them in their home. They made lots of fun of me for my bottles of water and large suitcase -- what they don't know is that I actually brought toilet paper as well.

The flat is very nice and I am sharing a room with another girl, Bizzie, from England. She has already been here for 4 weeks and is showing me the ropes. Stephen is also interning with us and he attends William and Mary. Unfortunately, Bizzie is only here for another 2 weeks and Stephen 3 (I am here 8).

This morning was my first at the clinic, and although I didn't deal with anything "wild," it was quite eventful. This morning we worked with Angela, the other vet at the clinic. We saw a puppy, a couple of dogs, helped some Pakistanis pick out vitamins for their racing pigeons, and spayed a cat (too cool). I was actually bit by a rather large dog today. My first of many bites. He had been bitten by a snake and when we were giving him injections he freaked out and bit me. It didn't break the skin but I have a 3 inch scratch on my hand from his teeth. Ouch.

The following maybe a little graphic for young eyes:

Our before lunch time activity was amazing: We were checking the normality of the sperm of a bull. To do this we had to stick an electric probe up his bottom and then I, yes I, collected his semen through a funnel into a test tube. Then we examined the flow of the sperm under a microscope -- they had excellent mass movement. Back at the clinic they will be counted and another fluid we collected with be tested for venereal diseases.

At the clinic are several sable and impala. At Neil's (Dr. Kriel's) farm there are a wide variety of animals including rhinos, giraffe, nyala, more sable and impala, the list could continue. I will probably do some camping there on the weekends. Each day is different and we are told you will never know what to expect! I will write soon, I hope everyone is well!