My African Adventure

The conclusion is just a beginning

2008-07-31T06:36:00.000+02:00

I fell in love with South Africa. Before I left, I was warned that your first trip to Africa is never your last -- unless of course you never leave....

A good portion of my time was spent waiting: waiting to be picked up from the supermarket, waiting for the rhino's new owners, waiting to find the buffalo, waiting for a sable to be darted, waiting for that sable to fall, waiting for anyone to come into the clinic...but I now love waiting. You can do so much thinking while you are waiting. You can relax and evaluate what just happened, whats going to happen and how to avoid danger on the next call out. You can think about how you've changed for better or for worse and what kind of person you want to be in the future. You can read, write, just listen to music and really listen to it. You can sit in the bushveld and compare all of the different thorny trees, search for hornbills, rollers, and kingfishers. And in my case you can also try and figure out how to stay in South Africa.

There were several options. The simplest one: get married. This could have easily been accomplished with a number of men in a heart beat. Especially since I was American... Green Card anyone?? However, marriage in my eyes has always been a union between two individuals madly in love and I couldn't allow myself throw away my values just to live in that wild country.

Second option, be a translator. My Spanish (really rusty at the moment, Hay alguien que quiere practicar?) could be a useful tool. Loads of Spaniards that don't speak any English or Afrikaans come to hunt and most of their professional hunters (PH's) don't speak Spanish. How useful could I be to an outfitter? (Outfitters get clients from foreign countries to hunt with PH's, kind of like a middle man that sets up the deal.) I could go to Spain for a month or two, live with my family in Valencia, which I want to do anyway, speak Spanish all day and get my Spanish where it should be. Then I would come back and be the wonderful young lady that makes communication easier for everyone. This idea was a little far fetched since I didn't have a job offer, a place to live, or anymore than a couple of hundred dollars borrowed from my parents.

When desperation hit its high point, I thought maybe I could be a receptionist. Niel's office was looking for a new one, so why not right? This way I could see Niel and Angela everyday. I could answer phones, sell dog food, make coffee at 10 o'clock every morning. My three years of excellent, expensive education at UNC would be well put to use. But, oh crap, I don't speak Afrikaans. Bummer.

I was stuck. Back to the good 'ole US of A for me. I have been back for two weeks and realize that deep down in my heart I knew all along that none of those were legitimate options even if I

had fallen in love, had some capital to spend, or spoke Afrikaans. With the first one, I don't think I could know someone for only a couple of weeks even if it was "true love" and then marry them. Time has to be there to build a relationship, right? For those of you who didn't read two posts before this...I did meet someone...but what I didn't tell you was that he did propose. I think, however, it was just a final act of desperation because I was leaving...

As for the last two, I want to be a vet. Or at least be hands on with animals for the rest of my life. Not just answer the phone or translate while someone else treats or shoots them. Plus, I do have a family in the United States that I love very much and I think they love me back since any of my ideas or jokes of living in SA have been received with scoffs.

But who knows right?? It's anyone' guess as to where I will end up, since I just have a dream

and you never know where life will take you. And in a year from now maybe I will read this and think that I was crazy for writing it because I'm a married translating receptionist.

Either way, I will be back in South Africa sometime soon. I have to, it stole my heart.

(Thank you for reading my blog this summer! I enjoyed writing in it more than I expected, especially since I had such a responsive audience! If you are ever bored one day...check back, I may have written more)

What I love about SA

2008-07-30T08:38:00.004+02:00

I love South Africa for the following reasons that are not in any particular order:

The bushveld. There is something about it that is inexplicably captivating. You never what is just around the next thorny tree.

The people. They are so genuinely kind. I can’t tell you how many people invited me in their homes and offered me coffee, places to stay, and game drives.

The friends I made. Faye, Kate, Kathryn, Bizzie, Stephen, and Lisa from my program were all wonderful people that I know I will keep in contact with. Faye and Kate's love for life and lack of sleep made my stay 100 times better than I could have ever imagined. And gosh could they make me laugh. Why do all but Stephen have to live in England??

Niel. What I love about Niel is, well, everything! He's an incredible vet, he's funny, he loves his wife and family, he's got awesome aim with that dart gun, he's ambitious... he's exactly the kind of vet I would want to be one day. Ha, and you know why Niel became a vet? Because his friend said he was applying and Niel thought, well if he can do it, why can't I??

Angela! She is also an amazing vet and a woman! A really strong woman, with a big heart that handles adveristy very well. She taught me a lot and put up with all of my annoying questions and chit chat. I miss sitting on the box of paper next to her desk, eating chocolate, drinking coffee and discussing either vet medicine or Ellisras gossip.

The Axsel and Kriel Families. They are my South African family.

The wildlife…no explanation necessary.

Antelope. I had no idea there were so many different species and all so beautiful.

The game industry. I didn’t even know it existed before I arrived and now have a new dream to own my own game farm one day -- a dream I share with most South Africans.

Phillip, Trompie, Jannie, Jaco, Collin, Niel the bartender, and everyone else who made me laugh and cry to pieces when I left.

Biltong! Who knew dried antelope could be so delicious?

Africa time. It allows you to really enjoy the moment because if you are late, who cares? Everyone else is.

Lax regulations concerning veterinary work! I was able to be so hands on....

Africa taught me more about myself and how to be a more outgoing and accepting person.Afrikaans. What a cool language, even though I didn't understand much of anything. But I did know when people were talking about me!! Then I would feel really uncomfortable, especially when they would start laughing. Tell-tale signs I was being spoken about: the words amerikaana and engels, glances in my direction, or a sudden switch from English to Afrikaans. It was fantastic when Kate was there because she could understand a lot of Afrikaans and knew what they were saying about us. The looks on guy's faces when they found out she understood were priceless. I did learn a handful of words and phrases including, "I'm not interested, thank you." "Leave me alone." and "I don't like smoke." These were extremely helpful in the bar. Even more so because I enjoyed the shocked looks. Hopefully when I own that game farm one day, I’ll really speak Afrikaans.

Shawu, Mike’s, Boskrug (is that spelled right?), Nexus: Ellisras nightlife at its best. Sakie Sakie anybody? (Waltzing to the wrong kind of music anyone?)

This one I have mentioned before, but I loved riding in the back of a bakkie at 70-80 miles an hour through the bush. I did this for the first time on my second day for an entire hour, which made the day spectacular -- I was grinning the entire time. Forget the buffalo translocation and dead rhino, I liked the bakkie ride.

Text messages from South African men. The first time I received one of these I was in shock because it was so ridiculous. Basically these texts were corny pick up lines sent directly to your cell phone and usually spelled with perfect English. Faye and I decided that there must be a text Bible on the internet because several different guys that didn't know each other couldn't all be thinking these up and miraculously improving their English in a matter of minutes. The following is one of my favorites and I would like to add that it is from one of the best track and field athletes in all of SA:

If u drop me ill BREAK,

If u hold me ill SHAKE,

If u need me ill HURRY,

If u don't sms me ill WORRY,

If u hurt me ill CRY,

but if u 4get me ill DIE! Mwa

Well I should stop myself now with this list...otherwise I will be up all night.

The real SA

2008-07-29T09:14:00.002+02:00

Could my image of South Africa have been anymore wrong??? Could I have been anymore naïve?? Could I have really missed the point of some of the semester’s lectures???

First of all, Niel was a family man who never smoked, cursed only occasionally (usually when talking about politics) and lived in a large home in the middle of town. He had not a pack of dogs, but two, who stayed outside.

I lived in a carpeted, concrete apartment with glass windows, air-conditioning, a TV and DVD player, scalding hot water, and a full functioning kitchen. My sheets were changed weekly by the housekeeper who also washed my clothes 3 times a week in a washing machine.

Diarrhea got me twice for only 1 day at a time, my toilet paper was used when we ran out in the flat and were to lazy to get it from the house. Bottled water? Seriously? I drank from the tap.

Mosquitoes…2 which only 1 of bit me, and then I killed it. Snakes….1 tiny one. Rats….where? Spiders….4. There was a spider that lived above my bed for several weeks, and had been living there before I got there. As the larger animal, higher up on the food chain, I allowed him to be there because I never saw him move, he wasn’t too scary looking, and usually didn‘t invite others over for a party. However, after Faye spotted a massive brown rain spider behind my pillow before bedtime, I had to reevaluate my friend’s position in my life. I noticed that he no longer lived alone but with two young friends. After lots of screaming, jumping on the bed, and Faye’s brave attempts to take out the big guy by herself, we had to call in Alfie to do the job. And in those few moments of terror I made the decision to have the spider above my bed, the gigantic rain spider, and the two new friends exterminated by Alfie’s slipper. Sorry for the one spider, but I had told him under no condition was he allowed to bring guests.

We didn’t help anyone’s tribe, receive goats as payment, work in any national parks or reserves, and certainly didn’t use satellite phones. Communication was accomplished by means of …..cell phone? Everyone has a cell phone and no one hesitates to answer their phone at any time: during dinner, right before darting an animal, while the vet is asking you questions about your $20,000 sable‘s nervous symtoms….really, anytime is a good time. Cell phones are even more important to have because you never know when the land line to your home or office will be cut because someone stole the copper wiring to make bangles like the one I now wear on my left wrist.

All of our work was done on farms or in the clinic. Many of the animals we treated, especially expensive sable, were kept in small camps so we didn't have to look deep in the bush for them. (Except for maybe that day we looked for 5 hours for a sable.) Thinking about it now, most of the antelope we treated were sable for the simple fact that they are worth so much. The rarer the animal, the higher the price. Anyone want an elephant?? SA's got so many they're free. You just have to pay for transport which will cost you about $10,000 (and that's just within the country).

I didn't mention this before, but prior to arriving I had no idea what type of work I would be allowed to do with Niel. The second day I gave an injection to a buffalo. In the weeks that followed I helped stich up a horse, scrubbed in to assist during dog castration, collected blood from a leopard and picked it up (well half, it was really heavy), helped birth calves, held a sable uterus in my hands while it was stiched together, aided in directing a giraffe into a trailor by pulling on the ropes to guide it, lifted heavy antelope, sat on them so they wouldn't escape, post-mortemed 3 buffalos.....the list could go on and on and on.

For me, however, the defining moment of my trip was when I gave my last injections. We were moving a buffalo into a holding pen so we could collect blood and test for disease. (This has to be done before most sales.) Well in the process, the bull had been attacked by two others and now had nasty woulds all over its body -- mainly superficial but seceptible to infection. As a precaution it needed several injections after we had tranquilized it and moved it to the pen. I was standing by Niel, ready to do anything he asked when he handed me a syringe, needle, and bottle of penicillin. "Give him 40 mills," Niel instructed me and he busied himself preparing other things. I hesitated, unsure if he was really asking me to do this completely on my own without watching. This buffalo was being bought for 125,000 Rand. Thats about $17,000. What if I killed it?? But then I went ahead and did it. I had done it countless times under supervision so why not? I knew exaclty how and where to do it: intramuscular in the butt. I returned and he hands me another syringe, this one already drawn up, and tells me to do the same. AND THEN he asks me to show a new student how to give an injection in the neck! Well crap. What would I have been doing if I had stayed for 12 weeks? Never could I have imagined doing any of that.

The bush did extend for thousands of kilometers but there were fences everywhere. 8-foot wire game fences often electrified depending on the type of animals inside, 3-foot barbed wire cattle fences, or 8-foot brick ones around a house. I was always inside somebody’s fence regardless of where I was.

Since being home I have described the game industry to many of you as well as my initial shock by its existence. Basically, because there are people who are willing to pay to hunt animals, there is a profit-driven reason for others to breed them. In retrospect, I don’t think I could have ever understood this or accepted it without going to Africa. But after spending 2 months as an integral part of the game industry, I really respect it. Not only does it fuel the economy for the majority of the Limpopo region but it has conserved many of the beautiful species we see today. Animals that would otherwise die because of disease, drought, and/or human sprawl have proliferated tremendously and their populations often have to be culled. Moreover, because it is an industry and tightly controlled by the government, many conservationists have been able to successfully instate regulations to insure animal protection.

If you didn’t know, I am a huge advocate for gun control. Before SA I had never even touched a gun and simply could not understand why people hunted. “Appalling,” I thought, even though I would gladly eat the meat someone else killed. Now, I think I maybe understand, but I am still an advocate of strict gun control and don’t see the point in killing anything unless the meat is used. Killing just for a trophy to hang on your wall makes me queasy. And hunting should be done on foot; not from a vehicle or behind a blind because then you aren’t hunting, you’re just killing.

It occurred to me that my views had drastically changed and I had become more “accepting” when I met Phillip. Those who know me and my dating history have seen the type of guy I usually go for -- generally not someone who wears only camouflage, most likely has several rifles in his bakkie (pickup), carries an 8 inch knife for skinning and sometimes a pistol, smokes, owns a tractor for his potato and corn farm, has fake license plates and was kicked out of college for selling liquor from his dorm room. Oh yeah, and is a professional hunter for a living. That is Phillip. Although these things are part of who he is, they don’t define him. But before college, probably just a few months ago, I would have written him off as “not my type” and not even talked to him because of his camo and big knife, even if he was sex on legs. Sadly, I would have never learned how he made me laugh, think, and feel like I was on cloud nine. Nor would I have ever been able to admire what a hard working individual he is.

People grow. I am a firm believer that this trip has helped me grow and taught me incredible things about that corner of the world, but I don't know if it would have done that without me being completely wrong about what to expect. (Ha, and I didn't even touch on the politics of South Africa and how those affected me). Looking back, I'm glad my crazy vision was mistaken because while I was there, everyday I thought I was having the best day of my life.

My pre-trip vision of SA

2008-07-28T06:26:00.002+02:00

This is the first in a four part series to be posted every night for the next four nights:

Before I went to South Africa I envisioned my time there to be the following:

Niel was a bachelor who devoted all of his time to saving the wild animals of Africa. He lived deep in the bush, smoked and cursed incessantly, and smiled infrequently. He housed us in an annex behind his small stone dwelling where he slept with a pack of rogue dogs….

The wooden annex, built on stilts, had only cutouts for windows (no glass), no running water and electricity was minimal -- perhaps a hanging light bulb from the ceiling but definitely not any outlets. Our beds were cot-like with thin mattresses and sheathed with mosquito netting. To shower and use the toilet we would journey from our room on stilts and use a shack like bathroom that only had lukewarm water. For dinner we ate goat that we would prepare over a fire with baked beans (BTW, we acquired the goat as payment for birthing a calf for a tribe in the middle of no where)….

There were HUGE bugs everywhere. Rats, cockroaches, tarantulas and snakes filled my life with a terror that kept me awake for hours every night as they crawled all over my mosquito netting. Mosquitoes plagued me night and day as the 5 economy-size bottles of insect repellent ran out in three weeks time. I was itching all over and dehydrated from the continual diarrhea my American meds couldn’t cure. My bottles of Deer Park water and Charmin To-Go toilet paper proved to be priceless commodities I had to learn to live without -- they were gone within the first week. It was two months of pure discomfort, but I sacrificing for conservation…

Callouts were never ending. Countless tribes with sick cattle and goats contacted us by word-of-mouth, and park rangers who found injured lions and rhinos reached us by satellite phone. We were constantly on the lookout for the poachers who hunted the beautiful animals we fought to save. How could they even dare think to shoot them?

The bush extended for thousands of kilometers, as fences and homes were no where to be found….

Whites and blacks lived in perfect harmony since the end of apartheid….

My liver thanked me for the absence of alcohol on my lips for two months…..

Dr. Lambert really has no idea of what Africa is like. It’s not urbanized, no way….

Check back tomorrow for what SA was really like.

It has been a while!

2008-06-24T13:35:00.003+02:00

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't written in a while. Things haven't been extremely busy but I haven't had a chance to get to the internet cafe. I just want to say thank you for all of your e-mails and comments -- it feels really nice to get to the cafe and have messages. My blog is being featured on UNC's Center for Global Initiatives website. How cool! If you found this blog on that site, thanks for reading!

Last week we worked with an nyala with a hernia, captured kudu, gemsbok, blesbok, impala, and sable, and tracked buffalo. Not an extremely medically oriented week but exciting. While we were waiting for the helicpoter to come back Faye and I actually sunbathed on top of the lorry. I took a nap over belsbok -- oh how I love Africa. Oh and Africa time! Everything here is so much SLOWER than back home. For instance, if someone says they will be back in half an hour they mean an hour and a half. It took me a while to get used to it, but now I really appreciate enjoying the moment and not worrying about getting anywhere at a specific time. I have decided that one of my favorite things to do in the entire world is to sit in the bed of a pick up and drive through the bush. Luckily for me, I do this practically every day.

Yesterday we treated a sable with a huge lump on its neck. Turns out it was a tapeworm cyst -- one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Niel made an incision where the worm was and pulled it out with the fluid pouring everywhere. It was like a large clear sack with little white balls all around it (actaully heads). I gave it an injection in its bum, just some vitamins to help it recover.

This morning Angela and Niel castrated a horse because, no joke, the horse was going after the sheep. The setting was making me laugh so much. We were in this small run down stable with sheep all around, a sheep dog biting the tail of the horse, chickens running everywhere, and cattle calves trying to get a piece of the action. And the horse was so stubborn! It would not go down with the anaesthetic, but giving a horse an anaesthetic is a tricky thing because one doesn't exist solely for horses. Niel had to make a conncoction of four different anaesthetics. While I didn't get to be very ahdns on with the operation, I was the time keeper! Hey, you have to start somewhere.

I am having a small crisis with my camera. There is dust in the lens gears so it was stuck parcially open. The camera shops told me the only place to get it fixed was in Joberg -- 3 hours away. Hopefully though, the nice gentleman who works fixing computers at the internet cafe is trying to see what he can do -- he used to fix cameras. He actaully just brought it over and showed me the lens fully extended. Oh I hope he fixes it because I have to take pictures my last two weeks.

Well, we are about to capture a rogue giraffe. But I will finish with a funny, disgusting story. The week before last was the buffalo crisis -- in the end we had to dart 12 buffalo at one time in a pen to give them penicillin and vaccines. Can you say nerve racking? One refused to go down and actually was chasing Kathryn. I hid behind a tree. Going back to the story, we had to do a third post mortem because a third buffalo had died. To do this you must cut the front and back legs out of the way, peel back the skin, then the muscles, then carefully pop the rumen to let the bloated air out. Well, the farmhand cutting the muscles popped the rumen a little too soon, and it sprayed like an almost empty can of whip cream all over Faye's and my face. And in our mouth. Let's just say I will never make the mistake of standing in that spot ever again.

Thermometer crisis

2008-06-13T14:29:00.003+02:00

I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did Monday. I hope this story is as funny to read as it was to see:

We were called out to a sick sable, darted it, blindfolded it, brought it into the pen, and everything was just dandy until Niel decided to check its temperature. He stuck the thermometer in the anus, was waiting for it, and SCHLUuP. The thermometer was gone. Just disappeared inside the antelope. Oh did I laugh. And laugh. But what made it even funnier was that Niel couldn't get it back. Everytime he stuck his hand inside he just brought out some more chocolate covered raisins (exactly what most antelope feces look like). I had to leave the holding pen because I couldn't contain myself and had tears streaming down my face. After a good 5-6 minutes of searching for the thermometer he found it and said "No one takes my thermometer." I just kept laughing. I asked Niel if that had ever happneed before and he said no, had only heard about. A lecturer in school said that one day he came upon his students holding a sheep by its front legs, trying to get a thermometer out. Needless to say, that method doesn't work.

This week has been full of dead buffalo. Sadly a farm is having a slight crisis and their buffalo are dying from an infection in their heart. So we did 3 post mortems on buffalo this week. If you ever want to gag, smell a dead buffalo. We spent this morning vaccinating the others against the infection.

Yesterday I injected several goats with heartwater...like the nguni cows from last week. It was so much fun trying to find the vein. Similar to last week, everytime Kate hit the vein, blood sprayed all over her.

Tomorrow we are going to a game auction, should be interesting. And since it is a long weekend we will be camping out on the farm Sunday night. Monday is youth day. I suggest that everyone worldwide embrace this day and celebrate their youth!

Thank you America!!!!

2008-06-06T14:17:00.006+02:00

Across the ocean, in SA, I would like to thank the people of the US for voting Barack Obama as the democratic candidate for president. Now if the rest of the country will just vote for him in November.....

I had a lovely birthday at the Axsel household. Geraldine made me a gorgeous chocolate cake with golden chocolate faires and a boquet of flowers on top -- wow. New friends, Kate, Kathryn, and Faye, as well as Stephen, Niel, Angela, and the whole Axsel family minus Alfie Jr. were there to celebrate. It was wonderful. And Niel gave me Big 5 shot glasses to celebrate my legailty in the US....well overdue.

I developed a cold the next day, and no it wasn't from partying too hard. Dr. Geraldine gave me plenty of vitamins and cold medicine to make me feel better. Yesterday I slept in 'til 10 because I felt awful. Poor Faye had a bad reaction to her Malaria tablets and was home ALL day.

I gave intravaneous injections in cattle yesterday!! Oh the things you can do where they aren't regulated by the government. We were "infecting and treating" for heartwater, a parasitc disease transmitted by ticks. Basically we injected the cattle with a mild dose of the disease, and then when their temp goes up, about 12 days later, they are treated with tetracyclines, although they may have already developed an immunity.

This morning Angela darted two sable on one farm. One to be sold and the other with a broken leg. The break was too far up though so not much could be done but give it injections..vitamins, pain killer, antibiotic.... I had to sit on it so it wouldn't get up. Its horns got me in my arm. Hurts just a little.

Other than those two activities things have been pretty slow. Not much has come into clinic either. We did however go on several game drives in the past two days. Lots of antelope. And giraffe!

Not much planned for the weekend. Hopefully going out with Angela tomorrow night and maybe I will get my tour of Eskom...(the MASSIVE power plant here in Ellisras) (actually the largest cool dry coal plant in the world). Alfie works there.

Once again, thank you America and thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! Love you all!

So many first lines I could start with....

2008-06-02T14:18:00.006+02:00

Last Wednesday I was given the following options:

1. Go on a mass game capture in a helicopter

2. Help release a wild leopard

So, I picked the leopard, but it occured to me, "Who gets these options?" In the end I didn't even have to worry about making the right choice -- when I returned to my flat after the leopard release, Neil called me and told me I could go on mass game capture the very next day! I am so blessed to be here and pinch myself everyday, wondering if I really am going to wake up.

The wild leopard release was defintely one of the coolest activities thus far (but then everything the past week has seemed like that). The leopard, who had been caught on a farm by a game farmer, was being released in a reserve (with a 5 star lodge and lots of tourists....really a good idea?) with a new radio collar. We arrived at the reserve at 3, but ended up waiting for two hours for the owner to show up, which was extremely frsutrating because it gets dark at 6 and there was a storm threatening. When he finally did get there it started storming right over our heads. Angela injected him with a tranquilizer through the cage (so brave, he was feroucious and they are lightening fast). I helped her collected blood samples while Steven helped Luke (the cheetah guy, more about him another day) measure the leopard. I think our favorite part of the day was weighing him. Angela was standing on this really-for-a-bathroom scale and asked for some one to hand her the leopard. Here Steven and I were, amidst professional game rangers, just looking at each other because no one was moving. So we said, ok, we'll do it, and picked it up. Maybe not exciting for some, but I was pretty thrilled that I was lifting a wild leopard in the middle of a thunderstorm. We ended up having to leave the leopard under a blanket because it was so cold. The game reserve manager left a dead warthog for when it woke up, but as Angela said, who comes out of anesthesia craving pork? Leopard with his duvet:

The next day was my first helicopter ride! I went with Herard to capture kudo and waterbuck and met the nicest people, who fed me delicious meet and invited me to come visit their own farms. SA people are really nice. Herard uses the helicopter to scare the antelope into a fenced off area and eventually into a truck. Once there, I ran around with Ted making sure the antelope went in the truck and stood for a while on top watching the guys get them into their compartments. Lots of fun.

Later that day I helped Angela stitch up a horse! The horse had a huge gash in it's leg from who knows where. I used the forceps and heled the intital suture in place while she would make the second one. Again, one of the most amazing activities.

The next day I scrubbed in as the vet nurse during a dog castration (the actaul vet nurse, Filimon, was out sick). Again, too cool. I blotted up blood, held the testicles in my hands...lots of fun. Here is a pic, oh and if you are wondering, yes, no gloves. Too expensive for a small clinic in SA. But don't worry Mommy, I am washing my hands all of the time!

Saturday, after watching Neil's neice dance at the church bazaar we went out for a sable dystocia, which turned into a c-section in the middle of the bush. Neil is incredible at what he does. This particular sable cow took two darts before she actaully went down -- I think she knew she had a calf to protect. He quickly opened her up and he, Steven and the farmer pullled out the calf, who was fortunately still alive. After pulling her out, Neil says to me, hold this, and hands me the uterus. I literally held the uterus in my hands while he attended to the calf and while he sewed it up. If only I had gotten a picture. Unfortunately, I don't often get pictures of the cool things I do. But when you are holding an antelope uterus in your hands, how do you get a picture??? Here is one of me with the calf afterwards:

Tomorrow is my birthday! Neil's sister-in-law, Geraldine is making me a cake -- she is a professional cake maker! Stephen leaves Wednesday and some new girls are coming....sad. People are here for just a few weeks, I make friends and then they leave (Bizzie come back!). I hope everyone is well! Send me an e-mail, I would love to hear from you!

Rhinos!

2008-05-23T12:14:00.006+02:00

The past couple of days have been pretty exciting around here after our slow days (although yesterday was quite depressing). Wednesday, after castrating a dog with an abnormally HUGE testicle (infection) we were called out for a sick sable, who turned out to be not so sick, but we were awarded with an awesome game drive on the most beautiful farm:

We were looking for the buffalo herd when we ran into some wildebeest. We saw large droppings thinking they were buffalo droppings but I asked Neil and he looks at me very seriously and says, "No. Those are rhino." And then we saw them: Two adults and two babies. Then we kind of chased them down the mountain in our bucky (South African word for truck). It was all very quick but I managed to get a couple of good shots. Here is is one:

Then we did run into the buffalo herd, which is a bit unsettling because they all turn and stare at you. As long as you don't make sudden movements they won't charge.

Yesterday, I went out with Angela to visit a sick cow that was about 3 months pregnant in the morning. When we got there she was laying on her side which is never a good sign. After examining her Angela decided that she must have been posioned by a plant she ate, so we poured a charcoal and water mixture into her stomach. We walked back to the bucky to get her a couple of injections, turned around and she was dead. I couldn't believe it. Angela later told me that she knew the cow was a goner upon arrival. So sad. The cow went for a post mortem and now they think it possibly had rabies. Thank goodness for that rabies vaccination before I left!

In the afternoon we went out to capture an impala buck who was being given to the farmer's sister. It was darted and everything was alright but then we couldn't get close enough to determine which impala had been darted -- after it ran away, of course. Unfortunately we weren't there quick enough and he died. Impala are often highly sensitive to tranquilizers, as are giraffe and rhino.

Stephen and Bizzie then started making fun of me because the cow I had gone to see died and then the impala died, while they had been with Neil darting an impala in the morning without issue. I was the omen of death.

The impala they darted yesterday was apparantly a "rogue" impala buck that had become a little too friendly with the tourists at a hotel. When they were trying to capture and dart it, a sable buck got out so we had to dart it this morning. While we were on the back of the bucky it started to wake up and freaked all of us out. Of course Neil was rather calm, stops the bucky, and gives the sable a little booster, but in the process Bizzie was hit by the antlers and Steven was scraped up on his legs. Somehow I managed to escape unscathed.

Just a few minutes ago, we darted one of Neil's impala to sell to the man whose died yesterday. It was quick and simple.

Later today is Neil's daughter's birthday party! She is turning three so that should be fun. And then I think we may go out dancing, well, waltzing, with Angela. They waltz to every type of music you could imagine (Abba, AC DC, Hannah Montana).....interesting. Tomorrow we are going to Mamatau to visit the white lion! Exciting! I send everyone my love!

Here is a last fun pick of Bizzie and I goofing around while waiting for Neil to dart the sable ( I kind of look like a man, but I think that may have been the point):

Oh! I have a cell phone as well. Call me if you like! The number is +27730310259.

A few pictures

2008-05-20T14:56:00.007+02:00

Today has been a ridiculously slow day....only two dogs came into clinic. Bizzie, Stefaans and I went to the hippo pool for a picinic. Saw hippos, zebra, and water buck. I forgot to mention that last week for dinner we had impala...it was interesting. Not my favorite. Here are a few pictures from the last week:

This is a young Sable bull behind the clinic.

Neil (in gray) and the helicopter pilot with the buffalo I vaccinated.

Here is yhe buffalo after given the antidote and vaccinations -- I didn't kill it! They didn't warn us that they were releasing it, so all of the sudden we see people running and jumping on the truck. Needless to say, but we quickly followed suit.

Hippos from the hippo pool. They had been sleeping but some loud guys woke them up. Dumb since hippos will charge and run you over.

The zebra. I definitely have better pictures of them though.

Buffalo, dystocia, sable, and dead rhinos

2008-05-19T13:01:00.003+02:00

Wow. Every preconception I had about my experience in South Africa has been a misconception. Nonetheless, I am absolutely loving every minute I am here. The first being in what capacity I would be seeing wildlife. Before coming here I thought that the work I would be doing with large African animals would be in reserves, national parks, and perhaps the occasional stray antelope on someone's property -- I was very wrong. Since coming here I have been introduced to the game industry, which is ironically one of the most influential facets of animal conservation. The game industry, one of the main proponents of the economy in Limpopo, consists of large game farms (usually several thousand hecters in size) that breed antelope, zebra, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, etc. for either trophy hunting or "safaris" with tourists staying in five star lodges on the farm. These animals are well cared for, vaccinated, and protected within their farms even if they will just be killed by an American tourist and his rifle. Because of the industry's boom in the last 30+ years many animals have been saved from extinction in South Africa, including the rhino which many people actually come to hunt. So far, all of the work I have done with indigenous animals has been on game farms and most likely will continue to be.

On my second day I was told to be ready at 5:45 because a buffalo needed to be moved to another farm where the farmer was interested in introducing new blood into his herd. 5:45?! I was in bed by 9:30 on Tuesday night. This turned out to be one of the most exciting days of my life. Upon arriving at the farm, Neil went up in the helicopter and darted the buffalo from the air. On the ground we were recieving directions as to where the animal was going to fall and we quickly rushed to the scene. When we arrived, the buffalo was blindfolded and we all helped Neil collect blood. Then Neil says, "Who wants to give the injections?" Injections?! "I want to give the injections!" And so I gave a buffalo two different injections that vaccinated him for about 8 different diseases. Let's just say I was quite the happy camper for the rest of the day. About 10 men then moved the buffalo behind the trailer, which was only in the bush and that point because 6 men had started clearing a path right after the buffalo fell. Neil gave it the antidote and as it started to wake they helped it stand up and pushed it in the trailer. As I discovered that day and on Saturday, I need to start lifting weights because my strength has become a little bit of a brick wall when dealing with extremely large animals. After we transported it to another farm and were given a tasty lunch we headed out to another farm in search of a rhino.

Unfortunately the small cow, 3 years old, couldn't be located. Its mother had died 4 days early from unknown causes so the owner, who had 11 other rhinos wandering the farm, decided to sell the baby. We went to post mortem the mother but it was so bloated by this point that nothing could be done. Because of its position, they thought perhaps it had died calving, but Neil stuck his hand inside and there was nothing. That was the most putrid odor I have smelled.

Friday we darted a sable to be moved and dealt with a few cases in the clinic, but it was a much quiter day. We went out with Angela (the other vet) Friday night for our first outing in the bushveld. Not exactly like going out in Europe or the US. I will have to share that experience another day.

If there has been any moment in which I thought I was doing the right thing with my life, it was Saturday. That was the most amazing day of my life thus far. On Saturdays the clinic is open from 8:30 to 10:30 but we had something else in store for us. 2 cow dystocias! We went to this farm thinking there was only one but upon arrival we were told that two cows were having trouble calving. The first was Sannie and she had been in labor for only three hours. Neil let us feel the calf inside her....INCREDIBLE. To get her out Neil tied a rope around each leg and attached those ropes around a pole each. While dictating which pole for us to pull on, he adjusted the calf inside the uterus. When I was told to let go and the farmer took over I decided right then and there that I needed to start lifting again. To think that I could bench 100 pounds in high school and now could probably only lift the bar is really dissapointing. I will get back there. So they pulled and I aided with moral support. We were so lucky that a healthy baby bull came out! To get any fluids out of his lungs neil tied ropes to his back legs, tied him to a tree and then banged on his chest. What a way to come into the world.

The second cow was a little trickier. Hilda had been in labor for the entire night and morning with no luck. We tried to pull the calf out in the same way with Hilda standing but she was in so much pain she sat down. This time there were three ropes with the third tied through her mouth to the back of her head. This time I added not only moral support but I held Hilda's tail out of the way, so I was right in the action. As the two farmers, Stephen and on occasion Bizzie were pulling, the ropes broke twice and they all fell on the ground! It was hilarious. When the head came out the calf's nose and tongue were twitching, but unfortunately he was dead by the time he came out all of the way.

By this time the other little calf was sitting up and Sannie had licked him clean. What a good first time mom...but then she wandered away and left the calf by itself....perhaps she was a little confused after a hard labor. Bizzie and I rubbed whatever else was left on the calf and removed as much mucus as we could from his nose. The farmer's wife told us we could namer her! But it had to be a good Afrikaans name...so Stefaans of course! Jackie and Alfie's other daughter, Geraldine, who is Neil's wife's twin sister renamed Stephen to Stefaans so we dubbed the calf in his honor. Because Stefaans hadn't stood up yet we had to force feed him. I milked Hilda (after the farmer showed me how), and Neil put a tube down her throat all the way down to her stomach. I held the funnel while the milk went down and once it was empty I blew the remaining milk into her stomach.

If I could help cows bring calves into the world for the rest of my life, I think I would be content. But until I am qualified to do so, I'll start lifting.

Saturday night we went to Mololotau (a big lodge nearby) and watched a band. They were actaully pretty good and we had fun dancing and trying to run from the farmers older than my dad. Stefaans looked after us. Bizzie and I actually went for a dip in the pool! It was quite nice.

Sunday was a lazy day and today has been quiet. We did feritlity tests on two bulls and saw a couple of dogs this morning. The giraffe trailer has been fixed so hopefully we will be moving some giraffes this week and finding the rhino from before.

One of my other misconceptions was that everyone would be speaking English and only some people spoke Afrikaans....WRONG. Everyone speaks Afrikaans and 90% speak English, but only Afrikaans to each other and those of us who don't speak it feel a little lost. About 15 times a day I think, "I wish I spoke Afrikaans." Sometimes we have humorous language mix ups, especially Stefaans and I with our American accents. For instance, a monkey came in while we were out with the buffalo, so Stefaans says to Neil, "Apparantly we missed a monkey." There was a long silence and Neil finally replies, "What about this Mr. Monkey?" Things of this sort happen a lot. Another time Stefaans was trying to say "So you aren't working tomorrow?" to Angela and she said "No I am still waking at 8." "But you aren't working?" "No I said I am waking at 8 to get the washer fixed." And this went on for a while.

Third misconception: Aparthied ended so white and blacks mix, right? South Africa is a stable country, right? Wrong again. There seems to be a huge dichotomy between blacks and whites and from what I have seen it always appears that whites still have all of the power and money. What has been explained to me by the white family I live with is that the game industry, where I spend all of my time, is dominated by whites because they have owned the land for generations and the poorest of the poor work for them on the game farms. They tell me however, in reality blacks have all of the power and it has gone from one extreme to the other -- whites are oppressed, pushed out of their jobs, and millions have fled South Africa because of it. Because of this, many whites who wanted to end apartheid have become racists. Another thing that is stressed is that it isn't because of race but because of cultural differences. I have also been told that even within the black population there are struggles because of tribal differences. This is so foriegn to me and I am trying to look at it from both sides.

Well, I am about to run out of time. Next time I will remember my cable and put up pictures! Much love to everyone. Hope to hear from you soon. (spell check not working, sorry for any mistakes)

Address!

2008-05-14T14:30:00.004+02:00

Oh and here is my address if you want to send me any letters. Bear in mind it may take several weeks:

Casey LeSawyer
Shimongwe Veterinary Project
PO Box 5653
Onverwacht
0557
South Africa

Here at last!

2008-05-14T13:48:00.003+02:00

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!

Leaving Tomorrow!

2008-05-11T06:35:00.002+02:00

I am leaving tomorrow! Ahhhh! I am very, very excited. On Thursday, Carolyn came over and I had a little bit of a "what the heck am I getting myself into" moment, but that has passed and I am thrilled.

My bag is a little heavy with gazillion bottles of bug spray, sunscreen, water (not that much, but you never know), any kind of medicine you could dream of and clothes all of the same color palette -- green, brown, khaki. I brought another bag in case it is over the limit, which I am pretty positive it will be. I do not know how to pack lightly.

So 2 hours on the plane to Atlanta and then 19 on the plane to Johannesburg. As some of you know, I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime so hopefully it won't be a problem. I brought All Creatures Great and Small to finish reading and Prodigal Summer to start. Now that I am thinking about it, puzzles would be a good thing to have too.

I will be staying at a hotel in Joburg Monday night and then meeting my "transfer" to take me to Lephalale on Tuesday morning. Send good thoughts to me while I am in the Joburg airport! It will be....interesting....the things I have read don't portray it to be very safe. But don't worry, I will be careful and alert.

Well, this is my first blog entry. Hopefully the ones to follow will be much more interesting and exciting. Leave comments! I want to hear from all of you!