First semester complete!

My first semester of vet school is over! I had my last exam yesterday and now I have 6 days of nothingness before lectures start again next week. :)

I passed all my exams thankfully, but some of them were quite difficult. Certain exams were definitely harder to pass than the ones I took for my zoology degree. I could always be fairly confident about passing my zoology exams, but here I have a feeling there’s always a chance I could fail! Most of the exams are oral here which means we get the marks back almost straight away. My final marks for this semester are:
Anatomy – C
Genetics – C
Milk Hygiene – A
Latin – A
Slovak – A

There are a few different dates for each of the final exams so you’re able to choose when you take them; you can either cram them all in before Christmas or spread them out over the whole exam period. I took 3 before Christmas (Latin, Milk Hygiene and Slovak) and I left Anatomy and Genetics until the end of the exam period. I definitely needed the extra revision time for Anatomy and Genetics; they were by far the hardest exams! It meant I got a good long time at home for Christmas which was really nice and I managed to work a few days at my job at the zoo to earn some extra tuition fee money!

I also got to get better acquainted with this little man:

He’s still a bit wary of me; I think he might prefer my mum, who looks after him while I’m at uni. He will follow Ruby over to me if he thinks there are treats but he doesn’t climb all over me to get them like she does! I’m pretty impressed with the amount of hay he eats. I’ve never had a proper hay monster rabbit. Ruby eats a lot of hay but she eats it because it’s food rather than because she enjoys it. Willow seems to really love it and I’ve tried him with a few different types as a treat. For any other rabbits out there, he especially recommends Burns Green Oat and Excel Herbage Camomile ;) 

These last few months have gone so quickly, I’m now 1/8^th of the way through the course! I’m looking forward to starting lectures for next semester now (although a bit of a break is very welcome). We got our new timetable yesterday and it looks very busy. A few new subjects we are starting this semester are Animal Hygiene and Welfare, Nutrition and dietetics, and Diseases of Fish and Bees. We are also starting to study organs in Anatomy, which sounds really interesting!

Bye for now!

Lucy

First semester of vet school

It’s been too long, I’m sorry! My excuse is that having now started vet school, I have next to no free time. 

I arrived in Kosice in the first week of September. The first week I was there I mostly spent kitting my room out, going to a few fresher’s events and exploring the town. I managed to turn my dorms room from this:

Into this:

It has changed a bit since then. I have stacked the two single beds on top of one another so I now have a high single bed and there is so much more space in my room! You’re allowed to do basically whatever you want to your room. I was slightly disheartened when I saw my room to start with but now I’ve made it feel like home. 

After that first week of relaxation we got stuck straight in with lectures. Most of what we have covered this semester has been revision from my previous degree (physiology, microbiology etc) but we also started on anatomy which I have never studied before. There are credit tests every week in anatomy which means I have had at least one credit test every week (the most in one week so far has been 4!) so it’s pretty intense. We have already covered the whole skeletal and muscular system, then next week we will start on joints, then next semester it is on to organs. I’m surprised by how much I’ve learnt already. A couple of days ago I unearthed this picture of a sheep skull that I drew about 7 years ago and I found that I could identify all the little foramen and lumps and bumps that I drew :)

I haven’t made much progress in learning the language, unfortunately! Even our Slovak teacher said we would probably never learn it. It’s very different to English, and the locals speak very quickly. I can recognise lots of words written down (which is helpful when shopping) but any attempts at conversation usually fail. It doesn’t help that when I attempt to speak Slovak, I’m usually asked to “Speak English, slowly”. My English is obviously easier for Slovak people to understand than my attempts at their own language :( I’ll keep trying with it, but to be honest studying Slovak is taking a back seat to all the other subjects. 

On a sad note, my little man Pipkin died just a couple of weeks before I left for Slovakia :( He seemed to be improving after quite a difficult year but I took him for a dental after the vet noticed some spurs and this time he didn’t survive the anaesthetic. He was such a special rabbit and I still miss him a lot. <3 nbsp="" p="">

We have since adopted another little bun to pair with Ruby. His name is Willow and he’s a nethie like Pipkin but red eyed white colour. I have only met him a couple of times so far but he is very sweet and more of a cuddle bun than any of the rabbits I’ve owned before. He is getting on very well with Ruby :) I can’t wait to get to know him properly when I go home for Christmas.  

I’ll try to make a few more posts over the next couple of days about what else I’ve been up to since I got here (no promises though!). I only have one credit test next week which is a bit of a relief! If not I will update sometime over Christmas :)

Bye for now!

Lucy

Pipkin Knits - my new shop!

I have started a Folksy shop to try to use up and sell off some of the massive stash of yarn I have accumulated over the last few years! I will mostly be making toy animals, but I might also have the odd accessory/ pet toy for sale. I'm just going to see how it goes!

The shop is named after my bunny Pipkin, because I was a bit stuck with what to call it. So, without further ado, the link:

Pipkin Knits

I only have two things up for sale at the moment, but I have a few other half completed bits that will hopefully be added soon.

Bye for now!

It's been a long time...

...but I decided to revive my blog!

A lot has happened since I last posted (well it has been over a year!) so I don't quite know where to start.
After my RVC interview last year I was rejected at the end of March, so I applied again in October, had an interview this year in January and was rejected AGAIN in March. The RVC obviously don't want me, so I moved on to my back up plan; studying abroad.

I applied to the University of Veterinary Medicine in Košice, Slovakia, shortly after receiving my second rejection and... I have a place! So I'll be starting there this September. The main reason I'm restarting this blog is to help out anyone who is thinking of studying there. The course seems to be getting more popular but there's still not much information out there for potential applicants so hopefully I'll be able to rectify that a bit once I get started on the course.

In other news, I've been working in the retail department of a local zoo since March last year, and also volunteering on the Africa department which has been a lot of fun! Especially getting to hang out with newborns like this little guy.

The giraffes are probably my favourite. I think it's because I look a little bit like one!

That's all for now. I'll try to keep the updates regular from now on! Hopefully I'll post some pictures of the things I've been knitting over the past year in the next few days. I have vague plans to sell some of them off to raise funds for my studies but we'll see how it goes.

Bye!

Lucy

Tea Party!

I completed my first rescue for Tiggywinkles this week! Nothing very exciting, I just had to pick up a tawny owl from a lady’s house. He possibly had an injured wing. I keep meaning to ring and ask if he was ok but I’m worried it will be bad news. He was effer so cute.

An unhappy owl :(

Friday was my mum’s birthday, she has reached half a century! So we had a tea party at a posh house called Luton Hoo. It’s a really nice place and the grounds are lovely but unfortunately it was pouring down with rain while we were there. The tea and cakes were still good though! And I think my ma had a good time.

 

 

I have seen a few films recently, trying to occupy the huge emptiness that is my time at the moment. Went to see Woman in Black at the cinema which I was hopeful for because I have seen the play in the West End and it was amazingggg. The film was alright but not what I expected. They changed a few bits which I thought was unnecessary. Also Daniel Radcliffe can’t act, although he didn’t have much to say in this film which meant it wasn’t quite so apparent. The scenery and settings were really good though. Just how I imagined :)

Another film I have seen recently that I enjoyed a lot more is Mother. It’s a Korean film directed by the same person who did The Host and Memories of Murder which are two other films I really like. Mother is about a woman who is trying to get her son cleared of a murder that she is convinced he didn’t commit. The plot sounds quite simple but there are lots of unexpected aspects to it. I think it is definitely worth a watch, or maybe two.

Ooh, a last note because which makes me realise how little I update this blog. Congratulations to my friend Amreen (Anne-Marie) who had her baby boy a couple of weeks ago. He is sooo cute and I can’t wait to brainwash him to like ‘cool’ stuff like science and knitting ;)

Bye for now!

Lucy

(Belated) Happy New Year!

The new year is going well so far! I have heard back from the Royal Vet College and I have an interview at the end of the month :D I’m pretty nervous (actually really super nervous) but I’m hoping I can at least do ok and not embarrass myself. An offer afterwards would be amazing but I don’t want to get my hopes up too much!

I had a call from St Tiggywinkles this morning to go on my first proper rescue for a goose that is caught in some fishing line. Unfortunately the goose flew off before I arrived; the people who called it in had been feeding it bread to make it stay nearby but it eventually decided it had had enough! If it returns I might go out in the morning to try again. Fingers crossed he will be caught safely and make it to the wildlife hospital. 

I have finished my job at Past Times which was sad but at least now I have time to concentrate on exam revision and interview preparation. On the closing day for the last half an hour or so everything was reduced to £1 :o so I got a few bargains including this book which has some amaaazing photos, and a few gifts for people which I won’t mention because I haven’t given them to them yet (and I probably shouldn’t have said that because now they will know they only cost £1!). 

In other news, Charlie the cat is in disgrace after the theft of a joint of beef bigger than his head that was intended for next day's dinner. It was stolen from the kitchen counter and chewed to a mushy pulp within seconds. He maintains his innocence...

The accused

Bye for now!

Lucy

Vetty work experience

I have been at work experience at a lovely mixed vet practice this week which has been a nice break from shop work (especially the week before Christmas!). I think it has been my favourite vet placement so far, I have seen so much! 

The practice sees lots of exotics so I had the chance to meet a chameleon and some bearded dragons, and watch surgery on a snake. I have always thought that exotics is something I’d really like to specialise in if I ever get to be a vet, but I hadn’t had much experience in that area before this week. Now I know for definite that it’s an area I find really interesting.

I didn’t manage to see as much equine as I was hoping (it was kind of the reason I wanted to go to a mixed practice!), just a few visits for vaccinations. I’m sad I can’t spend a bit more time there but they’re closing early for Christmas so I have only done the four days this week. If I get into vet school I’d love to go back there for EMS. 

Now it’s back to normal work for a couple of days and then CHRISTMAS, which means a day of overeating and sleeping lots. I’m going to my Nan’s house for Christmas day and she makes reeeally good mince pies. Yummeh!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year. I will try not to leave it weeks before updating again. 

Lucy

A few things...

Been up to a few things since I wrote the last entry! I started at college where I’m retaking A level chemistry. I was a bit worried I was going to be the oldest in a class of 16/17 year olds but there are a few people doing the same as me so that’s good! It’s not as awful as I remember chemistry being so hopefully I can get a better grade this time.

I’m still looking for a job, which is a pain. The office temp job I mentioned last time lasted a week. I very nearly died of boredom. I’m definitely not made for office work.

The deadline for vet med UCAS applications is coming up fast so I’ve been busy with that. I think I may actually have finished my personal statement finally. It’s not perfect but I don’t think it’s too bad so hopefully it can get me at least an interview. I’ve also been revising for the BMAT exam which I need to take at the beginning of November. It’s so difficult! I just hope I do ok in the actual exam.

Other than that, I had my first training session at Tiggywinkle’s a couple of weeks ago. Had another little look around the shelter and got to stroke a fox called Casper. He’s really tame and behaves just like a dog. It was very strange! He is lovely, but not very white any more.

So far I’ve only had training in handling small mammals and birds. The birds were a bit of a challenge, they flap all over the place! Next time I’ll have training in catching large mammals like foxes, badgers and deer. The badgers sound quite scary; apparently they can bite and charge at you. Not as cuddly as they look!

Ooh, I made a purchase today. I tried to resist buying anything but failed miserably. I spotted a copy of the illustrated version of the Life of Pi for £3. £3!! So I bought it. The story is amazing and the pictures in the illustrated version are lovely. Apparently there’s a film coming out next year but I think I may avoid it. I don’t think it will come across that well on film. However, Jean-Pierre Jeunet was on board to direct a few years ago and I think maybe I would have given his version a watch.

That’s about it. Next time I will try to have something more exciting to write about. Maybe some pictures would make this more interesting... hmmm.

Bye for now!

Lucy

Costa Rica part II!

I got my degree result back yesterday and... I got a 2.1! Yay! That means I can definitely apply for vet med which is a relief :D
Jo had her toof out yesterday and it went fine. She was a bit wobbly still when she got home but she started eating straight away which is good. She’s now sitting on my lap purring very loudly so I think I am forgiven for leaving her at the vets!
As promised, I’ll finish the tale of my trip to Panama/Costa Rica! Not sure whether anyone is interested but I like talking about it, so :p

We left San San at 4am so we could rush to the Panama/Costa Rica border to get the first bus to Heredia, which is a little town just outside the capital of Costa Rica (San Jose).
This is the super scary bridge to get from one country to the other. You can’t really see from the photo but in some places the gaps between the slats are about a foot wide. Definitely had to watch your step!

The bus ride was the most terrifying 7 hours of my life. I seriously thought we were all going to die. The driver didn’t seem to think that driving through mountains with no barrier at the side of the road was a good enough reason to drop below 70mph.

We did eventually make it to Heredia where we met up with a whole load of other people who had been on different volunteer projects to do the Costa Rica tour with. Our first stop was Samara beach which was another 7 hour coach trip away. We had a much better driver. I think his name may have been Ronald? He was our driver for the rest of the trip anyway and he was amazing J

At Samara beach I tried surfing for the first time. I can’t surf. That is all that will be said on the matter. I am not happy about it, lol. We also kayaked to a little island off shore and ate pineapple. I don’t think I have mentioned this before but pineapple eaten in Costa Rica tastes better than any other pineapple anywhere else in the world. I think it’s because it’s so fresh. But aaaahh, I want some now...

After Samara we moved on to Rincon de la Vieja, a national park in the centre of the country. We stayed on a ranch which was lovely. I could definitely live there! There were some lovely Aussie sheep dogs and their puppies. The puppies were sooo cute. I wanted to steal one!

At the ranch we went on a horse-y hack. My horse didn’t like me very much. He nearly ran me into a tree on several occasions! We rode to a little pool with a waterfall, which everyone decided to jump off of. It was a lot of fun but I got water up my nose L After that we went tubing which is the most fun everrrr! You sit in a little rubber ring and float down the rapids. I got stuck on the rocks a few times and had to wait for someone to come rescue me, lol.

In the afternoon we went on a hike through the national park. The NP is over a volcano, and in some places these “cauldrons” had formed in the ground where the mud was really hot and bubbling. It was very cool. Didn’t see an awful lot of wildlife because there was a big group of us and we probably scared most animals off. We did see a few agoutis and some pretty birds. I can’t remember what species the birds were though.

To end our stay in Rincon de la Vieja we went to a mud spa. We sat in the sauna for a while and then went and got covered in MUD. Which was fun. Not entirely sure what the mud was supposed to do though...

Our next stop was Volcan Arenal, another national park with another volcano. The Arenal volcano is active pretty much all the time. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it erupting because it was very cloudy while we were there L

In Volcan Arenal we went zip-lining and abseiling. The zip-lining was quite fun, but I got stuck a few times! I had too much air resistance cause I am too big, I think! I have been abseiling before but this time it was quite scary. It was down a waterfall and there were lots of jagged rocks at the bottom. I made it though and then had to climb back up the waterfall via a ladder. It was a long way up and I nearly died a second time! While I was waiting for one of the zip-lines I saw a coati just ambling along. It was very cute!

We then drove to Tortugero, which was back on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. It reminded me a lot of San San which I liked! We stayed in some little lodges in the forest which were looovely. We woke up to lots of jungle sounds! There was loads of wildlife around too. The white-faced capuchin monkeys were so used to humans. They would sneak right up and steal food out of the bins. I managed to get some quite good pictures, although I don’t know how because my camera was so messed up by the humidity that I couldn’t actually see anything on the screen.

There were also lots of howler monkeys around which make a racket! I also saw lots of toucans, poison dart frogs, freshwater turtles, a caiman and a vine snake. We went on a tour down the river in a boat one day and saw a whole family of spider monkeys crossing the river. There must have been at least 10, and some of them were carrying tiny babies with them! Apparently spider monkeys don’t have thumbs. Isn’t that strange?

After Tortugero we went on our white water rafting trip! We were split into “aggressive” groups and “gentle” groups, lol. Unfortunately I had done something to my neck so I decided it was probably better if I went with the gentle group. It may have been a good idea because we still managed to lose people out the raft! White water rafting was a lot of fun. I would love to do it again.

Oooh, and we jumped into the rapids off a rock. That was fun! I remembered to hold my nose this time :D

The trip was split over three days. We rafted to a lodge in the morning of the first day, then the next day we explored around the lodge. We walked up the river bed to a natural water slide which was cool! It was so slippery climbing up to it though.

The day after that we rafted back to civilization and our final stop, the Gandoca-Manzanillo reserve. In Gandoca we met up with Andrey and Erick who were our leaders on the volunteer project which was good! I managed to leave my phone in the taxi back to the hotel though which was very sad L That phone had served me well and I thought it was pretty unfair to lose it in the last couple of days of the trip! We also did some more hiking and found a super cool cave. :D

After that we returned to Heredia to say goodbye to everyone :( Sad times.

I’m sorry this has been so long! I tried to keep everything short but I got a little carried away, lol.

Bye for now!

Lucy