La Vie en Rose — Saint-Émilion, France
Its been a full week since my last entry, and many concerned subscribes have started to get worried (probably had to resort to another method of procrastination). I've been busy, and I have assured you that I have not died from exhaustion or alcohol poisoning (...yet)
This past week has been very merdique as far as emergencies go. Thankfully we have our assistant Jean-Pierre return from his 4-weeks of vacation time. I think he's adopted me as a grand-child the night when he handed me a beer after rounds. Of course I'm totally okay with this arrangement.
On Friday we received a foal that was not even a day old. Her life was already une bordelle considering that her mom rejected her after she was foaled. The owner didn't even know the mare was preggers until 3 months ago. So the little filly was our responsibility for the first 24 hours of her life (which are the most crucial). Dr. Vogelsang's class was very practical for this kind of situation and Im very grateful for the A I received. I think this was the first time in the real world that I actually got to practice something I learned in school (sadly enough). Little filly received cholesterol, tetnus shot, iodine wipe on her belly, a snap test, and milk every 2 hours. Guess who had to cover the night shifts? (yes, yours truly. Although I did not mind one bit, she's so adorable).
I had also spent most of Friday assisting the horse dentist. His German was better than his English so I got to sprechen some Deutsch but in the end there was little communication between us. Despite this, holding the horse's head and instruments while watching him work was actually entertaining and exactly the break I needed from the clinique. I even got to float a row of teeth and pull an incisor out! Alex tried to convince me to not go to vet school and open my own horse dentistry practice instead. Maybe I will, if Vet school or opening a bar or joining the circus doesn't work out for me.
Despite a very long week, I had a great weekend. Yesterday (saturday) I went horseback riding at Bernard Bazas' again and this time I rode Prunie. You know that you're making more friends in France when you have to give a lot more "bisous" (kisses on the cheek, our equivalent for a handshake) when you arrive. Last week I couldn't brave it and just gave out handshakes. Yesterday was a different story, I kissed about 30 cheeks like a pro.
We focused more on Dressage and less on jumping (not as fun but very important). There was a considerably less audience and I assumed its because there were no chances of us falling off during our lesson. In the beginner/intermediate group, if a person falls off a horse then a cake is in order. In the advance group, we usually bring wine. One of the girls in my group saved a puppy from being trampled by a horse and she in return got kicked. She's fine and was able to ride, but we had to do something so we called for an apperatif next week. Guess who's bringing peanut butter?
Today was tres fantasique. It started off pretty epic with sleeping in til 8:30am (this used to be EARLY for me back in college). And then Celine told me that she was going to do morning rounds so I didn't have to! Dr. Guillaum Bon kidnapped me from la clinique and we went to his house where I met his girlfriend (another Celine), their 13-months old son Jules, and Celine's dad who was visiting. We ate at a delicious restaurant (I took pics of my food like a real tourist) and toured St Emilion, the wine capitol of the world.
Celine's dad is a retired historian, and having his around was like our own personal tour guide. His specialty is Ancient Rome and Vatican so of course my first question for him was what his thoughts were about the Davinci Code and Angels & Demons.
More news on surgeries, horses, and wine later!
