Hi everyone!!
Ok I’ve finally decided to post some pictures a year later! It has been a while but apart from an cattle internship I’ve been studying full time. Since Sri Lanka, I’d say I’ve further integrated myself into the Sydney lifestyle! I’ve taken up running, and training for my first marathon and climbing as usual. Plus, I now have a car so I’ve been able to do a lot more traveling within the country, especially working in other wildlife and equine hospitals around Sydney.

Darwin
Above are some pictures from my wildlife veterinary internship in Darwin. One of my best experience so far, I worked with an amazing team of vets and nurses that gave me a lot of responsibilities quickly!
Stephen the head vet/owner taught me sooo much! I went from scrubbing for surgeries to fixing an owl’s broken humerus! plus I treated snakes with broken jaws, possums with serious burns, bats with ripped wings, sick lizards, goanas with internalized eggs, lots of birds with broken wings, an echidna attacked by a dog, and I’m sure I have forgotten some.

Working at the hospital was an eye-opening experience, I realized how much I liked working with wildlife, you always have to think out of the box and adapt to new situations. I was working 10hr days but wouldn’t have changed it, as I didn’t want to miss anything and wanted to participate the most possible. I also learned about the management of different hospitals, and by comparing so many by interning in them, I now have a good idea of how I’d want to run my practice one day. I’ve also learned a lot about myself and how I can work effectively and realized as a vet you just need to think quickly on the spot and be aware of all the past surgeries and treatments you’ve done to do the correct follow ups.

More than anything, I realized that being a vet is important, but the post-surgery/treatment is as crucial! So, I’m definitely wanting to increase my skills as a wildlife carer, since animal husbandry is as important for the animal to recuperate.

Darwin was definitely hot, but less tropical than I expected, yet I know there is a lot of research and lots of wildlife out there, so I’m sure I’ll be back pretty soon!

cheers for now
Jade

Here are some pictures from my farm internship in Australia! It was another great experience and made me think a lot about the lifestyle I’d like in the future.

I have to do some farm placements for my vet course, which I think is a great ideas since you get to know more about the farmer’s lifestyle and heavy workload. I was lucky enough to go to a friend’s Angus cattle farm! I got to play the role of a cowgirl, riding horses all day moving cattle around. I also had to treat lots of calves with eye infections, ear tag, vaccinate, and classify them based on body conditions. I really enjoyed the whole day’s work even though I was completely dead by the end of the day, but really rewarding work I have to say.

I also became friends with the family, and got really attached to the kids. I realized there are lots of advantages to raising a family in the country, and it’s not because you’re more isolated that people are close minded, quite the contrary!

There are also pictures from my Merino sheep farm placement. That was also a great experience work wise, I got to assist in the Artificial Insemination (AI) of ewes, which is much more complex than AIing cattle or horses. The whole reproduction program at that farm was quite advanced and again a great learning experience!

Salut tout le monde, (ENGLISh version below)

Eh oui je suis de retour à Sydney, mais mon cœur est encore au Sri Lanka… “C’est juste en prenant du recul qu’on peut apprécier pleinement ce qu’on a vécu ‘. Mon voyage au Sri Lanka a été rempli de surprises. C’était un stage vétérinaire, mais avant tout le retour dans mon pays natale, un voyage spirituel, rempli de coïncidences inexplicables…J’ai rencontré des gens qui m’ont marqués a plusieurs nivaux, et quand j’ai demande a la grand-mère de 88 ans, ma “confidente” , chez qui j’etais heberge avec le reste de sa famille, “pourquoi toutes ces coïncidences?” elle m’a répondue tout simplement , “Bien en tant que Bouddhiste, nous croyons que nous sommes réincarnes avec les mêmes personnes de nos vies antérieures” ensuite pensive elle me dit “Wasana you’ve brought a Storm in a teacup”…

Alors, après presque qu’un mois a Pinnawala, je sentais que c’était le moment de partir. J’avais appris sur le comportement d’éléphants, (j’étais rendue a l’aise avec eux, voir photos), le mode d’emploie des fusils a darts, les sédatifs, la nutrition etc…Puis je me suis fait bonne amie avec le vet, les mahouts, et bien sure quelques éléphants

La prochaine étape etait de retrouver mes parents Sri lankais à Matara, ou je suis née. Grace a une rencontre inatendue, j’ai été mene a la personne idéale pour m’aider dans mes recherches.. un vrai détective, né egalement a Matara qui connaissait tout les potins. En fait, tous les soirs à Pinnawala, on s’appelait pour faire un résumé des liens et découvertes de la journée. Plus ca allait, plus il y avait indices et évènements nouveaux et enfin j’allais peut être rencontré mes parents Sri Lankais!! Alors, j’ai pris un train pour Matara, celui qui longe la cote Sud… le trajet lui-même fut toute une expérience car c’est ce même train qui a déraillé et garde prisonnier des milliers de gens durant le tsunami! Par contre l’atmosphere était calme, le paysage parseme de pécheurs qui reviennent au bercail ou qui font sécher leurs poissons sur la plage. Les jours suivants ce sont
déroulés avec des hauts et des bas. Ca c’est passe tres vite, mais puisque je n’ai pas encore de preuves concretes, je ne peux rien devoiler, mais je peux quand même vous dire que j’ai peut être rencontre mon père Sri Lankais et que j’ai realize que les gênes jouent pour beaucoup plus que je me l’etais imagine….

Retrouve ma mère SL a été plus complex et ca reste encore une enquete.., donc j’ai décidé d’aller a la plage et réfléchir sur ce que je venais de vivre. Par contre le feeling était etrange… J’etais sur une plage touristique mais je suis Sri Lankaise, et ca ne se cache pas! Puis ici les Sri Lankais ne portent pas vraiment de bikini, c’est une offense! Mais je l’ai fait pareille car je me sentais touriste à la fois. Après deux heures a essaye de relaxer et observer mes alentours, je ne me sentais toujours pas à ma place. J’ai donc décidé de m’informer pour faire de la plongée. C’est la que j’ai rencontré un Norvégien qui juste comme ca était la au bon moment…sans meme vraiment lui parle je savais qu’on avait quelque chose de commun..son passé complétait mon future… et 15 min plus tard, j’étais sur sa moto et nous partions vers une autre plage ou il séjournait… Juste le
sentiment d’etre sur une moto a longer cette cote Sri lankaisem’a fait apprécier d’ou je venais et pourquoi j’étais ici.

Nous sommes retournes ensemble en moto à Matara pour tenter d’avoir plus d’infos sur ma mère SL. Les prochains jours nous avons continue à profiter de la plage, a visiter le fort de Galle, a découvrir la vie nocturne de ces villages, chose que je n’aurais pu faire seule, et juste profiter de chaque minutes. J’ai vécu bcp d’émotions, mais en même temps je ne pouvais pas les vivre pleinement car rien est confirme. La culture ici fait que personne ne veut prendre le blâme, et donc connaitre la vérité est difficile. Chose certaine je serai de retour..

Donc c’est ca. Mes derniers moments au Sri Lanka. Un pays ou j’ai rencontré, des vets, de la famille, une confidente, une âme-sœur, un détective, et des amis a vie. Ce voyage a changé ma façon de pensée et a confirmé pourquoi je suis née avec ce nom “Wasana” et pour l’instant je peux juste continuer à vivre chaque minute sur ce cheminement si chanceux….

~Jade

Hi everyone,

Yep, I’m now back in Sydney, but my heart is still in Sri Lanka .,,, “Only from a distance can you appreciate what you had”..I can say that my trip to Sri Lanka was much more than I expected, it was a veterinary internship, but more than anything a trip back to my native land, a spiritual journey, filled with unexplainable coincidences. I met people there that have affected me profoundly, and when I asked my “confidente”, the 88 yrs old grandmother with whose family I was staying with, “why all these coincidences?” she easily answered, well in Buddhism it’s believed that you are reincarnated with people from your past life, people you’ve had good karma with….She added “Wasana, you’ve brought A Storm in a Teacup”…..

So there I was, finishing my vet internship. That in itself was the best elephant vet experience I could have had, I now am much more in tune with elephant behavior, what sedation to use, all the dart/gun techniques, nutrition requirements for babies and adults etc… and made good friendships with the vets, mahouts, and elephants

The next goal, was to find my Sri Lankan parents in Matara my “hometown”… because of a series of coincidences, I’d actually met the best person to help me out. In fact while at Pinnawala, we were chatting daily regarding his detective advancements which were going so fast I couldn’t believe I could/would actually meet my SL parents…. So I took the coastal train to Matara which was an experience in itself, it’s that same train that was caught in the tsunami trapping thousands underwater.. yet the scenery of fishermen coming back from the ocean, was calming. I was in for a roller coaster ride of emotions during the next few days, but because nothing is certain yet, I can’t really give out details. All I can say is that I might have met my father, and that genetic inheritance does play its part!

I still hadn’t found my birth mom, so I decided to just relax on the beach for a couple of days just to reflect on this journey.. The moment I got there, it just didn’t feel right, first of all, I look Sri Lankan and am sort of from here, and Sri Lankans can’t wear a bikini, if they do they’re just stared down like you’ve committed the worst crime. I did anyway, since all white tourists do! but I felt guilty being in my home country acting like a tourist… Within a couple of hours I decided I needed to go scuba diving so I asked the waiter for info who pointed me to this Norwegian guy…He happened to have a past that completed my future, and the timing too coincidential, that 15 min later I was on his motorcycle heading to another beach where we’d be staying. Riding on a motorcycle hugging the coast just gave me time to appreciate where I was and take in the whole experience..

It was with him, that we rode back to Matara to get more info and find my possible mother. During the next days we also rode around the coastal villages, went to Galle fort, rode in town in the middle of the night to feel that different vibe, and shared the whole experience. I also went back to Colombo with my “support” family, enjoyed more discussions and daily life. Basically, I’ve got lots of emotions bottled up because I don’t have any proofs yet, and with the culture in SL no one wants to take the blame for anything, so it’s hard to get the truth. I know I’ll be back to find it though…

So, there you go, my last moments in Sri Lanka… a country where I met vets, family, a soulmate, a “confidente”, a detective, as well as great friends, so I’m sure to go back.. my way of thinking has changed, it’s confirmed why I was named “Wasana”, and all I can do is embrace that path I am so lucky to be on…

Aayu Bowan,

~Jade

Depuis mon dernier email beaucoup de choses se sont passées…mais plus les jours avancent plus je sens que je fais partie de ce petit village Pinnawala…

Hier matin, je me suis levée très tôt pour chasser le sanglier sauvage et tout spécialement découvrir la jungle qui est à proximité de ma maison ici. Je me suis donc retrouvée en pleine foret a 7 a.m. avec l’ami du proprio son fusil en main. Il est vraiment connaissant et marchait d’un pas silencieux! Tout le contraire de moi qui faisait tout craquer, derrière lui, sur le chemin… Nous avons quand même vu des singes, un écureuil géant, un gros lézard style komodo, des perroquets, toucans et avons entendu un sanglier partir a la course quand il m’a entendu marcher. De retour a l’orphelinat vers les l0 a.m. trempée avec 4 sangsues aux chevilles que j’ai vite enleve!

La fin de semaine passée, je me suis rendue à Adams Peak, le point le plus haut au Sri Lanka, 2500 m. C’est un site sacre ou Bouddha a laisse son emprunte de pied! Également sacre pour les catholiques ou Adam a laisse son emprunte a sa rentrer dans le monde et ou celle de Shiva, déesse Hindou, alors….a vous de choisir! Le but c’est de se rendre au sommet pour le levé du soleil, donc je suis partie a 2 a.m. pour affronter ces 5000 marches et + avec 4 autres gars d’ou je restais. Au sommet, la vue etait à couper le souffle avec des pèlerins qui chantaient et priaient en arriere-plan.

Pour ce qui est de mon internat vêt avec les éléphants, ca va toujours bien. J’ai aussi commence a faire ma recherche qui m’aidera a termnier une maitrise sur la nutrition d’animaux exotiques. Puis, hier, j’ai appris à utiliser un ‘blowgun’ et faire des darts et différencier les types de sédations utilises a l’orphelinat. Je continue toujours de m’occuper des bébés éléphants le matin. Ils grandissent et on s’attache. Je suis aussi proche des mahouts, des vets, et du staff..Ca sera difficile de repartir. C’est ca l’affaire avec moi, j’ai fais tellement de pays que je m’adapte vite, mais en meme temps je m’attache vite.. donc c’est toujours dure repartir. Je crois que j’ai trop de ‘chez moi’…

Puis la recherche de mes parents Sri Lankais…OUF, très très longue histoire. Je vous raconterez quand tout sera concret, mais je suis proche..L’oncle de mon amie Sri Lankais m’aide énormément et j’en suis tres reconnaissante! Donc…

Pour l’instant je suis patiente et je prends de grandes respirations.

Jade

ENGLISH VERSION

Hi Everyone!

Since my last email a lot has been going on, but I have to say that as each day passes by I feel I’m becoming part of this little village “Pinnawala”…

Yesterday morning, I was up and early hunting wild boar in the jungle nearby my house, although the goal was more to discover the fauna nearby.. So here I was at 7AM walking with this man (a friend of the house’s owner) with a gun in hand and I, a machete. He was walking with speed but so quietly it made me feel bad when every step I made would make something “crack”!! We still got to see families of macaques, a giant squirrel, a komodo style lizard, parrots, hornbills etc… and we heard a boar running away the moment he heard me! Back at the orphanage around 10AM I was sweaty, had 4 leeches around my ankles, which I quickly took off, but I was happy! I now knew a bit more about this tropical environment…

Last weekend I took a little break from research to climb up Adam’s peak, the highest point in Sri Lanka reaching 2500m. It’s a pilgrimage site, where Buddha is thought to have left his footprint, but for others where Adam left his mark when entering the world, or for Hindus, it’s Shiva’s footprint, so you choose! The goal though, is to climb up these 5000+ steps in time for sunrise! So, I started at 2AM, following the way up lighted by lanterns. Once on top the view was beautiful, and monks chanting in the background made it even more special. On my way back to the orphanage, I saw the numerous tea estates with the beautiful Tamil women picking tea leaves.

As for my Vet internship all is good! My research on elephant nutrition/body condition is on its way as well!Yesterday I learned how to use a “blowgun” and practiced my darting techniques. Today I learned about the different types of sedations used here, and learned how to use the “dartgun”. I’m still caring for the baby elephants in the morning, they’re growing fast though, the older male tried to push me today! It was playful but still he’s like a little “tank”!! I’m getting quite attached to them.. I’ve also made friends with the mahouts, vets, and staff here! It’s special because I was born here, look Sri Lankan, and so am treated more like a local, yet, a different one.. Anyway, It’ll be hard to leave I think!!

That’s the problem with me, after traveling so much, I can adapt quickly to a new environment, but I also get attached quickly, so it’s always heartbreaking to leave…

As for the search to find my Sri Lankan parents, OUF, it’s a long story, I could write a novel. I’ll tell you only once everything is concrete.. but I’m very close to finding the truth..

So for now, all I can do is be patient, and take some deep breaths…..

Ok well miss you all very very much!!!

Ouf, que d’émotions.. Des hauts et des bas.Il faut etre patient pour vivre une bonne emotion dans une journee, ca l’arrive pas tout de suite comme ca !
Donc pour vous donnez une petite intro :
J’ai rencontre le vétérinaire, il m’a présenté a l’équipe, puis j’ai visite le centre. Ensuite j’ai rencontre les « mahouts » ceux qui s’occupent des éléphants, et peu à peu je commence à comprendre le comportement des éléphants. Puis j’ai commence a travaille avec le vet sur l’arrive de deux éléphanteaux. super mignons, et beaucoup plus facile a examiner. Ils sont arrives un jour avant moi, d’une réserve ou ils avaient été abandonnés. Donc c’est plus du travail sur la composition du lait, et s’assurer de les débarrasser de leurs ecto- parasites. Par contre, aujourd’hui c’était vraiment incroyable, pendant que les éléphants se baignaient dans la rivière, un des plus vieux mahout, m’a laisse s’approcher de son éléphant, un des plus gros male du centre !!!! Il était relax il se baignait mais j’étais littéralement « trompe a nez avec lui » ! C’est bizarre, car tu penses qu’il n’y a rien la, mais je vous jure mon cœur pompait assez vite ! J’ai pu lire ces émotions quand il m’examinait avec sa grosse trompe, il était calme et m’analysait tranquillement, puis me laissait le flatter, je crois que j’ai du demande au mahout au moins 3 fois si c’était correcte, et il me disait oui oui c’est mon ami. Ca fait comme 23 ans je crois qu’ils sont ensemble alors ils se connaissent bien je crois.
Je crois vraiment qu’en tant que vet il faut vraiment être confortable avec les animaux, tu ne peux pas juste arriver et leur donner une piqure et repartir. C’est toujours la même chose pour moi, au début je crois que je vais être a l’aise d’être proche, et quand le moment arrive tout d’un coup je réalise le potentiel du danger, alors c’est la qu’il faut rester cool, et vraiment ressentir le comportement de l’animal. Surtout que j’ai le don de demander les dangers avant de faire quoi que ce soit, ma première question au vet « comment est ce qu’un éléphant peu tuer une personne » il me répond « il prend la personne avec sa trompe, le jette par terre, et ensuite le roule, comme un billot de bois avec sa jambe» parait-il qu’il reste que de la peau et des os en poudre à la fin, le crane disparu….
Pour ce qui est d’où j’habite, c’est aussi super ! Je suis situe en face de l’orphelinat chez une petite famille de 5. Ils ont quelques chambres attachées à leur maison. C’est vraiment bien, car je déjeuné et soupe avec eux. Aaaah puis les repas sont tellement bons !!! Puis a ma surprise bcp de légumes, salades dans les repas. Puis c’est le fun car ils ont deux filles, une de 5 ans et l’autre de 16 qui parle quand même bien l’anglais, donc elle me raconte plein de choses, mais ils ont aussi un fils de 18 ans qui est sourd et muet !!C n’est pas drôle, mais c’est super pour moi, car c’est avec lui que je communique le mieux !! Il me raconte les « inside » de la famille, car les autres écoutent pas, avec le langage de signe on se débrouille très bien. Ah puis ils ont aussi « mimosa » le chien saucisse !! C’est le chien le plus cute au monde ! Et le plus propre au Sri Lanka, le garçon le lave a chaque jours, donc il n’est pas plein de mites et puces comme les autres, très attachant aussi !
Donc c’est pas mal ca, je vous raconterai comment je “fit in” la prochaine fois, c’est assez complexe.

Jade

ENSLISH VERSION

Hi Everyone!

Ouf, lots of emotions lately! I’ve realized I really have to be patient in a day for that big moment!
So, to give you a bit of an introduction: I arrived at the orphanage 4 days ago, immediately I was very welcomed, I met the Vet, and his team and the “mahouts” the ones taking care of the elephants. The elephant orphanage here, has 86 elephants!!
I then started my work with two baby elephants less than a year old, they’re so cute, and perfect size for me to get accustomed to their behavior and easier to examine and treat. Right now, it’s more about preventative medicine, such as treating them for ectoparasites and looking at their mil preparation.
Today though, while I was at the river with the elephants, I had a really nice experience. One of the older mahouts allowed me next to his elephant (one of the biggest male here)! He was bathing and very relaxed, but we were basically face to face, and then he started analyzing me with his big trunk… I must admit my heart was pumping pretty fast!! But slowly I relaxed as the mahout kept telling me it was OK, and he even let me pet him, and made that weird “laughing” noise they make. It was pretty intense… Especially that the day before, I’d asked the vet “How can/does an elephant kill a man” he responded “well, they take the human with its trunk, throw it on the floor, and then start rolling the body like a log, and supposedly at the end, all that is left, is skin and dusted bones, the skull is even gone!”…

I’m realizing more and more how comfortable you have to be with the animals as a vet. You really need to understand their behavior if you want to treat them properly. You can’t be all stressed out especially if you ‘re about to give it a local anaethezia.. anyhow, I just find this experience pretty neat. Since it’s always the same thing for me, I think.. oh I’ll be fine, and when I get close to them I start thinking about all the dangers.. so it’s good to get more exposure.

I’m also staying right in front of the orphanage with this little family of 5. It’s sooo nice, I eat breakfast and dinner with them, and the food is soooooo good!!! I’m handling the spice well I think! So they have two daughters one of 6 and one of 16 which speak English, so I get lots of stories on people here, they also have an 18yr old boy who’s deaf so it’s actually great because I communicate with him really well with sign language, and he gets to tell me all the “insides” since no one else is listening! They also have the cutest “sausage dog” Mimosa, she’s a cutie, and the cleanest dog here I’d say! He washes her everyday in the laundry room!!

So that’s about it, I’ll give you more details on how I fit in later.. it’s another long story,

So ciao for now,

Jade

I don’t have much time to write but just to say that I have arrived safely in Sri Lanka! I first arrived in Colombo, and was a bit worried, but staying with my friend’s family made it much much better, and I made me comfortable in my new home country! I then went on to Kandy, the second biggest city in Sri Lanka or the only other city here! Since I had 4 days before my vet intersnhip started I traveled a bit to the ancient cities, which were beautiful, see pics. I am pretty happy here for now, but can’t wait to integrate more with the people. FOr now it’s quite weird to see so many people look like me, at the same time, I’m not really from here.. It’s funny though because I get in some temples for free (whereas tourists need to pay incredibly steep prices). I just smile and they let me through, BUT if I need to speak, it’s all over, I then fall in the “tourist” with lots of money category! Hopefully I’ll learn a bit more of the language while working here, I know how to bargain and my numbers in SInhalese, so that’s a start…

Ok well will keep you posted,

ciao,
Jade

Hi Everyone!
We’re currently updtating this blog page,many many thanks to Martin!! so below are my latests zoo pictures and some of Ngaia. Very soon I’ll be heading off to Sri Lanka for a vet internship and elephant nutrition research! Can’t wait, I’ll be there 5 wks so many more updates to come…

ciao for now…

Ca fait tres tres lontemps que je ne vous ai pas vraiment donne de nouvelles, et en plus, ca va faire quasiment un an que je suis a Sydney. Je ne regrette pas ma decision, j’adore cette ville, et je me suis fais un bon network d’amis ici. Encore plus important, j’adore mon programme veterinaire!

Pour commencer, Sydney.. En fait je ne sais meme pas ou commencer, mais pour vous donner une idee de mes derniers jours.. je n’ai pas d’auto ici, mais je suis toujours en velo et de chez moi tout prend a peu pres 20 min! 1ere journee je me promene dans le jardin botanique en matine a cote du Opera house, 10min plus tard je suis a l’ecurie, eh oui en plein centre de la ville, ou j’aide mon amie a entrainer son cheval (un pure sang arabe)! Le soir meme, je vais a un BBQ chez une amie quebecoise, et le lendemain, a 5 min de chez moi je rencontre d’autres amis au “boat house” de l’universite, pour alle faire du kayak dans le harbour et les alentours, un bon 3hrs! Ah oui, puis pour finir le tout, on va luncher au “Sydney fish market” ou on s’achete une grosse assiette de poissons grilles a 4! Ca c’est juste ma fin de semaine… Puis si je veux varier, je peux alle a la plage, qui est aussi en ville mais on ne s’en renderait jamais compte, sable blond, vagues de surf, et la mer a coupe le souffle. Par contre la realite est que je travaille souvent une journee sur deux la fin de semaine, et je continue a faire bcp d’escalade.

En parlant d’escalade, je reviens de 4 jours d’escalade dans le sud de l’Austalie a “Arapiles”. Une place fantastique, pour le “trad climbing” ce qui veut dire que quand tu grimpes, il n’y a rien sur la roche, pas de “bolt” pour s’accocher, tu dois mettre les protections toi meme au fur et a mesure. Au debut je ne trouvais pas ca assez physique, mais maintenant que j’ai plus d’experience j’adore!! C’est encore plus zen que le “sport climbing” tu rentre dans une zone de focus tres rapidement car, c’est un peu plus dangereux, et tu ne peux pas te permettre de tomber. Vous pouvez voir les photos sur “my photoalbum”.

Pour ce qui est de la medecine veterinaire, je me compte pas mal choye de poursuivre mon reve. Je crois bien vouloir me specializer en medecine exotique. Puis pour “topper” le tout, bien je pars au Sri Lanka en Janvier faire de la recherche sur la nutrition/reproduction des elephants!!! Et je travaillerai aussi avec un veterinaire d’elephants!! Eh oui ma premiere fois au Sri Lanka. J’ai toujours voulu retourne a mon pays natale en contribuant au pays et non en tant que touriste. Je serai don cla bas pour 6 semaines, a attacher des GPS a quelques elephants, les mesurer, analyzer ce qu’ils mangent, et calculer leur consommation energitique a leur exercise routinier, aider a faire quelques traitements etc… J’ai pas mal hate!!!! Puis oui, la fameuse question, je vais bien essaye de retrouver mes parents biologiques. Ca s’avere assez complex, mais je suis pas mal curieuse. En passant, si jamais vous voulez ecoutez un bon film sur l’histoire d’une petite fille adopte du Sri Lanaka qui retourne a 9ans retrouve sa mere biologique, vous devez absolument regardez ce film “a peck on the cheek” “un baiser sur la joue” c’est en Hindi avec sous-titres.

Donc c’est pas mal ca, il me reste 4 semaines d’ecole avant les gros examens de fin d’annee. Puis ensuite c’est l’avion pour Montreal! Je serai la le 1er Decembre pour 5 semaines! J’ai pas mal hate de vous voir alors on se tient au courant,

ciao ciao,
Jade

Hi Everyone,

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything on my blog. I guess I’ve been settling into my new life in Sydney, and up to now I’m not regretting it a bit. I really like this city, its people, my new friends, lifestyle, and of course vet school!

To begin with Sydney… it’s hard to describe it, but to give you an example of my last couple of days.. Well first of all I don’t have a car, so I cycle, and it usually takes me 20min to get to most destinations. So, I first met a friend at the botanical garden, which is right next to the Opera House, I then cycle 10 min to get to the stables, where I help train a horse with a friend (yep there’s a huge riding centre right downtown in the biggest park in town). That same night I went over to a BBQ at my Quebecois friend place. The next day, I was meeting some friends 5 min from where I live a the “boat house” for some paddle in the harbour for a couple of hrs. Then for lunch we walked over to the fishmarket where we got a HUGE grilled fish platter!! So yeah, that sums it up! the lifestyle here is just incredible. Oh and if I want to change it a bit, I can go to the beach (bondi beach) also close by, and it might be close to the city, but you’d never know it, the sand is gold, the surf is good, and the water is crystal clear. I guess all my days are not like that, since I do work and study, and climb a lot.

Actually talking about climbing, I just came back from a trip at “Arapiles” in the South of Australia. It was a “trad climbing” trip where msut put natural protection as you climb on. I’m really loving it now! I use to think it wasn’t as physically demanding as “sport climbing” where there are already bolts in the rock, but it’s definitely not. It’s much more zen, and mentally tough, as you must really focus on your next move and protection placement, since you don’t want to fall on those! Check out the pics on flickr.

Appart from that, well Veterinary school is always demanding but I love it! I’m feel very fortunate to be able to pursue this dream of mine! I’m still thinking of specializing in exotic animals, in fact, I’m going to Sri Lanka to study elephant nutrition/reproduction as well as work with an elephant vet!!! Yep, finally going back to my birth country for 6wks!!! i can’t wait!!!! I’d been waiting for an opportunity like this many yrs.. a moment where I’d be able to go back to get involved with the people, and not just be a tourist. Plus, I’ll try and look for my birth parents, it’ll be quite complicated, but hopefully it’ll turn out for the better, we’ll see…OH by the way if you ever want to see a movie that talks about a Sri Lankan girl adopted by a Hindu family you must see this int’l movie called “A peck on the cheek” she later goes back to her birth mom in SL and the images are breathtaking, the movie is in hindi but substitles are in english.

So that’s pretty much it, 4 more wks and I’m done with another vet yr. Next, will be some time off in Montreal for Christmas holiday, I really hope to catch up with most of you then, so keep me updated.

OK well miss you all very much,

Jade

Hi everyone,

Ok I just had the most amazing experience this morning.  I went paddling with a new friend out in Sydney harbour.  I couldn’t believe it, our university has a boat shed next door to where I live!  This shed is so nice, so organized, and so we just took our double kayak out and paddled for a few hours in to the harbour went under “harbour” bridge, saw the Opera house, went over to the zoo and ate lunch on a small beach and came back.  I can’t believe this is right next to where I live!!! I can basically go anytime I want and just paddle in the morning or afternoons.  Wow, Sydney is pretty neat!

 Salut tout le monde,

Il fallait juste que je vous dise ce que j’ai fait ce matin, je suis allee rencontrer une amie au “boathouse” de notre universite, qui est a cote de ou j’habite! J’en reviens juste pas! on mi notre kayak a l’eau, et on est parti pagaye dans le Sydney harbour, devant le Opera house, et le zoo, jusqu’a une petite plage ou a luncher.  C’etait tellement beau, ensoleille, plein de voilier partout. Puis on est revenue, mais je peux techniquement alle pagayer quand je veux, je prend un kayak et je pars, matin ou apres midi!  C’est fou!  Je crois que je vais rentrer ca dan mon entrainement de semaine.

 Puis c’est pas comme la NZ ici.. il pelut jamais donc je peux faire ca a l’annee longue!!!!!! ah, j’adore Sydney…

Hi everyone!!!

yeah, I know it’s been such a long time since you heard anything from me, some might not even know that I now live in Sydney, Australia!! yep, my new home, where I can’t expres how happy I am to be here.  So, to give you a bit of a background on what’s happened lately.. well I arrived in Sydney two months ago to continue my Veterinary Medicine degree at Sydney University!  I got here, and the feeling was already good, at the airport I had 4 huge duffel bags and already this “surfer boy” was asking me if I needed help.  Then I got to my hostel, and there was construction in front, and all of the “working men” came across the street to carry my bags all the way to my front door! People here are just soooo nice, open minded, relaxed, and love the int’l.  I fit right into this city!

Since I knew there was a shortage of apartments, the next day, regardless of my pretty bad jetlag, I rented a car and started driving around (on the leftside) the city to figure out what neighborhood I wanted to live in.  It’s crazy here, when you visit a place, there’s already 25 people waiting to visit too! I was just really lucky, and found this neat apartment in front of a harbor and huge park to go jogging, and right next to the fishmarket, and 5 min from a st with cafes and restaurants, and 20 min walk from uni.  It’s small, but modern, and still ok to welcome guests, for whenever you come and visit me ;-) 
The next wks, I focused on just furnishing my place, where I spend maybe 3x 5hrs at Ikea!!! those who know me well, can just imagine me there, just undecided on what is best and trying all these things out.  I think it was worth it in the end, I’ll post pictures in my blog soon!). 
Then it was the arrival of Ngaia, my cat that had been waiting for me in New Zealand the past 6 months, she’s just so special, she adjusted to her new home in about 5 min and definitely recognized me!

Anyhow, after that I was finallly able to visit this beautiful city! I went to Bondi beach with my new made friends, it takes me 45 min by bus to get there, and it’s just funny how you pick up people with their surfboards on the way.  The beach is beautiful, and you’d never know you’re actually in the city!  I also went to see “Carmen” at the famous Opera House.  The city is just full of life, and has something for everyone, it’s a good mix between the outdoors and trendiness. 

I also started Vet school!  I can’t even express how happy I am to be studying what I’ve dreamed of all my life!  I think I was the first one out to buy my anatomy/physiology books!  The course here is also very focused on the practical aspect, we’re already learning how to read x-rays, and do general examinations on cats, dogs, horse, cows, birds..we spend a day a wk on the farm campus to better learn about husbandry and farm animal medicine.  The faculty is really well organized, and we’re just so connected with the rest of the world.  Many speakers from all over, come to speak on medicine on wildlife and horses especially, which are two of my favorite!  I met people who, like me, are onto their 2nd career. I’m just happy to be studying actually, I prefer the week than the wkend!

Of course I haven’t forgotten my outdoor sports, I’m still rock climbing, and will be horse riding soon, I’ve also just come back from a scuba diving wkend.  The weather here is just perferct to do these sports year round.

So yeah, I’m pretty happy right now!  In fact just to be home studying the anatomy of the dog, with my little Ngaia with me, is perfect.  It’d been a while since I had my own home… and to be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a Vet is enough.

OK well keep in touch!

Jade ;p)