Harry Potter and The Missing Lamb Scrotum

So, Paul finally caved and started to read to fabled "Harry Potter" series.  One and a half weeks in, and book number 5 is started.  As expected, we've decided what characters we would be...Zhiling would be Harry Potter, and Paul is Dumbledore. 

On that line of thought, the funniest thing that Zhiling seems to think has happened of late, is a joke that Paul made up after reading wayyyyyyyy too much Harry Potter.  Are you ready for it?...

"What did Harry Potter say when he walked into the bar?"

Answer to follow...

Anyway, back in the real world, we actually had been very busy until...well, a week and a half ago.  Zhiling has completed her Family Medicine Boards!!!

This adventure (in Hawaii, where all good adventure are) comes complete with angsty lay-overs, mini-vacations in Sydney, sunny beaches, and ridiculous surfer dudes (wayyyyy, dude).

Zhiling flew out of New Zealand, managing, perhaps, the worst flight schedule in history...an eight hour lay-over in Christchurch, followed by a 10 hour lay-over in Sydney.  Luckily, Laura, our friend, lives just outside Sydney and a transit visa, apparently, can be obtained at the last moment.  So Zhiling, at least, got to see a friendly face, spend some time in a house full of children, and escape from the airport instead of slouching in a chair for 10 hours.  After this, she flew to Hawaii, took her boards, met a surfer dude who rented her a bike, offered a free energy drink (that he wandered out of his unmanned shop in front of her to go get), and had to be reminded to collect her money...by Zhiling.  Zhiling also managed to swim in the ocean and ate REAL AMERICAN pizza prior to returning to New Zealand.

As Zhiling was returning home, Paul was leaving it.  Paul was given the opportunity to work at a hospital down the road where some of our friends work, to cover Tracey while her family came to visit.  The hospital down the road is...well, different.  The doctors are ALL Americans, and so it's a much more American enviroment to work in...unfortunately.  The doctors also do shifts, working without another doctor around, so you're truly by yourself, medically speaking.  It's also a far less happy place to work...the management definitely is not as in touch with the staff, which makes everyone much more angsty...ah, reminds me of medicine back in the States:-)  The last day there was Thanksgiving day, and the experience was a good way to remember that we should be thankful that we managed, with out first offer, to get great locum positions.

As for Thanksgiving, we had it on Friday...as that would be Thursday in the States, where it really matters.  Zhiling made a roast chicken, stuffing, shrimp and broccoli, green beans, and Paul made mashed potatos...w/ extra butter and 2 eggs in it (Andrei's secret recipe).  For dessert we had bread pudding...a very British dish, which, unfortunately, Paul knew, even prior to coming to NZ, that he did not like.  Zhiling thinks he's soooooo picky.

The next weekend, we finally saw some New Zealand wildlife.  We had previously gone to the Otago Pennisula a couple of months ago.  We saw NZ's only castle there, but only made it out to the Albatross Reserve late in the day, and didn't want to pay for a rushed tour.  This time, we got out there in the morning...and a very windy morning it was, indeed.  Perfect for Albratri...Albatrosses??...Albatrices?  Albatross.  Albatross love wind...just gliding on it.  They have a 3 meter (6 foot) wingspan and use it to float on a streams of air.  On the Northend of the Otago Pennisula happens to be the only mainland colony of Albatross in the world, and you can go and watch these magnificent birds soaring about.  You can also see them nesting on the ground all about you. 

Right down the road, you can also go to see other rare birds.  This time, the Yellow-Eyed Penguin.  A reserve that they have there, has an extensive trench system dug into the beach and surrounding hills so that tourists can stealthily meander amoung nests of birds on this reserved land.  We saw several penguins, mostly Juveniles, but some adults nesting.  However, the highlight was definitely a juvenile male that was very curious and wander into the trenches behind us.  Our paranoid guide, slowly, slowly let us work closer and closer to the bird to take pictures.  We eventually had to become more aggressive in order to make the penguin move out of the trench so that we could escape.  After escaping the trenches, we slow crept our way, off the trail, to avoid startling the stupid bird.  We then went further along, where we saw seals and Blue Penguins (the world smallest penguin), though the Blue Penguins are primarily noctural, so we only saw them in their nests.

This road trip was also exciting for us because Paul located a recycling facility while he was in Balclutha working.  So 3+ months of tin cans, plastic, paper, cardboard, and glass finally got taken out of our garage and recycled.  Thank goodness.

This last weekend, we had a more Southland focus weekend...even a another Southland experience, perhaps.  We started the weekend at the Southern Fete, a gathering of Southern Island arts, food, culture, and a LOT OF VENDORS.  We got Steampunk Earrings for Zhiling and tasty cheese for Paul.  We also finally had opportunity to hear The Heartleys, a New Zealand Country act (nominated for best new Country duo or group in 2010) composed of 2 fellow Gorites, including our own Kayla, one of the nurses at the hospital.  We got their autographs...oh yeah.  Paul also waited 40 minutes for a nasty satay chicken burger.  Mmmmm.  And Zhiling rubbed Emu oils on her hands, testing their magnificent claims of greatness...

After absorbing that much Southland culture, we decided to go all the way and returned to the Keri's sheep farm.  This time was not nearly so cute...

So newborn lambs are adorable.  And birthing new lambs is cute.  Tailing lambs, giving them Vitamin B12 injections, vaccinating them for scabbies [a flesh-rotting disease...seriously, we saw a nose fall off...not exaggerating...it fell off], and adding both an eartag and and ear-marker (clipping part of the eartip off) are not cute or adorable...  First, someone grabs a lamb (getting heavy by this point in the year) from a manure-filled, crowded pen where a mixture of lambs and ewes have been corraled.  They you place them, baaa'ing and kicking the whole time, onto their backs in a a rolling conveyer where they are injected, clipped, tailed (the males also have their scrotum bound with a tight rubberband, so it will fall off...

...sorry, I'm back...had to throw up after typing that), sprayed for scabies and pink-eye, and scratched with a live vaccine.  They are generally bleeding from somewhere by this point and you are covered with blood and sheep shit.  Mmmmm.  Paul also got to run around herding sheep and had to grab a poor little blind lamb that couldn't be herded and lost its way.  Now there's your cute for the day...if you forget about the blood, shit, and lost testicles.

...Sorry, had to go throw up again...

So now, we're back to work...almost like normal again (Victor has been away, and the hospital side of things is still a little off balance without him).  Dr. Basta and his wife, Margaret, who were our phone contacts regarding Gore prior to leaving the States, as they are from the US and have worked here prior, finally made it out to Gore again.  They seem pretty awesome.  They have worked back and forth between here and the States for awhile and seem to know EVERYTHING about NZ.  Bob also does vasectomies and is going to let us watch and learn...again with the surgical sterilization...  Bob doesn't seem to be as good at fixing garage doors, as Paul and him spent a fair bit of time trying to fix our dysfunctional door, but failed.  They did manage, however, to get it to open so at least we can park the car outside now and use it.  Success!


New Zealand Travel Tip #7: Use cold water and pre-washing to remove even the toughest lambs blood and sheep shit stains.

So...what did Harry Potter say when he walked into the bar?

The Answer: Expecto Corona!