This week's classes were a success. I have been learning a lot about the agriculture industry on an international level, and that was my passion for traveling abroad. I have been gaining insight on the Angus industry through my genetics project. I have been studying the Arthrogyroposis Multiplex (AM) defect in the breed and I have gained a vast amount of knowledge about the cattle and how defects are spread on a world wide level. Not only am I learning about AM, but I have also been learning about heritability of genes such as eye color in humans. I am really enjoying my genetics class, it has been difficult to understand at times but I enjoy it nonetheless.
For the past few days in Sheep Production we have been studying wool production. We have studied what wool is, the desirable characteristics and the value of wool. Coming from the meat production side of the sheep industry, I find it fascinating that an entire countries sheep production is mainly wool. New Zealand has between 30-35 million sheep with a vast majority of them for wool production. I do have a mid term test next week that I have been studying for so I have also been busy focusing on that.
In my Plant Production class, well that's a whole other story in itself. I do enjoy learning about the production systems here and the different species of plants. Early in the week I went and talked with my professor about a paper I had written about alfalfa and he helped me out quit a bit. The professors here are so willing to help. And what I love the most is that you can go and talk to them at any time. You don't have to go to their offices at certain hours of the day and they don't care what hour it is, they help you no matter what. That is something that I truly wish CSU had. I love the education I'm getting at CSU however there are times that I think they can improve some tactics. Nonetheless, in my plants class part of our grade is to be able to identify particular plant species and I have been working on a power point presentation to help me learn the species. My professor even told me to come into his office at anytime to ask him questions about the plants if need be.
As for my consumer behavior class, we have a mid term next week also. It is a fun class and very similar to my marketing class I took last summer. Our teacher is a very fun loving, kind, joyous person. I love the atmosphere of the class and how she runs it. She always show clips of advertisements and blurps of t.v. commercials, I love it because we are able to see what she is discussing first hand.
As my week came to a close I had the pleasure and opportunity to be able to go for coffee with a Kiwi friend, Alan. He drove us out to the Raspberry cafe outside of Lincoln. We stayed and talked for about an hour indulging in thick Mocachinos and caramel slices. I love the coffee here. Everywhere you go cafes don't give you give you your coffee in a to go cup, but rather a nice mug where they draw designs in the cream. As we headed back into town we saw a car stopped on the road ahead of us, we slowed down and there is a couple who are leaning over a body!
We quickly pull over and rush to help. It was an elderly man, 83 who had been out for a walk and suddenly collapsed. The other woman was on the phone with 111 (NZ version of 911). The ambulance was coming. The old man was laying in the middle of the road, blood rushing form his head and we kept placing blankets over him to keep him warm. Many cars stopped to aid, but there was nothing we could do until the ambulance came. It felt like forever, waiting and waiting. We asked the man questions about where he lived, his wife's name etc... he was able to answer most questions, its a good sign.
Later Friday night, the Uni had a party at Mrs.O's cafe. The theme was super heroes and villains. Well me and Liza wanted to go but we weren't quite sure how to dress. So after going to the gym we got a wild idea of dressing like Greeks. All we had was our bed sheets so we took those and made togas. And I must say I don't know if I would have ever done it. But after going to the party, it was a lot of fun. Liza has truly made my time in New Zealand a rememberable one and I'm lucky to have a friend like her. Who knew that we never really met until our plane ride over to NZ!
It was a fast, exhilarating fun week. I really enjoyed my classes and the people that I am around. As each day passes I can't help but think that it's one less day I am able to spend in this beautiful country. New Zealand has become my second home and one day I hope to return. Who knows maybe even have a sheep farm next to the Tasman Sea.
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