The Draw for Africa

I ran out from a lunch hour seminar about "animal welfare of fish" and bolted to the next lecture theater. The fish lecture had run late and I had a minute to get to the room where we were doing the draw for our African rotation.

I hobbled into the room with my huge backpack and poofy jacket and sat down. The room was almost full. "I didn't realise that many people wanted to go!" I whispered to Heather who was beside me.

"Not all of them want to go. Some of them are just here to watch."

Great. So now a whole room of people could witness my disappointment.

The room fell silent as our academic aministrator walked upto the front of room carrying a paper bag. She slowly read out the list of people entered in the draw as our class president folded each of our names on a sheet of paper and dropped them into the paper bag.

"Crap! there's like 25 of us trying to get 10 spots!"

I resigned myself to my fate. I have the worst luck with draws and with twenty-four other avid vet students, there was less than a fifty percent chance I would get chosen.

Slowly, they began the draw. Our class president picked out the first name. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Some people had wandered in the back of the lecture theatre and were leaning over the railing, trying to get a view of all the action.

"Rebecca"

There was some mild cheering then the room fell silent again as the next name was drawn up.

"Tyler."

More cheering. Then silence. I felt my palms go inexplicably sweaty and I could sense the tension in the air. I allowed myself a peek around the room. Everyone else was literally on the edge of their seat, staring intensely at the paper bag which contained our fate.

"Heather."

Heather beside me went still for a moment, then relaxed. She gave me a relieved smile. I smiled back, then went straight back to staring at the paper bag. I realised a few seconds later that I was actually holding my breath. I stared down at the desk where my fingers were fidgeting around and decided I didn't even have it in me to stare at the bag anymore.

'This is irrational' I kept thinking to myself. 'Why are you suddenly so nervous? You know it's fate if you get your name drawn out and if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. Get a hold of yourself lass!'

I was continuing my inner monologue when suddenly, I realised they had pulled another name out of the bag.

"Vivian!"

I stopped and looked up. I heard my friends cheering for me at the back of the theatre. Heather beside me smiled at me and I gave a big smile back.

My name was chosen.


I am going to Africa.

*cue the Lion King opening theme*

I AM GOING TO AFRICA!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This time next year I'll be chasing giraffes, doing surgery on cheetahs and sitting in the dirt with a mongoose in some village somewhere gobbling fresh pineapple and letting the juice run down my chin.

I sat there overjoyed as they pulled out the other names and conluded the draw. I was deeply disappointed that some of the people I really wanted to go on the trip didn't get their names drawn. Especially one of the girls that went to India with me who basically was the driving force behind petitioning to our dean to get the African rotation back into our curriculum. I had a hard time signing my deposit cheque and handing it over cus I felt like somehow, it wasn't fair that I had gotten chosen and she hadn't. I still feel like it's a bit of a miracle that my name got chosen at all.

I take it as a sign.

Of what you ask?

I have no clue. Its just . . . a sign.

Either way, this changes my whole rotation schedule and I have to figure out if I still want to go to New York and do small animal surgery or if I want to give that up and try my luck for the marine biology/ecocsystems rotation in PEI.

I have until tomorrow afternoon at 4:30pm to tell our academic administrator if I want to give up NYC.

In the meantime, I have to study for my three exams on Thursday and my quiz on Friday so I best be off or I won't even pass third year in which case all my anxiety about fourth year rotations will be made obsolete.

I'M GOING TO AFRICA!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE *SIMBA?! ALIVE?!* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!