I got to do my first little bit of vetting last night: Alex the cat brought a baby ring-tailed possum for everyone to admire. One of the girls managed to get it out of his mouth and brought it to me, because clearly I know so much about Australian wildlife. Aside from being scared out of its wits, and damp from Alex's saliva, the possum did not appear to be damaged. I put him in a bag with some towels and we called the wildlife rehab people, who recommended keeping him in a quiet, warm, dark place until morning. A Dutch couple volunteered to possum sit, and we got him set up in Alex's cat carrier with some towels, water, and a hot water bottle I found in my room.
He was happily still alive the next morning. I really felt we should bring him to the wildlife rehab place, since he seemed very young and I wasn't at all confident of his ability to survive in the wild. A local vet checked him out and agreed... he will spend a few days growing a bit before they release him. I'm glad my instincts were right, even if I have not a clue about the Australian ring-tailed possum.
At some point most of the people I meet travelling ask me how many years I spent in school in order to become a vet. Their typical response is then "10 years... are you insane?" Even my explaining that it really only takes 8 doesn't seem to mollify them, whereas it's not something I think that much about. Going to undergrad was not even really a choice; I always knew that I would go to college. And among all my friends, graduate education is not so odd either. Among all of us, we have doctors, lawyers, CPAs, MBAs, vets, and multiple PhD candidates. I think it is easier in other countries to have a good career without graduate education, whereas it is becoming more and more expected in the US.
It's definitely food for thought. A starting worker in Germany will get a minimum of 26 days vacation, whereas one in the US is lucky to get 10. Sabbaticals and leaves of absence seem infinitely more prevalent in Europe. We may have more high-powered careers, but I am thinking they have more fun :)
1 comment:
Overachievers do tend to cluster together; you need someone to commiserate with that your boss is someone much less educated and just better networked and more experienced than you.
College has become more of a requirement for Americans, though the trend still tends to be for our graduate programs to be filled with foreign students.
And while the Europeans were busy rioting to keep their 5 weeks of vacation time, we overworked Americans probably upped our gross national product a couple of percentage points. Hard work does have its rewards...
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