'The Great Dane'

Wang-wang- the male panda in Adelaide Zoo.

FINALLY, I FINISHED ALL MY exams for the semester this afternoon- practical and theoretical (plus a load of written veterinary business case study which was due before the exam week started).  Others would consider that I should be celebrating for this special kind of freedom but I, honestly, don't feel the need of doing it now 'coz the exam marks or grades aren't up yet...  Those exams were not easy, it's tough (please... I don't want see myself sitting for the supplementary exams) and it's too early to party.  Okay, I'll stay optimistic.   

Some students have actually been partying since Friday because they had already finished their exams that time and their school holiday has started... but I was one of those uni students who need to lock inside the room reviewing slides and piles of handouts while they were twisting off beer bottle crowns, uncorking champagne bottles and clinking glasses while dancing in the sea of psychedelic lights and loud, lively music!  The good thing with that was I had more time (but still NOT enough) to go through my revision notes before the big exams.

But I also had my six-hour break last Friday (after our DVM Professional Skills exam).  One of my acquaintances (now a friend)- Phil, a Danish backpacker I met during my trip to Kangaroo Island last April 2010, came back to Adelaide ten days earlier to experience diving with white sharks in Port Lincoln, South Australia.  We have been keeping in touch through Facebook so I was well-informed that he's more than keen to visit the Adelaide Zoo to see the pandas.  I believe that he's starting his acclimatisation because (via Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) he'll be flying to Beijing this coming August to study Mandarin, find a job and hoping to eventually get his Permanent Residency in China.

Since I hadn't seen Wang-wang and Funi yet (they arrived in the zoo last November 2009), I decided to go with Phil.  I am so glad and equally grateful that he paid for my entry fee- Au$22 for a student concession.  It was a relatively cold that day (11'C) and was drizzling in Adelaide but we braved the weather with our desire to see the pandas!

The Adelaide Zoo's panda with the tourists, to scale...

Our visit to the zoo was memorable, we always have our share of 'first times' and last Thursday, it's my and Phil's first time to see the giant pandas!

We both took a medium-sized cappuccino afterwards, and parted ways.  Phil- the great Dane, is currently enjoying his driving adventure across Western Australia. 

The sea lion.  Phil and I had seen hundreds of them at their natural habitat in Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

I have met a few European backpackers in this country and I am inspired to hit the road (or even off the road) and discover the world, as well.  But with all these EMS (extra-mural studies) and Clinical Research Project waiting, I absolutely don't know when will it gonna happen.  Meantime, I have to be contented of exploring Australia...  I have actually booked for a short trip to an Australian city tomorrow.  It's time to pack now!  :D 

Ring-tailed lemur.  Adelaide Zoo, South Australia.

Phil and I at the Wang-wang and Funi Shop.

The Adelaide Zoomobile.

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