We then went to a place that makes and packages two Cypriot cheeses - Halloumi and Anari. Halloumi is wicked bad for you (about 300 calories per silver dollar size) while Anari is made with the leftovers (mostly protein, and no fat). I've had Halloumi a lot over here, but this was the first time trying Anari. It reminded me of eggs.
After that, we went to a feed mixing facility. It was really interesting how a computer system is able to control the exact amounts of each ration needed for specific mixes. The facility was also very very large - multiple floors and over 7 silos.
Our field trip continued at a "medium sized" farm. Let me tell you, this farm was huge! Hundreds of cows. What really impressed me was the milking system that they had. There was a whole separate room for milking, and it was extremely clean and sanitary. The cows file in twice a day to be milked and the workers just rotate them through. There were so many more milking machines than we have at the university, and it is interesting how they have an entire different building dedicated to the milking. While we were there, a calf was recently born (within the past 10 minutes or so) and she was adorable. Our professor/vet let us stick our hands into the cow to palpate and check for pregnancy. Yup, she's pregnant! I got to be one of the students who stuck in my arm, it was great!
After our field trip was technically over, the feed facility owner took us all out to lunch - on his tab! The food was delicious. We had salads and kabobs and Halloumi with pita bread. Delicious!
Overall, it was a really great field trip and it really opened my eyes to the size of some facilities.
That night my friends and I studied for our midterm that we had today. The midterm today was surprisingly difficult, which I'm glad about. I'm really glad that the exams are not a joke because they should not be. We should be learning and I'm glad that the midterm truly did test us on what we learned. After the exam we learned (and I relearned) animal nutrition. My professor shoved all of the information that Stokes taught us in an entire semester, into one hour, including ADN and all the fractions. The afternoon class also went very well. We learned (relearned) about some diseases in lactating dairy cattle, including ketosis and mastitis (mastitis in more depth than Weber's class). Overall, it was a really good lecture that actually kept us students engaged for all two and a half hours of class.
After class we went into town for an art show and cross over onto the Turkish side of Cyprus. As I said in one of my earlier blogs, Cyprus is divided into the Greek side (southwest) and the Turkish side (northeast). It was not until only a few years ago did the borders open up for passage. We had to bring our passports (but didn't get it stamped because the Turkish side is not official), but instead received paper visas. We walked around town and were privileged to enter a church. We first had to take off our shoes and were given head scarfs and skirts for those whose ankles were not covered. It was really a touching experience. One of the men taught me how to properly pray. I asked him what all the symbols stood for, but he did not know enough English to explain them to me. He did say that we could take pictures, so I have some to remember the church by. The architecture is just so wonderful! After the church, we ate dinner, still on the Turkish side. I had some sort of pizza with ground-up lamb. It was different but tasty. We also had Halloumi in pita bread and pita bread with salad on top. (We are definitely fed well in Cyprus) Once we crossed back onto the Greek side, a very old woman was scolding us for going onto the Turkish side. We just kept on walking. I understand why though. Any Cypriot that you talk to will bring up the Turkish-Greek issue. Many alive today were effected by this and many were displaced and lived in tents for up to two years. If they go back to visit their homes, they are not even allowed to enter. It is quite sad.
Anyway, we got our pictures taken with random Greek guys that came up to us - that was so funny. We then proceeded to the art gallery with very interesting work, and very very expensive! Our air conditioner is broken in our apartment and it is 83 degrees outside. My group has another field trip tomorrow - a poultry slaughtering house and then two veterinary clinics. I'm definitely more excited about the latter.
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