Namesake

Well, it's my last day here in Africa, and I'm feeling quite blue about leaving. I'm not terribly surprised that Africa swept me off my feet just as I always thought it would. But I am a little surprised and really relieved with how much I truly enjoyed the work-side of the trip. I think I had always built up an experience like this in my head, and it really did exceed my expectations!! Of course, there were challenges (some foreseeable and many unforeseeable), but it was an amazing life experience in international research and scientific training, and I'm pretty confident Dad was right in projecting that I'll be back someday for more. I may have some more reflections as the days pass, but for now, I just feel so lucky that I had this opportunity and excited to be coming home to you all soon! Thank you all so much for your support and love along the way. This blog has been more fun to keep than I had anticipated, so thanks for following along. Here are some random pics that wrap up the Livingstone/VicFalls/Chobe circuit. I may post some later tonight with the Lusaka crew in them, but who can say...:)

Captions:
- Skulls at the entry point at Chobe National Park; Left to Right: Antelope/ELEPHANT/Impala/Kudu/Buffalo
- Microlight from the ground level (This was of the lady that took flight with Brian's vehicle after me. Her husband did also, and they flew close enough to wave to each other in the sky which I thought was cute, albeit, dangerous? Haha.)
- Bridge to the Zimbabwean side of Vic Falls
- Vic Falls from the ground level (Zambian side)
-Amazingly, there was a drink called "Under African Skies" that I found at a local hotel in Livingstone -- and it had my favorite local liqueur in it called Amarula Cream (made from the South African Marula fruit tree)! Of course, I had to give it a try, and it was delicious. For those of you who may not have drawn immediate connections about the origin of my blog's name -- the namesake is taken from a Paul Simon song in one of my all-time favorite albums (and another source of my curiosity with Africa in my early youth) - Graceland (featuring the South African band, Ladysmith Black Mambazo). If for some reason you haven't had the pleasure of listening to this awesome album yet, you should check it out right...now! :)

Live Dangerously (When Important)

My old college mentor Robert used to always sign off by saying, "Take care, and live dangerously (when important)." I think my adventures this weekend would definitely make Robert proud. After visiting Botswana, I went to Zambia's famous natural attraction -- the spectacular Victoria Falls in Livingstone, spanning both the Zambian and Zimbabwean borders and pooling waters from the great Zambezi River. Since it's rainy season here, the falls were even more full and lush than usual, and two of my friends accompanied me on the trip out to the falls. We walked the perimeter of the falls and got so soaked! I could have sworn it was actually raining, but it was just torrential downpour from the mist of the falls itself. We were trying to be all cool at first and claim we wouldn't need to rent a raincoat for 5000 Kwacha (~$1), but once we made it to the bridge that runs parallel to the falls, we realized how dumb we were being and got suited up. It was well worth the price especially since I got soaked anyway through two layers of raingear. The water was actually ricocheting up from the ground and we were getting sprayed from all directions, but it was awesome!

Then...the "live dangerously (when important)" moment came around. I decided to bite the financial budget bullet and go for the microlight ride over the falls which I had heard was incredible (confirmed!). If you haven't heard of microlight vehicles (also called ultralight aeroplanes), various DIY models have popped up since the 1900s, but the licensed one that I rode on was basically like a hang-glider wing attached to two lawn chair-like seats and a small engine and it's weight-shift controlled! It's just you and the pilot, and they don't even strap you down. You just hold on to the handles on the sides and prop up your legs and up you go! It was hilarious because I was just briefly chatting with the pilot Brian before we took off (after realizing what I had signed up for), and I had made the mistake of asking him how long he had been flying the microlights. I was preparing to be comforted before the flight thinking he would say, "Oh...12 years or so" like most of the guides I've been exposed to have said. But this young guy was different, he said...ONE WEEK. Haha, I thought he was joking with me, but after I disembarked I asked a couple of the employees there, and they confirmed that he really had only been flying the microlights for a week. I had to take a moment to absorb the news. He was extremely skilled though, and it was really a once in a lifetime experience and of course, I had made it down safely, so I had to have a good chuckle about it. (I later found out that actually he had been flying helicopters previously. Different, of course, but he had a lot of piloting experience, pheew. :)) Anyway, the ride was only 15 minutes long, but I'll certainly remember it forever. They don't actually let you take a camera on the flight, but they take pictures from a digital camera hooked onto the wing tip. It was such an amazing experience seeing the great span of the falls, the Zambian and Zimbabwean countryside and nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya park from that height. I even saw an elephant crossing the river, and it looked so small. It was very humbling to think how incredibly small I would be down there. The shadow of our craft looked like a tiny little eagle in the sky, and I quite liked that imagery too. Anyway, enjoy!! Would be happy to share more of the pics in person when I get home, but for now -- here it is!

Chobe National Park, Botswana - 2

The only animal that I was really unfamiliar with was the kudu -- antelope like with really cool twisted horns and striped bodies. (Only the male kudus have the cool horns though.) They are also in excess with antelopes and impalas. Our guide was saying that antelopes, while grazing, face in opposite directions in pairs to be on the lookout for predators (last pic).

It Means No Worries...

Had an awesome weekend -- went on a proper Zambezi River boat tour and game drive at Chobe National Park in Botswana. Despite the bleak animal forecast as it's rainy season here (less likely that the game will be traveling far to access water, etc.), I saw a lot of animals, including: lions!, impala, kudu, antelope, crocodile, hippos, giraffes, baboon, warthogs, a variety of local birds, and a LOT of elephants. Botswana (according to our guide) has one of the most dense populations of elephants anywhere, and we must have seen at least 100+ during the afternoon tour. Interestingly, elephants actually have very dark skin (apparent after they have a bath), but like to coat themselves in mud and dirt in order to protect their skin from sensitivity to sun. Hippos also protect their skin from harsh sun by staying in the water during the day. Their skin is relatively thinner, and produces a red jelly like substance that has antibiotic roles in protecting from infections in the cracked skin. Pictures will probably have to come in slow batches, again, but here's some to get you started. (Also had another amazing adventure at Victoria Falls -- but that caption will have to go on the next entry.) Hakuna matata! :)

* Good luck to my buddy Dan on his Research in Progress talk tomorrow! You will do great!!

Failed Attempts to Shut Up the US Embassy Georgetown

Went to Lusaka's World Bank headquarters a few days ago on our day off for a televised World Bank/USAID videoconference debate on the role of material incentives in HIV prevention. I was hoping to have some insights on conclusions drawn from either party, but really all I took away from it was that the US Embassy Georgetown (Guyana) are a bunch of jerks who forgot to turn off their microphone and unknowingly talked over everyone. They were clearly not listening to the distinguished moderator and guests who repeatedly asked them to shut their traps! At one point, some famous health economist from Harvard just stopped midsentence and said, "Maybe they're saying better things than we are..." Haha...I hope they were embarrassed about it later, because it really distracted the attention from the true content of the whole event. Bad news, US Embassy Georgetown!

Despite how little I was able to extract from the debate, while waiting for it to start, I did find out about a really cool Zambian tradition that I wish I could observe in person, but the timing won't quite work out. Anyway, it's called Kuomboka (you can Google Image it later, and you should!) and it's a yearly tradition that takes place in Mongu (the capital of the Western province of Zambia). "Kuomboka" means "crossing" in the Lozi (local tribe to Western province) language. Due to flooding of the upper Zambezi River, the Lozi tribe led by their king need to relocate to higher plains every year and do so in a huge zebra-stripe painted barge! The barge is surrounded by Lozi tribe men, who all row in unison. In fact, I'm told that if one member is found to be rowing out of unison, they are considered to not have allegiances to the king and are thrown overboard to drown! Yikes, talk about wanting to get that right the first time! Anyway, the center of the barge has a giant statue of an elephant which is a symbol of the king, and underneath the statue of the elephant is a private room for the royal party. With loud beating drums, I'm told it's quite a spectacle! Wish I would be around a bit longer to see it.

In general, things are pretty stable here in Zambia, it seems. I've been surprised with how remote our clinic/lab site is. I kind of expected Kigali to be like that, and our Lusaka site to be right in the thick of the city, but it's really quite the opposite. At PSF in Kigali, we were so central to everything and could walk anywhere really. Here it takes about 15-20 minutes by car to get to the nearest real supermarket. We are not really very proximal at all to local restaurants. Luckily, we have a chef at the lab that can provide lunch for $1.25! It's usually pretty good local food: some greens, some meat option (if interested), and a staple here called "inshima," which is kind of like...sticky, dense, cream of wheat/porridge? I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's cheap and extremely filling, both good qualities here. (Unfortunately, it also makes you really sleepy!) Training with the (awesome) lab staff here has just started. I spent 11 hours yesterday trying to install our two main sequencing programs on a computer, hah. It was definitely tolerance building, but the great news is that it worked, so we should be all set for the training in the next two weeks! Time is flying by. Will be home in 1.5 weeks! Hope everyone's doing well!

Caption for a few more random pics from Kigali:
- Our dashing dog, Scrappy!
- Lab director Jean, so nice and energetic about the training
- Lab photo of the individuals that I had worked most closely with during my stay in Kigali. They had taken me out to dinner my last night in Kigali. I really love them all!
- Sunset on Mount Kigali
- Visit to an orphanage that Nathan (one of our PSF staff members who I've been working most closely with for the data analysis, in red shirt) founded in the outskirts of Kigali. Houses about 24 really hilarious local boys (ages 8-17), who were able to accurately guess my age! When questioned how they were able to so clearly estimate, they claimed to collectively have a wide knowledge of Bollywood stars. When pursued further, it was clear that they really did! :) I felt quite reluctant about taking our picture and just wanted to hang out and chat (because they appeared to be genuinely curious about cultures of India and the States), but the boys insisted on a proper photo shoot before I left, so of course, I obliged. They were really nice, and Nathan told me later that he is interested expanding the project. He'd like to start finding/buying/shipping old bikes from the States and set up a sort of make-shift bicycle garage at the orphanage (or nearby) so the boys can learn to fix them up and ride them. I was surprised to hear that bikes in Rwanda were so expensive -- $200 USD, which is beyond affordable for most people. I had assumed that the paucity of bikes around was due to the extreme hilliness of the place, but perhaps it's a combination of the two elements.

In and Around Kigali -1

Didn't take a whole lot of pics within central town Kigali itself (where I stayed) because it's basically looks just like any other highly dense city - except cleaner. Most of these pictures were taken around the outskirts of Kigali and at PSF (the HIV couples counseling and testing clinic/lab whose patients our lab studies, and where I've been working the last few weeks). Sorry, but I had to downgrade the quality/size of the photos for easier posting. There are many more pics, but Blogspot is not cooperating with the Internet here. This'll have to do for now! :)

David vs. Goliath

Arrived safely in Lusaka last night, and I can safely say now that I really do miss Kigali. Rwanda might be a lot smaller in square kilometers, but I think its character fits me a lot better, so far at least. The Internet is decent, here, though, so keep your fingers crossed about the potential for some pictures posted soon! Must go to bed, but here are a couple quick updates!

Conversion Rate: 4779 Zambian Kwacha = $1
Cost of a loaf of bread: 3800 Kwacha (cost of living is still quite high, but lower than Kigali)
Interns at the project: 8-10 (vs. 2 at Kigali)
Time to loading a webpage: equivalent to tea-making time (including boiling water, steeping and flavoring stages)
Roads: muddy and definitely not as well maintained as Kigali (lot of crater-sized potholes and giant trenches for flooding, etc.)
Avocado price: $1/each (vs. $0.16 in Kigali)
Social Reform Issues: decidedly less progressive, based on what I've heard
- Did I mention that Rwanda has a national tradition called "umuganda" in which every last Saturday of the month, the whole country is basically shut down from 8-noon in order to promote community building workshops and is considered a day of community service? (And they really stick to it!) Ahh....pretty great.
Local Languages: Nyanja (complex) and Bembe (even more complex?)
Local lab staff: really wonderful!!
Distance to IAVI lab: just two buildings down the road which is going to be really convenient
What it's Known For: Nearby Livingstone - Victoria Falls! (Going to check it out next weekend for the lunar rainbow! Hopefully will also make it out to Chobe National Park just across the border into Botswana for the weekend, but plans still pending.)