This place is awesome

It has been absolutely amazing being back in the states these past few days. The days have been pretty packed and sleep has not been so easy to snag but, I would not trade it for the world.

I want to give a quick run down of all of the things that I appreciated here thus far.

1. Transportation: I can go wherever I want whenever I want and don't have to sit is anyone's lap

2. Food: if I want it, it is easy to find and tastes great

3. Family: I walked out of the terminal on Thursday and saw four people that I can't think of being away from the rest on my contract in Africa. I will, of course, but, mom, dad, Brother, Jennah - I can't even say how thankful I am for you or how much I love you. Uncle Bill you are a rock and a sage, thank you so much for all that you have done for me here in the states (great food and conversation) and for your consistent communication while I have been a world away.

4. Friends: Old and new. It is not that I have not made friends in Africa but, that I really do miss those that I left back here in the states. I have actually made some new ones here while I have been away too

5. Cleanliness: The people are clean and the streets are clean, it's brilliant!

6. Technology: Wifi everywhere and quick connections

7. Open: No compound walls surrounding every house

8. Conversation: This coincides with three and four but, I miss being able to speak normally and having people understand what I am saying the first time around

The list could go on and on but, I need to go grab some breakfast and figure out what the day looks like.

Katy, Kahler and the Hyman's have fun on your trip to Livingstone! I am sure that it will be fantastic. Praying for safe travels!

All is marvelous

Home

I love America, I love Texas, I love being home!

Made it back safely. The flights were relatively uneventful save that the flight from Jo-burg. IT was delayed and I barely made it in time to the Dubai gate. Obviously, I made it ok though, all is so very well. Met my fam at the airport and have just about put down my first six-pack of cream soda. All my luggage came through and I am just pumped to be in America Land. So good!

Here I come

About eleven hours until I am in the air headed toward that sweet America Land. I caught myself today reminiscing and trying to take in all the things that I want to share with everyone about this amazing place. Can't wait to see you!

Appreciating all of your prayers for a safe flight back. All is about as good as it can get!

Airplane

That is what is on my mind.

I do not want to seem as though I have not enjoyed myself here, only to express how happy I will be to see friends and family again. I would like to go over some of the things that I have seen and learned over the past five months.

1. Baboons are not nice
2. I like open fields without walls
3. I wish that all were as friendly and respectful as most Zambians are
4. Everyone should see Vic Falls, awesome and humbling
5. Leadership is a gift, not everyone has it. (This will be amended to say that good leadership is rare and though it can be taught it requires training and effort, thanks Uncle Bill)
6. Jimmy Eat World makes long walks to the post office easy
7. The animals and plants here are fantastically different
8. Appreciate solemnity every once and a while
9. God is good no matter your geography
10. It is supposed to be cool at Christmas
11. Sunday is supposed to be the second day of the weekend
12. U.S. beef and Mexican food hold a very special place in my heart
13. Thankful for my amazingly supportive family
14. It is a short list detailing things that Zambians will not eat
15. I miss my church back in CS
16. Riding in the mini buses has destroyed my sense of 'personal space'
17. 'Right of Way' only counts if both parties understand it
18. What the heck were they thinking when they paved the first roundabout?
19. Despite being trashed by the people nature finds a way to make a landscape breathtaking
20. Living some where and visiting some where are two very different things

Yesterday evening on the to the Mexican food place we also ran over a man. Joseph slammed the brakes and I, sitting in the passengers seat (left side, still weird), locked eyes with a guy that I was pretty sure we would be taking to the hospital. He was toasted and stumbled back into a ditch where I assume we probably spent the night. Not a bad idea, likely the safest option for that fella.

Katy, Kahler and I made it to the Sunday Market today where I picked a few things for you folks back home. We ran into a couple of people that Katy knows fairly well that are associated with the Baptist Mission Zambia (BMZ) and ate lunch at the Mint Cafe. Pretty tasty place, I got French Toast and ended up munching on Clair's salad that she couldn't finish. I didn't have too much trouble.

Did a little shopping at Spar though, there was not too much that I needed as I am headed out very soon. Got in Roy's beat to death cab and headed back for the flats. Roy is a funny character, he is a Rasta with ganja leaves all over his station wagon cab that can't have more than 100km left before it gives up the ghost.

Got back to the flats, took a little nap and listened to a sermon online about Godly leadership in the I Peter 5:1-4 concerning elders. Part on my reason for number fifteen above. I miss being a part of a church like Grace. I am thankful that I have access to the teaching still even all the way over here. Might have also played a part in number five as well. Being a good leader is not always/ever easy. Without the proper priority hierarchy and by that I mean without placing bringing glory to God on top you will fail even if it looks like you might have succeeded here.

Oh! 21. Don't ever take free refills for-granted

I leave here in two days, it is still a little too heavy for me to wrap my mind around just yet. Can't wait to see you all or that sweet Texas countryside! I miss you guys. All is so very well

Rain rain

The wet has been pretty impressive. I was able to get to work yesterday morning without boots. It was muddy but, I managed to play my own 'professional' version of hopscotch to make it through the nastiest sections and stay relatively clean. There was a flaw in my plan. Lack of foresight bit me again and with the steady rain all morning and my growling stomach combined I became (not Captain Planet) swamp thing? I tried to keep dry for the first fifty yards or so and then decided that it was just time to dive in and I trudged through the river that was previously Vubu Road. I got home, changed, had a cup of tea, and hit the road again to IAVI where we had Management Meeting (have I mentioned that I deplore/abhor/despise, [deorspise] these?). I survived though and even seemed to go a little more swiftly than usual. Maybe because all I could think about is how that would be my last management meeting of the year!

Tuesday was training day. It actually went very smoothly and I dare say that I even had a little fun. Kahler and I each presented a few SOPs and then had the techs present the other six or so. We made it through these bad boys in record time. Before lunch we had run through all of the procedures that they had tacked us with for the entire day. It was a good thing too as Kahler and I had to be in front of a computer for a conference call at 4:00 and there were two very involved SOPs that we needed to get through that were not on the list which we were able to accomplish. Always fun when we can let the guys go a little early too, which we were also able to do.

There are some really sharp folks in the lab and a few of them understand my American English well enough for me to crack a joke here and there and get a little chuckle. I just pretend that they would have absolutely lost it but, because we were in a professional setting they were forced to suppress the outburst.

There is nothing left to set up for my homecoming. My car is all set, I have a phone, I have a ride (or two) home from the airport, I have my tickets printed... I suppose I have to pack a few things but, that will take all of eleven minutes tops.

Today was soggy again but, I slipped on the 'ol 'gum boots' (rubber boots) and took off through the deep stuff on purpose. There is something fantastic about defying nature. Maybe why I like driving so much too. We are not supposed to go that fast but, I can when I am in the car. It was a good day, dreadfully slow though. I talked to Mr. Theo this evening and I will going into the immigration office tomorrow morning to pick up my (drum roll) employment permit! It is finally 'on the books' and I will get to rescue it into my custody. This should minimize any complications that could arise with my re-entry... in about three years.

Oh man! critter update, there are five inch slugs cruising around all over! These are dark gray/black with a yellow stripe running right along their dorsal bi-symmetry. I have a couple of pictures of them, I will get them loaded in soon.

To all a very blessed day! All is very well

Just over the next hill

It has been a pretty great weekend! I have been able to talk to people that I care about on Skype, went to a little Mazungu arts and Crafts show in the middle of no where (middle of no where in Africa is a big deal folks), and got to put up Christmas decorations with Katy and Kahler at Mike and Lindy's house.

Well last week's end was very welcome and so it was decided that we would celebrate a little by going to this 'big' once a year crafts show out Leopard's Hill road and 4.5km down a little road to a place called the Polocross Club, or something like that. It had rained pretty heavily on Saturday night turning that 4.5 kilometer drive into a slick, slippery, African red dirt, barely passable in four-wheel drive kind of path. We decided to give our little 1995 Toyota Corolla beat-to-death cab drive a break and get out and hike the 4km or so down this muddy mess.

Well it turns out that it was all mazungus there pretty much and since this was taking place on a Sunday morning all of the folks that would give us a ride in the back of their truck were at church. So instead of getting picked up we just got splashed (admittedly Kahler got it the worst) I took the high road up through the bush (mamba trail). A big 2500 Dodge Ram (must be an American) long bed drove right by, I couldn't believe it. I might have had some unwholesome thoughts run through my brain just briefly.

Hill after hill until we finally arrived at the Polo fields and found three decent sized tents. Most of what they sold there was larger items like furniture. They had a few neat things but, on the whole it was super touristy and over-priced. We were blessed by running into a girl that we know from the mission named Sarah who was there with a Zambian cat named Mark. Mark works for Airtel, formerly Zain (A Wonderful World, I will tell you about this when I see you). His Land Cruiser which we all hopped in carried us all through the crimson sludge without missing a beat. He took us the rest of the way home as he did not live terribly far from our flats. It was a much better conclusion than intro for sure.

Today was productive. Got up and headed to IAVI this morning as there is a shipment going out. Kahler and I spent a few hours this morning getting all of that squared away and doing our darnedest to see that there were zero mistakes. Came back, ate breakfast and then headed for Manda Hill to walk around and get the weekly groceries per usual. Something pretty crazy happen while eating lunch. We went into a little pizza place called Debonaire's and saw a rat the size of a large ferret. This bad boy was pretty impressive. The Zambian lady in sandals in front of us freaked out and that's when we got a look at the beast before it disappeared into the counter some where. It's whatever, TIA right? I need to preface this next part with a bit of extra information.

Manda Hill has been undergoing a massive reconstruction and everything is just now finishing up and it looks great but, well we are in Africa. We are eating out side under cover of the mall while it poured rain. About mid chew I notice something out of the corner of my eye. It is water beginning to gush from the roof across the way. Then the roof just falls away in a huge section and waterfall pours out. A few people screamed and made a cute little dance move to get out of the way. I am glad that no one was hurt because I was pretty worthless laughing at what had just happen. I was laughing right up until I looked above our table and started seeing wet seams around the huge ceiling tiles. Kahler, Katy and I looked at each other for a second shoved the last pieces of pizza in our mouths and got the heck out of Dodge.

After a bit of grocery shopping we trudged through the rain about a kilometer to Mike and Lindy's. Bare foot, muddy and pretty soaked we got to the Howard's where we dried off and begin decorating their house for Christmas! It was fantastic, they have a huge amount of Christmas stuff and it was a blast listening to Christmas music with Holiday Inn playing in the background and putting up lights. It was a fabulous end to the weekend, for sure.

Oh and I was joking a little with Heather about an eagle-sized grass hopper but, on the way to the arts and crafts show I saw a huge hopper take fight and had to stare for a while and make sure that it wasn't a hummingbird. The wings underneath the green covering are so vibrantly colored. It was a pink to deep purple color that was just terrific. Definitely fun to see when everything seemed so dreary and nasty. No matter the weather or condition there is some creation that shows you beauty, even when you least expect it.

I hope that you all had an equally great weekend! It is now single digits until I am back in the states! All is very well

Also, I got to eat a few termites at Mike and Lindy's! Crispy with a little juice in the middle. Maybe not the best but, not impossible. They did feed us Warthog stew and cornbread too which was delicious!

The reckoning and life thereafter

This week has gone just about exactly as I thought it would. It has been an absolute nightmare. From mis-communication with Emory to lab techs not getting their contracts renewed. It was one of those weeks that was memorable for all of the negative reasons.

Tuesday was the day that everyone was on edge because tomorrow would be the day that they would find out whether they still had a job or not. We managed through that one and made it to Wednesday where we terminated two techs. One of which was expecting his contract to have expired permanently and the other was caught a bit more unaware. She came to me crying showing me the letter that she was given that indicated that she was not eligible to have her contract renewed. She said that she wanted to come and talk to me later but, that conversation has yet to take place.

Thursday I and the lab caught hell for not getting a few boxes that were part of a side study in a shipment. Kahler and I have been scrambling to try and get on top of it as it is currently a huge mess. The dry ice arrived today for the shipment to be sent out on Monday. After several other follow up emails and keeping correspondence with the four or five agencies that we work with I can end the day somewhat satisfied with the work accomplished today. I however, know that tomorrow holds a good deal of work and it will likely be a very long 'Friday' for us.

The labs have managed ok thus far with the absence of the two techs though when leave and sickness occurs we are going to be in a very bad way I am afraid. Right now there is just no way around it though so it will be dealt with when it comes up a little further down the road (a lot further down the road would be ok too).

That just about brings you up to speed on what has happen these past five days. The plane ticket that takes me to Houston on the 16th has been keeping me going through all of the ridiculous-ness that has represented my job for the past few days.

I will try and shift here to a lighter tone. There were two amazing things that I got to see today. The first was spotted by Kahler this morning on our short run. It was a whopper of a slug! The thing was about four inches long and had some decent girth to it. It was a monster. The second I caught a peek of this evening. Kahler and I were snooping around the little outdoor sheds in an mode exploration and stumbled on a huge bug. No idea what it was at first and did not know whether the thing was alive or dead. Turned out to be a live roach that was Africa huge. I had biceps! Two pretty neat critter sightings right here in our little Lusaka.

Needless to say I am very much looking forward to the weekend. I just have to make it through tomorrow and I get a little break and then just one more week then I am off and in a familiar and fantastic land.

Hoping that you are all well. I, by the by, and in great health and am currently at am all is going to be fine status. Have a terrific weekend!

Thankful in chaos

My first Thanksgiving in Africa was a much more exciting experience than I had expected. The ZEHRP interns were invited to the house of the CDC director for Zambia. His name was Dr. Larry Marum and his wife's name was Elizabeth, I think that she is a doctor as well. It seems to be the case that those couples that do research work in Zambia are both very well educated.

We piled into cabs and took off for their house which was in a much fancier part of town than our dear Emmasdale. After about a twenty minute cab ride we arrived and were escorted to the back porch where there was a great little spread of snacks and drinks. They had coke and fanta and brewskis and scotch. It was a wonderfully American place. Meryl, Jacquee and I took a seat and at that the party table was established. We had a great time talking about things other than work. Someone I got claimed a lot of attention when it got out that I might be talking to a little lady back in the states. It was a very entertaining pre-feast fellowship.

I think that I was the only one to pour a sip of scotch but, Elizabeth said that she was disappointed that no one was drinking the Johnny Walker, well, me being the giver that I am did not want to leave her like that if I could help it.

It was a fairly traditional buffet with all the goodies. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes (which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole), pumpkin pie, Apple Pie, and whipped cream. They are Catholic and read a prayer for health out of the Book of Common Prayer. It was a neat tradition that they have. Oh man, it was a very long meal though. I stuffed myself pretty ridiculously and had to try and keep conversation, it was a delicate business, staying interesting when all you want to do is take a nap. We were warned before the meal that we were going to go around the table and have everyone say what they were thankful for.

Friends and family and the way that being away gives others a chance to show how much they care about you were a few of the things that I said I was thankful for. I am truly thankful that I do have such a fantastic family that have supported me so thoroughly while I have been far away through care packages, prayers, emails, Skype calls and letters. It has all meant so much to me and I am so very grateful.

We left the Marum's around 9:30 and headed back for the flats. I got to good 'ol flat four and was gone by 10:00, fat and happy. It was a good day to be able to think back on because tomorrow would be pretty rough.

Yesterday and today were pretty hairy. Here is a little background:

We have been hearing little bit sand pieces about some substantial budget cuts that could be coming down the pipe but, we had yet to hear any specifics and really last we heard this was just a precautionary measure and likely everything would pan out just fine. Well we lost a research initiative through the population council that was to make up about 27% of next year's budget. 27% translates to 57 positions. The Program Management Group (PMG) did what I thought to be a horrendous job of explaining to the laboratory staff the situation. They said that there are nine in the lab right now and that seven would be eligible for contract renewal. The staff as well as the management (Kahler and I) are very worried that the lab will not be able to function given this decrease in workforce. Those that are left will be working that much harder and have that much morale stolen from them. We were looking forward to the opportunity to pick up another lab tech. This cutting two of them loose is a fair sized step backwards. Kahler and I had a quick meeting of the minds to see if there was any way that we might be able to clear up the news that the staff was just handed. I can't think of a worse way to go into the weekend than thinking that next week you may not have a job. When a job is lost here, it is just done, there is no benefit package or severance. We walked back to the lab where all of the staff were gathered and tried to explain that this was as much news to us as it was them and that we are going to the mattresses for them in every way that we are allowed. They did not have many questions but, I think they really just wanted to know that we truly are in this thing with them and want them to be part of the team. Moses, is our rock of motivation, he said 'we can do this!' several times which is exactly right. It is possible but, it will not be easy. Intern... got to be kidding me.

Kahler pointed out something interesting today when Dr. Kilembe (site director) came into my office. He came in and wanted to try and tell us that he knew that we could not afford to lose any staff. He wanted to tell us the two that he was thinking of if it did come to that. Kahler noticed that Dr. Kilembe really cares about what we think and knows full well that we control the feelings and morale in the lab regardless of how much terrible news they receive. Even though we have not been here for a very long time we have developed some neat relationships with the lab techs.

Oh man, yesterday was a train wreck. the PMG was scheduled to come in and meet with all of the staff at 10:00 and instead we had all staff of the entire project gathered only to be told that the PMG would not be coming and that they should go back to work. Every one knows that contracts are about to expire and most of them associate the PMG with bad news, how can anyone blame them.

It was a heck of a week, Thanksgiving and job responsibilities made it one for the record books. I do hope that you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving and maybe even got to snag a few deals on Friday. Brother and Jennah, I am very impressed, that is a big deal but, check on appliances for the new place! I can't wait to see it. It was great to hear from Uncle Lee, so glad that all is well! Very much looking forward to seeing everyone here in a couple short weeks.

All is alright

Inconvenience

This is how I had it in my mind. I take the exam on Saturday and then I switch gears to focus on the audit and then I get to maintain until I hop on the iron bird. Well it did not quite work out that way.

23rd November 2010: Day one audit

7:30- awaken take shower and put on something a little more snazzy because the auditor is coming

8:00- at my desk wondering what time the auditor will arrive, I wonder to the back to see that things are in order and give a pep talk to the crew that are in.

9:00- it's not weird that he is not here yet, he could have gotten on a plane this morning

10:00- the CLS auditor, Charlotte, did not get here until 10:30, no worries

11:00- what is going on, I really expected some communication or explanation by now, begin calling IAVI contacts in an effort to track down some information on the fella that was coming to conduct the audit

12:00- frustrated, have not been able to talk to anyone but Charlotte and she is in Kenya

1:00- obviously the audit is not happening today, now the trick is to find out when?

24th November 2010: to be Day two audit

3:00- receive email from Kigali site with a message forwarded from Tim, the guy who was to conduct the audit, that read something like this:

Some things came up and we will have to reschedule the GCLP audit for the beginning of the next year. (here it comes) Sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused.

--

Come on! An audit is a huge deal. The thing the really burns me is that he knew that we were expecting it and he waited until the second day. The same thing had happen to Kigali last week as they were on the list to be looked at before we were. Jean, the contact in Kigali forwarded me the email from Tim as he said that my email was not accepting his message. I think that my email might be trying to filter the bad news for me, ha.

It is difficult when you expect to have something done with and it just gets pushed back a bit. I am anxious to have it over with but, I am I really doing my best to look at this from a positive angle. There are now a few things that we were going to have to try and explain or do our best to avoid that we might now have the opportunity to button it up more completely. The lab worked very well as a team to see that we were prepared for this audit. It was terrific to see.

Kahler and I have been trying to plan an outing for the lab folks to show our appreciation for all of their hard work. I think that even though we had planned to celebrate the completion of the audit we will try and take them out the first or second week of December because they really did make sure that we were ready for the audit and I am quite sure will keep things tight until the reschedule date.

I am on call again this week, so far nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred. It was not a great management meeting to have to take minutes in but, I can't complain. We are looking at budget cuts across the project and everyone is trying to protect their staff and it really can just get downright hairy/ugly among the interns. Kahler and I have come up with our statement and we are thankful that the project management group (PMG) recognizes the gravity of what the lab does and the value of the trained technicians that we employ. We remain hopeful that they will not require us to cut anyone. The truth is that we can not do so and remain viable.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am thankful for you all and hope that you have an absolutely fabulous turkey day. It looks like we will get away from work a little early tomorrow and go have a thanksgiving meal with one of the big wigs with the CDC. I am looking forward to it very much actually.

All is well, I am very blessed

This week ended today

Saturday Evening:

This week ended today. It was a long one. Kahler, Katy and I and a bunch from the flats went to the Mexican Food place to grab some good grub and drinks. It was a really great chance to unwind.

The GRE is done and all that is left is to wait for the results. I think that I did better than last time however, right now I do not have a great idea as to how well I may or may not have done. The first quantitative portion was sneaky and the end came much sooner than I would have liked. It is all done and I can’t do anything about it, so on to the next! The audit

The confidence of Moses is quite contagious as he has been through several of these audits now and believes that we will fair just fine. I find myself parroting his hypothesis. He is right I think in that we have done much to prepare for this audit and though Kahler and I will likely have to do some work this weekend we will be ready. It makes sense that the internet would be down as I write this post.

I wish that I could talking to you. Alas, the technology here will not allow. I am just about ready to switch gears for the break. Just need to get through the 24th and then my mind will get a head start on my body in retreating to the Lone Star State. The boldest and grandest, withstanding every test...

I got to try something new today. I ate a caterpillar, it is a traditional Zambian dish that was actually pretty tasty! It surprised me a little how good the little fellas were. The guard was cooking them up and asked me if I would like to try, how can I say no, right? I am glad that I accepted his offer. Katy should be posting pictures soon as she tried them too!

It has been an insane week but, having weeks like those behind you gives a little more energy to face the next; because if you could make it through that then it must be down hill from there. I had no idea how much that exam was weighing on me until I was done. It was magical.

I am going to finalize a few applications this weekend and begin working on abstracts for conference in the states. A free trip and time off work, who wouldn’t jump at the chance? There is one in Maryland in May and one in Rome mid-July just before I come home. I think it would be a blast to visit Rome and right now even Baltimore feels like a really big deal, haha.

The clock to seeing my sweet motherland continues to tick and I am anxious. It is going to be fantastic, I want it to last forever. I look forward to seeing many of you. I am in very good health and am going to pick up running and working out a little next week. Sincere thanks for all of the prayers, I am blessed to have you all in my life.

All is well.

Sunday Morning:

WHOOP! Listened to the fourth quarter of an amazing game on WTAW internet radio. Well done Ags! 9-6

What is going on

I feel redundant in starting another blog with an 'I am still alive' but, I think I owe you all that. As best I can understand it I had malaria and was sure that it was not licked however, my blood analysis today showed no critters though my lymphocyte count was quite high. So my body is fighting something, my guess is I picked up some opportunistic flu-type virus. Good news is that I took a nap after work today which was great. I feel pretty good!

Work has been very kind this week. Moses has been taking care of IAVI like a champ in my stead. There are those people in an organization that you cannot afford to lose and he is most definitely one of them. Kahler has also picked things up and run with them, there are many things yet to be finalized before we are all set for the audit. Today I walked in the lab and Moses was standing on a chair dusting the top shelf that must be ten feet off the ground. I feel pretty good.

Heard that my bro and sis got a sweet new roof! I can't wait to see it. The countdown has started in my mind and though I haven't moved past the gre and audit it is just that I have a mental escape from over-whelmed shut down taking over now. I was telling Heather the other day that it is just the simple things like green grass the absence of trash every where that get me excited about seeing that Texas paradise again. I feel pretty good.

Things are going together quite well with doctoral applications and I am very hopeful. There is no way around these applications taking a great deal of time that I have yet found. Other then recycling things like Statement of Purpose and Research Interest. That 'Research Interest Statement' has been a bit tricky for me. I received an email from a dear mentor Dr. Chuck Huber at SRPH (a brilliant statistician) that made external all the things that I have been feeling about this research thing. Uncle Bill (keenest, most hungry intellect I have ever known) told me the same thing early on. It is difficult to use a hook that you are not passionate about to get on in a program. On the other hand, I am going to leave room for a passion to develop. I think that there is enough room to scoot around a bit and tailor the dissertation to something that I can be enthusiastic about. I feel pretty good.

That is all I have for now, I hope that you all are at least pretty good as well. I will see you soon!

Story Time:
My memory today was riding to the immigration office... again, with Mr. Theo. He didn't mention marrying a Zambian this time. I think he is done chasing that after I told him last time that I am not really on the market. He dropped me off and I walked into this house of confusion and disorganization with hopes of procuring an important official document... what was I thinking? I sat in a chair across from the place where the contact I was told to see should be seated. No worries, what else is there to do, right? I can wait this thing out. About fifteen to twenty minutes later the officer saunters up and begins on paperwork pretending that I do not exist. I have learned to fight fire with fire and pretended to be nodding off. Worked like a dang charm. She asked how she could help me and I told her what I needed, she, of course, acted put out and sent a runner to fetch the document. I resumed my annoyed and drowsy demeanor and waited for the result of the search. It came back with nothing. I believe that the lady then realized that I was the guy who's employment permit they had just flat out lost. She was a bit more cordial and I had a little leverage. She tried to say that there were pending requirements. I asked her with an amount of impatience why I, as the owner, was not notified of these documents? She had no answer and requested that I bring another photocopy of my passport. She did not go so far as to apologize but, I sensed some serious embarrassment and hope that this net submission will be expedited with a speed not yet seen in Zambia. Ok so the latter is just wishful thinking. We will see, my temporary permit stands valid until Dec. 15th when I leave. I am not worried at all. I mean if I can't get back into country that is not my problem, oh dang, ZEHRP figure it out I will be in Texas doing pretty good.

New day

Well here I am just shy of 36 hours after being told that I have a nasty little critter in my blood and I feel fine. The meds that I was given must pack a good wallop. I went into work this morning and made it til about 4:30. Got a few SOP duties wrapped up and shipped which was a great feeling. Kahler took on the management meeting like a tank and I walked through the delightful little shower that we got this afternoon to the flats.

I walked into the lab this morning and the techs looked at me like I was a ghost. They were all quite surprised that I was out of bed much less at work I think. Moses told me later that it was very good for me to be there and for the techs to see someone come in even with a solid excuse to be absent. He said that 'nobody' (now by this he means my people which means mazungus) is back the day or even week after sometimes. I just told him that I knew that there was a lot of work to be done and I did not want to dump it on him, Kahler, or the other techs. He told me that I was strong. I told him that it was only because I had lots of folks praying for me. He said 'oh yes, the Hand of God was on you for sure'. Other than being an amazing lab manager Moses is a pastor.

Just a touch of a headache is all that I am suffering from and if that was really bugging me I would take something... ok that isn't really true but, it's not that bad. So I am thinking that I finish up the tablets that I have at 60 hour and I suspect that all will ship shape. Going to have to try harder than that malaria! But, please don't.

So my next post will likely conclude my malaria incident and I can check that off my list.

-Plasmodium in my blood: check

Man there is just not that much left to do, ha. Have a great day all of you fantastic people. Thank you again for all of your prayers!

All is well!

Not to worry

I am not dead. I rested a good deal of the day and started a malaria drug called Lonart which I have been told is the best treatment for the strains of malaria in this area. I know that some of you are very worried, I just wanted to do what I can to assure you that I am ok and plan to have this thing shaken real soon. You prayers are very appreciated. Thank you all so much.

All is well

Something new

Today was pretty exciting.

I got to see a blood smear positive for malaria. Unfortunately, that slide was mine. The techs in the lab tell me that this is Zambia's way of welcoming me. I have not been feeling quite up to snuff the past day and a half or so, turns out there is a good reason. So I am drinking lots of fluids and I just started a malaria treatment regimen. Hopefully, I will have it licked soon.

I hope that you are all well. Have a fabulous day!

Plasmodium falciparum

One hundred three

I have been away from my beloved Texas now for 103 days. Usually I can look back and say 'wow, time flies' but, today certainly is not one of those days. I felt everyone of those days apart from my home. I am doing my best to see the beauty here. Regardless of the overwhelmingly fantastic opportunity this is I must confess I am at a low. I like to think that there are not too many things that can knock this guy on his tail, false.

A bit of good news now to balance my downer opening. There is an instrument called a Vi-Cell in the immunology lab at the IAVI lab. This sophisticated little gem counts the number of viable cells in a given dilution. This machine has been a bit of a spaz lately showing counts even on a blank run (background noise). We had an engineer come take a look at it a few weeks ago and he replaced the 'flow cell'. The flow cell is a thin, flat, hollow glass horseshoe of sorts. The camera shoots pictures as the sample volume is pumped through this portion to arrive in the waste bucket at the end. There is a dye that live cells will take in that florescences given the special light beneath the flow cell. So Kahler called the manufacturer and they gave some basic instructions on what might be the issue.

With a Leatherman tool (thank you Uncle Bill) and a pair of forceps and the attitude that 'well this thing isn't working, what is the worst that could happen?' I used the screwdriver on the handy tool and we removed the shroud and located the flow cell. It was a bit like taking apart drum brakes that are well past needing to be changed. No sooner do you get the rotor off then spring start firing every direction and then you get to search for twenty minutes. NOW you have to try and figure out where they go, ha. While Kahler depressed the arm that supports the flow cell we removed a little hellion of a spring creation that uses two little steel bars that are to slide through either end of the stretched spring to keep springy pressure on the piece of brass that held the flow cell in place. This hole that the spring is supposed to go through is just so you can barely get the spring through much less see what you are doing.

Finally, we remove the flow cell and wipe some Trypan Blue stain off the lens side face and go about the nightmare of replacing that ridiculous spring contraption. With the help of the Leatherman needlenose and a pair of angled forceps we were able to piece the mechanism back together. Moses the lab director was quite impressed and some how it seemed to increase morale that we were able to do something to help the lab directly. I wonder what it takes to be a Beckman Coulter engineer. I am thinking I might just look into it.

Looking forward to taking a trip to the post office tomorrow to pick up a package from my folks. Then looking at completing a final gre practice exam so I can devote some focus to those areas that I am still lacking in.

The sunset this evening was beautiful and the smell of rain is heavy in the air. The thunderheads and the winds spread the tails of red sun elegantly in the western sky. It sprinkled a little around mid day today.

No time change for us here in Zambia making the time difference between us eight hours.

I hope that you all are very well and that you have a restful and blessed Sunday. I am going to try and figure out my next moves. No worries, even though everything around me is in flux He is faithful and constant. The rough times remind you of all the good that you have. I will talk to you again soon.

Still here

It has been a while. I am trying to think of something interesting that has happen since the last time I have posted. I got called a 'boxer' this morning while taking my pre-work jog. Apparently running for no reason over here is indicative of hand to hand combat, at least that is my best guess.

Talked to Mr. Theo a little bit today about my permit status and it looks as if everything has been filed and approved but, they just flat lost it? He assured me that he would do all that he could to find it and encouraged me that they would either locate the one floating in phantom space or expedite a new travel document request. For now I am quite legal. I am however, quite anxious to have the more permanent status.

Work has been fairly quite with the exception of this biennial practice of reviewing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Being part of an organization that is split between several sites (Lusaka & Ndola Zambia, and Kigali, Rwanda) means that no matter how expedient you are in taking care of your piece you are only as quick as your slowest member. We reviewed 14 SOPs better than a six weeks ago and we have yet to hear from Kigali. Two days ago I received an email from that site with nine SOPs attached. That they had the nerve to ask that we review and make any revisions by this Saturday just abut boiled my blood. Here is what I see happening. Kigali holds out to approve the SOPs redone by the other sites until we have returned edits to them and then they finish the race to get them to Emory first even though we have been on the ball. I it is a tricky business communicating this sort of failure for a group to work as a team. Still in a bit of a stale mate as it stands.

I feel right now as if I could complete a mile long fire walk so long as I know that I am going to get to see loved ones here in a short five weeks or so. It is more like six I now but, that last week I discount because it will be right there and well, nothing will be able to touch me.

I hope that you are all enjoying the cooling weather for me! I do miss this season change, it is definitely my favorite. Aggie football, that long walk up to the second deck of Kyle Field, screaming until you were beyond hoarse. Then the bare trees and that smell of a little fire some where in the distance. It is a fantastic time.

I cannot wait to drive my car. Am a little worried about re-learning that picky clutch on my driving machine but, I am quite ready to give it plenty of practice. The GRE is coming up here in a few weeks (Nov 20), I feel like I am getting near as ready as I can be. Just today I printed off a few letters to professors that I would like to study under at several different schools. I am hoping that perhaps I can hook them with the HIV lab experience. Just praying that they do not already have a doctoral student to take care of. There are a few other options that I have but, the most attractive is to be accepted and matriculate fall 2011. We shall see.

Speaking of that beast of an exam I am going to hit the books for an hour or two before getting some sleep. I hope that you are all very well. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to seeing you. Have a fabulous day. All is as well as it can be here in Lusaka.

Part two finally

Happy Monday readers, it is a fresh month and I am in the mood to say something super corny like, 'it is yours to make just as awesome as you want.' Done now but, I do pray this post finds you well. I am going to try and jump back into the hair-raising adventures of yours truly on the mighty Chobe River! Not such a great start… but, I am going for it anyway.

Shortly after arriving at the truly fabulous lodge there on the Chobe waterfront we hopped a little boat with our guide, Charles. He was a younger however, knowledgeable fella who had been working as a navigator on this little river for three years or so. Before he ever steeped toward the captain’s position at the rear (stern, avast matey) on the little craft he pulled out a small trunk of sorts and declared it tea time. He prepared a cup of coffee for me. The instant ‘Ricoffy’ that they have here is not for the faint of heart or for those that are more accustomed to that beautiful fresh French Press b, who’s camp I would have previously identified with but, I am making it just fine, I’m not really a complainer. A mug of hot coffee and a muffin/biscuit/scone-esque thing staved off any hunger. After providing the four of us our beverage of choice (tea or coffee) Charlie took the helm and we were off to see what was to be seen.

You have already seen a bit of the elephants. This happen to be our very first encounter on the river. These great beasts were so neat to watch. We cruised on and came upon a pod of hippos around which the driver gave liberal space as they are quite defensive and not shy about starting, or rather ending, a fight. The island that I had discussed before supported the Cape Buffalo, a number of elephants, water monitors, crocs, and a huge variety of birds.

We saw all there was there to be seen on the river and flew back to the lodge for lunch. The food there was delicious. They had these little deep fried balls of vegetables with a little soy on them that were so tasty but, it did not hold a candle to the grilled impala. That is one most thoroughly palatable critter. It was amazingly tender and was made up of perfectly lean scrumptiousness (makes me miss the whitetail venison back home, I am glad that you bagged one pop). Top that off with my skittish but, deliberate scoop of chocolate avocado ice cream and it was a delightfully well rounded day of ‘firsts’ for me.

Our driver whom had taken care of us earlier returned and we hung on for a look at the more inland animals. We had our fingers crossed for a lion but, I am afraid that will have to wait for next time. I did get to see zebra, a few little black-faced gibbon, giraffe, sable, kudu, impala (so close you could touch), more elephants, a set of fisher eagles (word is that they mate for life, pretty neat) and a bunch of baboons.

In a way, I wish that I could space out all of these really neat sightings. Of course, I am very glad that I got to see them all and I know that there are many more to be seen but, it feels as if I was too spread out to fully appreciate each fantastic creature for all that it was worth. It was a tremendously concentrated reserve of animals and there was rarely a time when I did not have some uniquely African wildlife to watch.

The dusk crept closer and it was time to go back to the ferry before it quit running for the day. Not that it would have been the worst thing to get trapped in Botswana for a few days but, this was not the plan and Teresa likes plans, a lot (sounds like some other people I know, haha). I found myself secretly hoping that an elephant would take a run at the land cruiser or that a hippo would just give us a little bump but, I reluctantly report that it was an extremely safe adventure in every way, I mean other than that ice cream.

This past week back was a busy one. I say that as if the others are not however, this week was that week when you dread opening Outlook because you are one hundred percent confident that there will be at least three bombs in there awaiting diffusion. I am happy to have no major disasters to report. There is a bit a work to be done this weekend yet but, not now, not now.

Getting a bit of studying done for the GRE, the analytical portion can surprise you without the right tactics to tackle it. I am not saying that as one who has learned the tactics but, as one who is now more aware of another arena that will require some preparation.

I spent this afternoon at Kilimanjaro Cafe studying for the GRE and writing the majority of this blog post. I met a couple of Belgian chicks that were on their way to Livingstone. It was fun to be able to explain a bit about the falls to them and talk to someone that knows less about this place than I do now.

Sincerely hopeful that you are all off to a fantastic week and that you all have a travel agent website bookmarked for planning that trip to Vic Falls. I miss you all and am doing my best to live the day here and now and look forward to walking off that plane at George Bush Intercontinental.

What else

Ok other than the magnificent 'Uniturtle' there were a couple of other details that were quite exciting. I do realize that it is now Thursday and I am still posting about Sunday but, hang with me. On the way back we saw a little line of monkeys crossing the road, I wish that it had been a crosswalk because it had potential to have looked something like the primate version of The Beatles classic shot. In retrospect, it is a dang shame that I did not get to my camera in time. Hey, hey, they were the Monkeys? Ok, maybe not.

The second little bit was the half dozen of so legitimate ox-drawn carts. I figure if they had wooden wheels instead of tires you could have believed that you had warped back to the late 1800's. Many of the smaller towns that we passed through had at least one of these ancient gems. Pretty neat to see actually. Not neat enough to embrace the Amish way of life or anything but, neat nonetheless.

Now, maybe for a few bigger picture things. Livingstone is terrific and there are lots of nifty and really inexpensive little lodges to stay in when you are there. The place we stayed, other than being a might toasty as there is no air conditioning, was very friendly with lots of atmosphere. They had a pool that made getting away from the soaring temperatures possible. We took advantage of that the first night. Internet was fairly cheap though, as expected, quite sluggish. I met a few fun folks that passed the evenings jovially over a couple drinks. There is something very unique about the backpacking crowd. It was fun to get to learn a little about it. I feel more prepared to backpack Europe now. Have wanted to do that for a while now. I know that the time will come but, not yet. One adventure at a time, right.

Got up early after that first night around 5:45 (kill me, there is more to this story than I can tell just now). I got up and took a shower and headed down for some breakfast. I ordered French toast and waited... and waited. Just as the bus was loading at 7:00 they produced my means of breaking the overnight fast. They kindly wrapped it up and I munched on it on the hour long drive that we had before we got to the Zambian boarder. Our driver has done this countless times and knows his way around this hot mess of a boarder extraordinarily well.

Got my exit stamp and moved toward the ferry that would shuttle us to Botswana. Here is a bit of madness for you. There is a ridiculous number of trucks lining the roads waiting to cross on one of two ferries. There is an extremely organized system that works here at these crossings. They avoid taxes at the boarder office by bringing little wooden canoes along side the floating bit of road and receive goods from the truckers before the boat gets to the Zam side. If one has more than five tv's then they are taxed but, if the two guys on the canoe each bring five tv's through and the trucker hangs on to five, well you see the chink in the process. The thing that I found so fascinating as well as saddening is that this procedure is well known and no one does anything to stop it. I suppose anyone that would have the authority to stop would likely be Zambian and would want a cheaper television too.

Boarded the ferry and listened to the whir of the prop muffled through the water propelling the barge into another country. Unloaded and hopped into a safari land cruiser. this thing was awesome! and we had it all to ourselves. It had room for at least ten but, we were just the four and none joined. The whole thing was executed very well. The truck took us by the immigration office and we received our welcome to Botswana stamps and cruised toward the Calahari Tours main office. Botswana is a very clean place and seeing as they have a port and diamonds there are resources to enforce laws. I paid my dues and then came to this absolutely fabulous Chobe lodge. The structure was thatch but, it was massive! Very nice with lots of couches and a beautiful pool overlooking the Chobe River where I would get in a boat that takes me real close to the variety of beasties. They had these terrific benches where they used old wooden canoes, cut one side out of, built a legs and tossed some cushions on.

Even though that is not quite to end of the story it is where I will have to leave you for tonight. I hope to finish tomorrow and I can catch you up on this nutty week that I have had here at work. I do pray that all is well with you and I will post again very soon. As Paul Harvey so eloquently put it. But I will save that for next time. All is well.

That is the bridge that I want to bungee jump from!

The elephants

These animals are absolutely magnificent. So amazing to get to be this close to them. There is an interesting story about where these elephants are. The elephants shown in the video below are actually in Namibia. The Chobe River that we are floating divides Botswana from Namibia. There is a great island in the middle that is concentrated with all kinds of fantastic creatures. Botswana was able to claim the island because the depth of the river identifying the island from the Botswana side is about three meters deep where the soil lies something like seven meters below the surface making Namibia the runner up.

I am hopeful that it will take a terribly long time to load the six minutes of video that I have to load. The connection here dictates that I crush the video to the point where I am not totally satisfied as to the quality. Again, maybe a few of you can see it in it's full glory when I get back. Others, sorry this is about the best I can do from over here.

Hoping that you are all very well. Today was pretty ridiculous and cost me the option of staying up and continuing this post. I will make my best effort to give more details here very soon.

Memory of the day: Sometimes even when you do everything correctly you will take bullets. Took a hit for a study plan that someone else wrote. Remember that it's not personal, it's business. Just make the adjustments and keep on rockin'.

All is just fine

Victoria Falls

A few shots that I got of the falls. They are so beautiful. I want everyone to be able to stand there at the edge and have the chance to marvel at the beauty and power of this place. Really one of those things that you have to see and feel and smell. I found myself gazing at it the same way that I do those fires we used to build Pappy. Where you can just throw a stick in there and watch it turn to ash and the time in between just sort of disappears. It was absolutely an amazing experience.

 

A shot at the beginning of the trail

A Little further down 

There really are about two hundred pictures that I have to sort through but these were the first two that I thought might give you some taste of how huge the gorge is. TIA, so you could walk right up to the edge of the sheer faces and take video or pictures. Because the falls were dry we were able to stray a bit off the path and make our way along the top of the falls. Wading through the cool water as it made it made for the drop was a pretty fantastic experience.

There you go folks, it is me... alive... at the top of Vic Falls

I have not yet even gotten into how amazing the animals were in Chobe, Botswana. There is some video of the monkeys that I want to share but, it will take a little time to edit and publish. Some of you will get lucky and I will visit you over Christmas and you will get to see them all. the rest of you will have to wait or just live without seeing the awesomeness. 

The sun beginning to set from the top of the falls about 5:30

I was thinking about how many people don't ever get to see this magnificent bit of creation, it is true that there is beauty no matter where you are but, this really was awe-inspiring.

Do believe I fell in love with the piece of Botswana that I got to see. It seems so much cleaner than Zambia. Even though that is unfair as Lusaka is by far the dirtiest place in Zambia. The folks that we went on the game drive and boat ride really knew their stuff and it was just really neat to get to see the animals that are unique to this place across the big blue. I will have to steal from pictures from Katy or direct you to them from here as my camera battery ate it about twenty minutes into the day at Chobe. It's might actually be better as Katy has become a pretty skilled shutterbug. I do have a bit of video of the first group of elephants that we saw that were actually in Namibia. The Chobe River which turns into the Zambezi River when it crosses into Zambia divides Botswana and Namibia. We were no more than a few meters from real live wild elephants and it was just an amazing thing to get to see. I will clean that bit of moving picture up first and try to have it posted shortly. 

I hope that you all had a splendid Monday and that you, at least, look at hopping  plane to see the falls! All is pretty great right now but, no telling what work tomorrow is going to look like. No wait... Work tomorrow doesn't know what I look like. I think I have this one in the bag. I keep getting closer to seeing you all, my dear friends and family, I can't wait. Have a blessed day.

Initial reflection

I am sitting in Livingstone, Zambia at a backpackers lodge called Jollyboys right now looking at a quote on the wall by Earnest Hemmingway ‘I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up and I was not happy.’  That certainly must be the case if you only come here on holiday. This long weekend to here has been fantastic. Going back to Lusaka tomorrow will not be easy.

Trying hard to think of the best way to tell you all of what has happen this weekend. I think the best way is to start a series of three each sort of telling a new piece or a different angle of the unique places in this part of this wide world. I will try and start with a few little details that might slip my mind if I wait any longer and then give a more general overview later on. I know that is sort of counter-intuitive but… well I like being unpredictable.

The sunset at the falls yesterday was absolutely breathtaking. The little birds that burst out of the cliffs below when you approached the edge of the gorge were a deep blue with a yellow tinge at the tip of the tail. The roar of the falls was majestic and cool water at the bottom of the falls in a place called the ‘boiling pot’ felt heavenly to dip your feet in after the long walk down. Would have been nice to have after the long walk up too but, I will be thankful for the one. The baboons are not as friendly as they are depicted in the Lion King. Just know that they do not want to be disturbed and all should be fine.

I ran into a pretty good sized group of the little red butts as the group made their way down crossing a little bridge. They were all in the trees and playing in the dried up bed where, in the rainy season, water makes it’s way down to feed the Zambezi River after it has taken the beating of tumbling over Victoria’s heights.

I climbed to a little rock out-cropping for a better view up-stream of the tremendous gorge. The view was absolutely unequalled. I wish that I could explain it in more detail. You could see the little bits of green that managed to cling or crawl up the sides of the rock and where it did not manage you could see the orange-rust rock that defied the pressure, so far, to slip down and join the more gravitationally obedient brethren. The water rushing between and over the boulders creating this ’boiling pot’ was fierce and I could not help but wonder what it was like when Livingstone and those early explorers , that did not have nice steps to make their way down to the base thought when they first came to this place. Obviously they thought enough of it and were sufficiently intrigued by the awesome power and beauty to settle a village and live here.

Ok, I have two random bit here too that I would to add as I thought that they were pretty great. One, there is a business legitimately named ‘Uniturtle’ I am not terribly sure what it means or what they do but, I do know that I know have to come up with a new name for my organization in order to be original now. ‘Ambitortoise’ a bit of a mouthful but, I think it will serve as a suitable replacement. So if I see a place with this name here in Africa I will just pretend that I didn’t and I certainly will not document it so I can still keep my aura of creativity. The jig is already up, you guys know that I am not creative, that’s why I went into science! I don’t have to make things up I just have to present the data.  Two, I had a soft drink (or softie as they call them here) today called ‘Iron Brew’. Took me back to being a kid (a few weeks ago) When you get the fountain drinks and are not quiet able to decide on any one drink so you just prepare a little concoction we called the ‘suicide’. Had a bit of Big Red, Root Beer (Barq’s I believe), coke, and a touch of ginger ale. How could it not be delicious with a  solid name like that?

Alrighty, I know that this is an evil teaser and there is much more that I want to share but, I am exhausted and I need to get some rest. I hope that you all enjoyed a great weekend. I will be back in Lusaka tomorrow afternoon.  I am going to try and reset for the week and remember that Christmas is coming. All is well. Working on being able to use Mr. Hemmingway's quote as my own.

Hello from Jollyboys

Quick post just to let you all know that I am still alive. I am about to run out of internet time but, I wanted to let you know that I am still kickin. hope you all have enjoyed as beautiful a weekend as I have! All is pretty awesome!

The state of jake

 I don't have my own state yet... but, I will admit that it is on the bucket list. Things are going well at work for the most part I think. I have learned to roll with the under-staffed-ness and ridiculous deadlines from organizations that should know better. Still dread opening Outlook every morning but at least I have enough experience now that I am able to contribute something significant to the inevitable string of queries about things that happen long before my time here. State of Jake: feeling like I can maybe pull this thing off

Traveling here in Africa is a pretty big deal! Katy, Kahler, and I have been planning this trip to Livingstone this weekend. It is going to be a blast but, this planning phase is a bit of a headache. It takes so long to get from place to place because of both the windedness and the terrible condition of the roads. Things are very touristy and thus unjustly priced. State of Jake: broke

Kahler and I were able to get a new kind of permit. It is still not what we really need but, the word is that the document that we need will arrive by the first week of November. I am not going to hold my breath but, I remain hopeful. Today at the immigration office turned out to be quite an ordeal. I learned a lesson though... just keep your mouth shut even if it makes zero sense. The lame part is that I actually know that lesson it was just time for my... annual... monthly... ok weekly refresher. State of Jake: humbled

So, here in the Zambian Immigration Headquarters you kind of cross your fingers and pray for a list of things to be going your way.

1. get transportation to the immigration office (hint: make sure the driver knows where that is)
2. pray that the office is open because it is not uncommon for them to just close when ever they are feeling like it.
3. do your darnedest to get your name in that sign in sheet early so that you can continue to entertain that little hope of this being a quick 'in and out' trip (as it well should be)
4. find the guy you need. now this seems pretty straight forward but, I swear it is actually a pretty big deal. I will star this and add a fun story below*
5. hope your man-behind-the-desk feels like he wants to do his job today
6. wait for him to look through some cabinets with what looks to be a total lack of aim for your really important document
7. ideally he will ask few questions the answer of which are in the documents lying right in front of him
8. also it is a good thing to look like you do in your passport photo, he asked me three times whose passport the one that I gave him was.
9. ok this is the big one, get ready. do not under any circumstances stop him as he is finalizing your paperwork to ask why the expiration date of my permit is three weeks earlier than your buddies who was submitted at the same time. just don't do it.
10. when you do make the afore mentioned mistake try to not let the irritation show too much, I think that they get off on that.
11. try not to figure out why the idiot man behind the desk sent you to see someone who you have been told is out for the day.
12. just appreciate the variety of smells as you stand in line to see the fella that you want to bury again.
13. let the lady that he guides you to think that she is brilliant in her reasoning for the date discrepancy.
14. stand in line again and have what would have been done 45 minutes had you not spoken, done.
15. get out of the immigration office with all documentation. mission to immigration office semi-successful

*So I walked to the area where we had gone previously to have passports re-stamped. The individual that we need to see is Mary. Well I was told that Mary was out ill today and that I needed to see one of the cats on the other side on the room. Upon reaching other cat #1 he told me that I needed to see Mary, when I told him that Mary was out ill he said oh 'are you sure, I don't know that, she could be back'. No sir, her neighbor there has said that she is not here at all today. Sigh, stare at nothing for a good three minutes with you standing right there looking at him wondering how the H you are going to make it through this. He finally asks me what I need (this felt like a pretty legit stare down victory and the folks gathering in line behind me breathed a little easier once the silence was broken too). I explain the situation and he says that I need to talk to this guy right outside at desk 12? What/where the eff is desk 12? Did he just make that up?! Genius! Save, now I kinda want to kill him. Finally, I wander my way to 'desk twelve' where I met the guy that gave it his most lethargic effort to complete step six above. State of Jake at this point: boarder-line postal

Summary: The immigration office is one of my least favorite places in the world.

Here on the other side Kahler pointed out to me that this is a 'Temporary Permit'. What we need is a 'Work Permit'. So here's to more tangible proof that I did, in fact, spend a year in Zambia. Here's to realizing that where you are works nothing like you expect and you should just learn to plan for worse that your worst case scenario. State of Jake: whatever

Kahler and I held the weekly lab meeting this afternoon which is always gets a bit hectic around showtime, especially when you spent at least five times longer than you had expected at the immigration office. It is always good to have all the lab folks in the same place at once and hear their insight and concerns. I think that mine and Kahler's primary issue at this point is staffing. We have to begin training new techs nos so that the time the vaccine trail is under way we have at least a few more personnel on the bench. State of Jake: focused and ready to fight for the department

At the end of he day, I feel like I got a lot done in the face of an entire system that did all but totally disallow any sort of productivity. State of Jake: pretty dang accomplished

All is pretty ok

Here we are in Zambia

It is kind of the inside joke told whenever something supremely strange or just all backwards happens. And here we are in Zambia. A more specific variation of the classic TIA, I suppose.

Apologies as it has been some time since I have last posted. I have lots to tell you about but, I also want to sleep so this is going to be a compromise of those two desires.

First, I have a sweet tan from getting to go swimming in Dr. Conkling's pool on Monday morning. It was pretty fantastic. Though the water was not quite clear and a bit chilly it was wonderful.

We had a little mayday at the IAVI lab on Sunday afternoon. We were eating lunch with the Daka's (formerly Mr. Duck) and I got a call from Jacquee, the intern on call, the -80 freezers were screaming like banshees and she didn't know what to do. I walked her through all of the obvious options but, no real progress was made. Mr. Daka dropped us all off and Kahler and I headed over to see if we could help. We had one of the general workers come up and he began to just play with all of the circuits in the back next to the generator, which was a quite disconcerting but, it was better than nothing I guess because should we have to move these samples it would be a complete nightmare/disaster. We happen upon the big inverter which had one tiny switch in the middle as that was flipped Kahler and I rejoiced at the silence and ran inside to make sure that our ears were not deceiving us. All was well again at the IAVI lab.

We had planned to go to Bible Study that afternoon but that unfortunate little incident put us outside our time line and I took a nap instead. I awoke and talked to a few very important people for a while on skype and then got to bed at a decent hour.

After the swimming party mentioned above we dropped by Manda Hill to look around and I left a few letters at the 'postnet' there which, incidentally is just exactly like our post office save the fact that I did not wait for an hour to receive the necessary postage. Then it was off to have dinner with Theresa and her friend and gun enthusiest, Darrel. I grilled the burgers and we enjoyed a fairly american meal of cheeseburgers, ranch beans, and a salad with some Peach cobbler and ice cream to top it all off. It was a great time. I have definitely been blessed with some terrific relationships in my time over here thus far. We went over a few options for this next weekend in Livingstone (we are traveling with Theresa) and got some advice from Darrel who used to live in Livingstone and had the inside scoop.

Today it is back to the grind and I am going just a bit more wildly than usual. I am attributing it to the abbreviated work week but, is could be anything. I mean, here I am in Zambia.

I miss you all and hope that your week is proceeding with remarkable speed and that your weekend stores something as exciting as mine does. All is well

Communications technology

This will be a quick post. I do not think that I need try and explain to this particular audience the importance of effective communication. Well Wednesday was not a great day. Kahler and I had two very important phone conferences to attend. The thing with phone conferences when you are in Zambia is that you really need a functional phone line for them to work just right. I am sure that you all have already beaten me to the conclusion of my little tragedy.

You guessed it! The phones were down for the day and we had to postpone one call and find another tactic to get the details from the other. It is the most frustrating thing to have people counting on you to be some where or to get something done and despite your most genuine efforts you are handcuffed to failure.

It looks for now as if we have the issue ironed out and we will set up the meetings for the upcoming week. Usually being a little bit late is not really a big deal to me or moving a time doesn't bother me but, it is when you are totally powerless to make the decision that you want to make.

It is the way that having the option sometimes gives you the strength to make it through just because you do not feel so trapped any more. I felt trapped and that is among the feelings that I like least in this world.

I do have a bit a good news to try and level out that devil of a Wednesday. It look like Theresa is going to take us to Livingstone to see the Falls this next weekend (Oct. 23)! I am pretty pumped! I think that we are going to make a little trip over into Botswana to Chobe to see the elephants, hippos, and hopefully a few lions. We are going to see the falls, of course, and maybe do a little camping. I can't wait! There is a bungee jump off the bridge over the falls, don't worry mom, I am not crazy... So I will send everyone else the video of that bit of awesomeness.

I know this is brief but, I need to snag some shut eye. I hope that you all have a fabulous week's end! I will write again shortly. All is quite well!

This is what we do

Today there was a group of folks that came to take a look at the ZEHRP labs. There was a Texan, friendly fella with a handlebar mustache, a Minnesotan, rotund man with a pretty serious scowl to him, a Zambian man and an American woman. The latter two had very little to do with the lab introduction while the Texan and the Northerner were my key audience. This is one of those times when the site director walks in ahead of the group, looks over at my desk to find me battling though a journal article and says hopefully, 'we were told that you would be expecting us'.

The fact is that I was expecting them but, I did not quite know how to go about preparing for such a visit. I know what to do in the case of an audit but, visitors are quite new to me. Kahler had given me the heads up. It is handy when you work with somebody that you know well enough that just from the 'they are on their way' you know exactly what kind of visit it is going to be. The 'cowboy' was a super sheepish nerd guy who spoke in little bursts. The big boy just gave his view of why this or that organization was making these or those decisions, that is to say that he had all of his own answers.

Gut check time Pry. Time to fake it like a champ and fool them into thinking that you understand this place. The truth however, is that I now much more about this place, or the main lab at least, than I was aware. Initially I was a little worried when the big guy, Kenneth, was not going to be there but,  I think between Dr. Kilembe and myself we were able to answer most of their questions. In reality it would not have been a huge deal if I didn't know anything about what they asked. So I suppose it was more just an affirmation for me that I do know a little about the job that I have to do here.

I left the gate this morning and said so long to Mr. Bebey and then Steven a fella that I just met randomly on along the road a couple weeks ago yelled good morning as he was walking the opposite direction on his way to work and I began to feel for the first time as if I actually have a place here for at least a little while. That is not to say that there is anything on this crazy earth that could keep me from getting back to the states but, just that it felt less foreign.

I did battle last night with my first animal foe here in Zambia. It was a pretty decent sized spider that thought it was hidden under one of the legs that hold up my Godsend that is an oscillating fan. At first I wanted to try and catch it to find out what it might be and then as it began to tear toward my bed I put my foot down and well that is the end of that chapter. I was able to find identify him as a Neoscona spider, they have pretty nifty tiger stripe kind of markings on their eight crazy legs. Spiders really do not bother so much at all, I mean obviously I don't want them in or around my bed but, snakes are the real enemy. God help me if I ever see a snake in my room.

It was great to hear some happy news about my grandmother finally wanting to meet her first born son that she put up for adoption some sixty years past. It is kind of neat the way that all turned out. For those of you that know you will appreciate this and those that don't should just ask mom I am sure she would be thrilled to tell the story.

Ok, now down to business, I need orders! What is it that you would like from Zambia? I will coming back before too long and I want to bring a bunch of neat stuff with me so let me know specifically or you will get a bag a coffee cause that is always the go to, haha.

I hope that you are all getting through your hump day with remarkable speed... that is unless work is especially enjoyable or you don't have to work at all. Today was a good day and all is well!

Away

Went this morning to Emmasdale Baptist. Got there at ten so we could grab a seat away from the fly swarm. I had a bad experience. We were successful and found a place in front in the comfortable chairs. It was much warmer today than it has been making the zephyrs through the new stain glass windows absolutely priceless.

I didn't get a ton of sleep the night before but, I wouldn't have traded that for anything. It did however, make the service feel a touch longer than usual and those prayers... man there is a dude that prays before the sermon that should be in contention for the longest public prayer badge. It is beautiful but, man it takes some focus to listen and keep up during the prayer. My mind moves much faster than his words and it takes some effort to keep my mind on track even when it should be just about dead from sleep deprivation.

The message was on the family. We have been on this subject since we first visited the church. Ninety-nine percent of the message was addressed to the husband. He did a good job of outlining the responsibilities of the man in the married relationship. It is a daunting list however, the whole thing can be boiled down to love. That is, of course, over simplified as the entire Bible can be wrapped in that command but, it was good to see this consistent do this because of love or don't do that because of love. It is love that makes the sacrifice possible. Humble sacrifice has to be one of the most difficult things in the entire world.

Work this past week was a little more like a blur than five individual days. There is always something to be done but at times finding the place to start or setting up the meeting take so much more time then you thought it ever would or should. I know that many of you can relate here. It is the pieces of the job that you expect to be rough that you expend your energy and find the items that you had written off as too simple choke the machine.

I am catching some of the 'he is new, lets see what we can get away withness'. What I have found effective so far is asking questions and never making an on the spot change to the whole system. There are certainly things that need to be changed however I have to catch myself and ask why this process or system set up how it is. There may be a little catch underneath that is not obvious on the surface. This is when the folks that have been with the project for years are absolutely invaluable. Just Saturday a fella wanted to alter the system for my QC of the laboratory requisition slips. His point seemed valid enough. It turns out though, after a talk with the senior, Mr. Macuacua, that the system works just exactly as it should because of the second round QC for which the medical counselors are responsible.

Today looks like a good day to go grocery shopping and get some gre studying done. It is very nice not being on call. I am not so sure that the little zoo place is going to make it to fruition. We had a soccer game scheduled for yesterday. Kahler and I got suited up and mosied over to the main clinic, where the bus was to pick up, but a little chat with the guard confirmed the, already steadfastly grounded, idea that organization is found wanting in when it comes to ZEHRP football. I came back and had a nap instead, I must say even though I was disappointed, that little snooze was pretty sweet.

I have been looking a bit more at my institutional options for my PhD program and was able to send an email to the assistant dean (after having been in the academic realm in a capacity other than a pupil, I know that an email to the deans or associate deans will never find their mark as they are filtered through secretaries or pushed to the rear of schedule, which is synonymous with being indefinitely marked as unread). We will see what kind of response I get, that is if I get one at all. I will, as always, keep you updated. 

It was wonderful getting to talk to my family yesterday evening. I miss you all very much and can't wait to see soon. Until then know that all is well and that after the weekend of October 23 you should get to see some African animals as that is when I am planning to head to the great Livingstone and see Victoria falls! Hope that you are all off to a great week, I know that I do not always get to respond to the things that you write or post but, please know that it means so much to me. So thank you

The grind

This week has been a little rough, to be honest. There is just a lot going on and there is never a time when there is not at least one person or group that wants something from the lab. It is just the product of being part of a fairly large project in a place where research is well sought after. This vaccine trial that we are trying to get under way is a ferocious amount or paper work and form engineering. There is a report due here, a draft revision there, or the favorite 'hey give this a glance and tell me what you think' on a forty page document. Those always result in a, 'looks good', just don't put my name on it.

I am lucky that I get to work with someone that despite the most abject chaos I can communicate effectively with. I think that things are beginning to work as they should. The repository is an infamous problem area but, I know that there is a solution, it is just hiding better than we are able to look at the moment.

The weekend is nearly here though and with it I think may come a few glimpses of African wildlife though there is a chance that it will have to wait until we head down to Livingstone.

I have had the flat to myself the past couple of weeks as my room mate has been in Atlanta at a conference and now she is house sitting for someone here in Lusaka. It's pretty great having free reign, I won't go into the specifics but, you will just have to take my word that it is something that will be missed when Jacqee returns next week. Speaking of, I think that we are due to get a couple new interns here very soon. A fella named John Tucker is claiming the third bedroom in my flat four and there is another CVCT intern hopping on in flat one.

It will be a blow to lose my very own shower and bathroom but, at least I get to share it with another dude so I will not lose my bar of soap among the countless tubes and bottles.

After reading Katy's blog I don't think that I could be more excited about coming back for Christmas. There are so many things that are going on back home that connect me to such fond memories. I know that I will get to make some terrific new ones here but dang, I sure would be ok with standing for four hours at mid day screaming AAAAAA until I lost my voice and never ever spelling TEAM.

I hope that you all are enjoying the joys of Texas Autumn for me. Happy Friday, hope that you are off to a splendid weekend!

All is well

Training day

ZEHRP has one day a month that it clears the client schedule and dedicates to training the staff. There always seems to be a back log of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to review and competencies to assess. We in the lab have at least half of the SOPs for the entire project, data, clinic, admin, and CVCT make up the remainder. It is something else to read and field questions on processes that you know little or nothing about. But, I think between Kahler and I we were able to put on a decent show. There was quite an issue with the exam or quiz that we were provided to check comprehension. We presented a PowerPoint that we have never seen before and then administered a quiz that either had the answers already written in or included detail not discussed in the PPT presentation. It certainly could have been better / will be better in the future but, it was not a total loss. It was a great chance to actually interact with the lab instead of just sitting behind a desk working on QCs and typing up validations.

I noticed yesterday sitting down in a little open air fried chicken place on Cairo Rd. (‘in town’ because there is a difference between in town and downtown?) with Kahler and Katy, on what turned out to be a not so great day, that I am getting fairly accustomed to everything being dirty. We sat down at a table that had all kinds of little crusties on it and the fella came over to wipe it down with a cloth designed not to clean but to even distribute the disease just as you would use an inoculation loop on an isolation plate. Despite that eerie and slightly terrifying analogy the uncleanness is no big deal any more. I mean I am not going to volunteer to lick the table or anything.

In the same vein, Katy was noticed, as we all sat at this same microbe nirvana, that she is beginning to thirst like a Zambian. That means you can drink a cup of water once in the morning and once and the evening and be good to go. I used to drink Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda at a record setting rate and now, I dare say that I am able to make it through meals now on twelve ounces. I am adapting in a way that I thought I never would/could.

 There is a train that comes by around 9:00 every evening that reminds me of that sweet College Station horn that you could hear from anywhere on campus. Though this horn sounds a bit more sickly, to say the least. I don’t know that I actually noticed the train until I was talk to my brother and he asked what that noise in the background was. I guess I do not notice because I am so used to it from home.

I just got home from the Management Meeting, which, needless to say, goes much smoother now. Save that one of my eyeballs nearly popped out when I tried to keep from laughing while Dr Kilembe (site director) was talking about some medical/data issues). Kahler and I are good for about an hour of solid attention and then if nothing interesting happens we make our own fun. It is like the time that we spent in the GCLP conference passing notes trying to muffle our laughter by clinching our teeth or putting our head down. I know this might be construed as juvenile but it is what separates me from the robots. That being said, ill-timed chuckles can land you in some hairy situations.

I am finding that being the boss just means that you occupy nearly 90% of your time putting out the fires and slaying the dragons that are protocol from this organization or the other. Turns out that if you manage to slay the dragon or at least scare it away there is just a ‘way to do your job’, no damsel. All those fairy tales are so misleading!

Victory: survived not one but, two mini-bus rides this past Monday! The one into town was not so bad but on the way back I am quite certain that there is no way that they could jam even one more body in the stink box. I mean there is a sense of accomplishment in that; well I can check that off the list. They are very cheap and do save a good bit of time despite my previous justification that walking on foot is more timely.

I have forgotten to put my address up despite several requests so I am going to stick it up now for all to see. The designations are a little strange. Oh and I just want to say that sending the package express has not proven to get the parcel here any quicker. Just send anything the cheapest way possible and at most it will take only few days extra.

Jake Pry
112 Vubu Road ZEHRP
P/Bag 891 Postnet 412
Lusaka, Zambia

If you want to send it to Dr. Pry I am sure it will make it to me also, haha… actually, it might not.

I hope that you all are enjoying a beautiful hump day afternoon!

All is very well!

Oh ya, and I am working on two abstracts, one for the AIDS Vaccine conference in Thailand next October and an HIV evolution abstract for a symposium (Whistler, British Columbia) in March. There are a few others that I would like to develop something for but, I don't know that I will have the time. I am hopeful, we will see :)