I ate a fish

Wow, I mean I really ate it! They were looking at me and I, knowing full well, ate them eyeballs and all. The best part is that the only reason I did it is to say that I did. So there, that's all it got me was those two sentences on my blog, haha.

Today (now yesterday) was amazing! An all expenses paid trip to the gorgeous Siavonga, Zambia.

I kept a little journal of the things that I saw along the way that I did not want to forget. These are a few of the entries:

- I saw the biggest tree that I have ever seen in my life! It was absolutely enormous about the trunk. I tried to get my camera in time but was unsuccessful. I looked it up though and I am about 90% certain it is this tree called a Baobab. They can be absolutely monstrous.

- It was great getting to see a little bit of terrain. I have been in the city of Lusaka the whole of the time thus far and not able to see any of the surrounding villages or the glorious untouched pieces of African landscape.

- We passed an 18-wheeler stalled halfway up one of the little mountain passes with a couple rocks chalking the trailer tires and a despairing river of transmission fluid flowing from the chassis.

- I found the huts! The thatch-roofed cottages were both endearing and humbling.

- Got to see the Lion King trees silhouetted along the peaks of the mountain/hills. Beautiful!

- I noticed these huge piles of red earth and can only pray that I never come into contact with the ants capable of building such a mound.

- I am real sure that I saw Toucan Sam fly by the van as we passed through one of the little towns on the way to the Lake.

Oh ya, and this little guy (death lizard) made me thought I was going to see Jesus! (a lot sooner that I thought I was, anyway)

It was a fantastic trip and did much to satiate my want for adventure for now. All is well.

Weekend four

Ok, not the greatest sunset picture ever taken by any means but, it gives you some idea what the skyline to the west of us looks like when you get out of the compound.

Today was no exception to the typically amazing Sunday I have been experiencing thus far here in Lusaka. The began as it usually does, with me hitting snooze a few times on my iphone that set as my alarm and me dragging out of bed straight to the shower. I met Katy and Kahler in front of the flats and we headed to Emmasdale Baptist. The roads that we walk are so dusty, there is no way that you can keep your shoes from being about two shades closer to tan (I am leaving it as "shades" because I can't think of any more intelligent way to describe it without using the word dust or dusty again and I hate repeating words if there is any way around it even if the alternative make significantly less sense) by the time you get there.

The pastor invited us to launch at his house after the service and we were obliged to consent. We loaded into the his Toyota something and kept conversation up through comparisons between the states and Zambia. This was possible because they spent three years in Mississippi attending seminary. Things like ice tea are often cited as Southern U.S. oddities. We were pleased that they approved of our cold leafy drink and continued to other topics from cars to city mapping and food. The latter is a favorite subject no matter the company. After arriving at the house we settled into the living room where we were served Lays potato chips and onion dip (so beautiful, a few tears might have leaked out). We talked about his church and some family history until it was time for lunch, which was fabulous.

*New Food: stewed pumpkin leaves, it has a name which I have forgotten. The dish has a bit of a gritty texture however, it is mighty tasty!

It was the typical Sunday afternoon where the Lord reminds me after a long, somewhat over-whelming week that He is here even on the other side of this earth and that He is going to take care of me. Even down to the tater crisps. We chatted with Issac (the pastor) his wife, and three munchkins until it was time for evening service at the church.

Tomorrow the interns are going to Siavonga down on the boarder of Zambia and Zimbabwe. I am excited to have a chance to get out of the city! On the project's dime to boot. I will have my camera and am hopeful that we will get the opportunity to spot some fun wildlife on the nearby Lake Kariba. We leave pretty early in the morning so I am going to call it a night. All is ok.
 
Thank you all for being so fantastic, specifically... Mom & Pop: Love you and can't wait to get your package! Brother & Jennah: I love you and congratulations on your sweet new ride! Jennah, I hope that they replace Jen and that who ever they/you choose is awesome! If I don't get my box soon I am going to have a dang baby. Heatha: I will not hold your amazing Folgers experience against you ;) hoping that you settle into lab with extraordinary ease this week. Kristen: praying that you get that mid-shift. Josh: I want to... wait wait... hope you have a killer week, Broseph. Uncle Bill: I am working on the OST, that objectives piece involves pulling back some layers, I will find that core though. Uncle Mikey & Aunt Laura: I am sure that I am going to wish that I had anything like your Laura Belle after seeing what kind of craft are on this lake tomorrow. Kahler & Kate: Don't know what I would do here without ya. Ebone & Halls: FREELANCE WHALES, genius! Hope you guys are enjoying the crap out of CS for me.

Pants

So it is the end of the work week. And even though I want nothing more than to go to my flat and sleep I decided to go and watch the football match with Kahler and Katy instead. Kahler and I had actually had it all planned out ahead of time and even had to kind of sneak away early (5:30) from work to make it to The Arcades by 6:30 when the game was set to begin. We spotted a little pub last time we went to Spar that shows the games and we figured that was as good a place as any. We walked in and the bouncer got awkwardly close to Kahler (this is where the title begins to make sense). It is still fairly difficult to understand English through an African accent however, on the first pass we managed to pick something out about pants. it turns out that you are not allowed to wear shorts (which Kahler was wearing) in this particular establishment and we actually came to real that this is not uncommon and unless we are sure about the dress code it is safer just where pants and a collared shirt where ever you go (even to the smallest pub).

We spotted a cab driver that we know and Kahler hopped a ride back to the flats to change into jeans and then race back before the game started. Well by the 22nd minute of the match he made it back. I saw him walk up and it looked like he was catching some flack from a different bouncer. He was giving him a hard time about wearing 'slippers' or as we know them flip flops. Kahler reasoned with Goliath saying that he had just gone home to change pants now surely he would give him a break. He responded by telling Kahler that he was doing him a favor and that he would let him in this time. It made what was supposed to be a relaxing evening into a road trip for Kahler and a lesson for me. It was going to happen to one of us, it was just a matter of time but, we have learned the lesson and we should not have any issues next time we want to watch a match.

Got news today that the soccer game scheduled for tomorrow is postponed until next weekend. So church in the morning and lunch with the pastor after. I am sure it will be marvelous just as the previous Sundays have been.

Today was a little rocky but, everything is going to be fine. All is ok

A bit of video I took from out little waiting area outside the re-stamping counter and where Mr. Taho went. He went to the left of the stairs into a place we know nothing about and the counter was to the right.

Quality control

This holds particular weight when in reference to a globally certified laboratory. The standard to achieve is perfection and anything short of that will be well documented as an audit finding. This cloud-mingling goal is difficult to obtain and more than that, to maintain. The trick is to try and keep the substantial citations to a minimum. I am realizing that there is a very real market for those with logistical engineering skills. Simply getting paperwork moved from one signature to the next is extraordinarily difficult. However, the fella that has been supervising the IAVI lab is a sharp cookie in the last term of course work for his MBA and is just a pleasure to work with. He sees this issue and is eager to help us fix the process rather than each problem individually. The promise of making advances in lab proficiency is stimulating my nerdiness fantastically.

In other news. Kahler, Katy, and I took a little trip into town today to get our passports re-stamped as the initial mark is valid only for thirty days. Our immigrations liaison Mr. Taho (phonetic spelling there, I have no idea how he really spells it) took a look at our passports and said 'oh no'... I really can't think of anything more terrifying off the top of my head. He took our passports and said he would go talk to someone and if he didn't come back we should just run (normally I would fully appreciate this type of humor but, I think it only hit with about 36% force as I was slightly concerned about going to Zambian jail). I asked him to toss me the keys before he went and he shook his head. Probably for the best as I would likely last no more than four minutes on the crazy Lusakian roads.

He survived to come back and tell us that Katy could go get re-stamped as she had a visitors mark where mine and Kahler's was business. He said that he would take care of things on Monday and that there was nothing to worry about. I believe him, and as it is I have little choice seeing as he has my passport, haha. It made for an interesting morning for sure. I did get the chance to record some video of downtown that I am going to try to post here shortly.

There is another dog at the compound now. her name is Foxy and she looks just exactly as you would imagine a Zambian street dog to look. Kinda frail and homely but, she is about a thousand times more friendly than Jimmy. I don't know that I have told you about Jimmy. I know Katy has recorded a bit about him. He is just fine with all of the ladies here but man, there is something that he does not relaly like about Kahler and I. He has a habit of trying to eat our ankles. Seriously, I have thought about shaving my shins if it will get that pest off of me (ok not really so serious).

Well I have a full basket of clean pressed laundry next to me to put away and I am going to sign up to take the GRE here at the International School of Lusaka to make my resume for PhD programs a bit more competitive. I took the GRE to get into SRPH about a week after I registered and gave zero effort to study for it. As a result I scored exactly as I should have which fortunately was still sufficient to get into my MPH program. I do not want to staple it to hundred dollar bills and shoot it to a bunch of well recognized PhD programs as it would just be a waste I am sure.

It is nearly the weekend for me and it is for all of you! So enjoy it and I will try and find some interesting things to write you about int he next couple of days! All is well.

World Bank

Today was actually very productive. Kahler and I went through a file that has been needing some attention for quite some time now. It will be the beginning of next week before Kahler and I take posts at our respective sites (main clinic and IAVI). I don’t know yet the schedule in which we will alternate site though it is likely that it will be every month. It will be good that we can cover the areas that the other may have overlooked or forgotten.

The debate at the World Bank today was fantastic! Not only was the conversation great but, they fed us well. I am proud of the way that the PI of our site handled herself despite some pointed remarks. The fella from Harvard, though he may be brilliant, was not adequately equipped to serve any constructive opposition. Apparently he sent an email burning Dr. Allen on something and forgot to take her name off of the recipient list.

*Lesson: Either say nothing critical of anyone or learn how to work the computer machine.

I missed the chocolate covered doughnuts today. I really am not so sad as I thought I would be though. The morning was very productive and the idea of running for to grab a doughnut did not cross my mind. We left very early for the World Bank, which is an impressive structure in downtown Lusaka. I grabbed a cup of coffee from the little Yo Café in on the first floor and wandered up to the third floor conference room. Shortly after gathering in the conference room we were invited into the kitchen area where they served an energizing light lunch. There were some scheduling confusion and it was not until an hour or so later that the debate was actually under way.

We arrived back at the flats around 5:30. I got to chat with some very important people in the States and help Kahler try to figure out a laptop that refused to acquire the Internet proxy automatically. That gets me to here where I am looking forward to a bit of reading and some shuteye.

The confusion is starting to motivate exploration and follow up rather than the previous over-whelmed bewilderment. All is well.

Doughnut!

We have management meetings on Wednesday. Today I knew a little better what is going on and it was not so much like watching a Spanish soap opera as it has been in the past. The lab director is over-whelmed enough to be spectacularly inefficient in getting the things done that really need to be. As I have been thinking more about the organization that I am now a part of I am beginning to realize that the structure that was originally in place is no longer sufficient to accomplish the goals of the project. The intern turnover has contributed significantly to this issue as the interns are only signed on with one year contracts. That one year is only sufficient only to mostly understand how the project is supposed to work and what a particular department should be busy with. Well I will continue doing research into what I can do in the Laboratory to make the operation run more smoothly.

Today was the first time that Kahler and I officially had something handed over to us... This understanding thing is a double-edged sword for sure.

I finally got a doughnut! I have heard all of these stories about how great the doughnuts are and I got one. Now it wasn't the one that I have heard is the best, which is the chocolate iced one. The little pastry that I landed was kind of like a filled bar except the filling was more like a sort of icing than a custard. It was pretty tasty though! I am very much looking forward the trying the others tomorrow.

Nshima: I am still not good at using it instead of utensils though the flavor (or lack of flavor) has grown on me remarkably. I do not yet know how to parcel it out to last through the entire dish. There are times when I have half a ball left and times like today when I just used my fingers because I ran out. I will keep you updated on the honing of my nshima technique.

Tomorrow there is a debate happening in Washington D.C. on discordant couples and HIV transmission. Dr. Allen (our project PI) will be defending the effectiveness of the counseling that is provided by RZHRG (Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group). The interns are invited to attend the live tele-conference at the World Bank installation in Lusaka at 16:00 tomorrow. The World Bank location is rumored to be very nice. I am enthusiastic to see how Dr. Allen defends herself against some heavy hitters from Harvard and Hopkins and to sit in a comfortable auditorium and cram as many refreshments as I can without getting caught in my mouth and/or pockets (i kid... kinda, haha)

Well I am going to throw in the writing towel for the evening and get some sleep. Hope that you all have a splendid Wednesday afternoon/evening.

All is Well

Monday morning

Monday morning: Pretty lazy day so far. Woke up around fifteen after nine and hopped in the shower. The showers over here, or at least mine, seems to know that you want to get wet and does all that it can to spite you by defying physics and dodging you with every drop that it squeaks out. You know the shower head that I am talking about. Those that share a physiology with a tornado in that if you stand directly in the middle of it you will get not one drop of water on you. Then you try to pick the side with the most concentrated stream and it moves to the other side or you find that it was just an optical illusion and you are somehow now caught in this crazy mist in which you can’t breathe but, you still feel like you are just sweating. So I managed through my shower to head down to the Emmasdale Market for a doughnut. Now, we have all heard great things about these doughnuts but, dead gum it if every time I go down there they are either not ready yet (at 10:00AM) or they decided not to make any that day. Today was, unfortunately, no exception. They were just getting the oven started. I just grabbed a coke instead and started back for the flat. When I got back I found the power down. No worries though as just about everything that I have over here other than the wireless internet router is battery powered. So I am here sitting on my open porch enjoying the gorgeous day with a little breeze that makes it feel a bit more like my College Station home. Katy and Kahler just joined me and we are waiting for a cab to take us to Manda Hill where we will get out shopping done for the week. Looking forward to lunch with Mike and Lyndie. They are about as South Texas as you can be. It's wonderful.

I suppose if the greatest hardship I have to deal with is the warm shower I should be very thankful.

Lunch with Mike and Lyndie was delicious. Mike grilled the beef fillet (the 't' is not silent when they say it over here and it sounds crazy) on his GAS GRILL. The cut of beef is really good, it's basically the back strap. Potato Salad, beef, green beans, sweet tea, rolls, and banana nut cake made lunch a nirvanic experience. Then Mike brought to the table to excellent outdoors-man style his Remington Mod. 700 375 H&H, Lyndie's 30-06 Mauser, and a Browning Hi-Power 9mm. I told him if he wanted to make certain the pistol was sighted in I would volunteer a few hours to making sure. They are amazing people that I get not be more grateful for. They took us home after lunch where we waited to be picked up by Dr. Martha Conkling.

We got to Martha's where she gave us a Coke and we all stood in the kitchen watching her make Lasagna! It was delightful talking with someone who knows much more than I do about the project's history and under-workings. In retrospect, it might have been the most delectable Monday I have ever experienced.

The weekend was just perfectly refreshing albeit a bit busy. The week is much more manageable when you have such marvelous options for the weekend. Got talk to the folks and super friends with my good buddy Mr. Skype. I will likely post very soon a bit more comprehensive understanding of the work that I am here to do. Thank you all for keeping in such great touch while I am here. It makes the times that might otherwise be rough, a breeze, so thanks.

All is well!

New church

There is a little sign for Emmasdale Baptist Church on the corner of Vubu Rd. and Who Knows Rd. So we decided that because it was within walking distance it was definitely worth a shot. Well it turned out to be absolutely amazing. The teaching was very sounds and the people very welcoming as usual. The pastor had us stand and they all clapped for us and we sat down and felt very white and obvious but, it was really a fantastic experience. That is likely the church we will call home. They have Bible studies every Wednesday evening so we will try and get involved there. I was thinking about trying to get some Essentials Bible Study packets from Grace Bible Church sent over here. They did something very unique at the end of the service. There is an usher that leads each row out just as it would be done in an American wedding. You leave the building and shake the hands of all of those that came out before you on the way out and then line up at the end and shake the hands of all those that come after you. The pastor said he liked doing it because it gave everyone a chance to meet everyone and (the more prominent reason) it gives him a chance to note who is absent. It was a real neat though.

I think that I will continue to go to the International Bible study that Theresa took us to as the people there are super great and look out for us wonderfully. Tonight Mike and Lyndie, two very Southern Baptist folks from the Bible study took us home. But, not before they dragged us to the new Mexican food place here that was just opened recently BY A TEXAN! The food was almost as good as the fellowship that we got to have with these terrific people. The beef fajitas were much closer to Mexican than I expected. It's no Tex-Mex but, I certainly cannot complain! The restaurant was reminiscent of a legit Mexican place in San Antonio. We met the owner (Dan) that opened the place to serve as a source of income for his NGO Teach to Fish. We told him that he can expect to see us again soon.

Well tomorrow is a full day. We are going to head to Manda Hill then have lunch with Mike and Lyndie then head to Martha Conkling's place for a swim then to go die in a rugby match. No making fun of me because that sounds like I planned it but, I have not committed :) you know who you are.

Katy, Kahler, and I were talking after we got home and decided unanimously that Sunday is by far the best day of the week for us. I have been so blessed with each Sunday that has passed, I don't know why I would be surprised that the Lord is taking care of me. It's just been so extraordinarily tangible while I have been here.

All is well!

Here we go... again

So this is the new blog! I needed to be legit like Katy and Heather to stay in business. So here goes:

This week (16Aug10-22Aug10)… I am trying hard to think of something interesting but I just can’t come up with it right now. The brilliance of where I am is still vivid just a little corrupted by the magnitude of responsibility I am undertaking. There is so much to be done. And on the other hand it is very doable. So here I am stuck trying to figure out how to solve to inefficiencies of a fairly large and spread out research project on a Saturday night. It’s not so bad for now though. I can pretend that I am making a little headway in my mind. My uncle Bill really nailed it in an email he sent to me. The problem stems from a lack of specific ‘in the field’ direction. It is too easy to say that communication is the problem but I don’t think that I know a better way to describe it. Anyhow, I have a few ideas and will see what can be done starting Monday. For now I am going to enjoy the weekend and get some rest. You know that training really took it out of me, haha.

In other news, I heard gunshots the other day! A little alarmed we asked the guard what the commotion was to which he calmly replied that it was just the police… wait for it… directing traffic? We are definitely in Africa. I did get indoors quickly. Not sure if they know that those bullets have to obey gravity and will come back down somewhere.

Kahler and I got invited to a friendly, social game of touch rugby. Ronnel (a really great guy that we met through one of the interns) said that since we can football (soccer) we will do just fine. I think the joke is probably on us. I will let you know Monday evening… or whenever I get released from the hospital haha.

Looked around in a local newspaper classifieds today for vehicle and came across ads that boast “lady driven”. We were talking about what to make of that. I don’t know if it is supposed to mean that they were driven less aggressively or that they smell better. Either way I suppose it you have two extra words to put in your ad you should just throw in lady driven and see what happens.

Headed for a new church tomorrow. Not that the one that we went to before was not good just that it would be nice to go to one that is within walking distance. We will still go to the Bible study with Lyndie, Mike, Theresa and all of those folks as that is an absolutely phenomenal tie for us all.

Also, we were invited to Dr. Martha Conkling’s house this Monday. I am real excited! She has TV and a pool!  She is stationed at the IAVI site to write abstracts and publications. She has been in Zambia for four years or so and knows her way around very well. She graduated from Texas A&M SRPH with a DrPH (Doctor of Public Health) several years back and so is a kindred spirit for us here at the ZEHRP.

Got to talk to s few people today on Skype, wonderful as usual. All is very well, it’s the weekend!