So sorry to keep you all in suspense again (ha), but this whole writing about my everyday life thing is pretty new to me. I’ll also apologize again for the scatterbrained posts…I’m saving my cheesy ways of connecting everything for any more academic papers I may have to write in the future.
OK where did I leave off?
So I’m up 8-5 in this heated game of ladder golf, but my opponents are locked in on that top rung and the mosquitos are starting to get to me…
Wait, that’s too far.
Speaking of precision tossing skill, why don’t I talk about our trip to see the Mama Afrika Circus? If I’ve learned one thing so far here, it’s that expectations are more useful when disregarded. Some of us were less than gruntled to be at a somewhat tacky looking traveling big top circus on a Monday night. Others were worried that there would be animals to feel bad about. Instead, what we witnessed was a well-orchestrated set of performances including:
- Breakdancing rap jugglers (look out for their hit single, “24/7”)
- A man passing his entire body through a string-less tennis racket
- An African drumline that made me miss college football Saturdays for a few minutes
- The creepiest 12 foot tall clown I have ever seen, followed by the funniest whistling normal-sized clown I have ever seen
- A man on a balance board 20 feet in the air, with about 10 possible directions to fall if he leaned an inch too far
- The most hilarious out of context uses of the NBA on NBC theme song and the catch phrase "Ready to rumble"
All in all, it was the best $2.75 I have ever spent on a night of entertainment. Rumor has it the attendance over the course of their two weeks in Moshi was disappointing, especially considering the fact that this was essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity for people in this area to see some unbelievable things.
Backtracking one day, I can’t forget to mention my second hash. Once again on expectations: I wasn’t too excited about this hike, since I figured the arid lowlands to the south would have nothing on the mountain hike we had completed two weeks earlier. It got off to a nice start when we arrived to see that the starting line was at the hosts’ amazing villa. Think Constant Gardener, with a cooler garden. The hike took us over the river, through the woods, and through some maize fields before we arrived at a cavernous abyss of a chasm. The sight would probably warrant national park status in the US, but here it just snuck up on us. I had no idea a river had carved this canyon/gorge (I’m out of geology terms) only a few miles southwest of Moshi. A few of us were more fascinated than others and stayed behind for an extra look. Standing as close to the edge as I deemed sane, I still couldn’t see the bottom. Using some quick trigonometry, I figured the bottom had to be at least 75 feet straight down (if it existed, that is). The canyon, provided the first real photo op to prove to folks back home that I’m actually in Africa.
After completing the hash and its accompanying snack gathering, we headed off to one of the local restaurants in town to join Dr. Wilkinson and his family for a late dinner. This particular one is called Deli Chez (Get it? Delicious? I didn’t…), and as you can tell by the name they specialize in Indian and American cuisine. It was here that I turned down my first opportunity to eat a hamburger in Tanzania, just before I discovered the first hand dryer in the bathroom. Deli Chez is just one of the restaurants that effectively keep ex-pats sane during their stays here. Others include El Rancho (Indian, of course) and Italian Passion (Who knows? I won’t go in expecting Italian food…) On the more traditional level, there are four restaurants close to where I’m living and working that have been great for lunches: the KCMC Canteen, the Tumaini (med school) Restaurant, Jacob’s Well, and Best Bite. Since meat dishes at these places are high maintenance, especially in business casual attire, I almost always go with rice and beans. This full meal runs anywhere from $0.63 to $1.18, and includes complimentary greens and hot sauce. Even at a food truck in Philly, I’m not sure you could haggle for a 63-cent ketchup packet.
Speaking of work (oh yeah, I do that too), I should probably speak of work. I spend my weekdays between two offices at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (can’t escape colonialist spelling…) working for a Duke University partnership focusing on women’s health issues. So far, this has included mostly computer work. I am setting up a database for cervical cancer screening data, making adjustments to a comprehensive community health village survey for medical students, and constructing a website for a new women’s health network of collaborators from across East Africa. This job description will probably be different a month from now, since there are so many projects going on and new people to meet. I haven’t saved any mothers or babies yet, but I bet my much more qualified co-workers could keep a tally if they wanted. Even though the hospital is a leading referral and teaching hospital in the country, it is still underfunded, understaffed, and lacking resources, often to the point of frustration. Air conditioners, anasthesia, and pathologists are among a long list of helpful hospital commodities missing here. It’s tough to live with, but helps you appreciate what the doctors adjust to and cope with on a regular basis.
One work-related field trip Malavika (Stanford med student and partner in crime for the next year) and I took recently was to KIWAKKUKI, which is a long Swahili acronym for Women Fighting HIV/AIDS in Kilimanjaro. Even though we were only there for a morning tour of the new offices, we ended up receiving a…unique…welcome. The morning routine at this office is slightly different from anything I have experienced. After all 30 or so people circled around in the lobby while singing a hymn, we greeted each person in a very sportsmanlike handshake line. Announcements from each department followed, including an improvised song and dance for one woman who had gone above and beyond in the past week. Let’s just say I saw it coming. The two young guests of honor, along with our tour guide and KIWAKKUKI favorite Trish Bartlett, received not one, but two dances (after someone mistakenly mentioned that no pictures were taken of the first one). Let’s just say there are now pictures, but good luck finding them.
That’s not to say it is as tough as it initially was for me to share pictures and email over the information superhighway. The week of my birthday I headed to the Vodacom store downtown after work to pick up my own USB modem. Since buying hers shortly after I arrived, Malavika has become the official mzungu referral representative for the company (probably on payroll, but she won’t admit it). She had texted one of her buddies to save a modem for me, and sure enough it was waiting. Instead of paying for the modem plus a restrictive pre-paid 1GB/2GB/5GB usage plan, I was given a free trial of the new unlimited service with my modem purchase. Now in possession of the ex-pat’s holy grail, I proceeded to download podcasts, upload pictures, and share the wealth with [definitely not] desperate friends.
Oh yeah, I also went on my first safari through Arusha National Park on one of those Sundays. For a full mediocre representation of the awesome stuff we saw that day, check out the photo album on Facebook or Picasa. Our self-guided tour of the park ($35 entry fee, $8 for the car) led us to zebras, antelope, baboons, hippos, warthogs, water buffalo, a lot of giraffes, and about a million flamingos (no exaggeration), among others. Thanks to Aaron’s expert driving on the dusty trails and Scott’s Zissou-like wildlife spotting abilities, the day was a huge success. We were also treated to some great views of Mount Meru and the landscape looking back towards Kilimanjaro. I'm really not good with words, so I'll let the pictures talk.
Sadly, four of the people who have helped the most in my transition to life here departed for the states last weekend. As I mentioned, Brandi and Scott left first on my birthday. Even though our time here only overlapped five weeks, these two hosted enough dinners/movie nights/internet café sessions/dessert miracles to make me forever grateful. On top of this, most of the belongings in their house were left to plunder due to luggage restrictions…as a result I now have pudding mix, speakers, a Tom Cruise vs. Keanu Reeves movie anthology, and NIGHT VISION GOGGLES. Brandi and Scott are moving to Oregon (at a baby expo as I type this) to revolutionize the state’s obstetric care and establish a college architecture program…no biggie. Aaron and Sarah then jumped on the bandwagon (which is actually a bus to the Nairobi airport) and left the following Monday. The Tar Heel/Blue Devil couple was awesome to have around while sharing Durham memories, Talladega Nights quotes, and a deep appreciation for the game of Blokus. Did I mention how crucial their Swahili speaking and monkey bread creation skills have been? If you see them around, give them a high five for being so cool.
Additional team attire spotted:
St. Louis Blues
Cleveland Indians
Montreal Canadiens
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Bulls
Detroit Tigers
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Marlins
Orlando Magic
Green Bay Packers
(29/122)
Dala slogans:
Hard Target
Don’t Spy My Life
Righteous Man
Happy People
B. Happy
King of the Street Beat
Big Safari Style
Most valuable items:
Flyswatter (heavy duty, minimal recoil)
Book light (doubles as a hands-free shirt clip flashlight)
LED keychain light (always handy for dark roads and blackouts)
Cell phone flashlight (built in—much more useful than a camera phone)
YouTube video of the week:
The Day After Peace
Over an hour long, but definitely worth the time…a documentary about Peace Day and one man’s efforts to make it meaningful.
Bonus video:
This week’s soundtrack:
The Cure - Underneath the Stars
The Rolling Stones – Don’t Stop
I Want to Take You Higher – Ike and Tina Turner
ayo – Bibi Tanga et le professeur inlassable
The Doors – Five to One
Pearl Jam – Wishlist
David Bowie – Space Oddity
Modest Mouse – Beta Carotene (Version 1)
Incubus - Aqueous Transmission
In other news:
It’s hockey season and I’m still obsessed. Right now I’m listening to Chuck Kaiton narrate a preseason game online while taking notes for a fantasy draft this weekend. The Ron Francis and Rod Brind’Amour collectible hologram cups are displayed prominently in the kitchen.
Late addition:
This morning I woke up to a call inviting me to help out with a health screening fair in a nearby rural village. With no real clinical experience under my belt and only a very basic handle on Swahili, I was hoping I could move some chairs around or fill out a few forms for people. Instead, I learned how to measure blood pressure and read a pulse before spending seven hours putting these new skills to use on about 200 patients. While I learned quickly how to get the message across that I’m not a doctor, it was great to be able to help out with a project as gung ho as this one. A group of about a dozen volunteers helped to screen, diagnose, test, and distribute cheap medications to a steady stream of local men, women, and children eager for assistance. Apparently the people in this area only see this fair/clinic about once a year, so it’s not such a surprise how quickly the word spread and supplied a steady stream of people all day. All of this took place in a small school building, and of course my position next to the window invited an audience of kids for the last few hours…so much for patient privacy. It felt good to finally do something productive on the weekend after spending most of them taking shopping trips downtown and hiking around with other foreigners.
That's all for now. This week I’ll be flying to Kenya to meet up with Charles from Duke and help him run a meeting at Moi University in Eldoret. After that, we’ll travel to back Moshi via Nairobi and Meru. Stories to come soon…
Love it! So glad to hear more details about your life. However, where is the picture of the lizard?! MISS YOU! Skype soon!
ReplyDeleteflyswatter FTW. :)
ReplyDeleteTerrific representation of "the experience". Enjoy every minute and doing mind hating some of it (but always have a Kili handy) Hope you are beginning to plan Halloween in the compound!
ReplyDelete