Pills I have taken in the past 30 hours:
2 multivitamins
1 calcium pill
2 Malarone (malaria prophylaxis)
4 ibuprofen
1 Ambien
4 caffeine containing painkillers
2 Dramamine
My liver is probably really happy right now.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Themes
I’ve noticed than many of my posts discuss either 1) electricity (or the lack there of) or 2) transportation. This is because those are two things I must deal with & think about often. The electricity issue is almost an obsession. I find it ironic that I never think about either of issues when I am in the States.
Taxis, Take Two
More exciting taxi stories. Last week a bunch of us went to dinner together b/c the power was out (again). When the whole lot of us showed up at the taxi stand, there was the usually frenzy of competition amongst the drivers. One of them kept repeated yelling, “Yes, Jacquee! Where is Jacquee? Who is Jacquee?”. Jacquee was out of town with work but was a bit disturbed when I told her about it.
A few days ago Steph walked to the neighborhood grocery store to get some supplies for a British dessert called “fridge cake”. It was rather dark when she was done shopping (so, like 6:30pm) & there are no streetlights. She decided to take a taxi home. She got in the taxi, which drove one block & promptly ran out of petrol. Mind that there is a petrol station immediately next to the grocery store where the driver picked her up. Steph informed the driver that he’d get more business if he could actually take passengers more then a block & ended up walking home alone in the dark.
Finally, the other day Jacquee & I went on a trip together. As we were going all the taxi we were in was getting progressively slower. Since everyone drives on almost empty, it was highly liked the petrol was almost out. I was behind the driver & mostly noticed the growing concern on Jacquee’s face as she watched the driver. When we stopped at a light the car shut off, but the driver re-started it & we arrived at our destination safely. Only then did Jacquee tell me that the driver had to restart the car by digging around & finding the ignition wires under the steering wheel & putting them together.
A few days ago Steph walked to the neighborhood grocery store to get some supplies for a British dessert called “fridge cake”. It was rather dark when she was done shopping (so, like 6:30pm) & there are no streetlights. She decided to take a taxi home. She got in the taxi, which drove one block & promptly ran out of petrol. Mind that there is a petrol station immediately next to the grocery store where the driver picked her up. Steph informed the driver that he’d get more business if he could actually take passengers more then a block & ended up walking home alone in the dark.
Finally, the other day Jacquee & I went on a trip together. As we were going all the taxi we were in was getting progressively slower. Since everyone drives on almost empty, it was highly liked the petrol was almost out. I was behind the driver & mostly noticed the growing concern on Jacquee’s face as she watched the driver. When we stopped at a light the car shut off, but the driver re-started it & we arrived at our destination safely. Only then did Jacquee tell me that the driver had to restart the car by digging around & finding the ignition wires under the steering wheel & putting them together.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
good morning sun
A few reasons why I haven't used an alarm clock for the past couple months:
1. The mosque. 5:30am & 7-something.
2. Our neighbor's rooster. He crows at all times: 10pm, midnight, 2am, 6am - its all the same to him
3. The train. Between 5 & 7am daily. Very loud whistle considering how far away those tracks are.
4. Our stupid dogs. They chant along with the mosque. (Yes, our dogs are Muslim). They think the train is some big mother dog calling them & howl at it to let it know where they are. They bark at the sunrise. They bark at anything that moves. Sometimes they just bark for fun. One day I came outside at 6am to see one of them sitting calmly on the next flat's stoop, just barking into the air.
1. The mosque. 5:30am & 7-something.
2. Our neighbor's rooster. He crows at all times: 10pm, midnight, 2am, 6am - its all the same to him
3. The train. Between 5 & 7am daily. Very loud whistle considering how far away those tracks are.
4. Our stupid dogs. They chant along with the mosque. (Yes, our dogs are Muslim). They think the train is some big mother dog calling them & howl at it to let it know where they are. They bark at the sunrise. They bark at anything that moves. Sometimes they just bark for fun. One day I came outside at 6am to see one of them sitting calmly on the next flat's stoop, just barking into the air.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Zambian Patriotism
Here it is, the long awaited show of some of the many Zam- things you can buy here. It is only a partially list since I don't always have my camera with me, but you'll get the idea.
According to Zambians, ZamBeef was the original. They have expanded into other things, but not all Zam products are owned by ZamBeef.
An NGO I met at National VCT Day. I only went over to talk to them because of their name.
According to Zambians, ZamBeef was the original. They have expanded into other things, but not all Zam products are owned by ZamBeef.
That is all the ZamBeef Products. The rest are just imitators.
An NGO I met at National VCT Day. I only went over to talk to them because of their name.
life this week
It has been a pretty dull week. I moved into my dining room on Sunday because 2 guys were coming & we gave them our room (my former roommate moved next door). So now I have my own room again, which I much prefer to sharing even if it is in the dining room. The dining room has its own sink as well. I am happy there other than that I have to kick my flatmates out of the front room to go to bed. Oh well, they probably need the sleep too.
We've had unusually bad power outages this week. For the past 2 weeks the power has been on continuously & I was hoping that it might last till I left. (I supposed I could hope it would last indefinitely for the sake of those staying, but I am semi-realistic.) The power outages started again in vengeance this Sunday. The first day it was out for about 2 hours. Monday it was out 4 hours (we left & went to the movies - I saw Wall-E. Quite good.). Tuesday it was out for lunch (2 hours) and dinner (2 hours). Yesterday it went out at 11:30am and didn't return till 7:30pm. We gave up on cooking & went out for Indian. Today we had a respite with only a 2 hour outage at lunch. Yay - we could cook dinner!!
Leigh & me, in the dark. Our food had finished cooking JUST in time.The power outages wouldn't be such a problem if there wasn't such a backup of laundry. As mentioned in the health post, we have to iron all our clothing & when there is no power, there is no iron when there is no power...I was down to my last shirt today. Luckily, the housekeepers did A LOT of ironing today.
Otherwise, we got the 2 new Asian guys into my flat yesterday. They are both from LA & seem pretty chill. So now I live with a Mexican, 2 Asians (I think 1 Chinese & 1 Korean, not sure), & a Caribbean/NYC-er. It is an interesting mix to say the least...
Saturday, July 12, 2008
health in zambia
I haven't gotten very sick here so far, which surprises me a bit. (Its been a lot better than the summer in the Philippines at least) The occasional bad food or water aside, there are millions of ways to get sick here. The top causes of death here are:
1. HIV/AIDS
(Zambia's national prevalence is 15%, but Lusaka's is prevalence is at least 25%. Over 70% of people admitted to the main hospital here have HIV)
2. Malaria
3. Traffic accidents
Since I'm on prophylaxis I'm not too worried about malaria & I'm not sleeping with any Zambians so I think I'll be HIV free as well. Traffic accidents are a bit more of a concern, but I stay out of minibuses and taxis with drunk drivers. My flatmate got some weird illness a few weeks ago. At first we thought it was malaria, but it didn't respond to treatment. Then we thought it might be dengue. We never actually found out what it was, but luckily she was the only one who got sick.
The thing that scares me the most here are the Putsi flies (also called Tumbu flies). They like to lay their eggs in wet laundry that is drying outside. The eggs hatch in response to your body heat when you wear the clothes and, like the Human Botfly in Central America, the larva burrows into your skin to develop. After 7-10 days the fully developed larva emerges & drops to ground to further develop. The boil-like lesions the developing larvas create can be quite painful. To prevent maggots from burrowing into our skin we iron all of our clothing, which kills the eggs. The picture below is of a putsi fly larva after it emerged from the skin:
Definitely not something that I want in my skin...
1. HIV/AIDS
(Zambia's national prevalence is 15%, but Lusaka's is prevalence is at least 25%. Over 70% of people admitted to the main hospital here have HIV)
2. Malaria
3. Traffic accidents
Since I'm on prophylaxis I'm not too worried about malaria & I'm not sleeping with any Zambians so I think I'll be HIV free as well. Traffic accidents are a bit more of a concern, but I stay out of minibuses and taxis with drunk drivers. My flatmate got some weird illness a few weeks ago. At first we thought it was malaria, but it didn't respond to treatment. Then we thought it might be dengue. We never actually found out what it was, but luckily she was the only one who got sick.
The thing that scares me the most here are the Putsi flies (also called Tumbu flies). They like to lay their eggs in wet laundry that is drying outside. The eggs hatch in response to your body heat when you wear the clothes and, like the Human Botfly in Central America, the larva burrows into your skin to develop. After 7-10 days the fully developed larva emerges & drops to ground to further develop. The boil-like lesions the developing larvas create can be quite painful. To prevent maggots from burrowing into our skin we iron all of our clothing, which kills the eggs. The picture below is of a putsi fly larva after it emerged from the skin:
Definitely not something that I want in my skin...
touring the chibolya
Today I went out on errands with a driver from ZEHRP. We went to 2 of our sites & took a short cut to get to the second one. We usually drive on the paved roads as much as possible so as we drove along the bumpy dirt road I was wondering where exactly we were. I was also noticing that the area was a bit poorer than most of the areas I'd been in so far. Right about then the driver, Geoffrey said,
Have you ever been in this area before?
Um, I don't so
It is the most feared compound in Lusaka (compound is the Zambian word for ghettos)
Oh, yeah? Why is that?
This is where all the drugs are. The drug lords control it. The drug enforcement agency doesn't ever dare to come here. If they do, there are gun battles & they are killed.
Oh. (thinking, "Great. Why are we here again?")
Everything. Chamba, even the one you inject (chamba is weed)
Right about then I was distracted by seeing my 1st Zambian brothel. It was called the "Ghetto Lover". It was a tiny building - I'm sure they could only handle one customer at a time. The walls were mostly that plastic sheeting that has the strings through it arranged around a few wooden polls. Really classy.
Later one Geoffrey told me that we were actually only at the edge of Chibolya because if a car as nice as ours had gone inside they would have thrown rocks at it. Awesome. I feel so much better about it now.
Have you ever been in this area before?
Um, I don't so
It is the most feared compound in Lusaka (compound is the Zambian word for ghettos)
Oh, yeah? Why is that?
This is where all the drugs are. The drug lords control it. The drug enforcement agency doesn't ever dare to come here. If they do, there are gun battles & they are killed.
Oh. (thinking, "Great. Why are we here again?")
Everything. Chamba, even the one you inject (chamba is weed)
Right about then I was distracted by seeing my 1st Zambian brothel. It was called the "Ghetto Lover". It was a tiny building - I'm sure they could only handle one customer at a time. The walls were mostly that plastic sheeting that has the strings through it arranged around a few wooden polls. Really classy.
Later one Geoffrey told me that we were actually only at the edge of Chibolya because if a car as nice as ours had gone inside they would have thrown rocks at it. Awesome. I feel so much better about it now.
Friday, July 11, 2008
a good day
Yesterday was a good day:
1. I slept in an extra hour (all the way to 7:15am...)
2. The weather was gorgeous - finally warm, sunny, & not windy (so no dust storms)
3. I actually had things to do at work rather than the usual ennui
4. I bought my ticket to Tanzania...It was my 3rd trip to the airline office
5. Went to the market on the way home with Leigh & bought donuts. mmmmmm
6. Talked to Rebecca & Tricia, 2 friends from BYU, on iChat
7. Set up a video chat date with Little Brother with whom I've only had one real conversation since coming to Africa
8. Went to dinner at Chit Chat, my favorite place in Lusaka, with some girls from the flats
Dr. Nasha & me at Chit Chat. She leaves for ATL on Sunday :(
9. My roommate, Katherine, made a tasty chocolate cake
10. Jacquee's mom helped me set up my safari & my beach resort trips so now I'll have something to do when I get to Tanzania. We are going to this tiny island called Pemba. Its gonna be awesome.
1. I slept in an extra hour (all the way to 7:15am...)
2. The weather was gorgeous - finally warm, sunny, & not windy (so no dust storms)
3. I actually had things to do at work rather than the usual ennui
4. I bought my ticket to Tanzania...It was my 3rd trip to the airline office
5. Went to the market on the way home with Leigh & bought donuts. mmmmmm
6. Talked to Rebecca & Tricia, 2 friends from BYU, on iChat
7. Set up a video chat date with Little Brother with whom I've only had one real conversation since coming to Africa
8. Went to dinner at Chit Chat, my favorite place in Lusaka, with some girls from the flats
Dr. Nasha & me at Chit Chat. She leaves for ATL on Sunday :(9. My roommate, Katherine, made a tasty chocolate cake
10. Jacquee's mom helped me set up my safari & my beach resort trips so now I'll have something to do when I get to Tanzania. We are going to this tiny island called Pemba. Its gonna be awesome.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
lazy sunday
The day after the trade fair we pretty much did nothing. We all woke up fairly late & made ourselves a huge breakfast - muffins, pancakes, omelets, cereal, fruit, coffee, tea, juice. It was probably one of the nicer meals I've had here in Zambia.
We were so excited to be staying in a house with a TV that we spent most of the morning sitting around in front of it & eating. When we finally got ready we walked down to the ZEHRP site in Ndola. It was a nice building surrounded by a lovely garden. The space was a lot more calm & inviting then my office in Lusaka. I kinda wish I worked up in Ndola instead.
the site in Ndola
After visiting the site, Frank wanted to watch Wimbledon. He doesn't get the South African channel that was showing it so we went to this bar called "The Garage", which is a lot classier than it sounds. We had good seats, some nice braai, & settled down to watch... About SIX hours later the match was still going on. It turned out to be the longest men's final in Wimbledon history thanks to 2 rain delays & all 5 sets being played. I enjoyed the actual match. During the rain delays they showed the women's final. It was good, but not too exciting since we all knew that Venus had already won. By the time the match ended most of the taxis had gone to bed. So we walked a ways into town before we finally head the lovely "beep beep" call. The 1st few taxis weren't good options - one already had 4 people in it so I'm not sure how they thought they were going to get another 6 in there... Eventually we found an empty one & headed home.
Federer lost, but Nadal still said he was "the best". What good sportsmanship.
We thought about going to the club, Circles. The South African version of MTV, Channel O, was there filming for something so it was pretty tempting. But in the end we were too tired so we just sat around Frank's house some more. We found season 2 of "The Office" & gorged ourselves on Jim-Pam awkward love. By the time we got to bed we were kinda giddy-tired & ended up giggling about Jim-Dwight pranks for quite a while before we actually settled down to sleep.
We were so excited to be staying in a house with a TV that we spent most of the morning sitting around in front of it & eating. When we finally got ready we walked down to the ZEHRP site in Ndola. It was a nice building surrounded by a lovely garden. The space was a lot more calm & inviting then my office in Lusaka. I kinda wish I worked up in Ndola instead.
the site in NdolaAfter visiting the site, Frank wanted to watch Wimbledon. He doesn't get the South African channel that was showing it so we went to this bar called "The Garage", which is a lot classier than it sounds. We had good seats, some nice braai, & settled down to watch... About SIX hours later the match was still going on. It turned out to be the longest men's final in Wimbledon history thanks to 2 rain delays & all 5 sets being played. I enjoyed the actual match. During the rain delays they showed the women's final. It was good, but not too exciting since we all knew that Venus had already won. By the time the match ended most of the taxis had gone to bed. So we walked a ways into town before we finally head the lovely "beep beep" call. The 1st few taxis weren't good options - one already had 4 people in it so I'm not sure how they thought they were going to get another 6 in there... Eventually we found an empty one & headed home.
Federer lost, but Nadal still said he was "the best". What good sportsmanship.Wednesday, July 9, 2008
the trade fair
After we settled in at Frank's house, we headed off to the trade fair. It is a big event that was up in Ndola for the weekend. The trade fair has booths from all the government ministries & various businesses. It was mostly large companies like ZamProduct & TV stations. There were some markets that sold tourist wares, but I wasn't in a shopping mood. So after eating some food we wandered over to the entertainment area where we found the most fabulous little carnival ever. It consisted of a hand-operated ferris wheel, rollercoaster, & merry-go-round and some mechanical swings.
Seriously.
I was too scared of the rollercoaster - you get pulled up the beginning slop by crank & then rely on gravity to do the rest. I was pretty sure that Frank & Leigh were going to go right off the end, but they survived.
Leigh & Frank
I was willing to try the swings. They were actually fairly scary. Not because we were spinning around quickly, but because the machine started making metallic clanking noises as we were at the fastest speed. I don't really trust the safety of anything in Africa so I kept imagining what would happen if my swing chains broke. Luckily, they didn't.
me, scared, on the swings
After we left the little ride area, Jacquee wanted to go on the go-karts. She was by far the best driver out there. I don't really remember my experiences go karting in the States, but I'm pretty sure we wore helmets & 5 year olds weren't allowed to drive them. When she was done, we searched out something we'd seen an add for: "Zambia's Crocodile Hunter"
Looks classy, eh?
It turned out not to be quite as exciting as I'd hoped. It was mostly snakes in cages & the like. We did get to see some crocodiles though:
A really awesome crocodile.
And one scary snake with a crazy man:
Definitely a good way to spend K10,000 ($3) and the afternoon in Ndola
Seriously.
Leigh & FrankI was willing to try the swings. They were actually fairly scary. Not because we were spinning around quickly, but because the machine started making metallic clanking noises as we were at the fastest speed. I don't really trust the safety of anything in Africa so I kept imagining what would happen if my swing chains broke. Luckily, they didn't.
me, scared, on the swingsAfter we left the little ride area, Jacquee wanted to go on the go-karts. She was by far the best driver out there. I don't really remember my experiences go karting in the States, but I'm pretty sure we wore helmets & 5 year olds weren't allowed to drive them. When she was done, we searched out something we'd seen an add for: "Zambia's Crocodile Hunter"
Looks classy, eh?It turned out not to be quite as exciting as I'd hoped. It was mostly snakes in cages & the like. We did get to see some crocodiles though:
A really awesome crocodile.And one scary snake with a crazy man:
Definitely a good way to spend K10,000 ($3) and the afternoon in NdolaA Trip to the Copperbelt
This past weekend was a holiday in Zambia. Monday was "Heroes Day" & Tuesday was "Unity Day". I decided to take advantage of the long weekend by going up to the Copperbelt - the area of Zambia right next to the DRC. I tried my best to figure out how to get across the border into the DRC, but due to the lack of roads, I had to stay safely in Ndola. I'm sure my mother is very happy about that.
The Copperbelt is the dark green part
We decided to take the 6am bus up b/c most buses in Zambia only leave when they are full. The earlier buses tend to fill up faster so everyone said to take that one. I dragged myself out of bed at 5am & got to the station by 6am only to sit on the bus for almost 2 hours before leaving. There were about 3 empty seats in the back & the driver was nowhere to be seen. Around 7:30am the other passengers started getting restless & yelling out the windows of the bus at the bus company employees. We finally left around 8am & after driving 10 minutes pulled into a gas station to get gas. Why didn't they get gas before? Good question.
Once we actually got moving the trip was fairly smooth. Jacquee & I were sitting next to a Zambian girl who thought we were hilarious every time we tried to used Nyanja or Tongan. When we actually made it to Ndola, my friend Frank picked us up & took us to his house. He works for ZEHRP in Ndola & has been there for 3 years. He let us stay at his house all weekend & was a fabulous host. More to come.
The Copperbelt is the dark green partWe decided to take the 6am bus up b/c most buses in Zambia only leave when they are full. The earlier buses tend to fill up faster so everyone said to take that one. I dragged myself out of bed at 5am & got to the station by 6am only to sit on the bus for almost 2 hours before leaving. There were about 3 empty seats in the back & the driver was nowhere to be seen. Around 7:30am the other passengers started getting restless & yelling out the windows of the bus at the bus company employees. We finally left around 8am & after driving 10 minutes pulled into a gas station to get gas. Why didn't they get gas before? Good question.
Once we actually got moving the trip was fairly smooth. Jacquee & I were sitting next to a Zambian girl who thought we were hilarious every time we tried to used Nyanja or Tongan. When we actually made it to Ndola, my friend Frank picked us up & took us to his house. He works for ZEHRP in Ndola & has been there for 3 years. He let us stay at his house all weekend & was a fabulous host. More to come.
Friday, July 4, 2008
My 4th of July
Today was America's Independence Day. Since I live & work with mostly Americans, we decided to have a BBQ (called a "braai" here in Southern Africa) to celebrate. It was kinda a crazy day:
7am: get up & start making brownies for tonight
7:30am: get ready for the day
8am: breakfast (juice, toast, & left-over brownie batter)
8:15am: work on emails, etc. at home instead of going to real work
9am: head out on some errands with 2 flatmates. we are pretty much skipping work today.
9:30am: stop by Zambian Airways office to buy tickets to Dar es Salaam. the credit card machine is down.
10am: head to Tanzania embassy with 2 flatmates to get visas for an upcoming trip
10:15am: realized i don't have 2 passport photos to give the embassy. leave passport (+ $50 for the visa) for later pick-up
10:40am: pick up some charcoal on the side of the road for our braai. cost: $5 for a HUGE bag
11am: actually go to work. work on a powerpoint for admin department. very boring
11:45am: try to buy ticket to Dar es Salaam online. credit card payment page won't load.
noon: go to local bakery to by buns for the braai. notice the fresh-ish donuts in the case. leave with 30 buns & 2 donuts
12:30pm: eat apple & head out on more errands
1pm: get passport photos taken & eat ice cream while they are being printed. i'm having a very healthy lunch today. buy some flip-flops for 70 cents.
2pm: back to the Tanzanian embassy. successfully get passport with visa. walk up to American embassy to get extra pages for my passport only to remember it is the 4th & everything American is closed
2:30pm: walk past a man sleeping in a field next to the embassies
3:00pm: back to the Zambian Airways office. find out the online payment page is down. then why did the man this morning tell us to buy them online? finally talk to a decently competent man who says we can pay with credit cards. man disappears for a bit, returns, & tells us they don't have the credit card payment pages. wow, i'm shocked.
3:15pm: argue with taxi drivers about gas prices for a while
3:30pm: police shoot a robber on the street as we drive by in the taxi. taxi driver says it happens all the time - no trials for people with guns apparently
4pm: get back to work
5:30pm: go home & make another batch of brownies
6pm: shower
6:15pm: prepare food for braai
7:15pm: remember i'm supposed to be talking to my family online. sign on. they aren't on. text them. get text back "oh, um, just a second. we'll be on soon...". now i don't feel bad that i forgot
7:30pm: technology drama with the video chat. then, successful conversation with Mom, Dad, & Little Sister
8pm: go out to the braai (in my side yard), which is in full force. eat a lot of food (hamburgers, grilled peppers, baked beans, watermelon, guacamole, potato salad, brownies)
9pm: discuss meat with some friends. mention tri-tip, which they think i've made up till i find it on wikipedia for them
10pm: play a crazy game of catch-phrase with braai people
11pm: pack for trip to the Copperbelt tomorrow
11:30pm: clean & put away food from the braai
12am: blow-dry & straighten hair so won't have to do it while on vacation
12:30am: finish up online stuff, including writing this blog
1am: going to bed
..... 5am: get up to catch bus to the Copperbelt.
7am: get up & start making brownies for tonight
7:30am: get ready for the day
8am: breakfast (juice, toast, & left-over brownie batter)
8:15am: work on emails, etc. at home instead of going to real work
9am: head out on some errands with 2 flatmates. we are pretty much skipping work today.
9:30am: stop by Zambian Airways office to buy tickets to Dar es Salaam. the credit card machine is down.
10am: head to Tanzania embassy with 2 flatmates to get visas for an upcoming trip
10:15am: realized i don't have 2 passport photos to give the embassy. leave passport (+ $50 for the visa) for later pick-up
10:40am: pick up some charcoal on the side of the road for our braai. cost: $5 for a HUGE bag
11am: actually go to work. work on a powerpoint for admin department. very boring
11:45am: try to buy ticket to Dar es Salaam online. credit card payment page won't load.
noon: go to local bakery to by buns for the braai. notice the fresh-ish donuts in the case. leave with 30 buns & 2 donuts
12:30pm: eat apple & head out on more errands
1pm: get passport photos taken & eat ice cream while they are being printed. i'm having a very healthy lunch today. buy some flip-flops for 70 cents.
2pm: back to the Tanzanian embassy. successfully get passport with visa. walk up to American embassy to get extra pages for my passport only to remember it is the 4th & everything American is closed
2:30pm: walk past a man sleeping in a field next to the embassies
3:00pm: back to the Zambian Airways office. find out the online payment page is down. then why did the man this morning tell us to buy them online? finally talk to a decently competent man who says we can pay with credit cards. man disappears for a bit, returns, & tells us they don't have the credit card payment pages. wow, i'm shocked.
3:15pm: argue with taxi drivers about gas prices for a while
3:30pm: police shoot a robber on the street as we drive by in the taxi. taxi driver says it happens all the time - no trials for people with guns apparently
4pm: get back to work
5:30pm: go home & make another batch of brownies
6pm: shower
6:15pm: prepare food for braai
7:15pm: remember i'm supposed to be talking to my family online. sign on. they aren't on. text them. get text back "oh, um, just a second. we'll be on soon...". now i don't feel bad that i forgot
7:30pm: technology drama with the video chat. then, successful conversation with Mom, Dad, & Little Sister
8pm: go out to the braai (in my side yard), which is in full force. eat a lot of food (hamburgers, grilled peppers, baked beans, watermelon, guacamole, potato salad, brownies)
9pm: discuss meat with some friends. mention tri-tip, which they think i've made up till i find it on wikipedia for them
10pm: play a crazy game of catch-phrase with braai people
11pm: pack for trip to the Copperbelt tomorrow
11:30pm: clean & put away food from the braai
12am: blow-dry & straighten hair so won't have to do it while on vacation
12:30am: finish up online stuff, including writing this blog
1am: going to bed
..... 5am: get up to catch bus to the Copperbelt.
riding in taxis
We use taxis to get around Lusaka most of the time. They are relatively cheap & significantly safer than the minibuses. Also, I have no idea where the minibuses are going. They don't have routes on them & will tell you that they are going to whatever place you say just so you'll get in. Then you end up in the slums & not at the grocery store. So we ride taxis. There are 2 kinds of taxis in Lusaka. Blue ones, which are "real" - registered, pay taxis, & more expensive and all other cars, most of which are interested in being a taxi for a group of white girls.
Spending so much time in taxis leads to a variety of adventures. Taxi rides start with the flagging down. Usually it is pretty easy to get a taxi, being a white girl. One day my flatmate, Nasha, & I walked out the major road to get a cab. A car on the far side of road beep (which means "do you want a taxi?") & we flagged "yes". Instead of pulling into the side road like most taxis do, this car just stopped in the middle of the road to wait for us to cross. The driver hopped out of his car, opened the trunk, & pulled out some road block flags. He proceeded to set up little orange flags behind his car so cars would know to get in the other lane. By the time he had done all of this, Nasha & I had crossed the road & were in his backseat. So he just picked the orange flags back up & we left.
After the flagging down, we go through series of negotiations:
Me: how much to emmasdale?
Taxi: 50 pin
Me: ah, no, i know the fair price. 25 pin
Taxi: ah, no, sister, fuel is so expensive
Me: yes, but i only paid 25 pin to get here
Taxi: ah, 25! no! but that is coming & this is going. it is more expensive. and the fuel increased last week. 40 pin
Me: yes, but fuel increased 1 pin & your price increased 10 pin. that is not fair. 35 pin
Taxi: ok, let go
Sometimes when negotiations don't go so well we walk off & find another taxi. Nasha & I were once at a major shopping center where the blue taxis would not give us a fair price. So we walked a bit into the parking lot & found some guy who would give us a decent price. As soon as we got in the car, a blue taxi pulled up right in front of him & another pulled immediately behind so that we could not take his car. He was like "oh, well, you'll have to go with them" like it was something that happened all the time. When we got out, the blue taxi drivers gave us a lecture on going with "the pirates" & I gave them a lecture on not trying to rip off white people.
There have been people coming from Emory to work at ZEHRP for at least 14 years. So when we hail taxis & tell them we are headed to "Emmasdale, Vubu Road", the driver often responds "Yes, I know the place" & drives us straight to our door. Apparently there is only once place full of white girls in my predominately Muslim neighborhood. At first it kind of creeped me out that half the city seemed to know my address, but now I like it because I am too lazy to give directions. And considering that I jump in cars with random strange men pretty much everyday, I figure that them knowing my address is the least of my concerns.
Spending so much time in taxis leads to a variety of adventures. Taxi rides start with the flagging down. Usually it is pretty easy to get a taxi, being a white girl. One day my flatmate, Nasha, & I walked out the major road to get a cab. A car on the far side of road beep (which means "do you want a taxi?") & we flagged "yes". Instead of pulling into the side road like most taxis do, this car just stopped in the middle of the road to wait for us to cross. The driver hopped out of his car, opened the trunk, & pulled out some road block flags. He proceeded to set up little orange flags behind his car so cars would know to get in the other lane. By the time he had done all of this, Nasha & I had crossed the road & were in his backseat. So he just picked the orange flags back up & we left.
After the flagging down, we go through series of negotiations:
Me: how much to emmasdale?
Taxi: 50 pin
Me: ah, no, i know the fair price. 25 pin
Taxi: ah, no, sister, fuel is so expensive
Me: yes, but i only paid 25 pin to get here
Taxi: ah, 25! no! but that is coming & this is going. it is more expensive. and the fuel increased last week. 40 pin
Me: yes, but fuel increased 1 pin & your price increased 10 pin. that is not fair. 35 pin
Taxi: ok, let go
Sometimes when negotiations don't go so well we walk off & find another taxi. Nasha & I were once at a major shopping center where the blue taxis would not give us a fair price. So we walked a bit into the parking lot & found some guy who would give us a decent price. As soon as we got in the car, a blue taxi pulled up right in front of him & another pulled immediately behind so that we could not take his car. He was like "oh, well, you'll have to go with them" like it was something that happened all the time. When we got out, the blue taxi drivers gave us a lecture on going with "the pirates" & I gave them a lecture on not trying to rip off white people.
There have been people coming from Emory to work at ZEHRP for at least 14 years. So when we hail taxis & tell them we are headed to "Emmasdale, Vubu Road", the driver often responds "Yes, I know the place" & drives us straight to our door. Apparently there is only once place full of white girls in my predominately Muslim neighborhood. At first it kind of creeped me out that half the city seemed to know my address, but now I like it because I am too lazy to give directions. And considering that I jump in cars with random strange men pretty much everyday, I figure that them knowing my address is the least of my concerns.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
church
I was lucky enough to find a church just up the street from my house. It takes me approximately 15 minutes to walk there. It is a small branch with 1 set of missionaries, one of whom is American. I can tell he has been in Africa for a while b/c he speaks English with the distinct accent of a white person who wants the Africans to understand what he is saying. I find it slightly comforting to have another American at church, even though I don't really talk to him.
For the most part church has been a big comfort in a strange land. There are a fair number of people my age & I am happy for that. I made a few friends & the branch president had me over for dinner once. In Relief Society they always make me read the lesson from the book b/c I "read so nicely" according to the teacher. Having English as my first language is definitely an advantage there. The ladies in RS are kinda funny. I don't think they know what to do with an unmarried white lady in their group (most of the YSA in the branch teach Young Women, etc.), but they try really hard to include me.
Despite the best attempts for normality, I am treated a bit differently. For example, one lady asked me to talk to her daughter & try to get her to come to church. I was like "I don't know your daughter. Why would she care if I told her to go to church?". And then I remembered I was white & that is why she was asking. But she wanted me to call the girl so I don't really know why me being white would help out there.
That same week there was a little girl in RS with her mom. She kept crying & grabbing at her mom. Finally someone asked her why she was crying. Her mom replied in Nyanja, but I definitely caught the word "mzungu". The lady next to me kindly explained the baby was crying b/c she was scared of the white girl. Yeah, that made me feel good about myself.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
African Names
I find some African names hilarious. Not the traditional one like Mata or Mbito, but the ones where their parents just used some random English word. They particularly like happy names for girls, like Joy. Jacquee & I looked through some WFP documents & recorded our favorite names. Here are some of the best ones:
(the happy girl names)
Bright
Beauty*
Queen*
Precious
Innocent
Jubilee
Loveness*
Giveness
Gift
Bliss
Glorious
(random & unexplainable)
Consepter
Divest
Lucky
Knowledge
Fair
Lack
Trywell
Editor
Active
Math (by far, my most favorite of all)
(the happy girl names)
Bright
Beauty*
Queen*
Precious
Innocent
Jubilee
Loveness*
Giveness
Gift
Bliss
Glorious
(random & unexplainable)
Consepter
Divest
Lucky
Knowledge
Fair
Lack
Trywell
Editor
Active
Math (by far, my most favorite of all)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Zambia's Sweetest City
Last weekend I went to Mazabuka, home of Zambia Sugar, a large beautiful sugar plantation. It is a small city that is actually pretty (unlike Lusaka). There are actually trees, flowers, plants, etc. so it is not insanely dusty. They speak a different language down there (Zambia has 73 languages, but only 6 major ones). So I learned a bit of that. They also taught me about the proper Tonga way to greet people (after they say "Mabuka buti" bend at the knees and clap a few times as you say "Kubotu").
There are also tons of termite mounds in Maz. I'm not sure why, but here is a picture of one next to the district hospital:
It was an eventful trip. I went down with Jacquee for work along with James, a Zambian who runs our project down there. After dinner at a take-away (mmmm, meat pies), we walked down to the local grocery store to get some supplies for the weekend. Unfortunately, a few minutes before we got there a minibus had lost control of the brakes, crossed a ditch, driven through a metal fence, across a parking lot, & crashed into the grocery store. This is why I do not ride minibuses.
We worked most of the weekend testing lots of couples. It was busy, which is good to see. We had to manage the district hospital & the clinic on the sugar plantation. I definitely liked the sugar clinic more. They have their own little socialist setup there - housing, healthcare, etc. is all provided for the workers. It is also kinda like slave labor b/c the workers get sucked in & can't really get out. They are given plots & have to cut down all the cane in their section by the end of the day. It takes them from 5-10 hours depending on how quickly they work. And cutting sugar cane is hard work.
At night we went out with James & Felix, our driver down there. Felix used to work on the plantation & then he was like "Wait, this job sucks. I'm gonna be a taxi driver instead". He is pretty cool. First we hit up a brai (BBQ) place. We were chillin outside on the patio when some guy who knows James came over & talked to us forever. He told us all about how all Zambians speak perfect English & have no accent. Right. He also told us about his travels in Asia, where all the kids thought that people in Africa were eaten by lions all the time.
Then we hit up a local dance club. It was pretty much like something in the US, except only guys were on the dance floor, which is completely opposite of the US. So being the only girls on the floor & the only white people in the club was extra fun. James wanted to leave after a bit, but when we headed outside we found out there was a rap concert down the street. It was Peterson, a famous Zambian rap group that likes to wear matching track jackets. It was pretty hilarious watching their synchronized dance moves they took from 1990s BET music videos. It was kinda crazy so I didn't bust out the camera, but now I really regret that.
There are also tons of termite mounds in Maz. I'm not sure why, but here is a picture of one next to the district hospital:
It was an eventful trip. I went down with Jacquee for work along with James, a Zambian who runs our project down there. After dinner at a take-away (mmmm, meat pies), we walked down to the local grocery store to get some supplies for the weekend. Unfortunately, a few minutes before we got there a minibus had lost control of the brakes, crossed a ditch, driven through a metal fence, across a parking lot, & crashed into the grocery store. This is why I do not ride minibuses.
We worked most of the weekend testing lots of couples. It was busy, which is good to see. We had to manage the district hospital & the clinic on the sugar plantation. I definitely liked the sugar clinic more. They have their own little socialist setup there - housing, healthcare, etc. is all provided for the workers. It is also kinda like slave labor b/c the workers get sucked in & can't really get out. They are given plots & have to cut down all the cane in their section by the end of the day. It takes them from 5-10 hours depending on how quickly they work. And cutting sugar cane is hard work.
At night we went out with James & Felix, our driver down there. Felix used to work on the plantation & then he was like "Wait, this job sucks. I'm gonna be a taxi driver instead". He is pretty cool. First we hit up a brai (BBQ) place. We were chillin outside on the patio when some guy who knows James came over & talked to us forever. He told us all about how all Zambians speak perfect English & have no accent. Right. He also told us about his travels in Asia, where all the kids thought that people in Africa were eaten by lions all the time.
Then we hit up a local dance club. It was pretty much like something in the US, except only guys were on the dance floor, which is completely opposite of the US. So being the only girls on the floor & the only white people in the club was extra fun. James wanted to leave after a bit, but when we headed outside we found out there was a rap concert down the street. It was Peterson, a famous Zambian rap group that likes to wear matching track jackets. It was pretty hilarious watching their synchronized dance moves they took from 1990s BET music videos. It was kinda crazy so I didn't bust out the camera, but now I really regret that.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
moving day
I live in a row of 4 flats with a bunch of girls. We all work at ZEHRP & are from America/GB. So it is kinda like being in college dorms again. For the past month I've been in flat 2 with my own room & a flatmate who makes me dinner all the time (she is pretty awesome). As the summer has progressed more & more people have started coming over from the states and now there are enough that I have to move. Since I don't have a higher degree yet, I am on the bottom rung when it comes to housing. So I am moving into flat 3 with another student. I don't enjoy sharing my bedroom with anyone b/c I like my alone time. I can't really complain though - Jacquee is moving into her dining room, which is definitely worse.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
oh, the african market
Sorry for the lack of blogging. As my computer is still AWOL, it is difficult to get on here. Hopefully I'll start blogging more soon. A few weeks ago I went to a large market in Lusaka called Kamwala with 3 girls I work with. We took a taxi, of course. Recently I've been tempted to try to mini-buses, but have thought better of it after some rather horrific mini-buses crashes (more to come on that). Anyway, we asked the taxi driver to take us to the area of the market where they sold chitenges (basically, bright African cloth). He just dropped us off in the middle b/c he had no idea where to take us. But did he admit that? No. He said, "It is just here". Thanks, that was really helpful, Mr.Taxi-Man.
So we ended up wandering around the market for a while till we found one shop rather than the reported "rows of chitenge shops". Eventually we decided to go into the big covered market and see if we could find more. As soon as we got into the inner market there were many young men who really wanted to help us. One lead us through the labyrinth of stalls to one that sold cloth where the vendors tried their best to charge us 5 times the fair price. After some negotiation we got them down to a semi-decent, but still ridiculous price. But, since they were the only place that sold the type of cloth I wanted I sold out to the "white tax". Sigh.
Two of the girls decided they were going to the grocery store & left. Jen & I decided to stay and explore a bit more. As we wandering around trying to find the exit of the inner market, one of the vendors heard me say Jen's name. So then he started calling after us "Jen! Jen! Jennifer!" to try to get our attention. Luckily, we just then saw natural light & escaped.
Soon most of the shops closed for lunch so Jen & I took a walk down to street to see Lusaka. It is mostly dusty & not too attractive so we went back toward the market and looked at various shops. Our favorite find was a little grocery mart that sold "Virginity Soap". It's shiny gold wrapper explained how it restored lost virginity. I can only assume it accomplished this through its pungent smell. If it hadn't been so expensive I would have purchased some.
Soon the chitenge shops began opening so we headed back & managed to actually find the row of shops we had been looking for all morning. We found some good stuff, however, the market was getting crazier & crazier as the day progressed. I'm fairly sure the alcohol the men had started drinking around 10am was starting to take effect. As we walked down the dusty street multiple men thought it would be okay to just touch my arm as I walked by them. Most were not a big deal, but one man actually ran his hand all the way from my shirt sleeve almost to my wrist before I shook him off. He was the only one I bothered to stop for & inform him that even though I was white that didn't mean he was allowed to touch me. A minute later we were talking to a lady about some cloth and hear this man saying loudly into his phone, "Yes, a Chinese & a muzungu" (Jen is actually Filipino & "muzungu" means "white person). That kinda disturbed us, so we quickly finished buying our cloth and left. Lesson learned: When the shops close at lunch, it is time to go home.
So we ended up wandering around the market for a while till we found one shop rather than the reported "rows of chitenge shops". Eventually we decided to go into the big covered market and see if we could find more. As soon as we got into the inner market there were many young men who really wanted to help us. One lead us through the labyrinth of stalls to one that sold cloth where the vendors tried their best to charge us 5 times the fair price. After some negotiation we got them down to a semi-decent, but still ridiculous price. But, since they were the only place that sold the type of cloth I wanted I sold out to the "white tax". Sigh.
Two of the girls decided they were going to the grocery store & left. Jen & I decided to stay and explore a bit more. As we wandering around trying to find the exit of the inner market, one of the vendors heard me say Jen's name. So then he started calling after us "Jen! Jen! Jennifer!" to try to get our attention. Luckily, we just then saw natural light & escaped.
Soon most of the shops closed for lunch so Jen & I took a walk down to street to see Lusaka. It is mostly dusty & not too attractive so we went back toward the market and looked at various shops. Our favorite find was a little grocery mart that sold "Virginity Soap". It's shiny gold wrapper explained how it restored lost virginity. I can only assume it accomplished this through its pungent smell. If it hadn't been so expensive I would have purchased some.Soon the chitenge shops began opening so we headed back & managed to actually find the row of shops we had been looking for all morning. We found some good stuff, however, the market was getting crazier & crazier as the day progressed. I'm fairly sure the alcohol the men had started drinking around 10am was starting to take effect. As we walked down the dusty street multiple men thought it would be okay to just touch my arm as I walked by them. Most were not a big deal, but one man actually ran his hand all the way from my shirt sleeve almost to my wrist before I shook him off. He was the only one I bothered to stop for & inform him that even though I was white that didn't mean he was allowed to touch me. A minute later we were talking to a lady about some cloth and hear this man saying loudly into his phone, "Yes, a Chinese & a muzungu" (Jen is actually Filipino & "muzungu" means "white person). That kinda disturbed us, so we quickly finished buying our cloth and left. Lesson learned: When the shops close at lunch, it is time to go home.
Friday, June 13, 2008
a typical african experience
On Wednesday Jacquee & I tried to fix my computer. We spent most of the morning looking at the Apple help page on her computer. When it became apparent that I would need either a copy of my OS (on a disc in ATL) or something more drastic, we went off in search of a computer store. We heard from a Zimbabwean Jacquee knows through a friend that there was some guy downtown who fixed Macs. Armed with the knowledge that his place was on Independence Rd. (ironically, right next to Saddam Hussein Blvd.) & in the old Ministry of Finance building, we set off.
We caught a taxi on Great North Road & I'm pretty sure the driver was slightly inebriated. His car definitely smelled like alcohol & he didn't really seem to understand us. On our trip into the city he stopped to get gas & told us we needed to pay for the ride then so he could pay for the gas. Although I wondered why he was driving around with no money & no gas, the gas light was on so we gave him half the fare then. He drove right by the Ministry of Finance & on toward the Cabinet Buildings. We didn't really know where we were going, but eventually he dropped us off behind the Ministry of Finance.
We wandered around on the back street for a few minutes & decided to ask the guard at the gate if he knew where the "old" building was. He buzzed us through the gate & I know the only reason he even talked to us was b/c we are white. Sometimes being different has it perks. The guard didn't really understand us, but figured out we wanted to fix a computer. So he very helpfully wrote down the name of the man who is in charge of Data Centre for the government offices who fixed all their computers. He tried to give us directions, even leaving the compound to point us down the street. Even though we realized he had no idea what we were actually looking for, he was so helpful that we thought maybe if we found this Data Centre the people there could help us. So we wandered down the road for about 40 minutes. We passed every government office imaginable, but never saw a Data Centre.
By this point our only goal was to find someone who spoke decent English. We saw a sign for a bookstore & walked into the compound. We quickly realized that we were on some campus b/c all we saw were classrooms with teenagers starting out them at us. No bookstore. We continued up the road b/c we decided by this point it would be faster than going back the other way. We were up near UTH, which is the main hospital in Lusaka. There was a little building called the "UTH Lounge" claiming to have internet access. We figured they might know something about computer fixing men & would speak English. I went inside to ask, but found only a dusky bar filled with Zambians. I asked the bartender, knowing he wouldn't understand anything I said so I just said "Thanks" to his response & left.
We decided to head back toward the Ministry of Finance and look around the front bit. As we walked down the road we stopped and asked yet another person working in the Ministry of Geology if he knew about a computer store. Although he was reading an English newspaper & obviously spoke decent English, we still only got one word answers from him. It occurred to me that perhaps people were scared of us.
As we walked on I saw some signs that said "ZamSafety" on them. One of my quests is to take pictures of all the Zam- signs I see so of course I wanted a picture. These signs were in front of the Department of Defense, but I decided to risk it anyway. I took that picture & then one of a hilarious sculpture across the street. Immediately a guard came over & told me I couldn't take pictures. I pretended like I was some clueless girl & showed him that I was only taking a picture of the sculpture across the street. So he made me delete it (but I successfully saved the ZamSafety one!). I understand not taking pictures of the DOD itself, I really do. But the other side of the street? Really?
We moved on down Independence & just past the front of the Ministry of Finance we saw a tall (for Lusaka - 6 stories) building. We decided to try it. The guard didn't seem to know what we were talking about when we told him we were looking for a computer guy, but he consulted with his fellow guards & gave us a pass. He told us to go to the 5th floor & talk to the receptionist there. The guard inside told us to go to the 4th so we started there. The 4th floor was the French Embassy so we head up one more. We came out into the lobby & saw there were 3 businesses on that floor: an investment group, an agricultural consulting firm, & an insurance group. Someone from the investment group came out & directed us to the agricultural firm. This seemed a bit odd, but we went in & saw a British lady with using a Mac. I've never been so happy to see someone whose first language was English.
We told her we were looking for a guy who fixed Macs. Much to our surprise she looked a locked side office & said, "Oh, I think he just stepped out. Let me call him". A few minutes later, a South African came through the door & we met Malcolm, my computer savior (kinda - he couldn’t fix it, but he could tell me I needed a new hard drive). Only 2 hours after we’d began our search!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
why i hate living in a developing country
So my computer died last night. When I turn it on the only thing that comes up is a flashing questionmark. Are there any Apple stores on the entire continent of Africa? NO. So that is just eff-ing fabulous.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
a few random pictures
They have these huge plants all over Lusaka. We took this picture right next to a polo field where the South Africans play polo on Sunday mornings. It is very colonial from what I hear.
This is the sign outside our main site, right next to where I live. I'm in the middle with my flatmate, Leigh, on the left & fellow summer student, Jenn, on the right.
Some minibuses at a petrol station down the street from my house. They are quite the experience - riders stuffed in like sardines, zooming around the many potholes of Lusaka at terrifying speeds, daily accidents. I much prefer splitting a taxi with my flatmates.
The flats. They are really nice. There are 4 with 3 girls per flat right now. In a few weeks more people are coming & we'll start getting a bit crowded. Maybe I'll put up some more pictures of the flats later.
The road I live on. It looks picturesque here & it kinda is, but it is also so freakin dusty that my feet are coated in dust by the time I get to work. And the other day a girl at work told me that July was "the dusty month". Great.
Friday, June 6, 2008
is that marijuana? no, it is just burning trash
I live a block from my work. Unfortunately, that block is affectionately named "Garbage Alley". People who are too cheap to pay for trash pick up (anyone living in my neighborhood can afford it if they want to) just dump their trash on the side of the street and set it on fire. For some reason if it is burned, it is okay to leave it there. At least when it burns it doesn't smell too bad - pretty much like someone is smoking some weed nearby.
Some of the people who own the land on Garbage Alley are slightly annoyed about all the trash so they put up this sign & a fence. As you can see from the pictures, it has been very effective.
Some of the people who own the land on Garbage Alley are slightly annoyed about all the trash so they put up this sign & a fence. As you can see from the pictures, it has been very effective.
yes, i know i'm a hypocrite
I really hate sleeping under mosquito nets. Since it is cool & dry in Zambia right now I thought I'd be okay without one. I have windows with screens & sleep under blankets. I explained this to my little brother last week. I told him that I would wait till I got a bite before putting up my net b/c I didn't see the point of using one if there were no mosquitoes out. In response he said "Ummmm, Brooke, aren't you there to teach people to prevent disease & not wait till they get sick to start protecting themselves?"
Well, here it is, my first mosquito bite:
Note how its on my finger b/c the rest of my body was under the covers while I slept - so I was kinda protecting myself, right?
The same day I was bitten, I went to a management meeting at work & the lab manager mentioned that they had had 6 positive malaria smears that day. So now I sleep under a net. *sigh*
Here I am, being a model public health student, sleeping under my net. Yay.
Well, here it is, my first mosquito bite:
Note how its on my finger b/c the rest of my body was under the covers while I slept - so I was kinda protecting myself, right?The same day I was bitten, I went to a management meeting at work & the lab manager mentioned that they had had 6 positive malaria smears that day. So now I sleep under a net. *sigh*
Here I am, being a model public health student, sleeping under my net. Yay.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
celebrity jeopardy...zambian style
Today at work I had to sit in on medical training day. After 4 hours of intense boredom, we finished up with a short lesson on a rapid test that detects whether the patient has HIV-1 or HIV-2. At the end all the medical staff had to take a short quiz to ensure they learned the material. The intern that was administering the quiz really wanted to finish quickly so she gave it like Alex Trebek on SNL Celebrity Jeopardy.Question 1: Does the test respond to IgG as well as IgM?
Intern: Ok, look at the projector. The answer is somewhere on this page.
(as she repeatedly underlines it with her paper)
Question 2:How many lines should be on the Bioline test if the client is HIV-1 positive?
Intern: There is a picture on the projector. It is an example of an HIV-1 positive test. How many lines are there?
It continued on like this until the end of the quiz. These people are nurses, doctors, & medical officers - I'm fairly sure that they could have easily done the quiz without the intern's help. But, luckily for me, the intern apparently disagreed.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Some Things I've Seen in Lusaka
I spent 2 days last week across town from the main site clinic (where I usually work). When we take the work vehicles to another site, we drive around town picking up lots of the employees and then we drop them all off at the end of the day. So I've gotten to see the sights of Lusaka, which are mostly small concrete buildings painted with ads for products such as "Zamloaf" (bread), "Zamshu" (shoes), & various other products with "Zam-" added to the front of them. Here are some other fun things I've seen about the city:
1. A lady with a crazy huge goiter. I mean HUGE.
2. A guy carrying a bed on his head.
3. A metal gate (everyone has walled yards with metal gates) that was decorated with swastikas. I'm not sure if the people that lived there knew what they were. Maybe they thought they were just a pretty design.
4. Three guys on rollerblades, one of whom was weaving in & out of the crazy minibus traffic.
5. A disturbing amount of roadkill
1. A lady with a crazy huge goiter. I mean HUGE.
2. A guy carrying a bed on his head.
3. A metal gate (everyone has walled yards with metal gates) that was decorated with swastikas. I'm not sure if the people that lived there knew what they were. Maybe they thought they were just a pretty design.
4. Three guys on rollerblades, one of whom was weaving in & out of the crazy minibus traffic.
5. A disturbing amount of roadkill
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Victoria Falls
I went to Victoria Falls the 1st weekend I was here. It was breathtakingly amazing. The falls have the largest falling sheet of water in the world. Due to the size & shape of the falls I couldn't get a good picture of the entire thing. This one is about 1/4 of it.
Victoria Falls is a big adventure sport place. The British student I work with did the bungee jump. I was a bit too scared for that, but I did do the gorge swing. It is a 55 meter drop before the rope catches & you swing out across the gorge a few times.
This is Jacquee jumping off a cliff into the gorge. I went off after her, but I went backwards with my eyes closed b/c I was super scared. It was incredibly terrifying.
The Zambian word for Victoria Falls means "The Smoke that Thunders" b/c there is so much mist coming up from the falls. After walking on the bridge by the falls, I was completely soaked. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but my skirt was still dripping even after wringing it out. Twice.
My favorite thing was taking a microlight flight over the falls. The view was pretty much indescribable from the air. In addition to the beauty of the falls, I also saw hippos, crocodiles, elephants, zebras, & some gazelle like thing from the air.
One of the more impressive parts was the barren land all around the river. The contrast was truly bizarre.
This is actually a stock photo from the end of the dry season, but the land around the falls already looked like this when I was there. How can there be so much water that I am soaked to the bone & a few yards away a desert?
We ended one day with a lovely sunset cruise on the Zambezi River where we saw some African wildlife as we floated along. So, yeah, I highly recommend a trip to Victoria Falls at some point in your life. Seriously. It is awesome in the truest sense of the word. Filipinos would even say it is "aw-ful" (yeah, they think it means "full of awe". it is kinda hilarious when they use it in their advertising)
Victoria Falls is a big adventure sport place. The British student I work with did the bungee jump. I was a bit too scared for that, but I did do the gorge swing. It is a 55 meter drop before the rope catches & you swing out across the gorge a few times.
This is Jacquee jumping off a cliff into the gorge. I went off after her, but I went backwards with my eyes closed b/c I was super scared. It was incredibly terrifying.
The Zambian word for Victoria Falls means "The Smoke that Thunders" b/c there is so much mist coming up from the falls. After walking on the bridge by the falls, I was completely soaked. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but my skirt was still dripping even after wringing it out. Twice.
My favorite thing was taking a microlight flight over the falls. The view was pretty much indescribable from the air. In addition to the beauty of the falls, I also saw hippos, crocodiles, elephants, zebras, & some gazelle like thing from the air.One of the more impressive parts was the barren land all around the river. The contrast was truly bizarre.
This is actually a stock photo from the end of the dry season, but the land around the falls already looked like this when I was there. How can there be so much water that I am soaked to the bone & a few yards away a desert?
We ended one day with a lovely sunset cruise on the Zambezi River where we saw some African wildlife as we floated along. So, yeah, I highly recommend a trip to Victoria Falls at some point in your life. Seriously. It is awesome in the truest sense of the word. Filipinos would even say it is "aw-ful" (yeah, they think it means "full of awe". it is kinda hilarious when they use it in their advertising)
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