A taste of Mendota in Kenya

I'm not a picky eater and you can't be over here. BUT I do get really excited when I find a dish or food that reminds me of home. Sure you can ask for certain "American dishes" but 9 times out of 10 its just not how you remember it despite the waiters constant claims that "Yes yes that is how it is."

The other night I had one of these savory food moments when we came home after work and found.......SWEET CORN. Yes actual sweet corn not the traditional maize (or what we would call field corn) found here in Kenya. I think I about died. I had noticed some growing in the garden out back but didn't fully trust that it was going to turn out as the gardner claimed. They just don't have that here!

But as I sat there with my hot, salted, and buttery ear I was thankful that this time, I was wrong!

Karibu Kenya!

The sun rises over Lake Victoria as the boats head out to fish.

...And I'm back! I think I ended the last post with a comment or maybe it was a threat that I would return to Kenya. I made good on that June 1st landing in Nairobi after 16 hours travel (and that's just on the plane!). Luckily though I didn't have to wait long in Nairobi as I hopped an earlier flight to Kisumu than originally planned. It felt really surreal landing down in Kisumu. On one hand if felt like my time here was a lifetime ago but I also got this strange feeling as if I had never left. Needless to say it was an easy transition back into Kenyan life. I was quickly exposed to the crazy traffic, the sights and even the smells of Kisumu. I did have some intense jet lag that took about 4 days, numerous naps, and a few early mornings to get over, but 15 days into my trip I'm doing well.

A heard of hippo

This year I am working on a sentinel surveillance project with CDC/KEMRI looking at encephalitis and meningitis in the Siaya area of Western Kenya. For those of you who are unaware a sentinel surveillance project is one where health care providers report illness in their patients. There is no active searching for cases or recruitment of patients. Illness is reported as individuals present at the hospital. I will be doing all of the project coordinating and I am excited to get started. Currently things are a little slow in the office but tomorrow I am headed to the field to get a first hand look at the everyday happenings of the hospital. Hopefully this will give me a good idea as to how this surveillance study will fit into the research already done there.

I love the reflection in the water

As far as any adventures go, I haven't really ventured out of Kisumu quite yet. I've spent the last few weeks visiting with old friends and settling in. I did however take an early morning boat ride to watch the sunrise on Lake Victoria. This was something I didn't get the opportunity to do last summer and it was a nice relaxing way to spend my first few days here. We saw a bunch of birds each more colorful than the next, got a little too close to a pack of hippo for comfort, and even spotted a monkey in the trees. Below are a few pics of that morning!

The group