Happy Birthday, Mom!!

                       Happy Birthday Mom!!

I hope you have a great day.  Make Dad and Joseph spoil you.  Wish I could be there to celebrate with you but I'll see you very soon.  Love you!!

Marine Corps Ball

Last weekend Josh and I headed to Nairobi to attend the Marine Corps ball in honor of the Marine Corps' 236th birthday.  Not only was it an event to honor the Marines but all branches of the US military and other US diplomats attended.  It was fun to look at the sea of uniforms and try to guess which branch and which country they were from. 

After the presentation of the colors, the US ambassador spoke as well as a retired Marine officer.  Speaches were followed by the cake cutting ceremony.  Luckly a sword was used to cut the massive cake.  I don't think a regular knife could have handled it.  Dinner was a treat as we don't get most of what was served regularly here in Kisumu.  My mouth watered over the dessert table and I think I just about tried everything on there. 

Dancing started after dinner and the floor was packed long into the night.  Overally it was a great night.  I've never attended a "ball" before and it was fun to get all dressed up.  Learned Josh looks pretty good in his Army blues :)

A Countdown of Sorts

16 days till I leave for Amsterdam
17 days till I land in Chicago and get to hug my mom and Aunt Mary
17 days till I get to see my dad and brother
18 days till I get to see the rest of my family
21 days till I leave for Georgia
22 days till I see my cousins graduate
25 days till mom and I head to Gurnee for a girl's trip
28 days till I get to see Arthi, Natalia and Jamie
30 days till I head to Wisconsin to visit with the amazing Bast family
32 days till my grandpa turns 97
33 days till my dad's birthday
38 days till Christmas Eve with the Foulk family
39 days till Christmas with Stephenitch family
42 days till I leave for Amsterdam
43 days till I land back in Kenya

Just a little excited for my month in the states :)

We're finally starting!

For those of you who are lucky enough to not know my frustrations with my current project, its been trying to say the least.  But fingers crossed, I think most of that is behind us now.  Guess I should provide a little background....

When I first arrived in June, I was welcomed to absolutely nothing.  I had originally thought that the project would be up and running with me just stepping in and running the field operations.  I quickly learned that I would be taking a larger role and that it was up to me to get things off the ground so to speak. 

The following months were the epitome of two steps forward and one step back.  There was weeks where so much progress was made that it seemed like there was no way we wouldn't be starting soon.  Then of course something would come along and push us back a few weeks to a month.  August turned to September then October and alas its November. 

This last month has been the worse with struggles to obtain supplies and paperwork, that in my opinion, was completely unnecessary.  The last hurdle was cleared today as I sat for 2 hours in the procurement office waiting for my lumbar needles.  They were delivered on Monday but alas were some how lost in the office.  "No I won't come back later.  Yes it is necessary that we have spinal tap needles for a study on spinal taps.  I'll just sit myself right here and wait until you find them.  Thank you."  (I don't think they like me much in the office)   Thankfully after some digging they emerged with my needles. 

Even with all the supplies and everyone ready to go I am still worried we won't start tomorrow.  I won't utter the words "what else could go wrong" but that's not keeping me from thinking it.   I understand there will be bumps along the road as we proceed forward but before that can happen we have to proceed forward.  

So here's to me on my way to Siaya tomorrow with a truck of supplies ready to start......fingers crossed.

Let the countdown begin...

One month till I leave for the US.  I'm getting excited to have a month off to visit family and friends.  I am also kind of excited for American food...just a little :) My month will be jammed packed with trips but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

My project

So I just realized the other day that I was only writing about my travels/adventures here in Kenya and wasn't writing about what I was actually doing here.  Yes I am working.  Yes I do put in an 8 hour work day (most days). 

I am currently coordinating an encephalitis surveillance project in Siaya (about an hour and a half from Kisumu) looking at the etiologies of encephalitis present here in Kenya.  We are using the already established surveillance team at Siaya hospital to identify cases of encephalitis and meningitis. Then administering a questionnaire to collect clinical information as well as some epidemiological data. 

From there our clinicians will step in and perform lumbar punctures (spinal taps) to collect cerebral spinal fluid.  The lab will then test the fluid for a large range of pathogens and hopefully we will get a hit on something.  Although I have no experience in the lab field, it has been interesting to learn a little about the technologies available there.  Everything has a price, but the what they can do in the lab now is pretty awesome. 

It has been an interesting road and has definitely been filled with its ups and downs.  What was supposed to start in June may just get going by early November.  Its just another testament to how long it takes for things to get moving here. 

Despite its challenges, the project has been interesting from the start.  Its a completely new field here yet there is so much burden in the field. I have found it much more rewarding to focus on the neglected diseases while here instead of the ones everyone is so familiar with (HIV, malaria, TB, etc.)

Camping in the Mara

This past weekend Josh and I took off to the Mara with friends for a weekend of camping and animal sightings.  The Mara is probably the most recognizable tourist destination in Kenya.  Its what you think of when you think of "going on safari".  The landscape is dotted with safari vans filled with camera-donned individuals from all over the world. The first time I visited the Mara I had an experience quite similar to that but this time we decided to venture out on our own, roughing it to some degree.

One of the many hyenas we saw

We set off from Kisumu. Normally the road can be pretty bumpy but we decided to take a different route.  After 2.5 hours of blissful pavement and 2.5 hours of not so nice dirt roads we made it to camp.  Camp was located on the river Mara on an embankment looking over a very large hippo resting point.  Needless to say I was very happy we had a little space between them and us.  After setting up the tents and camp kitchen there wasn't enough sunlight left to spot any animals so we rounded up dinner.  Now I know I claimed we roughed it but let me claim I have never camped so nicely:  hot food, ample seating and a warm fire. 

The wildebeest migration, a 7 wonders of the world

The next morning we woke early to get out on safari.  The lions tend to hunt in the mornings and evenings so that's the best time to catch a kill!  We unfortunately didn't see any this trip but did stumble upon a lone lioness licking her chops after enjoying a zebra for breakfast.  The day continued with more sightings of zebra, elephant, giraffe and the end of the wildebeest migration.  We treated ourselves with a drink and lunch at the Serena hotel overlooking the Mara plains.  I have to say I would never want to stay there as part of my Mara experience.  There's something about the wilderness and a five star hotel that doesn't mix well with me, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the food!  Afterwards we headed back out on safari, hoping the evening would bring us more luck.

A Hippo pod right next to camp

The second day was similar to the last in spending the morning and evenings hunting down animals.  We finally had luck at sunset on our way back to camp.  Josh noticed a group of safari vans huddled in one spot (which usually means there's something good to look at) and suggested we check it out.  A little bumping up and down and we were treated to a lepard sighting!  I can't stress how rare these are.  Usually the lepards only come out to hunt and then its only in the evenings.  When they aren't hunting they are sitting in tall trees very skillfully blending in.  We decided to get a little closer to the tree and were in awe as the lepoard made its way down the trunk.  Unfortunately I wasn't on the "right" side of the car to get any good shots, but it was an experience I won't forget. 

The Mara is beautiful.  You can visit it hundreds of times and never get bored of the breathtaking sceenery and animals.  Its one of those places where I catch myself and think "Wow, I'm in Africa".