My apologies- it has taken a while for me to get the chance to post this, but I just had to post the saga of my journey home... it lived up to every expectation I could have had.
Just as a child would carefully set up a line of dominos and hope that the dog wouldn't wag his tail into a middle block before he had a chance to push down the very first piece, I set up my trip home meticulously and with a plan. I'd leave Malawi on Monday, arrive home on Tuesday, beat the jet lag by dinner on Wednesday with my mom, spend Thursday night with my dad, and then head to Philly to see the gymnastics Olympic Trials with my best friend on Friday night. I bought the tickets in advance and even looked into Amtrak from Penn Station in NYC to Philadelphia on Friday. But, the dog wagged his tail...
I arrived at the airport nearly in tears on Monday morning. Zach, Rachel and Kathleen came with me, and it was very hard to say goodbye. They each handed me cards with specific instructions not to open the cards until I was on the plane. I bargained with the check-in representative to pay less for my overweight bags, cried when I said goodbye to my friends, and then noticed the departure board said "Air Malawi - Delayed Indefinitely." Hmm, interesting. My friend (Grosi) is a customs agent at the airport and I asked him how long he thought indefinitely meant...a day? A week? He didn't know. We went upstairs to the airport restaurant (see previous entry and figure out why I refused to accept the free meal). I played the azungu role and bought him a coke, and we chatted at the table for a while. From his radio, I pieced together more of the story:
At one point in time, Air Malawi had 4 aircraft - 3/4 are now not functional. The fourth plane was in the hanger for service. The plan was to charter another plane from Kenyan Airways and the flight was supposed to arrive from Nairobi in time for our 1:25pm departure. By 5pm, there was still no airplane. When an Air Malawi representative finally dared to stand up in front of all the angry people, her explanataion made me chuckle. Air Malawi had never transferred money for fuel for the airplane so the flight was grounded in Nairobi, waiting for gas money. By the time funds were transferred and the plane arrived, I had already missed my connection in Johannesburg. I was scheduled to fly from Joburg to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to NYC.
Fortunately, I met a really nice guy who worked for PIH. He was on a whirlwind of travel and had to get to Durban for a conference. I recognized his accent from home and we quickly realized that we both were friends with Liz. It helped to have a friend to go through the shuffle of travel. Air Malawi paid for a hotel room for each traveler, though we hardly spent any time there. We got out on the first shuttle back to the airport in the morning - something before 6am. I wanted to get there early enough to get on whatever the earliest flight to NY would be...too bad the airport was essentially closed until 8am.
It is now winter in Joburg, the airport was under major construction so the walls were mostly made of contractor bags, and I was freezing. When the airline offices finally opened, getting me home initially looked like a major challenge. I spent 3 hours in the Air Malawi office trying to get on a flight. The only thing they could do for me was a 7pm departure to Frankfurt - talk about a 12+ hour layover. And, while the Joburg international terminal is actually very nice, I couldn't get there because you can only check in 3 hours before departure. I took my bags, piled them on a trolly, and jumped on the top. I started (and finished) the book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," slept a bit (but was woken up by a guy who told me to 'watch your sh*t, it's gunna get stolen), and made friends with a waiter who let me hang out at a table for a while at the only coffee shop on that side of security. Hours and hours, and hours, later, after arguing with the luggage guys about not paying again for overweight bags, I crossed into the nice area of the airport, and made it to my Lufthansa flight.
Upon arriving in Germany on Wednesday morning, I had to wait again on yet another check-in line. This rude German guy kept cutting me (more than once- he switched lines and then came back and cut me again!)Fortunately, I was able to bump my flight up a few hours and I got home in the afternoon on Wednesday...just enough time to settle in, say hi to my family, and head to Philly for a fun weekend with Nicole.
I suppose that's enough of a travel saga. I may come back and post one last time, but I hope that I was able to share some of the fun I had this year. I know I'll come back and reread these posts once the med school grind starts and I'll wish I had my Malawi routine back - 4:15am wake ups, sunrise drives, babies and babies and babies, fun runs with the girls, Hunters, cabbage salads, and DVD TV... I'm sure I'll be back - I caught the Africa bug :)
-dkm
Monday, July 14, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
333 down, 2 days to go
It seems perfectly fitting that on my second to last morning in Malawi, regardless that this is a Sunday, I should wake at the ever famous 4:30 am hour. The morning has changed a bit since the far off days of heavy rains and muddy roads - I find myself now clutching a hot cup of coffee to warm my fingers and fight off the chill of this African winter morning. I am somehow comforted by the incessant honking of the minibuses (even at this hour!) that I am hearing now for one of the last times. The nostalgia is hitting now, my last night sleeping in under the protection of my bright blue mosquito net, the last time I'll shop in Blantyre market, the last time I have to say no when a vendor tries to convince me that, "looking is free madam. Just look. Nice things, cheap prices. Looking is free." Here I am, pressed up against the window to keep my internet signal, already missing my African mornings. I have one (maybe two) runs remaining to feel like a celebrity ("azungu! azungu!" I run with you!"), one night to cook a big dinner with my friends, and one last day to drive past the curio market and hear, "Daniel, Daniel!" from every vendor. I suppose I'll have some serious adjustments to make as I re-acclimate to American culture- I'll have to start thinking in dollars and not kwacha, and I'll probably have my work cut out for me to catch up with the current fashion styles. Somehow, I don't think chitenjes came into fashion in the US while I was gone...
I wrote an entry a few days ago and intended to post it, but never managed to load it. It had a political flair to it, though I am certainly no one to make any insightful political comments. However, I must share the funny part of that post. As I have probably mentioned in previous posts, Kathleen is also wrapping up her days here in Malawi. She has been working hard to get all 1,350 interviews translated from Chichewa to English so that she can do some serious data analysis when she gets back home. She has had three people helping her with the translations, and she has been furiously typing their handwritten transcripts into word documents. In doing so, she has come across some really funny responses from her interviewees:
Q: Do you support any political party and if so why?
A: "No. I support nsima and G-d." (recall that nsima is the staple food here, made of corn flour and water only).
Absolutely perfect answer.
Dr. Manary and his son arrived yesterday, and another medical student, Meg came a few days before. The house is filling up, and I'm sure it will be nice when I get all my stuff packed up and out of the house. I know saying goodbye will be really difficult, but I know it will only be temporary before I come back to this neck of the woods. I will probably write one final entry, maybe my last in Malawi or maybe from home...I'm going to miss the blog!
-dkm
I wrote an entry a few days ago and intended to post it, but never managed to load it. It had a political flair to it, though I am certainly no one to make any insightful political comments. However, I must share the funny part of that post. As I have probably mentioned in previous posts, Kathleen is also wrapping up her days here in Malawi. She has been working hard to get all 1,350 interviews translated from Chichewa to English so that she can do some serious data analysis when she gets back home. She has had three people helping her with the translations, and she has been furiously typing their handwritten transcripts into word documents. In doing so, she has come across some really funny responses from her interviewees:
Q: Do you support any political party and if so why?
A: "No. I support nsima and G-d." (recall that nsima is the staple food here, made of corn flour and water only).
Absolutely perfect answer.
Dr. Manary and his son arrived yesterday, and another medical student, Meg came a few days before. The house is filling up, and I'm sure it will be nice when I get all my stuff packed up and out of the house. I know saying goodbye will be really difficult, but I know it will only be temporary before I come back to this neck of the woods. I will probably write one final entry, maybe my last in Malawi or maybe from home...I'm going to miss the blog!
-dkm
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Home Stretch
Last night, while enjoying an awesome thai-inspired coconut curried chicken dinner prepared by Kathleen, Zach, Rachel, Kathleen and I had a pretty good bout of the giggles as we reminisced about our childhood days in the school cafeteria. We started by debating which candy is best (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups had the majority, but I fought hard for Swedish Fish and the whole Twizzler family). This quickly moved into the best snacks in your lunch box - Chips Ahoy being far below Mallomar's and the ultimate treat being Hostess Cupcakes (the ones with white frosting swirly decoration on the top). Kathleen complained that her lunchbox was never decorated with such great things - "The best I got was carrot sticks, my only hope was to trade..." To which Zach replied, "How did you pull that trade off? Trade with the blind kid?!" Perhaps it should not have been funny, but it did send us into roaring laughter for a minute or two, more for the thought of the poor kid who got convinced to trade a Hostess cupcake for a carrot stick.
All the talk of home - cookies and candies, sandwiches and huge cups of coffee to go - made me realize that I am ready to be back and get into the grind of American life, but that I also really had a huge experience abroad. I do miss some of those things, but really, being abroad has been everything I wanted it to be. I can appreciate the luxuries of home in a whole new way, but I will also miss my life in Malawi. I will miss the fresh produce, the incessant greetings, the formal hand-written letters, having children around every day bringing smiles when you're stressed, the beautiful landscapes, the chance to make a tangible difference in a person's life. Maybe this post is too cliche, but the truth is - I have done something that I know has changed my life. I have seen people come and go, and I've met many people who are very committed to working in global development. But I have also learned that working in this exact environment is not for everyone. I know that this is a world were I could work and be happy, and that is quite a realization.
So as I pack up my bags, wrap up wood carvings, pull down pictures, and take my last drives through town, I am only half sad. I know I'll be back - something I didn't know at the end of my time here in the summer of 2006. I remember leaving then and having tears well up as I wondered if I'd ever see my friends and colleagues again. I don't need to get upset like that again, I know for sure I'll be back.
I probably have one or two more blogs to wrap this year up, hard to believe. Thanks to everyone for reading, I know I've had fun looking back through old posts. I'm glad that I kept this going, and I hope that it gave you a sense of what my year has been like. I never knew this thing was searchable by google (naive I suppose - had I known, maybe I would have paid more attention to my grammar!), but I hope even you random people have enjoyed learning about PPB and St. Louis Nutrition Project.
Until my last post,
-dkm
All the talk of home - cookies and candies, sandwiches and huge cups of coffee to go - made me realize that I am ready to be back and get into the grind of American life, but that I also really had a huge experience abroad. I do miss some of those things, but really, being abroad has been everything I wanted it to be. I can appreciate the luxuries of home in a whole new way, but I will also miss my life in Malawi. I will miss the fresh produce, the incessant greetings, the formal hand-written letters, having children around every day bringing smiles when you're stressed, the beautiful landscapes, the chance to make a tangible difference in a person's life. Maybe this post is too cliche, but the truth is - I have done something that I know has changed my life. I have seen people come and go, and I've met many people who are very committed to working in global development. But I have also learned that working in this exact environment is not for everyone. I know that this is a world were I could work and be happy, and that is quite a realization.
So as I pack up my bags, wrap up wood carvings, pull down pictures, and take my last drives through town, I am only half sad. I know I'll be back - something I didn't know at the end of my time here in the summer of 2006. I remember leaving then and having tears well up as I wondered if I'd ever see my friends and colleagues again. I don't need to get upset like that again, I know for sure I'll be back.
I probably have one or two more blogs to wrap this year up, hard to believe. Thanks to everyone for reading, I know I've had fun looking back through old posts. I'm glad that I kept this going, and I hope that it gave you a sense of what my year has been like. I never knew this thing was searchable by google (naive I suppose - had I known, maybe I would have paid more attention to my grammar!), but I hope even you random people have enjoyed learning about PPB and St. Louis Nutrition Project.
Until my last post,
-dkm
Friday, June 6, 2008
Buying a beast and then some thoughts
With the current price of gasoline at home, I will probably never again have the satisfaction of buying a beast. The days of enormous, 9 seater, four wheel drive vehicles with tires that reach my hips are over. But first thing Wednesday, I woke up and wrote a check for a million-ish Malawian Kwacha and bought just this. I took the Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD Turbo home complete with automatic locks, power windows, seat heaters, and a CD player - on top of being a diesel engine and automatic transmission. Quite a posh vehicle... probably makes the other 7 cars in the fleet feel incredibly antiquated.
On Thursday, Franklin, Zach and I headed out to a district to the west of Blantyre called Neno, the site of Partner's in Health's new healthcare facility. Franklin was once a student of Paul Farmer, the famous founder of PIH and known for this work in Haiti (and the book Pathologies of Power). We met up with Liz, who was out in Neno visiting her boyfriend, and then had a tour of the new hospital, the lab, the outpatient facility, and the housing from the country director, Keith Joseph. Keith is a native of Harlem and a real down to earth guy. It was interesting to see the construction progress, but even more interesting was hearing Keith's comments about working in Malawi compared to his previous work in Lesotho, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Our visit was very brief, but enough to get a picture of what PIH is all about, at least here in Malawi. Meanwhile, Mike (MBA student from Duke) came back down to Blantyre for some business meetings. I was able to fit in a good run with him in the late afternoon, and then had a chance to chat about some non-work stuff over dinner, which was nice. One of the best parts of working in development is meeting people from such diverse backgrounds who are all so committed to improving the world. It's pretty neat, and I will really miss meeting these people. I think I'll be a bit spoiled when I get home... dumb guys in bars better save the small talk, lol.
Now, as the days before my return narrow, my main focus has become preparations for my departure and making sure that everyone else here feels as oriented to Blantyre as possible. I took all my extra clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous goods to the curio market to try to trade for novelty items. I found some fun gifts and am excited to bring it all back :) I am really looking forward to a brief break before starting medical school, and can hardly believe how fast time has passed. I am still waiting for WashU, but in the meantime, I am getting excited for Stony Brook. My next move is to find housing and a roommate in the area...that is, after I get back from here...
I can't wait to see everyone at home.
-dkm
On Thursday, Franklin, Zach and I headed out to a district to the west of Blantyre called Neno, the site of Partner's in Health's new healthcare facility. Franklin was once a student of Paul Farmer, the famous founder of PIH and known for this work in Haiti (and the book Pathologies of Power). We met up with Liz, who was out in Neno visiting her boyfriend, and then had a tour of the new hospital, the lab, the outpatient facility, and the housing from the country director, Keith Joseph. Keith is a native of Harlem and a real down to earth guy. It was interesting to see the construction progress, but even more interesting was hearing Keith's comments about working in Malawi compared to his previous work in Lesotho, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Our visit was very brief, but enough to get a picture of what PIH is all about, at least here in Malawi. Meanwhile, Mike (MBA student from Duke) came back down to Blantyre for some business meetings. I was able to fit in a good run with him in the late afternoon, and then had a chance to chat about some non-work stuff over dinner, which was nice. One of the best parts of working in development is meeting people from such diverse backgrounds who are all so committed to improving the world. It's pretty neat, and I will really miss meeting these people. I think I'll be a bit spoiled when I get home... dumb guys in bars better save the small talk, lol.
Now, as the days before my return narrow, my main focus has become preparations for my departure and making sure that everyone else here feels as oriented to Blantyre as possible. I took all my extra clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous goods to the curio market to try to trade for novelty items. I found some fun gifts and am excited to bring it all back :) I am really looking forward to a brief break before starting medical school, and can hardly believe how fast time has passed. I am still waiting for WashU, but in the meantime, I am getting excited for Stony Brook. My next move is to find housing and a roommate in the area...that is, after I get back from here...
I can't wait to see everyone at home.
-dkm
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Girls Weekend Retreat
With just 17 days to go before I head back to the States, Kathleen, Liz and I decided to take a short weekend retreat to a small town 60 km northeast of Blantyre called Zomba. Zomba was once the capital of Malawi and is set at the base of an incredibly scenic plateau. The streets at the bottom of the mountain are lined with very tall blue gum eucalyptus trees and as you proceed up the plateau, the landscape becomes decorated with lush greenery and strikingly red flowers. Young boys wait along the side of the road with freshly picked strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and passion fruits, as well as crystals harvested from the mountain rock face and decorated wicker baskets. We saw several baboons and a few other monkeys as we made our way along the very windy road to the top. Kathleen has a family friend who was once in the Peace Corp in Malawi (in the 60s) and now is directing an NGO based here in Zomba. He is back in the States for a visit, so he offered to let Kathleen stay in his enormous house as much as she'd like while she wraps up her research.
At the top of the plateau is an enormous lodge and restaurant called the Ku Chawe Inn. It has several levels, with low ceilings and many archways leading from room to room. Walking through the darkly lit rooms with dark wood furniture and brick walls is reminiscent of a gothic castle in Western Europe. The house staff are extremely accommodating; drinking tea and looking out this brick arched window makes me feel extremely colonial. We came up to the Inn in order to access the internet - because what would a retreat be without a little work and a little stress? There is no internet access at the house where we are staying, so we took advantage of the excuse to trek up the mountain.
This afternoon, we'll head out for a run along the very narrow and windy roads (don't worry, there aren't many cars around so this is not dangerous). I am looking forward to a quiet and beautiful run, in stark contrast to the runs I've had in Blantyre through crowded streets, dodging little kids, cars, piles of sugar cane and peanuts, or minibuses. The steep grade of the mountain will certainly give my butt an extra kick today...
After the run, I'm sure we'll open some wine, cook a great dinner (we brought chicken, corn, green beans, and lots of salad stuff with us) and probably fall asleep watching some classically girly movie like "Mona Lisa Smile," or possibly something light and humorous like, "Hitch." Tomorrow morning we'll make oatmeal pancakes (recipe ala South Beach Diet...they come out great!), squeeze in another pretty run, and head back to Blantyre. I have a lot of work to do for my research report and with all the commotion of the newly arrived project members, my hands will be full for the next few weeks.
-dkm
At the top of the plateau is an enormous lodge and restaurant called the Ku Chawe Inn. It has several levels, with low ceilings and many archways leading from room to room. Walking through the darkly lit rooms with dark wood furniture and brick walls is reminiscent of a gothic castle in Western Europe. The house staff are extremely accommodating; drinking tea and looking out this brick arched window makes me feel extremely colonial. We came up to the Inn in order to access the internet - because what would a retreat be without a little work and a little stress? There is no internet access at the house where we are staying, so we took advantage of the excuse to trek up the mountain.
This afternoon, we'll head out for a run along the very narrow and windy roads (don't worry, there aren't many cars around so this is not dangerous). I am looking forward to a quiet and beautiful run, in stark contrast to the runs I've had in Blantyre through crowded streets, dodging little kids, cars, piles of sugar cane and peanuts, or minibuses. The steep grade of the mountain will certainly give my butt an extra kick today...
After the run, I'm sure we'll open some wine, cook a great dinner (we brought chicken, corn, green beans, and lots of salad stuff with us) and probably fall asleep watching some classically girly movie like "Mona Lisa Smile," or possibly something light and humorous like, "Hitch." Tomorrow morning we'll make oatmeal pancakes (recipe ala South Beach Diet...they come out great!), squeeze in another pretty run, and head back to Blantyre. I have a lot of work to do for my research report and with all the commotion of the newly arrived project members, my hands will be full for the next few weeks.
-dkm
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Art of the Bucket Shower
It seems as though in my final few weeks, I am returning to the days of the bucket shower. Over the past 10 months, there have been days here and there where the water has refused to run from the tap, or the electricity conveniently gets cut just as dinner is about to hit the stove. But this week, the shower really put up a fight, relentless for 6 days, and leaving me, my bucket, and my red plastic cup to face-off with shampoo and conditioner. Fortunately, the electricity has mostly cooperated this week.
If you don't have the proper technique, bucket showers can be messy activities. Water gets splashed in all the wrong places, any efforts to shave your legs are in vain because you keep getting goosebumps from the cold, and you can find yourself stuck with shampoo in your hair and your bucket dry. You need a sizeable bucket filled 3/4 of the way with water (that you would have certainly been keeping for these emergency situations in large drums in the kitchen), and 1/4 with boiling water. At least you won't freeze. Then you're aiming for speed and efficiency - somehow get the shampoo out and the conditioner in, spread the suds, and conserve the water as you rinse off. Unfortunately, if you are reading this from somewhere in America, you probably will not ever get to practice. I'm sure you're thoroughly disappointed.
* * * * *
In other news, the houses are slowly filling up... On Saturday, Franklin arrived. Franklin is a pretty accomplished guy, undergrad and PhD at Harvard, med school at WashU, and now matched to Mass General Hospital for residency in internal medicine...all by 31. Things have been very low key since his arrival as Sundays in Blantyre tend to be. We did go by the trade fair, an exhibition type thing where several countries displayed their artisans' work and sold some great gifts.
On Sunday, "my boys" all came by - Yohane, Antony, Luca, and some new boys - Chisomo, Chikondi and Julio. Chisomo is an adorable 13 year old boy whose father has passed away and whose mother lives in a village where she has no land to farm or job to do. He came here looking for "ganyu" - small job that he could do for some cash- in order to buy fabric to sew his own school uniform a few months back. Yesterday, he came unexpectedly and hadn't eaten anything in 2 days. He is living on his own with his sister, in a slum area near Blantyre. Yohane and Chikondi helped me in the kitchen to prepare nsima, spinach relish and eggs to feed Chisomo. I also found some sugar, oil, flour, ground nut flour, and washing soap to give him, in addition to a clean shirt, a pair of flip flops (as he has no shoes), and 20 Kwacha (14 cents) for a hair cut. It turned out to be a fun afternoon, cooking, playing bawo, and practicing Chichewa.
It is now early on Monday morning, exactly 3 weeks until I come home. I am going to take Franklin to the Malawi Bureau of Standards, as one of his charges while he is here is to figure out a way to measure protein and fat content in RUTF in our own factory. Franklin is going to try to see what machinery is available in Malawi and how we could adapt it to run these tests. Additionally, he is going to assess the hospital lab to see if a blood-gas analyzer would be a relevant and useful piece of technology, or if it would be more of a waste of money with no real use. Blood-gas analyzers are routine in the US, but each test costs $9 to run and usually is done when you are going to ventilate a patient. Malawi would have a lot of trouble running a test that cost so much per person, and also does not really ever use ventilator machines.
Tomorrow two more guys are coming - one from Duke (business student) and one from UNC (MPH program). On Wednesday, Zach and Rachel will join me here as well. Zach will be running the factory so Liyaka may take a break, and Rachel will be doing a stool collection study for the summer. Daunting projects for both of them! Finally, we have Meg coming on June 10, and Dr. Manary and his son Micah coming on June 14. Hard to believe I am already preparing for all these guests (I bought bunk beds last week to stock up on sleeping places!).
21 days til I leave Malawi, 22 days til I touch down in America.
-dkm
If you don't have the proper technique, bucket showers can be messy activities. Water gets splashed in all the wrong places, any efforts to shave your legs are in vain because you keep getting goosebumps from the cold, and you can find yourself stuck with shampoo in your hair and your bucket dry. You need a sizeable bucket filled 3/4 of the way with water (that you would have certainly been keeping for these emergency situations in large drums in the kitchen), and 1/4 with boiling water. At least you won't freeze. Then you're aiming for speed and efficiency - somehow get the shampoo out and the conditioner in, spread the suds, and conserve the water as you rinse off. Unfortunately, if you are reading this from somewhere in America, you probably will not ever get to practice. I'm sure you're thoroughly disappointed.
* * * * *
In other news, the houses are slowly filling up... On Saturday, Franklin arrived. Franklin is a pretty accomplished guy, undergrad and PhD at Harvard, med school at WashU, and now matched to Mass General Hospital for residency in internal medicine...all by 31. Things have been very low key since his arrival as Sundays in Blantyre tend to be. We did go by the trade fair, an exhibition type thing where several countries displayed their artisans' work and sold some great gifts.
On Sunday, "my boys" all came by - Yohane, Antony, Luca, and some new boys - Chisomo, Chikondi and Julio. Chisomo is an adorable 13 year old boy whose father has passed away and whose mother lives in a village where she has no land to farm or job to do. He came here looking for "ganyu" - small job that he could do for some cash- in order to buy fabric to sew his own school uniform a few months back. Yesterday, he came unexpectedly and hadn't eaten anything in 2 days. He is living on his own with his sister, in a slum area near Blantyre. Yohane and Chikondi helped me in the kitchen to prepare nsima, spinach relish and eggs to feed Chisomo. I also found some sugar, oil, flour, ground nut flour, and washing soap to give him, in addition to a clean shirt, a pair of flip flops (as he has no shoes), and 20 Kwacha (14 cents) for a hair cut. It turned out to be a fun afternoon, cooking, playing bawo, and practicing Chichewa.
It is now early on Monday morning, exactly 3 weeks until I come home. I am going to take Franklin to the Malawi Bureau of Standards, as one of his charges while he is here is to figure out a way to measure protein and fat content in RUTF in our own factory. Franklin is going to try to see what machinery is available in Malawi and how we could adapt it to run these tests. Additionally, he is going to assess the hospital lab to see if a blood-gas analyzer would be a relevant and useful piece of technology, or if it would be more of a waste of money with no real use. Blood-gas analyzers are routine in the US, but each test costs $9 to run and usually is done when you are going to ventilate a patient. Malawi would have a lot of trouble running a test that cost so much per person, and also does not really ever use ventilator machines.
Tomorrow two more guys are coming - one from Duke (business student) and one from UNC (MPH program). On Wednesday, Zach and Rachel will join me here as well. Zach will be running the factory so Liyaka may take a break, and Rachel will be doing a stool collection study for the summer. Daunting projects for both of them! Finally, we have Meg coming on June 10, and Dr. Manary and his son Micah coming on June 14. Hard to believe I am already preparing for all these guests (I bought bunk beds last week to stock up on sleeping places!).
21 days til I leave Malawi, 22 days til I touch down in America.
-dkm
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
MOUSE IN THE HOUSE!
With five minutes of me shrieking having past, I am now calm enough to share the gross reality that my cat is a hunter. Some innate switch has turned on making her a ruthless feline on the prowl. Yesterday there were little yellow feathers strewn haphazardly all over my apartment and in recent days past, lizard tails abandoned in the corners. But by far, the least pleasant little guest is Jerry. At the exact moment, Jerry the mouse is trying to hide under the couch...but...wait, I have to pause to jump on top of the chair....
...I'm back. Ella has now caught Jerry in her mouth, and yet there is one smarter than the hunter...Kathleen. Please refer to the blog with the terror of the tarantula a few months back, when Kathleen braved the beast with a Maasai warrior carving. Unlike my skittish self, Kathleen caught Ella by the butt, leaving Ella to dangle with Jerry in her mouth. I think situations like these remind me that when searching for a roommate I should note, "Looking for someone who can act composed in situations of crisis, such as when a mouse is in your cat's mouth or a large spider invades your space."
Now that the lioness and her prey are safely outside, I have taken some photos of this fiasco. I'm being told to applaud her for a job well done. Gross, Ella, gross.
-dkm
...I'm back. Ella has now caught Jerry in her mouth, and yet there is one smarter than the hunter...Kathleen. Please refer to the blog with the terror of the tarantula a few months back, when Kathleen braved the beast with a Maasai warrior carving. Unlike my skittish self, Kathleen caught Ella by the butt, leaving Ella to dangle with Jerry in her mouth. I think situations like these remind me that when searching for a roommate I should note, "Looking for someone who can act composed in situations of crisis, such as when a mouse is in your cat's mouth or a large spider invades your space."
Now that the lioness and her prey are safely outside, I have taken some photos of this fiasco. I'm being told to applaud her for a job well done. Gross, Ella, gross.
-dkm
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
3.5 Weeks (New Photo links at the bottom)
It is hard to believe that in just 27 days I'll be heading home, and yet so much will happen in these next few weeks. My year has been pretty incredible and I'll have a lot to look back on. One of these days, I'll sit down and write a reflective entry, but for now I'll dodge the sappy stuff and focus on the reality... I'm still here, cars still break left and right, we've got a new study to get on its feet, and about 7 new visitors en route!
I have spent most of the past week getting things in order for the new study for 2008-2009. I had new data cards printed up, met with the District Health Officers, engaged the right people on the production end to get the new food ready, and keep pestering the ethics committee for their final consent. Hopefully, in the next 10 days, everything will fall into place and by early June we will begin enrolling children in this new research program. We are now switching gears, focusing on children with severe malnutrition (I worked with the moderately malnourished kids mostly) and will be testing a new, less expensive version of RUTF for these children. This time, we will keep some milk in the formula, but will reduce it by 15% to lower costs.
Yesterday, our trusty ol' Nissan (the diesel one that had the gas tank incident, the broken springs, and other problems) gave us yet another story worthy moment. Nick was on his way out to Mulanje when a very funny thumping started...and then...the wheels stopped. Seems as though the "universal" (I think it is the piece that distributes power to the wheels), broke in half. A long piece of metal just fell from the bottom of the car. Liyaka and I to the rescue with tow rope in hand - we tied the Nissan to my car, I pulled and Liyaka took care of keeping the rope taut. By the time I get home, I'll be a mechanic.
Kathleen and I have gotten back in the groove of long runs, sometimes exploring new neighborhoods, sometimes staying with the routine route to the President's palace. We've been cooking some fantastic dinners with our new favorite thing being cabbage-based salads.
I put some new pictures up on Facebook. For those without an account, you can view the photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2091829&l=cd625&id=3104564
And if you never saw these, here are some other good photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080138&l=e146e&id=3104564
Will write again soon.
-dkm
I have spent most of the past week getting things in order for the new study for 2008-2009. I had new data cards printed up, met with the District Health Officers, engaged the right people on the production end to get the new food ready, and keep pestering the ethics committee for their final consent. Hopefully, in the next 10 days, everything will fall into place and by early June we will begin enrolling children in this new research program. We are now switching gears, focusing on children with severe malnutrition (I worked with the moderately malnourished kids mostly) and will be testing a new, less expensive version of RUTF for these children. This time, we will keep some milk in the formula, but will reduce it by 15% to lower costs.
Yesterday, our trusty ol' Nissan (the diesel one that had the gas tank incident, the broken springs, and other problems) gave us yet another story worthy moment. Nick was on his way out to Mulanje when a very funny thumping started...and then...the wheels stopped. Seems as though the "universal" (I think it is the piece that distributes power to the wheels), broke in half. A long piece of metal just fell from the bottom of the car. Liyaka and I to the rescue with tow rope in hand - we tied the Nissan to my car, I pulled and Liyaka took care of keeping the rope taut. By the time I get home, I'll be a mechanic.
Kathleen and I have gotten back in the groove of long runs, sometimes exploring new neighborhoods, sometimes staying with the routine route to the President's palace. We've been cooking some fantastic dinners with our new favorite thing being cabbage-based salads.
I put some new pictures up on Facebook. For those without an account, you can view the photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2091829&l=cd625&id=3104564
And if you never saw these, here are some other good photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080138&l=e146e&id=3104564
Will write again soon.
-dkm
Monday, May 12, 2008
A Special Thank You
Dear Jennifer,
I received your letter today! It was so exciting to get something in the mail. Thank you for thinking of me.
Hope all is well at home. See you in June!
-dkm
PS. Barb, I recognized your handwriting on the front... miss you too :)
I received your letter today! It was so exciting to get something in the mail. Thank you for thinking of me.
Hope all is well at home. See you in June!
-dkm
PS. Barb, I recognized your handwriting on the front... miss you too :)
The Big Decision
It is hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since I started the painfully long process of applying to medical school. More than two years have past since I first started studying for the MCAT. And it is finally...finally...over. After hours of tearing my hair out, talking to every person on the planet willing to listen to my rationalizations, going back and forth...and back and forth again, I finally declined acceptances at 3 of the 4 schools, withdrew from 1 of 2 wait lists, and confirmed my seat at just one school.
I turned down Albert Einstein. This was probably the hardest one to decline. I had thought I wanted to go there the most - they have an incredible reputation for global health. But their match list was similar to all the other schools that I was accepted at, the students never seemed as happy as students at other schools, and I've heard mixed reviews of the administration. Still, it was the last one I withdrew acceptance from, and very hard indeed.
I turned down George Washington. I was probably most excited after interviewing here. The school is in the coolest location, everything is brand new, and they have so many very interesting programs for med students. Not to mention that the world headquarters for so many major global health players are in D.C. The problem is that the school was so expensive and living in D.C. would put me in more than $200K debt. A scary thought as I look a few years into the future.
I turned down Saint Louis University and withdrew from the waitlist at University of Vermont. And, thus, I have officially joined the class of 2012 at Stony Brook University School of Medicine! I'll remain with my fingers crossed tight for WashU (I'm on their wait list) but otherwise, I'm looking forward to living close to friends and family, saving LOTS of money, and being at a school where the students are so happy. I know that there are some incredible students there and very supportive faculty. It's hard to believe that after living 1/2 a world away, I'm literally coming home.
Well, just had to keep everyone posted. It has been a very long, very hard, and very tiring process.
Yay Class of 2012!
-dkm
I turned down Albert Einstein. This was probably the hardest one to decline. I had thought I wanted to go there the most - they have an incredible reputation for global health. But their match list was similar to all the other schools that I was accepted at, the students never seemed as happy as students at other schools, and I've heard mixed reviews of the administration. Still, it was the last one I withdrew acceptance from, and very hard indeed.
I turned down George Washington. I was probably most excited after interviewing here. The school is in the coolest location, everything is brand new, and they have so many very interesting programs for med students. Not to mention that the world headquarters for so many major global health players are in D.C. The problem is that the school was so expensive and living in D.C. would put me in more than $200K debt. A scary thought as I look a few years into the future.
I turned down Saint Louis University and withdrew from the waitlist at University of Vermont. And, thus, I have officially joined the class of 2012 at Stony Brook University School of Medicine! I'll remain with my fingers crossed tight for WashU (I'm on their wait list) but otherwise, I'm looking forward to living close to friends and family, saving LOTS of money, and being at a school where the students are so happy. I know that there are some incredible students there and very supportive faculty. It's hard to believe that after living 1/2 a world away, I'm literally coming home.
Well, just had to keep everyone posted. It has been a very long, very hard, and very tiring process.
Yay Class of 2012!
-dkm
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Being Domestic
The past two weeks has kept me under house arrest as I try to transition into the next and final phase of my year in Malawi. It's so hard to believe that a year has nearly gone. Right now, Luca, Lucy, Rafael, and Henry are here on my porch, playing bawo and cards - Rafa couldn't walk when I first came, Luca could barely talk. Now they come every afternoon for a snack, a game, or just to laugh and sing outside my door. So when I had to make a test batch of new chiponde for Dr. M's next study (a version with less milk than we currently use, in order to reduce costs), what better group to ask to taste test than my little munchkins outside?
I mixed a batch of peanut butter in the kitchen (it tasted really good - especially since there was no added "medicine" - concentrated minerals and vitamins, and because it is 27% sugar) and brought it out to all the children to try. Luca, Lucy, Henry, Rafa, Nelia and even baby Maggie tried it - everyone loved it. Within just a few minutes, 1/2 pound of peanut butter was gone! I think I'll try playing with the oil content to see if I can make it a little less thick, but things are looking good for that recipe. The next step is to translate a recipe for .25kg of food to a recipe that makes 200 kg of food...
The rest of my days have recently been spent manipulating databases and writing my final report. Nick has taken over in the field with the site visits, which is sad for me, but very necessary for me to finish this work. Some days I feel like my brother when he watches the Giants lose a football game - I yell at Microsoft Excel and hate how Vista just makes everything difficult.
In the coming weeks, I need to get this report finalized, get the new recipe for chiponde up and running at the factory, get the research and ethics committee approval for the new study, have data cards and consent forms printed and organized, and orient the new people.
--> Very cute thing happening here: Rafael is around 1 year old, and the older kids have flipped my outdoor, wicker end table over, and have Rafa sitting on the table part while they pull him around by the legs of the table. When I asked what they are doing, they told me, "Rafa akuyendetsa galimoto!" "Rafa is driving a car!". They are so adorable.
Well thats a short entry for now, just felt like a break from the database.
-dkm
I mixed a batch of peanut butter in the kitchen (it tasted really good - especially since there was no added "medicine" - concentrated minerals and vitamins, and because it is 27% sugar) and brought it out to all the children to try. Luca, Lucy, Henry, Rafa, Nelia and even baby Maggie tried it - everyone loved it. Within just a few minutes, 1/2 pound of peanut butter was gone! I think I'll try playing with the oil content to see if I can make it a little less thick, but things are looking good for that recipe. The next step is to translate a recipe for .25kg of food to a recipe that makes 200 kg of food...
The rest of my days have recently been spent manipulating databases and writing my final report. Nick has taken over in the field with the site visits, which is sad for me, but very necessary for me to finish this work. Some days I feel like my brother when he watches the Giants lose a football game - I yell at Microsoft Excel and hate how Vista just makes everything difficult.
In the coming weeks, I need to get this report finalized, get the new recipe for chiponde up and running at the factory, get the research and ethics committee approval for the new study, have data cards and consent forms printed and organized, and orient the new people.
--> Very cute thing happening here: Rafael is around 1 year old, and the older kids have flipped my outdoor, wicker end table over, and have Rafa sitting on the table part while they pull him around by the legs of the table. When I asked what they are doing, they told me, "Rafa akuyendetsa galimoto!" "Rafa is driving a car!". They are so adorable.
Well thats a short entry for now, just felt like a break from the database.
-dkm
Sunday, May 4, 2008
I still have a little crazy in me
For most of the 10 months that I have been here, I've held up the act of being the researcher, looking towards beginning medical school, thinking of work day in and day out (minus a few moments - the trip to the Lake being one such example...). But yesterday, I forgot about the research and all its strings, and just had a blast for 24 full hours.
It started on Friday night with a slumber party at Liz and Kathleen's - complete with cabbage salad at dinner (I know, that is the first food ANYONE would think of for a sleepover party right?). We stayed up too late, drank too much wine, and had a lots of girl talk. We woke up too late for a run (imagine, 7:30am on a Saturday is too late), so instead we made whole wheat pancakes and got dressed. Kathleen and I went off to a music festival in honor of the President's late wife, Ethel Mutherika, who died just one year ago. The festival was Woodstock done Malawi - rappers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya. The best part of the show was far from the knock-off American gansta rap, but instead was the absolutely outrageous outfits that all the Malawian young adults sported. I'm not kidding - at 10 am we had a walking Vogue catalog. It was a total walking fashion show - almost as if the kids didn't realize that a) people don't actually buy the clothes and wear them as they are shown in fashion magazines and that b) even if you did wear something so ridiculous, it wouldn't be at 10 am in the middle of a soccer field. In any event, we got to see the President and his daughters, who made an appearance half way through the show.
After hours of listening to rap and watching (fairly decent) breakdancers, we thought the day was over. We made a nice dinner and decided we'd go out to this new bar down the street from Liz and Kathleen's house, called Mustang Sally's. We intended to be out for one drink only, but when we showed up, the owner told us they were closed for a "private function." We asked for a tour of the place (pretty swanky - indoor pool that changed colors, several levels and different bars, a great dance floor) and he told us that the President had closed the place down and that the cover for entry was $35, with all proceeds going to charity. It was the "after party" of the morning's music festival. We scoffed at the outrageous cover (for Malawi...this is INSANE) and we left. We pulled out of the parking lot, and then decided that we were making a huge mistake. THE PRESIDENT WAS HAVING A PRIVATE PARTY THAT WE COULD GO TO! After a quick make-up change, we went back.
As if being the ONLY (seriously only) 3 white expats in the bar wasn't enough, I decided to gain us even more notice. I took off my shoes, walked across the dance floor on my hands, and did the worm all the way back. A few backhandsprings here and there, and we had free drinks for the rest of the night. (We got the first few from some sketchy guys, and then a few more from some Ministers of Parliament). I danced with all the guys from the show earlier that day, even one of the rappers himself. In the words of Kathleen, "if there were such a thing as People Magazine in Malawi, we'd be in some of those featured pictures from VIP parties." It was so much fun, even if I didn't go to bed until after 2am.
This morning we went for an hour run, and then in the afternoon, my little munchkins came over for several hours of fun. We played Chipako (tag), Kachere (hide and seek), and Yohane even taught me to make nsima. We had a huge feast of nsima and egg/tomato/onion relish for lunch. We colored a bit, and then I sent them all home with popcorn and orange sodas. It was such a fun weekend!
Now, I'm sitting in the fancy hotel getting back to work again. I think I'll lay low for a bit...my friends think I'm crazy now.
42 days til I come home...
-dkm
It started on Friday night with a slumber party at Liz and Kathleen's - complete with cabbage salad at dinner (I know, that is the first food ANYONE would think of for a sleepover party right?). We stayed up too late, drank too much wine, and had a lots of girl talk. We woke up too late for a run (imagine, 7:30am on a Saturday is too late), so instead we made whole wheat pancakes and got dressed. Kathleen and I went off to a music festival in honor of the President's late wife, Ethel Mutherika, who died just one year ago. The festival was Woodstock done Malawi - rappers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya. The best part of the show was far from the knock-off American gansta rap, but instead was the absolutely outrageous outfits that all the Malawian young adults sported. I'm not kidding - at 10 am we had a walking Vogue catalog. It was a total walking fashion show - almost as if the kids didn't realize that a) people don't actually buy the clothes and wear them as they are shown in fashion magazines and that b) even if you did wear something so ridiculous, it wouldn't be at 10 am in the middle of a soccer field. In any event, we got to see the President and his daughters, who made an appearance half way through the show.
After hours of listening to rap and watching (fairly decent) breakdancers, we thought the day was over. We made a nice dinner and decided we'd go out to this new bar down the street from Liz and Kathleen's house, called Mustang Sally's. We intended to be out for one drink only, but when we showed up, the owner told us they were closed for a "private function." We asked for a tour of the place (pretty swanky - indoor pool that changed colors, several levels and different bars, a great dance floor) and he told us that the President had closed the place down and that the cover for entry was $35, with all proceeds going to charity. It was the "after party" of the morning's music festival. We scoffed at the outrageous cover (for Malawi...this is INSANE) and we left. We pulled out of the parking lot, and then decided that we were making a huge mistake. THE PRESIDENT WAS HAVING A PRIVATE PARTY THAT WE COULD GO TO! After a quick make-up change, we went back.
As if being the ONLY (seriously only) 3 white expats in the bar wasn't enough, I decided to gain us even more notice. I took off my shoes, walked across the dance floor on my hands, and did the worm all the way back. A few backhandsprings here and there, and we had free drinks for the rest of the night. (We got the first few from some sketchy guys, and then a few more from some Ministers of Parliament). I danced with all the guys from the show earlier that day, even one of the rappers himself. In the words of Kathleen, "if there were such a thing as People Magazine in Malawi, we'd be in some of those featured pictures from VIP parties." It was so much fun, even if I didn't go to bed until after 2am.
This morning we went for an hour run, and then in the afternoon, my little munchkins came over for several hours of fun. We played Chipako (tag), Kachere (hide and seek), and Yohane even taught me to make nsima. We had a huge feast of nsima and egg/tomato/onion relish for lunch. We colored a bit, and then I sent them all home with popcorn and orange sodas. It was such a fun weekend!
Now, I'm sitting in the fancy hotel getting back to work again. I think I'll lay low for a bit...my friends think I'm crazy now.
42 days til I come home...
-dkm
Monday, April 28, 2008
Celebrating a p-value and other fine things
"p<0.0001. Extremely significant."
Read on and I'll explain, but first a quick recap of the Cape Town/ Blantyre experience with my mom, rob and Zach...
First off, if I could ever get pictures to load on this blog, I'd send you photos of the house we had in Camps Bay. In Rob's words, "it looked like MTV Cribs." The place was insane - two floors, stark furniture, balconies on both sides of the house (one looking up at Table Mountain, one overlooking the water), an infinity pool on the upstairs balcony, tall ceilings and glass walls. The downstairs was very open and very modern, the upstairs had 3 bedrooms each with its own bathroom. And there was an elevator IN THE HOUSE. It was amazing.
The wealth in Cape Town is astonishing. There were several Ferrari dealerships, with many of their prized engines perusing the downtown streets. There were Jags and Bentleys, and Mercedes were a dime a dozen. We arrived in Camps Bay after 11pm on Saturday evening. When the troops finally (finnnnnallllyyy) woke up on Sunday, we drove down to the Waterfront and admired the beautiful city. We listened to a young jazz band for a while and ate outside at an Italian inspired restaurant called Societi. I was asked if I was yet 18 before they would pour me a glass of wine...
On Monday, we did a little street shopping and ended up eating at an African game restaurant in the downtown part of the city. I think the hit of the night was ostrich steak, though there was no shortage of strange meat including warthog!
We spent Tuesday at Robben Island, South Africa's equivalent of Alcatraz in a way. Robben Island has been used for hundreds of years, with different purposes. In the beginning, it was an isolation island (7 miles off the mainland of Cape Town), where anyone with unidentifiable illness (like leprosy and TB) were cast away to die. It is now most famous for being the place where political prisoners were held during the South African era of apartheid. Nelson Mandela, Robben Island's most famed inmate, was kept at Robben Island for 18 years. We were given an incredible tour by two former prisoners, one who had spent 14 years on the island from the ages of 16-30. Mandela himself has been back to the island 14 times for visits, but no longer will ever return to the island. It was really incredible to hear the stories right from a man who had been imprisoned for so long in that very place.
Wednesday was possibly the best day. We hired a tour guide named Terry to take us through Cape Town's wine country. We started tasting at 9 in the morning and visited two extremely beautiful vineyards. The first was Fairview, where we had some stellar cheeses and tasted 8 or 10 wines. Our favorite was Cyril Black, a pinotage. We didn't spend much time at Fairview, but got a grand tour at KWV Vineyards. We saw every part of production from the oak barrels to the aluminum tanks. They have the largest barrels in the world, holding 208,000 liters in one barrel. We learned how different sources of oak infuse red wines with slightly different flavors. Again, our favorite was a pinotage called Cafe. It had lots of mocha and coffee aromas and flavors - delish!
Thursday was ... interesting. Rather than just drive down the coastline (and follow the signs that were posted), we decided to use the GPS system (a Garmin) to direct us to the Cape of Good Hope. What should have taken 45 minutes, took hours. We were so lost! We drove all over the different districts of Cape Town and only made it to the cape moments before the National Park around it closed. But, it was worth it. The sights were breathtaking. It was sooooo pretty. You can only imagine what the first sailors who went all the way around the Cape from Europe must have thought. After a spectacular but rushed visit, we drove through the seaport towns and ended up eating right on the water in Calk's Bay at a wonderful restaurant called The Harbor House. I even had fish - cob. It was a great meal (beet, butternut squash and goat cheese salad...)
Terry was back on Friday to bring us to a game reserve. We went on a mini safari in a very African looking Land Rover vehicle. We saw lions, cheetahs, antelope, warthogs, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, vultures, elands, wildebeests, and other things. After the drive through the game park, Terry took us on the oldest road in Cape Town, Bains Kloof, a windy road through the mountains that was again spectacular.
Saturday morning we left before sunrise to get to the airport. Then it was back to Blantyre! Rob and Zach stayed only until Wednesday, but my mom stayed for the whole week. I took them out to see my sites, but the weather really didn't cooperate so nothing looked as pretty as usual. Zach didn't like my work because he didn't like to see the sick babies. Rob and my mom helped out a lot at the clinic. I took my mom to see Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, and we all made a visit to the orphanage next door, Open Arms (www.openarmsusa.org). It was great to have them here with me, and hopefully next time they will be able to see Mt. Mulanje, the Lake, Liwonde Park and Zomba...we did NO tourist things while they were here.
SO...THE P-VALUE!!!! This past weekend (from Saturday after I dropped my mom at the airport until Sunday mid-day) Dr. Manary and I worked and worked and worked on the data. The exciting thing is that all the data is now collected, analyzed and neatly presented in a few tables. What we found is that the new soy/peanut RUTF I've been working with this whole year is equivalent to the milk/peanut RUTF and far better than the current standard of care, the corn/soy blended flour. I was so excited when we had finally cleaned up the entire database, plugged and chugged all sorts of numbers and then the statistics came back in our favor! Fantastic!!!! I am now in the process of writing the report for USAID, which will hopefully then be published in a medical journal at home. This whole year...was SO worth it!
Now, I'm on to helping with the next major research project... we are going to try to make RUTF with less milk powder for severely malnourished kids to try and reduce the cost. It will be 10% milk and 15% soy, compared to the current formula of 25% milk. I have lots of work to get done before I leave!
Date of depature is set to be Monday, June 16. I can't believe a year went by so fast....
-dkm
Read on and I'll explain, but first a quick recap of the Cape Town/ Blantyre experience with my mom, rob and Zach...
First off, if I could ever get pictures to load on this blog, I'd send you photos of the house we had in Camps Bay. In Rob's words, "it looked like MTV Cribs." The place was insane - two floors, stark furniture, balconies on both sides of the house (one looking up at Table Mountain, one overlooking the water), an infinity pool on the upstairs balcony, tall ceilings and glass walls. The downstairs was very open and very modern, the upstairs had 3 bedrooms each with its own bathroom. And there was an elevator IN THE HOUSE. It was amazing.
The wealth in Cape Town is astonishing. There were several Ferrari dealerships, with many of their prized engines perusing the downtown streets. There were Jags and Bentleys, and Mercedes were a dime a dozen. We arrived in Camps Bay after 11pm on Saturday evening. When the troops finally (finnnnnallllyyy) woke up on Sunday, we drove down to the Waterfront and admired the beautiful city. We listened to a young jazz band for a while and ate outside at an Italian inspired restaurant called Societi. I was asked if I was yet 18 before they would pour me a glass of wine...
On Monday, we did a little street shopping and ended up eating at an African game restaurant in the downtown part of the city. I think the hit of the night was ostrich steak, though there was no shortage of strange meat including warthog!
We spent Tuesday at Robben Island, South Africa's equivalent of Alcatraz in a way. Robben Island has been used for hundreds of years, with different purposes. In the beginning, it was an isolation island (7 miles off the mainland of Cape Town), where anyone with unidentifiable illness (like leprosy and TB) were cast away to die. It is now most famous for being the place where political prisoners were held during the South African era of apartheid. Nelson Mandela, Robben Island's most famed inmate, was kept at Robben Island for 18 years. We were given an incredible tour by two former prisoners, one who had spent 14 years on the island from the ages of 16-30. Mandela himself has been back to the island 14 times for visits, but no longer will ever return to the island. It was really incredible to hear the stories right from a man who had been imprisoned for so long in that very place.
Wednesday was possibly the best day. We hired a tour guide named Terry to take us through Cape Town's wine country. We started tasting at 9 in the morning and visited two extremely beautiful vineyards. The first was Fairview, where we had some stellar cheeses and tasted 8 or 10 wines. Our favorite was Cyril Black, a pinotage. We didn't spend much time at Fairview, but got a grand tour at KWV Vineyards. We saw every part of production from the oak barrels to the aluminum tanks. They have the largest barrels in the world, holding 208,000 liters in one barrel. We learned how different sources of oak infuse red wines with slightly different flavors. Again, our favorite was a pinotage called Cafe. It had lots of mocha and coffee aromas and flavors - delish!
Thursday was ... interesting. Rather than just drive down the coastline (and follow the signs that were posted), we decided to use the GPS system (a Garmin) to direct us to the Cape of Good Hope. What should have taken 45 minutes, took hours. We were so lost! We drove all over the different districts of Cape Town and only made it to the cape moments before the National Park around it closed. But, it was worth it. The sights were breathtaking. It was sooooo pretty. You can only imagine what the first sailors who went all the way around the Cape from Europe must have thought. After a spectacular but rushed visit, we drove through the seaport towns and ended up eating right on the water in Calk's Bay at a wonderful restaurant called The Harbor House. I even had fish - cob. It was a great meal (beet, butternut squash and goat cheese salad...)
Terry was back on Friday to bring us to a game reserve. We went on a mini safari in a very African looking Land Rover vehicle. We saw lions, cheetahs, antelope, warthogs, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, vultures, elands, wildebeests, and other things. After the drive through the game park, Terry took us on the oldest road in Cape Town, Bains Kloof, a windy road through the mountains that was again spectacular.
Saturday morning we left before sunrise to get to the airport. Then it was back to Blantyre! Rob and Zach stayed only until Wednesday, but my mom stayed for the whole week. I took them out to see my sites, but the weather really didn't cooperate so nothing looked as pretty as usual. Zach didn't like my work because he didn't like to see the sick babies. Rob and my mom helped out a lot at the clinic. I took my mom to see Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, and we all made a visit to the orphanage next door, Open Arms (www.openarmsusa.org). It was great to have them here with me, and hopefully next time they will be able to see Mt. Mulanje, the Lake, Liwonde Park and Zomba...we did NO tourist things while they were here.
SO...THE P-VALUE!!!! This past weekend (from Saturday after I dropped my mom at the airport until Sunday mid-day) Dr. Manary and I worked and worked and worked on the data. The exciting thing is that all the data is now collected, analyzed and neatly presented in a few tables. What we found is that the new soy/peanut RUTF I've been working with this whole year is equivalent to the milk/peanut RUTF and far better than the current standard of care, the corn/soy blended flour. I was so excited when we had finally cleaned up the entire database, plugged and chugged all sorts of numbers and then the statistics came back in our favor! Fantastic!!!! I am now in the process of writing the report for USAID, which will hopefully then be published in a medical journal at home. This whole year...was SO worth it!
Now, I'm on to helping with the next major research project... we are going to try to make RUTF with less milk powder for severely malnourished kids to try and reduce the cost. It will be 10% milk and 15% soy, compared to the current formula of 25% milk. I have lots of work to get done before I leave!
Date of depature is set to be Monday, June 16. I can't believe a year went by so fast....
-dkm
Monday, April 21, 2008
A bit of luxury, a bit of Africa
Well, this will be a quick update because I am on my way out the door, but in good company...my mom, Rob, and Zach are here! We just had an incredible trip to Cape Town, South Africa, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. We visited the waterfront, Table Mountain, Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was a political prisoner during apartheid), the Cape of Good Hope, a game reserve/safari place, and the vineyards of the Cape. It was amazing. Now we are back in Malawi, and they are all surviving through the limited water, on and off electricity and bumpy, bumpy roads...
Look for an update very, very soon with more details about Cape Town and the Malawi visit!
Off to the village with them now!
-dkm
Look for an update very, very soon with more details about Cape Town and the Malawi visit!
Off to the village with them now!
-dkm
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pepani...it's been a while
(Pepani means "I'm sorry" in Chichewa).
It seems as though my routine blogging discipline may be slipping, but with all the hustle and bustle of new guests coming and going over the past 10 days, it's been difficult to find some time to write. Here's who has been in and out...
April 1: Great Birthday! Kathleen told me she'd meet me for a run in the afternoon, but in fact was at my house much earlier to decorate with balloons and a "Happy Birthday" Banner. She even had 3 presents for me to unwrap, which in Africa, is quite a treat! (Santa doesn't have directions to Blantyre, so wrapping paper seems novel). I got some trashy girly magazines, American candy (KitKat, Twix and Mentos) and even a gift certificate to have a manicure in Blantyre! Very creative! After a nice run, we went out for dinner with a few girls who are med students from Michigan State.
April 2: Nick arrived today. Nick is a student who will be working with the project until August and has come from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He is originally from a small place west of Toronto, and this is his first trip to Africa. He was in a one year masters program in global health. He arrived on a Wednesday- the day we go out to the village and stay at the Catholic mission. Given that Hannah had also arrived on a Wednesday and that she thought being brought out to the village from day 1 was really exciting, we spared Nick just a few minutes for a hot shower and to throw his bags down, and drove him up to Machinga. I think it was a bit more overwhelming for him (perhaps since Hannah had done lots of work in developing countries before), but he did great for the first day. Now, 10 days later, I have him driving (needed to learn to drive a manual), operating the site visits, and learning the day to day routine. This is all good news, as I am leaving for a one week trip to Cape Town on Saturday (more on this to come).
April 4: On Thursday evening, when I finally was back at a computer, I received an interesting email from a 4th year medical student from UMass who had just arrived in Zambia to do a 2 month elective. She had been in Zambia in 2007 for 4 months and had returned with the goal of starting a more effective nutritional therapy program in the area around Lusaka. She asked if she could visit Malawi. Being as I was only going to be in town for one more week, she decided to fly to Malawi on Friday (She flew to Zambia on Thursday). With very shaky and sporadic communications, she actually bought a ticket, and after lots and lots of delays, made it to Malawi late Friday night. It turns out - she's awesome! She had the most insightful questions, was really excited about the project, look lots of notes, and seems so cool. We talked about med school choices (I'm still undecided), went running, and she even taught me how to do a physical exam (sooo exciting for me!). She's been here for a week, and will head back to Zambia today to try to get an RUTF program running more smoothly. Talk about ambition!
April 6: Dr. Manary is back in town. Busy as ever, but really ready to concentrate on helping me complete the rest of my study and get the data analyzed a bit.
April 9: A guy named Pete arrived from Ithaca. He is in the business of food development and technology and will be collaborating with Dr. M to start PPB in Uganda. He has 4 children - two in their 30s and two under 10. He has food technology labs in Ithaca, NY, Naples, FL and Redding, England. I took him up to the village with us on Wednesday evening and he helped at the clinic on Thursday - which was huge. We had 180 children actually enrolled in the program (combining new patients, continuing patients and graduates of the program) and screened many, many more! What a day!
April 10: A business consultant from Pfizer came from Lilongwe. Charles is working for USAID and is a very prominent business man from the Upper East Side in Manhattan. He has travelled ALL over the world and has worked on incredibly large business acquisitions for Pfizer over the past 38 years. We took him out for a fancy shmancy dinner - 6 people, drinks, meals and desserts for $100. What a steal! He will be working with PPB to improve the business aspects of the organization.
Lots of small things have filled in the gaps here and there. The potential of Dr. M buying 4 new vehicles today is there, Sheena is back with a new, beautiful baby girl (Rabecca; Sheena is our housekeeper. She's been on maternity leave), and most excitingly - I go to Cape Town TOMORROW!!! My mom, brother and Rob are meeting me in the JoBurg airport for one week in South Africa. I'm so excited. We are scheduled to go to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held during apartheid, we'll see the Cape of Good Hope, the peninsula with all the South Africa penguins, and take a trip to the vineyards. The photos from Cape Town are all incredible, so I'm looking forward to a great escape! Then we'll return to Malawi to see what my year in Africa has been all about.
Well, that catches the blog up mostly. I owe all you people who are still reading this thing a good, funny, and short blog. It will come soon...I'll be on the lookout for some ridiculous African Moments.
And PS - Unkie...I still don't know where my brother came from, but I'm getting closer to the answer... :)
-dkm
It seems as though my routine blogging discipline may be slipping, but with all the hustle and bustle of new guests coming and going over the past 10 days, it's been difficult to find some time to write. Here's who has been in and out...
April 1: Great Birthday! Kathleen told me she'd meet me for a run in the afternoon, but in fact was at my house much earlier to decorate with balloons and a "Happy Birthday" Banner. She even had 3 presents for me to unwrap, which in Africa, is quite a treat! (Santa doesn't have directions to Blantyre, so wrapping paper seems novel). I got some trashy girly magazines, American candy (KitKat, Twix and Mentos) and even a gift certificate to have a manicure in Blantyre! Very creative! After a nice run, we went out for dinner with a few girls who are med students from Michigan State.
April 2: Nick arrived today. Nick is a student who will be working with the project until August and has come from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He is originally from a small place west of Toronto, and this is his first trip to Africa. He was in a one year masters program in global health. He arrived on a Wednesday- the day we go out to the village and stay at the Catholic mission. Given that Hannah had also arrived on a Wednesday and that she thought being brought out to the village from day 1 was really exciting, we spared Nick just a few minutes for a hot shower and to throw his bags down, and drove him up to Machinga. I think it was a bit more overwhelming for him (perhaps since Hannah had done lots of work in developing countries before), but he did great for the first day. Now, 10 days later, I have him driving (needed to learn to drive a manual), operating the site visits, and learning the day to day routine. This is all good news, as I am leaving for a one week trip to Cape Town on Saturday (more on this to come).
April 4: On Thursday evening, when I finally was back at a computer, I received an interesting email from a 4th year medical student from UMass who had just arrived in Zambia to do a 2 month elective. She had been in Zambia in 2007 for 4 months and had returned with the goal of starting a more effective nutritional therapy program in the area around Lusaka. She asked if she could visit Malawi. Being as I was only going to be in town for one more week, she decided to fly to Malawi on Friday (She flew to Zambia on Thursday). With very shaky and sporadic communications, she actually bought a ticket, and after lots and lots of delays, made it to Malawi late Friday night. It turns out - she's awesome! She had the most insightful questions, was really excited about the project, look lots of notes, and seems so cool. We talked about med school choices (I'm still undecided), went running, and she even taught me how to do a physical exam (sooo exciting for me!). She's been here for a week, and will head back to Zambia today to try to get an RUTF program running more smoothly. Talk about ambition!
April 6: Dr. Manary is back in town. Busy as ever, but really ready to concentrate on helping me complete the rest of my study and get the data analyzed a bit.
April 9: A guy named Pete arrived from Ithaca. He is in the business of food development and technology and will be collaborating with Dr. M to start PPB in Uganda. He has 4 children - two in their 30s and two under 10. He has food technology labs in Ithaca, NY, Naples, FL and Redding, England. I took him up to the village with us on Wednesday evening and he helped at the clinic on Thursday - which was huge. We had 180 children actually enrolled in the program (combining new patients, continuing patients and graduates of the program) and screened many, many more! What a day!
April 10: A business consultant from Pfizer came from Lilongwe. Charles is working for USAID and is a very prominent business man from the Upper East Side in Manhattan. He has travelled ALL over the world and has worked on incredibly large business acquisitions for Pfizer over the past 38 years. We took him out for a fancy shmancy dinner - 6 people, drinks, meals and desserts for $100. What a steal! He will be working with PPB to improve the business aspects of the organization.
Lots of small things have filled in the gaps here and there. The potential of Dr. M buying 4 new vehicles today is there, Sheena is back with a new, beautiful baby girl (Rabecca; Sheena is our housekeeper. She's been on maternity leave), and most excitingly - I go to Cape Town TOMORROW!!! My mom, brother and Rob are meeting me in the JoBurg airport for one week in South Africa. I'm so excited. We are scheduled to go to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were held during apartheid, we'll see the Cape of Good Hope, the peninsula with all the South Africa penguins, and take a trip to the vineyards. The photos from Cape Town are all incredible, so I'm looking forward to a great escape! Then we'll return to Malawi to see what my year in Africa has been all about.
Well, that catches the blog up mostly. I owe all you people who are still reading this thing a good, funny, and short blog. It will come soon...I'll be on the lookout for some ridiculous African Moments.
And PS - Unkie...I still don't know where my brother came from, but I'm getting closer to the answer... :)
-dkm
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Hash...and things
Imagine if you were Malawian for one minute - you walk far distances to work, you harvest acre after acre of maize, your favorite food is nsima with relish, you carry even a single bar of soap on your head. What possibly could be more ridiculous to you than (a) running for absolutely no real reason, (b) seeing a bunch of white people running as fast as they can in one mass group like sheep, (c) watching these azungu's then stop for beer along the way! Bringing this sort of entertainment, live to the people working in the maize fields, is the service provided by the Blantyre Hash.
The Hash is a group that apparently has existed in Blantyre for many, many years (they have t-shirts, one guy was wearing his from 1994). And while I felt absolutely ridiculous participating in such an activity, it was admittedly, very fun. The idea behind the Hash running group is that one member volunteers to set up the run for the next week. That person is responsible for finding a route for the entire group. The group can be anywhere from 10-50 people...all expatriates. However, the route is not set along a regular paved road; rather, the route can wind through maize field, down abandoned train tracks, across school soccer fields and undoubtedly past a popular bar. The goal is to find the route by following chalk markings on the ground. At each juncture in the path, there is a large O painted. At this point someone yells, "Check it out!" and everyone scatters in different directions. What you are looking for are three consecutive solid dots along the path. You may instead find 2 dots and then an X, and alas, you've run in the wrong direction. Once someone finds the correct route, they yell something like "Onward!" and the whole herd of white people turn around and follow the leader until the next large O. There are HH markings, "Hash Halts," where everyone can catch up and get on the same path again.
About midway through this activity, there is a beer break. The group has an age range of about 20-60, and a mix of guys and girls. The guys mostly take the beer at this point, the girls sort of moan that the stop is ruining the cardio and that the beer has too many calories. At the end of the run, the group makes a large circle and sings this really hilarious, clearly British pub-inspired song that says something like, "you are a hasher for life, your never going to heaven because you drink when you run, drink it down, down, down, down..." This is when different people get pulled into the center of the circle have have to chug a beer. Guess who the lucky ones are to go every time? The newbies. Me and Kathleen (and 2 other new girls). Drink it down... or pour it on your head. So, like I said...drink it down.
My birthday turned out to be a lot of fun. Kathleen decorated my house with banners and balloons, and got me cute little things to remind me of home - mentos, kit kats, and twix, a Glamour magazine and a Nalgene bottle. It was really sweet. We went out for dinner with some new medical students from Michigan State and baked low-fat brownies made with apple sauce. I got TONS of wonderful emails and even got some phone calls and text messages (even from Australia- thanks Hannah!). In all, it was one to remember.
Other than that, today Nick arrives and will be joining the team until August. The next few months will be about passing on the torch while I try to figure out where to go to medical school. Dr. Manary will be here next week and we'll start doing some more serious data analysis and evaluation of the program. I'm looking forward to some positive results!
My mom, brother and Rob are visiting me in Africa from April 12-26. I'm so excited. We are going to tour Cape Town, South Africa for a week, then head back to Malawi for some real Africa experiences. Lucky for them, they won't have the extra special experience of getting insanely stuck in mud or having to screen hundreds of screaming babies - those days have seemed to pass. By the time they go home, there will be only very few weeks remaining of my time in Malawi (for now). I'm sad and excited to be at the end!
Thanks again to everyone who sent birthday wishes!
-dkm
The Hash is a group that apparently has existed in Blantyre for many, many years (they have t-shirts, one guy was wearing his from 1994). And while I felt absolutely ridiculous participating in such an activity, it was admittedly, very fun. The idea behind the Hash running group is that one member volunteers to set up the run for the next week. That person is responsible for finding a route for the entire group. The group can be anywhere from 10-50 people...all expatriates. However, the route is not set along a regular paved road; rather, the route can wind through maize field, down abandoned train tracks, across school soccer fields and undoubtedly past a popular bar. The goal is to find the route by following chalk markings on the ground. At each juncture in the path, there is a large O painted. At this point someone yells, "Check it out!" and everyone scatters in different directions. What you are looking for are three consecutive solid dots along the path. You may instead find 2 dots and then an X, and alas, you've run in the wrong direction. Once someone finds the correct route, they yell something like "Onward!" and the whole herd of white people turn around and follow the leader until the next large O. There are HH markings, "Hash Halts," where everyone can catch up and get on the same path again.
About midway through this activity, there is a beer break. The group has an age range of about 20-60, and a mix of guys and girls. The guys mostly take the beer at this point, the girls sort of moan that the stop is ruining the cardio and that the beer has too many calories. At the end of the run, the group makes a large circle and sings this really hilarious, clearly British pub-inspired song that says something like, "you are a hasher for life, your never going to heaven because you drink when you run, drink it down, down, down, down..." This is when different people get pulled into the center of the circle have have to chug a beer. Guess who the lucky ones are to go every time? The newbies. Me and Kathleen (and 2 other new girls). Drink it down... or pour it on your head. So, like I said...drink it down.
My birthday turned out to be a lot of fun. Kathleen decorated my house with banners and balloons, and got me cute little things to remind me of home - mentos, kit kats, and twix, a Glamour magazine and a Nalgene bottle. It was really sweet. We went out for dinner with some new medical students from Michigan State and baked low-fat brownies made with apple sauce. I got TONS of wonderful emails and even got some phone calls and text messages (even from Australia- thanks Hannah!). In all, it was one to remember.
Other than that, today Nick arrives and will be joining the team until August. The next few months will be about passing on the torch while I try to figure out where to go to medical school. Dr. Manary will be here next week and we'll start doing some more serious data analysis and evaluation of the program. I'm looking forward to some positive results!
My mom, brother and Rob are visiting me in Africa from April 12-26. I'm so excited. We are going to tour Cape Town, South Africa for a week, then head back to Malawi for some real Africa experiences. Lucky for them, they won't have the extra special experience of getting insanely stuck in mud or having to screen hundreds of screaming babies - those days have seemed to pass. By the time they go home, there will be only very few weeks remaining of my time in Malawi (for now). I'm sad and excited to be at the end!
Thanks again to everyone who sent birthday wishes!
-dkm
Thanks and Apologies
First off...thanks for all the bday wishes that came in via Facebook, emails and ecards. It really made my birthday seem a bit more birthday-ish :)
Second, my apologies for those following the blog that I haven't written in a while. And you're going to be disappointed...I'm going to have to wait til tomorrow to update. But, tomorrow I'll write to you about my experience with "the Hash," Blantyre's Premier Running (and Chugging) Club and some other tid bits. For now, I have to get to bed...Tomorrow another new student is coming, Nick. As far as I know, Nick is from Canada and is currently completing a master's degree at the University of Dublin. I am sure I'll have more details to follow.
For now, bedtime.
Gona bwino,
-dkm
(sleep well)
Second, my apologies for those following the blog that I haven't written in a while. And you're going to be disappointed...I'm going to have to wait til tomorrow to update. But, tomorrow I'll write to you about my experience with "the Hash," Blantyre's Premier Running (and Chugging) Club and some other tid bits. For now, I have to get to bed...Tomorrow another new student is coming, Nick. As far as I know, Nick is from Canada and is currently completing a master's degree at the University of Dublin. I am sure I'll have more details to follow.
For now, bedtime.
Gona bwino,
-dkm
(sleep well)
Monday, March 17, 2008
I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason...
Bringing something we must learn,
And we are led to those who help us most to grow,
If we let them,
And we help them in return.
-Wicked
This past week has been a bit sad, but also sort of marks the end of another part of my time in Malawi. Let's see if I can back up and fill you in on some of the stories:
Wednesday, 3/12 - Hannah treated the entire research team to lunch at the Hippo View Lodge, an incredible spot right on the Shire River. The place sort of reminded me of the African attempt at a theme park lodge or something. There are large hippo statues at the gates and enormous eagle statues all over that actually are sinks (the water comes out of the eagle's beak!). Lunch was nice, and then we headed up to the village. Unfortunately, the baboon baby that Hannah got so attached to the week before died while we ate dinner. It was really sad, and the Father was really upset. It was so malnourished and probably wasn't old enough to be away from it's mom. Poor thing.
Then in our bedroom that night there was a SCORPION! Scary...Vegas killed it for us! eeek.
Friday, 3/14 - I had to deal with one of those African tragedies that you hope is just a terrible generalization: A young girl showed up very late for our clinic with a baby strapped to her back. Rosemary, our nurse, asked if the child was her sister and of course it was her daughter. The girl was just 16 years old, the baby 8 months. This means she potentially could have gotten pregnant as young as 14 years old. At the time she was in grade 5 in Blantyre, living with a relative. She stayed next to a more wealthy Malawian man, who often commented to her that she looked thin, that her clothes seemed worn and pointed out how well dressed his wife and children were. He promised he could provide for her, and she says she was "tricked" into marrying him. I needn't explain what happened between this young girl and some pedophile-type man but now this 16 year old mom is desperately trying to take care of her son, and has just learned that she is HIV+. The baby as of now is not infected, but he will need to be retested at 9 months and 1 year. It was a pretty rough story to hear. I gave her some gifts and a bit of cash to help her in some small way. I'll bring some clothes donated by Hannah for her next visit.
The afternoon was bittersweet as well. We had a going away party for Hannah and the nurses gave us each a lovely ivory wrap skirt with the project logo stamped along the bottom. They sang a beautiful goodbye song and presented the gifts in very traditional Malawian style - on their knees in front of us. It was actually really special and incredibly thoughtful.
Saturday, 3/15 - In the morning, Hannah, Kathleen and I went to the market and bought gifts for Hannah to bring back home, new chitenje skirts, and some paintings for the bare walls in my house. Then we picked up the little boys that live at my house and took a field trip to the airport to see Hannah off. We all sat on the veranda of the airport and watched the plane land at the airport. The boys were so excited and I bought them all ice cream as a special trip. They were wearing their church clothes and were so well behaved. Saying goodbye to Hannah was awful, I cried. She was so wonderful, I am so glad that she joined me these past two months. Now I have a friend in Australia... guess where I wish my next vacation to be?
Sunday, 3/16 - I went for a run, by myself (JCF, MAM - don't worry. It was lovely!). I ran out to the President's house, talked with the army guy (a little Chichewa even!) and felt great. Kathleen and I met up with Liz and her parents for a really great dinner. Liz's parents are visiting Malawi for 2 weeks and treated us at the Italian restaurant in Blantyre. After, Kathleen stayed over at my house for the night.
Monday, 3/17 - No notice of St. Patty's Day whatsoever. Work was icky because it was raining and I was at a center with very little shelter. Then more bad news came - way, way back I wrote about a little girl named Margaret whose mother passed away at the Makhwila health center. She has stayed in our program since then as her aunt has no way to feed her. She has been doing so well, her weight has reached normal levels and she looks beautiful. Unfortunately, her HIV status changed this past week and she has seroconverted. I was really upset about this too. It is heart breaking, and in some way I feel very attached to this little girl. I hope she gets ARVs and I will continue to help her aunt care for her as best as she can.
28 Days til my mom and brother come to Africa!!! Whoo hooo. That's the benchmark to look forward to :)
-dkm
And we are led to those who help us most to grow,
If we let them,
And we help them in return.
-Wicked
This past week has been a bit sad, but also sort of marks the end of another part of my time in Malawi. Let's see if I can back up and fill you in on some of the stories:
Wednesday, 3/12 - Hannah treated the entire research team to lunch at the Hippo View Lodge, an incredible spot right on the Shire River. The place sort of reminded me of the African attempt at a theme park lodge or something. There are large hippo statues at the gates and enormous eagle statues all over that actually are sinks (the water comes out of the eagle's beak!). Lunch was nice, and then we headed up to the village. Unfortunately, the baboon baby that Hannah got so attached to the week before died while we ate dinner. It was really sad, and the Father was really upset. It was so malnourished and probably wasn't old enough to be away from it's mom. Poor thing.
Then in our bedroom that night there was a SCORPION! Scary...Vegas killed it for us! eeek.
Friday, 3/14 - I had to deal with one of those African tragedies that you hope is just a terrible generalization: A young girl showed up very late for our clinic with a baby strapped to her back. Rosemary, our nurse, asked if the child was her sister and of course it was her daughter. The girl was just 16 years old, the baby 8 months. This means she potentially could have gotten pregnant as young as 14 years old. At the time she was in grade 5 in Blantyre, living with a relative. She stayed next to a more wealthy Malawian man, who often commented to her that she looked thin, that her clothes seemed worn and pointed out how well dressed his wife and children were. He promised he could provide for her, and she says she was "tricked" into marrying him. I needn't explain what happened between this young girl and some pedophile-type man but now this 16 year old mom is desperately trying to take care of her son, and has just learned that she is HIV+. The baby as of now is not infected, but he will need to be retested at 9 months and 1 year. It was a pretty rough story to hear. I gave her some gifts and a bit of cash to help her in some small way. I'll bring some clothes donated by Hannah for her next visit.
The afternoon was bittersweet as well. We had a going away party for Hannah and the nurses gave us each a lovely ivory wrap skirt with the project logo stamped along the bottom. They sang a beautiful goodbye song and presented the gifts in very traditional Malawian style - on their knees in front of us. It was actually really special and incredibly thoughtful.
Saturday, 3/15 - In the morning, Hannah, Kathleen and I went to the market and bought gifts for Hannah to bring back home, new chitenje skirts, and some paintings for the bare walls in my house. Then we picked up the little boys that live at my house and took a field trip to the airport to see Hannah off. We all sat on the veranda of the airport and watched the plane land at the airport. The boys were so excited and I bought them all ice cream as a special trip. They were wearing their church clothes and were so well behaved. Saying goodbye to Hannah was awful, I cried. She was so wonderful, I am so glad that she joined me these past two months. Now I have a friend in Australia... guess where I wish my next vacation to be?
Sunday, 3/16 - I went for a run, by myself (JCF, MAM - don't worry. It was lovely!). I ran out to the President's house, talked with the army guy (a little Chichewa even!) and felt great. Kathleen and I met up with Liz and her parents for a really great dinner. Liz's parents are visiting Malawi for 2 weeks and treated us at the Italian restaurant in Blantyre. After, Kathleen stayed over at my house for the night.
Monday, 3/17 - No notice of St. Patty's Day whatsoever. Work was icky because it was raining and I was at a center with very little shelter. Then more bad news came - way, way back I wrote about a little girl named Margaret whose mother passed away at the Makhwila health center. She has stayed in our program since then as her aunt has no way to feed her. She has been doing so well, her weight has reached normal levels and she looks beautiful. Unfortunately, her HIV status changed this past week and she has seroconverted. I was really upset about this too. It is heart breaking, and in some way I feel very attached to this little girl. I hope she gets ARVs and I will continue to help her aunt care for her as best as she can.
28 Days til my mom and brother come to Africa!!! Whoo hooo. That's the benchmark to look forward to :)
-dkm
Monday, March 10, 2008
Just for a laugh
Transporting charcoal is apparently illegal in Malawi, although the majority of the country relies on it for cooking and warming water.
As we are driving, we pass a huge truck carrying something under a tarp. My driver honks, waves and smiles.
Me: "Vegas, do you know him?"
Vegas: "Yes. I give him money, he bring me charcoal."
Hmm...it was funnier in person.
As we are driving, we pass a huge truck carrying something under a tarp. My driver honks, waves and smiles.
Me: "Vegas, do you know him?"
Vegas: "Yes. I give him money, he bring me charcoal."
Hmm...it was funnier in person.
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