Gablam

2009-11-03T09:35:00.002+03:00

I am hopelessly behind on the blog. Work is busy, I'm wrapping up my internship, trying to write my master's thesis proposal, entertain Kody (while mostly being jealous that he's traveling the deserts while I sit in a cubicle) and cram as much of the Asia experience as I can into the next 6 weeks before we get home to New York. I'm hoping to put up a few more posts before the end of the year, but for now pictures will have to do. India adventures are being posted to my flickr page, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gablam/

The more recent albums:

Ganesh Chaturthi: submerging giant elephant gods in the waters in Mumbai and Chennai
Diwali in Chennai = Friends with tons of fireworks
Kodiak's 30th birthday in Kerala. Thank goodness he's finally old now, too.
Pondicherry and Mahabs with the HBAD crew
Ramblings around Chennai (a mix of old and new)

2009-08-25T13:28:00.005+03:00

The other day I was sifting through many, many documents to try to find out at what age women typically have their first child in Tamil Nadu. Given that maternal and child health seems to be one of the few health areas that gets attention and resources, I wondered whether there might be an opportunity to combine the area that I’m researching (cardiovascular health) with reproductive health visits. People here are suffering from ill heart-health about 10 years earlier than their counterparts in developed countries, and issues like pre-diabetes start much earlier than you might expect.

Anyway, Tamil Nadu has comparatively good health statistics in relation to other Indian states. The total fertility rate (number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, on average) is below 2 (the “replacement level” for a parent couple), and very young childbearing is uncommon. However I was shocked when I came across a figure like this one.

Source: International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. 2008. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India, 2005-06: Tamil Nadu. Mumbai: IIPS.

More than half of currently married women are using sterilization for contraception, while 39% are using no method at all. Why aren't people using less invasive ways to limit family size - especially male sterilization, which is also reversible? The current pattern of closely spaced births in early adulthood is likely still contributing to an adverse population growth pattern, even if the overall number hits the target of less than two. Why not a greater emphasis on methods that help you to space out your children, which is known to improve the health of mothers and children? Targets can’t substitute for quality care and reasonable reproductive choice.

A little more reading on the issue here

2009-08-23T12:39:00.001+03:00

In Uganda I sometimes occupied myself by learning to make foods that I couldn't find in the store. Pitas, hummus and tortillas were some of my favorites. I always wanted to try tofu but couldn't find the salt that you need in order to make it curdle. Here, my main problem is not having the right cooking implements. [Actually, right now we have no cooking implements because my roommate just moved out!] Although I can find yogurt here, I'd been told that it's the perfect climate to make yogurt on the counter, so I thought I'd try my hand.

Voila! My first batch of home-made yogurt. Slightly more sour that I'd like, but not bad for a first attempt!

My yogurt is ready for its closeup

2009-08-22T12:29:00.001+03:00

I'm living through my second swine flu (H1N1) outbreak in two months on two continents. Although people are moderately freaked out about it (I came home from work the other day and the kids on my floor were playing in the hall wearing face masks), that doesn't mean that people are covering their mouths when they cough, or have stopped spitting on the streets. Public health education has a long way to go!

Notice in the office - but why not ask people to cover their mouths!

Indians have perfected drinking from bottles without touching the rim - something I'm not very good at. I don't plan to start sharing germs along with my water, so I brought a cup to work. My gym's stopped providing water bottles, but we don't have any way to clean off the machines ourselves (there's a worker for that). I hope MRSA isn't a problem!

Seen in many a fine hotel these days - hand sanitizing stations

2009-08-15T12:27:00.001+03:00

Happy Independence Day!

Indian flag rangoli

2009-08-14T15:26:00.001+03:00

After work I walked around with Destiny trying to find a particular shop. A few photos from around our neighborhood.

Public safety n/a

Its a little hard to see, but those are tire marks on my shoe. I was standing at the very edge of the curb, facing an autorickshaw, when this minivan came around the corner and made no effort to avoid me. I’m so glad I wasn’t an inch further out. I do not want to experience an Indian emergency room as a patient. Actually, I might not want that experience as an observer either.

Home management tips

I thought this one was referring to “public servants” (like postal clerks or something) when I first saw it. Nope, its a public service message about domestic servants brought to you by Mr. Potato Head.

Occupational safety n/a

My office building is being re-spackled or something. Note the platform where a man sits, tied to the building by the pictured rope, and applies cement to the building all day. This country desperately needs some occupational safety standards.

2009-08-12T14:40:00.000+03:00

A question we ask ourselves often, when trying to be brilliant scholars while simultaneously (and repeatedly) trying to fulfill our basic needs for sleep and food and companionship.

Drawing courtesy of Michelle Holshue (c) 2009

33rd Birthday

2009-08-11T23:59:00.000+03:00

I took my time arriving at work today. I saw Destiny placing her flip videocamera on the edge of my cubicle and as I rounded the corner, and Michelle popped up out of the next cube. Streamers, horns and confetti bombs greeted me on my 33rd birthday. And, of course, a birthday tiara. After I got birthday hugs from Michelle and Destiny, the rest of the office came up to shake my hand and wish me a good day. In the afternoon, we had cake and took part in the Indian tradition of feeding cake to one another. I’m sure I wasn’t doing it right, in part because it felt like I was taking part in a mock wedding, or sharing a drink with my best friend Ryan (although no arms were intertwined here).

Office party!

Michelle feeds me birthday cake #2

For dinner, we went to Zara’s – an Indianized tapas restaurant nearby, one of the few that serves cocktails. Lika joined me, Destiny, Michelle and my roommate Namrata for pitchers of sangria and lots of tapas. Another birthday girl was seated at the next table over, and she sent us over some cake - my 3rd in 3 days. The girls got me some food treasures of America for my birthday. The frappucinnos tried hard (but failed) to top Kody’s present to me – a fantastic new bike! [I’m a little jealous that he’s already ridden my amazing new bike down to Jacob Riis beach, and my first chance to do the same won’t be until the dead of winter. I hope the spring of 2010 comes early!] Of course I also got a birthday dance from the Zara’s waiters, and an amazing lotus flower candle that sings. Unfortunately, I didn’t blow out the candles soon enough so it turned the small cake (my 4th birthday cake) into a plastic covered mess. But since it was loaded with walnuts (a no-no since I developed a tree nut allergy) I wasn’t too upset not too eat it.

Sampling cake#3

Cake #4, with music!

This is the first birthday that I’ve spent so far away from the people that know me well. I landed in India exactly 2 months ago today, and have known some of my friends here for scarcely a month. Nonetheless, they did a great job of making me feel cared for on my birthday, which has sometimes been in short supply since I arrived. Thank you everyone for making this a surprisingly good start to my 33rd year.
Official Birthday poster, courtesy of Michelle with technical assistance from Amudha!

2009-08-09T12:42:00.002+03:00

Today we headed to the Park Sheraton hotel for their decadent Sunday brunch. My third roommate in Chennai, Amudha, has finished her internship and will be heading back to the US on Tuesday morning. We wanted to send her off in style, and get in an early birthday celebration for me. We prepared ourselves by not eating dinner too late the night before, skipping breakfast, and arriving with big appetites. The gang first tried the brunch a few weeks ago, but I’d missed out because I was still in the midst of my stomach bug. In the intervening weeks, the Sunday brunch had become legendary.

When we entered the restaurant, the staff greeted our group like they were long-time regular customers. I guess my friends had made an impression on the hostess – and the musicians – and the servers! We started off with endless mimosas, and somehow managed to power through many, many plates of food. In between plates, we took part in the activities led by the bartender (mostly educational brain teasers) and tried to make room for yet more food. After we’d been there a couple of hours, one of the staff came out the kitchen area showing off his Michael Jackson dance moves-apparently this is becoming a regular occurrence at the Jazz Brunch. [Link to video coming soon!] David and Amudha took part in the last activity of the day – competitive eating of vanilla ice cream topped with tabasco sauce. The competition was tough, but David won.

David & Lika consider the bar cart

Amazing spread

The competition begins

Back at the table I tried to stave off a food coma. But up came a long konga line of dancing restaurant staff, cake in hand singing happy birthday to me. Somehow we found room for the amazing, delicious chocolate cake. Four hours after we arrived, we dragged ourselves to the door and promised the staff we’d be back in a few weeks. I definitely need to be hitting the gym to balance out today’s intake!

Amudha, Destiny, me and Michelle

Neighborhood temple walk

2009-08-08T12:27:00.002+03:00

On Saturday afternoon, Destiny and I walked over to the Kapalishvara Temple, a large, now colored, temple celebrating Shiva. The temple is in my neighborhood, Mylapore, which predates the city of Chennai and was known as a thriving port city as far back as the 2nd century AD. The temple probably dates from the 16th century, an era in which the Portuguese inhabited the area. Hence the name of my street: Luz Church Road.

Although the temple is a tourist attraction for the city, it is also very much a functioning place of worship. People were gathered at the various shrines within the walls to do their puja. I was in a rush this day, but will be back soon to take in all of the buildings and to check out the many market stalls set up in the area, and take part in the life of the neighborhood.

Note the rats in the corners!

Just a little neighborhood site seeing

Hot hot heat

2009-08-07T12:37:00.001+03:00

This is me after walking home from work. Just a little photographic evidence of just how hot an afternoon in Chennai can be.

We just stepped out for lunch and...

2009-08-07T12:19:00.001+03:00

After a long talk with my boss and a few fellow interns, I headed out to our usual lunchspot for a South Indian meal. On our way out, we noticed a crowd gathering outside. We’re working near the main traffic intersection for the Teynampet area, which happens to be across the street from one of the larger local temples. As the procession of people began to cross the street, we realized that something unusual was happening. At the front of the procession, younger boys of maybe 12 years walking with spears pushed through their mouths. Further back in the procession, the devotees were young men pulling small shrines, towed by ropes attached by hooks through the skin of their backs. Then men were pulling autorickshaws in the same manner – then 2 autos, then a minivan, then a small flatbed with idols of the gods being celebrated. Far back in the stream were men walking on shoes that had beds of nails.

Men emulating peacocks

Boy pulling shrine through hooks in his back, with spear through his mouth and limes hooked into his chest

Pulling two autorickshaws, with shrine on top!

Shoes with bed of nails

Apparently, they were doing penance as we approach the end of the month Aadi – an inauspicious month in the Tamil calendar. These kinds of penance are done to appease the gods.

A crazy site on the way back to office after lunch!

2009-08-02T12:08:00.001+03:00

Some of the autowallahs put a lot of effort into decorating their rickshaws. The crazy decals are one of my favorites, and of course the interior styling as well! It reminds me of the crazy matatu décor and boda boda custom seats from Uganda and Kenya.

This is often parked right in front of my office.

An auto interior in Hyderabad. I'm guessing this guy is a movie star

2009-08-01T11:52:00.000+03:00

I booked a ticket on Monday to spend the weekend with my friend and classmate Victoria in Hyderabad. I’d heard from all of my Chennai friends that Hyderabad was a lot of fun, and has a lot more going on than Chennai. Mostly, I was just eager for a bit of a break and to talk with my fellow Global Health students.

I arrived on Friday evening, and was immediately struck by how fancy and organized the airport was. Victoria texted me to take a bus into town which – coming from Chennai – seemed pretty intimidating. But it was all very organized, with nice buses to take you to designated spots in the city. I felt a little like the first time I went to Nairobi after living in Kampala for a while – everything in Nairobi was bigger, the selection of goods a little better, and a few degrees cooler.
After finding Victoria, we went to a local bar for some drinks and to play pool with her friends. It was so nice to just hang out a regular bar for a change. In Chennai, most bars are in hotels, which makes them expensive. It was nice to be in a place trying to be a dive bar for change!

Victoria lines up the shot

On Saturday, we went to the Golconda Fort, capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty from the 12th and 13th centuries. A temple inside the fort still functions, and was showing evidence of a recent festival. From the top of the fort, you can see cranes building high rises in Hyderabad’s “High tech city”, including companies like Google and Microsoft. I thought the contrast of these medieval walls and modern architecture was striking.

The temple, post celebration

Fort walls, with skyscrapers going up in the distance

Lovers steal some privacy in the ruins

Groundstaff appropriated the architecture to serve as "lunch cubbies"

Afterwards, we met up with some of Victoria’s friends working at an organic cotton farming organization. The group was meeting up at the nearby Qutb Shahi tombs for a picnic. The tombs commemorate commanders, relatives of kings, and other courtpersons like dancers and doctors, in addition to the Qutb Shahi kings. Admittedly, tombs are a morbid place to picnic, but we have great conversation with a nice group of people. And when our drinks ran dry, and enterprising kid took drink orders and brought us sodas – for a markup, naturally.

Tombs - the perfect picnic spot

Stray really hoping that she'll get our leftovers

Then we headed to the upmarket grocery store to get something to bring to a barbeque that night. I was in awe of what you can get in Hyderabad in comparison to Chennai. The grocery store had a cheese counter, smoothie bar, fresh-made pastries, and even had a liquor store inside. We picked up some veggies, tofu and barbeque sauce, and made our way home to rest for a while. That evening, we headed over to someone’s rooftop for a barbeque and I got to sample Hyderabad’s famous biryani. It was delicious, and home cooked, which is of course the best way. Before I headed home on Sunday, Victoria and I did some shopping and I experience something else I’m missing in Chennai – an autowallah (driver) that was willing to use the meter!

Rooftop BBQ and biryani - yum!

Modern and traditional medicine, side by side (or upstairs/downstairs)

An actual rickshaw meter IN USE!

2009-07-31T11:40:00.000+03:00

Fatima and I went with our friend Juhi to get her ear pierced on our lunch break today. After negotiating with the autodrivers to take us over the the hectic shopping area T. Nagar, we hunted out the GRT jewelers. Eventually we found the silver emporium shop down the street and around the corner, bought the stud for the piercing gun, and made our way down to the basement where the piercing was actually done. Most of the other men and women that were waiting seemed to be having jewelry melted down, I suppose to be made into other pieces. Having never had a piercing done with a gun, Juhi was really nervous. But we talked it over and the whole thing was over quickly. Perhaps I’ll pick up another piercing on one of my lunch breaks...

Getting ready for the gun

A view from the auto on the way back to office

Juhi, Fatima and me

2009-07-30T08:22:00.001+03:00

Apparently mango season is over, so we've moved on to enjoying beautiful pomegranates!

2009-07-25T20:54:00.005+03:00

My name causes some confusion here in India, as it did in Uganda (but a little differently). In Uganda, I would introduce myself as "Gabrielle" and people would give me a strange look. Eventually, I figured out that they were only familiar with the male version, "Gabriel". People found my name weird because it was as if I'd introduced myself as "Mike" or "Thomas" or "Bob" (never mind that I am called Bob from time to time). After having this exchange enough times, when introducing myself I would add, "In my country, it is a woman's name, too". We'd share a smile about it and move on.

Here, I have no idea what people think of my name, but I know its not one that they're too familiar with. On two occasions I've seen my name written down my people who did not have the benefit of an email address to help them guess. Here's how the clerk at Domino's today thought it was spelled.

This was only a slight variation of the other time, where I was "Kaberal". Perhaps I need an Indian name to use in these situations. But apparently Tamil Nadu has revealed to me my Starr name, which - of course - must start with the letter "K" [as in Kodiak, Kivalena and Kayla].

My new room

2009-07-24T20:52:00.003+03:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Erik and Ryan's friends David and Lika yesterday. They'll be here in Chennai for two years and - lucky me - their apartment is less than a kilometer from my house! They also brought me a new camera to replace the one stolen in Pondicherry a few weeks ago, so I can now share some new photos of my own from Chennai.

Here are a few of my new home (apartment #4).

The security gate over our apartment door (all of the apartments have different ones)

My bedroom (now sharing with Chiai, my roommate from apartment #1)

The beautiful flowering trees outside my window

My bathroom with Indian-style (squatting) toilet and bucket shower

The living room

The kitchen

Random Chennai

2009-07-21T20:43:00.000+03:00

This sidewalk is not for walking

Chennai says goodbye to MJ

Get your fit on

The enigmatic Tasty Jones restaurant

2009-07-19T20:20:00.002+03:00

Desperate to escape the city, Michelle, Destiny and I went to the Ideal Beach Resort near Mamallapurram this weekend. On Saturday morning, I made the 10 minute walk to their apartment and we got in our hired taxi for the drive. I sat in the front seat, which luckily is the only seat to have a functioning belt. The ones in the back seem to be merely decoration, since there's no clasp for the buckle to go into.

We arrived at Ideal, and knew we were in for a nice, relaxing weekend. Since we'd arrived a little bit before lunch time, we took a look around the shop. Michelle tried on a stunning leopard print swimsuit, that was shaped like the bottom of 1940's womans' suit combined with the top of a suit for an eight year-old. After a delicious Kerala-style fish curry for lunch, I set off to read a good book in a hammock by the beach. While I enjoyed a beer and samosa by the shore (and a rare chance to actually wear a swimsuit in public!), Michelle and Destiny took advantage of Ayurvedic center for massages and pedicaures. Afterwards, Michelle and I took a nice stroll down the beach drinking from young coconuts cut by a woman along the path. A great afternoon, and exactly what I needed to unwind.

Chilling at Ideal Resort [photo by Michelle Holshue]

Unfortunately, I started feeling ill shortly before dinner and quickly went down for the count. Eventually just about everyone gets sick in India, right? I felt good about staying healthy for nearly 6 weeks, but really wish that the stomach bug had had the decency to wait until I'd had MY ayurvedic massage to kick in. Boo.

2009-07-11T18:49:00.003+03:00

This weekend we made a day trip down to Mammalapuram (Mahabalipuram), a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for stonecarving about 1.5 hours' drive from Chennai. Some of Amudha's visiting classmates had access to a car, so we tagged along for sightseeing and a brief escape from Chennai.

We met up with an excellent guide, Stalin, whom Michelle had recommended to us. First, we visited the Pancha Rathas, a series of ancient temples cut from one large rock dating to some time between the 7th and 9th centuries. Shortly after we began our tour of the sites, I got a phone call from my roommate asking where I was. It turns out that when I'd locked the door behind me as I set out early that morning, I actually locked her into the house. She eventually got out of the house with the help of a neighbor, and I felt like I was rapidly losing points as a roommate. [My first week in, and I'm already turning out to be a stellar roommate. Earlier in the week, I'd locked Amudha and I out of our bedroom after we returned from a trip. Two strikes for me.]

Trying to figure out how to release my roommate remotely

A Shiva lingam (symbolizing the male and female)

Next we visited the bas relief carvings both in and around temples. The 96 ft long and 43 ft wide Arjuna's Penance/ Descent of the Ganges carved mural was spectacular! Stalin then took us to the apprentice's carving shop. He is learning to do the stonecarvings which the town is known for, and of course offered to sell us some of the carvings for a good price. Apparently the carving skills are handed down, and many of the monuments that tourists come to see may actually have been examples of carvers learning the craft, rather than being strictly religious monuments. We each bought a little something and then made our way to the Shore Temple.

The carving shop

The Shore Temple was once literally at the shore, but a retaining wall has since been built around it to protect the ancient site from erosion. After the tsunami in 2004, a couple of submerged were revealed, and some work has since been done to excavate. On the day we visited, a big school class was weaving their way through the site. Post temple, we said goodbye to Stalin, got some lunch, and made our way back to hectic Chennai.

Special thanks to Ryan Chopra for the use of his photos, as I'm still waiting to replace my stolen camera!

Thanjavur

2009-07-10T19:47:00.004+03:00

This week I made my first to Thanjavur, the rural district where my host organization is carrying out their health projects. A group of us took the overnight train 450km to reach to town, and were met by a driver to take us to the office/guesthouse. One intern had come to potentially shoot a small documentary, and I was there mostly to get the lay of the land, meet some community health workers, and start to understand a bit about the district where the actual work is going on. We visited a Primary Health Center and were shown around by a very friendly lab tech. He asked me "my native place", and when I told him I was from the "US - California" he got excited and sad at the same time. In a conversation with little English and no Tamil, we managed to discuss the lab tech's sadness about thee untimely passing of Michael Jackson and funeral taking place in California that day.

Later in the visit, we went to meet some of the nurses who were doing a school health visit. The younger kids were lined up for vaccinations, with older girls holding them to be sure that they kept still. Other kids were having their height and weight checked, and get a general once over. After the injections were done, I was horrified to see that a worker was recapping the used needles (not standard injection safety practice) and then putting them into a shopping bag for disposal (not standard disposal safety equipment)! I was shocked that there didn't seem to be much concern about blood-borne illness at all, and wondered what standard practices they the government expects them to be trained in....

There isn't a whole lot to do in Thanjavur other than go to the temple, so we visited the temple. The Brihadeeswara Temple is one of the Great Living Chola Temples, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wierd Santas at the temple

Chiai, Kavia and Divya

[Thanks to Michelle for loaning me her camera for my temple trip!]

On the way back, all 5 of us ladies were booked in the same compartment. I was initially looking forward to ride back, until a man in the car kept peering into our compartment as he passed - even pulling back the curtain as he walked by so that he could take a longer look at the women. I'm experiencing more problems as a woman here than I'd anticipated, from me like this on the train, to not having my opinion valued equally in some situations seemingly because I'm a woman. I even had one auto driver essentially tell me not to talk as I tried to negotiate a price. Staring I can get used to, but I don't think I'll get used to the gender dynamics!

On the move again [again]

2009-07-07T14:47:00.002+03:00

After my last post, things came to a head with the landlord and we moved from T. Nagar to Alwarpet, another neighborhood close to our office but on the other side of Mount Road. I'm temporarily living with the rest of the interns there while I wait for a bed and air conditioner to be installed in yet another apartment in Mylapore. That will be my fourth, and hopefully final, apartment in Chennai. I've been here all of 27 days, by the way.

As soon as the A/C is installed, I'll be moving in with one of the organization's employees. I'm getting a little anxious to get on with it, and am looking forward to moving into her place. Although the new apartment is really nice (much cleaner, much bigger, and run by a much more professional management company) it's still a guesthouse, and I would still be sharing it with 7 other people. The apartment building I'll be moving to is residential - full of families and much the experience of living in Chennai that I'm looking for. Tonight I'm going for a field visit to Thanjavur, the area where my organization is working in southern Tamil Nadu state. If all goes well, I'll be moving into the new place on Friday morning when we return.

My camera was stolen in Pondicherry this weekend, so no photos in the blog for a while :(

2009-06-30T08:12:00.003+03:00

A lot has been going on, and I admit that I’ve been slacking on the blog. After the stranger-under-the-bed incident, I moved from Adyar (Shastri Nagar) to a new apartment in T. Nagar. I’m now sharing a three bedroom apartment, with 7 other interns ranging in age from 19 to 32 (that would be me). In our room, you’ll find Michelle and me in a double bed, and Neil in a single. I went from sharing a nice home with Kodiak to having 1 female bedmate, 2 roommates, and 5 housemates. It’s threes company, without any blondes but with some Real World: Chennai and Survivor thrown in.

Since we moved places its been one misadventure after another in dealing with our landlord. When I first arrived in the apartment (last week! seems so long ago!) the young housecleaning guy would sleep in the living room every night, having loud cell phone conversations, occupy the washing machine with laundry for people that didn’t live here, and do some light cleaning here and there. We had little control over who entered and left the apartment, since we only have one front door key for the lot of us. Then we had a little dispute with the landlord over some workers drinking up all of the guys’ whisky (and eating our food and taking someone’s hairdryer and people's clothes disappearing), which of course he insisted couldn’t have happened. After all, the company’s name means “trust” so how could something go wrong? [Keep in mind that this is the same man that manages the apartment building that we moved out of. He also insists that there was no man under my roommate’s bed.]

So now nothing's happening. No trash being taken out, no bathrooms or floors being cleaned, no drinking water being brought in, and they even took away the starter that you need to get the stovetop to work, so we can’t cook. It may all sound like a lot of bellyaching, but drinking tap water isn't a great idea – you should boil it if you want to use it, which we can’t do because the starter is gone. And there’s nowhere for us to put the rapidly accumulating trash of eight people, because the apartment building doesn’t have a dumpster. What to do?

Hey hey, ho ho, 377 has got to go!

2009-06-29T08:16:00.001+03:00

Yesterday we marched in first-ever Chennai LGBT Pride Parade. Although India has a long history of socially and religiously recognizing more than two genders, sexual minorities are still discriminated against and can be prosecuted under Section 377 of the penal code (a hold-over from those restrictive Victorian-era British mores).

I made my way down to Marina Beach with Michelle and Fatima (roommates) and Juhi (a co-worker) to the beginning of the at the Triumph of Labor statue. A small crowd of marchers was gathered, surrounded by a larger crowd of reporters for all manner of media. It took a while to get started – especially because every few feet a row of cameramen would stop the crowd to take shots and interview marchers. The heat was unbelievable at 4pm, but the crowd was enthusiastic and everyone had a great time. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would the onlookers be supportive, or jeer to marchers or worse? There were quite a few gathered just for the curiosity of watching the march, but most seemed to me to be positive towards the group. I did my best to repeat that chants in Tamil, and show my support for equal rights.

I'm borrowing a few shots here from the lovely Michelle. See more of her great shots here.

I love the man peeking out from under the right corner of my umbrella in this photo

2009-06-22T07:11:00.002+03:00

This weekend, John, Ryan and I took an overnight train to visit Mysore in the state of Karnataka. It was my first overnight train trip since a European vacation in the summer of '95 (or was it '96?) and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We got bunks in the AC 2nd class, which was fairly comfortable since I got a top bunk. A man named Uday was also booked in our section. He happened to be from Mysore and gave us some tips on what to see in the two days we had available, and sketched out a rough map of the sights for us. An hour or so after we left the Central Chennai railway station a porter brought sheets and blankets to our bunks and everyone got ready for bed. I cozied into my top bunk and tried to read a history of India and then dozed off.

Anyone read Tamil?

Mysore is about 500 km west of Chennai; I think they slow the train route down so that you arrive in the morning, rather than the middle of the night. I woke up about an hour before we arrived, in part because I’m just slightly too tall for the bunk. As people walked up and down the aisle to reach the bathroom, they would brush my toes ever so slightly. A creepy, creepy feeling. I tried to curl up enough for my toes to be out of reach, which didn't work so well. So I got up and walked down the car to the open door to watch the countryside go by.

We reached the train station and walked down to the main road to find some breakfast and directions. We sat down at a local place and had masala dosa and a nice coffee for breakfast. John had laid out a bit of an itinerary for us to see temples in Srinangapatnam. I’m not up on the history of the temples, the Mysore battles led by Tipu Sultan and his defeat by the British, but John did great write up on his blog [here].

Kids playing in a dungeon that formerly housed British soldiers

The autowallah's shy daughter

Mysore is at least 10 degrees cooler than Chennai, so we decided to go enjoy the breeze on a rooftop restaurant with a tall, cold kingfisher. Ordering a beer at a restaurant in Chennai is a bit trickier. I think the city's conservative character makes liquor licenses somewhat difficult to come by, and women don't commonly drink either. [More to come on adjusting to gender roles in later posts.]

The next morning we got up early to climb the 1000 steps to a shrine on Chaumundi hill, visited the bizarre Godly museum, saw more shrines and temples, went to the Maharajah’s palace and checked out some market stalls. Sunday night we took the overnight train back to Chennai. Three bunks each made for a slightly less comfy ride home than the ride there, but we made it back in one piece. I think my next weekend trip will be to Pondicherry – the small French outpost a few hours away from Chennai. Cheese! Wine! Yay!

A few photos from the Mysore trip are below, and more are on my flickr photostream.

The Maharajah's palace at night

Chaumundi Hill

Cows selling sodas and water

Selling dry paints in the market

On the move, again.

2009-06-19T11:17:00.008+03:00

I had my first taste of Chennai night life on Wednesday night. Hamsa had a small going away party. We went to a hole-in-the-wall Bengali restaurant for dinner, where we were informed (afterwards) that we were eating all wrong. It was my first time to eat a thali (rice and assorted sauces and things to go with it) with my hands, so I was slow and messy. A little bit like a toddler learning to eat again! We were informed after the meal that we’d gone about eating it all wrong. Oh well, I'll have plenty of time to practice.

Afterwards, we went dancing at bar in a hotel near my office. It was salsa night, and we had a great time dancing with some of the guys there and drinking Kingfisher (a famous Indian beer). I’m terrible at following in couples dancing, but my partner was very, very patient. Just before midnight, the lights promptly went on (closing time for bars in Chennai), and Hamsa’s friend drove me home. A very wholesome night out.

Trying to follow his lead... badly

Dance-off between a local salsa instructor and Chennai's own Sock Hat

The Shot Drinker - for the Chennai division of Team Sweet

I arrived home at midnight, and the housecleaner (who sleeps on our floor in the living room) let me in. [We only have one front door key for the six of us; I’m working on changing that situation. If I lock the door from the outside, then anyone in the house is locked in – which seems like a fire hazard, no?] So I went about getting ready for bed. While I was washing my face, I heard some screams outside and then I heard voices in the living room. I thought everyone was asleep, so I went to see what was going on. Apparently, those screams had come from my housemate, in her room opposite the hall. She woke up to find that a man was underneath her bed. She started screaming – and he started screaming, too – as he unlocked her bedroom door and let himself out of the apartment. Zarasp called the logistics coordinator from our office (who has been managing the housing arrangements) and he came over to find out what was going on, as did the caretaker, and the building owner. I stayed up until 3:30 am explaining what had happened, at which point I was exhausted and needed to get to bed.

Aside from the obviously unsettling incident itself, its frustrating to be in a new place and have no idea how best to handle a situation like this. In Uganda for example, I'm not sure that I would file a police report about this, knowing that it might create a lot of trouble for the housecleaner (and maybe jail while being interrogated), potentially far out of proportion to what had actually occurred. I have no idea how these things work here yet, and whether calling the police is "the right thing to do". That's a weird thought for someone who grew up in a place where you would automatically call the police.

Our host organization promptly moved us, so now I'm staying within walking distance of the office as opposed to a 30 minute autorickshaw ride, and am sharing with 7 housemates. Triple rooms all around - like being back in college, eh?

2009-06-17T12:19:00.006+03:00

I hear the adhan from this mosque near my house several times a day. Some people complain and think its too loud, but I think its kind of soothing to listen to while I wash my clothes in a bucket at night. I think we're supposed to have laundry service included in our caretaker's fees, but it takes forever and come back smelling weirdly. So for now, I have my nightly routine of washing the dust and dirt of the day off, and washing my clothes in the bathroom. And to think a month ago I was complaining that the laundromat next to our house had closed!

I won't continually nostaligize Uganda, but hearing the adhan also reminds me of the radio piece I worked on last year with Mikkel. (See the post here.)

2009-06-15T10:52:00.001+03:00

About 1/3 of all malaria cases in Tamil Nadu occur in Chennai, so while I’d rather not take malaria prophylaxis for 6 months, it really does seem necessary. I took Lariam for my first four months I lived in Uganda and then quit since the risk of malaria in Kampala was lower, and I felt awful. I couldn't be sure that the blue moods, headaches and eventually facial numbness was because of the lariam (or if it was partly due to uprooting myself and moving to another continent far from my loved ones), but I had easy access to treatment so I thought I'd be alright without the prophylaxis.

This time around, I had few affordable choices but to take Lariam, so I’m hoping that things go better than in 2007. So far, I’m just having unbelievably vivid (but still pleasant) dreams. Here’s hoping they stay happy, bright and beautiful and that the numbness stays away!

2009-06-14T08:44:00.009+03:00

Things I’m noticing around town:

Most of the houses in my neighborhood have chalk drawings of various designs fresh on the doorstep each morning. It seems to be some sort of Hindu blessing.

Ladies set up tables on the street with freshly plucked, unbloomed flowers in heaps in front of them. They weave them together into strings, which women put in their hair. The jasmine strands smell amazing!

The many uses of a bicycle frame – bike powered goods cart, hand pedaled bikes for people without use of their legs, regular transportation (way too dangerous and daring for me!) for a few people, soda carts and so on.

Rush hour is absurdly hectic. After taking a bus to work that was more crowded than this one, I think I'll probably be taking the more comfortable but less economical autos from now on.

School girls in uniform in the foreground

Tons of varieties of mangoes and bananas, limes both sweet and sour, plums smaller than a ping pong ball, pomegranates, and football-esque watermelons. What is a soppatta? Or muskmelon?

Face creams and beauty products of many varieties for men and women that claim to lighten your skin. Does anyone really think that commercials and ads selling “white beauty” is ok? Some of the countries biggest movies stars, like Shah Rukh Khan, are selling this stuff!

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State is apparently a former movie star - hence the sunglasses in all photos?

Weird safety advisories using Mr. Potato head to convince you to not drink and drive (I have yet to figure out where I can get a drink in this town!), not to speed so that you "live to 100", make sure your home has a fire escape, etc.

I've had decent coffee here, but the cups are far too small! These (from my office) are about the size of a Dixie cup!

2009-06-13T08:00:00.004+03:00

Today I met my third housemate, Ciai, a Japanese woman studying public health at Cornell. With John and Zarasp, I went down to the Theosophical Society, a sort of religious center founded in the late 1800s by an American Civil War veteran, with a Russian psychic, among others. Four of us crammed into an autorickshaw and made our way to the grounds, only to find when we arrived noon that the facility was closed to visitors between 10am and 2 pm. To bide our time, we walked down to Elliott’s beach. The scenery was beautiful, but the sand was blistering hot and there was little shade. The beaches here are more popular in the evening, when the sands have cooled and the sea breeze makes the beach feel more comfortable than the rest of this hot city.

We had lunch down around the beach shore. I haven’t been eating much, with the jet lag and adjusting to the heat, so I just had a bowl of “curd rice” - rice with yogurt, green chilies, and mint – and a glass of sweet lime juice. We did an little window shopping around, and then made our way back over to the Theosophical Society. The grounds were very park like, and the dry dust smelled like Southern California. Aside from the library filled with books of interest to scholars of different religious movements, one of the main attractions of the grounds is the world’s second largest Banyan tree. The Banyan has aerial roots, which makes this single tree appear to be a forest of trees.

After closing time, we headed down the road to find another autorickshaw willing to take the four of us. Along the way, I spotted this vendor and the bright golden color of the corn. They cover it with lime juice and chili – which makes the spices the best part of this maize-like corn. Although its called “American corn”, its not very juicy, and not very sweet.

Once we got back home, I decided to investigate the kitchen, to see what kind of tools we have available and what I might want to pick up to start cooking. In the bottom drawer, I found a huge lizard working to keep the roaches in check. Made me feel like I was bag in Uganda again. I’d missed the house lizards!

For dinner, the four of headed to a Japanese restaurant up on the of main roads. (I have yet to learn the names of any of the roads other than mine, and our cross streets, but hopefully tomorrow I will buy a map book.) We shared some Japanese pickles and a fish appetizer, and John wowed us with his knowledge of Japanese. Weirdly, they’d left a Japanese magazine on the table. Perhaps they expect people to have boring dinner companions? My udon was pretty good, but I’m hoping that another restaurant in the city might have more interesting sounding sushi options. I don’t know that flounder and grouper are really going to do it for me!

We caught a bus home instead of a rickshaw, which is a much cheaper option if you know which one to get one. Only 3 rupees per person! The bus was full of women on their way home, and the scent of the jasmine flowed through the air as the bus picked up speed, carrying the scent off the flowers in the hair. Heavenly....

Apparently the cold soba noodle wasn’t enough for Ciai, so we stopped at a food stand to get her a dosa, a bread-like pancake with sauce. I was too full to have one myself, but the bit I tried was tasty like sourdough bread, so I’m sure that I will be back! We bought bananas and papayas from a street vendor, and then made our way home. John had bought a carton of mango ice cream, so we all enjoyed a bowl and Ciai, Zarasp and I hung out in the living room talking until the power went out. Now I’m really wishing that I’d had the energy before I left NYC to climb up into the closet to retrieve my headlamp from inside our tent, because now I’m without and writing this in the dark in my bedroom which is rapidly heating up without AC or a fan! I guess that means that its bedtime.

Welcome to Chennai

2009-06-10T08:31:00.002+03:00

Gnome from home, and a new guy I found in my room

I arrived in Chennai after about 24 hours of travel at 1am. It was so hot outside that I began dripping sweat as soon as I stepped outside with my luggage. I looked up and down the line for my taxi, but the only promising one was holding a sign for "Gaprielle" from IFMR. I waited a while and decided to try to figure out if I was in fact Gaprielle. (I figured that I probably was, but had no idea what IFMR was, and would feel really bad stranding somone else at the airport). I spent who knows how much money on a phone call to Kody to figure out which company was supposed to be picking me, and we were off to my new digs.

Arriving at my apartment, I realized that I wasn't sure which unit I was supposed to be in. Eventually we figured it was the ground floor, and one of my new roommates, John, answered the door. Unfortunately, all the bedrooms were locked so we had to call the caretaker over from another property to let me in. An hour later I was all checked in and finally got to sleep. So the adventure begins!

Resurrecting the blog

2009-06-09T06:35:00.004+03:00

Tomorrow I leave for six months in Chennai, so I'm resurrecting the blog to share some photos with my friends and family. I'm not quite ready to go again, having returned from Uganda less than a year ago, but it should be an incredible experience. I'll upload some photos once I arrive... wish me luck!

2009-06-07T07:24:00.001+03:00

After a fantastic apartment-crawl going away party at our house in Brooklyn (some pics here; thanks Shayla!), Kody and I got up early to make the most of a beautiful Brooklyn day. We hopped on our bikes and took the greenway path down to Coney Island. I’m a little sad that so many of the storefronts are closed (yet to be redeveloped by real estate company Thor Equities), but Coney Island still has its good old-fashioned seediness. Who has ever played shoot-the-freak? It was the day of the Puerto Rican Day parade, and people were celebrating with dancing on the boardwalk, and boomboxes on the beach. We also took in some of the other sites: old Russian guys who spend all their days tanning (and have that beautiful leather glow), a goth trio that seemed out of place at the beach (especially “Goth Igor”), people hiding their beer bottles in plastic bags as they drank under the sun, and families playing at the edge of the water. Kody went down and put his head in while I napped. It was only when we took a stroll down the beach that we discovered that the beach was closed because of a sewage spill. Ewwwwwwww. Why aren’t the lazy lifeguards keeping people away from the water?

We took the water route to head home, riding under the Verrezano Bridge and along the edge the Brooklyn waterfront. It was my first time and I was kicking myself that I’ll have to wait another whole year to enjoy the path again! Once we made it home, K and I attempted to make sushi rolls. I think they didn’t come out too bad for my first time, although they’re not supposed to be three inches across, right?

My last weekend in Brooklyn was perfect. Thank you Kody and friends!

Blog Sabbatical

2008-08-18T04:24:00.003+03:00

As Kody and I drove to the airport on the 3rd, I tried not to cry. Inside, the airport was mayhem. I'd never seen it that crazy and I was once again thankful for all of those business trips back to the US that earned me a gold card in about 9 months. We wizzed through (compared to the others, very irritable passengers) and I got ready to say goodbye for now to my home since last April.

I've been back in the US nearly two weeks now, and still can't quite grasp that NY is home again. My blog was intended to give my family and friends a glimpse of my life, being so far away. Now that I'm back, its time to return to more regular forms of communication - like phone calls and emails that I've been terrible about making. Kampala friends, I hope that we'll stay in touch. You made my first experience living abroad a fantastic one. We miss you already!

I won't post to gablam until my overseas practicum for school (one year from now), but do upload photos on flickr here from time to time.

A year and a half in Uganda

Please do keep in touch and thanks for reading!

2008-08-02T14:54:00.002+03:00

There's only three hours left until I can check in for my flight online. I'm in serious denial. There's nothing left in the house, and we're heading out soon for our last night out in Kampala, but it hasn't really sunk in yet that we're going. Maybe tomorrow?

2008-08-01T14:42:00.001+03:00

We're having a big last weekend here in Kampala. Last minute art shopping took us to the Makerere University Art School to check out a barkcloth exhibit. No buys there, but Kody did pick up this cool guinea fowl shirt in a market on the way home. Check out the billboard above his head, which Kody worked on for Moringa Ogilvy.

After lunch, we headed over to the Lugogo Cricket Oval for the Wycef Jean concert. Near the end of the show, Wyclef ended up in a cherry picker right behind us, which Kody somehow ended up being on. Always at the center of the party!

2008-07-31T14:35:00.001+03:00

The movers came today to pack everything up. We got good news at the last minute that everything will go by air –so I won't have to wait another 5 months like the sea shipment here took! Only problem is my things may arrive before we have an apartment.

If you have any leads on a good place in New York City (preferably on the 2 line), let us know!

Patience helping pack

4 cubic meters?

2008-07-30T14:32:00.000+03:00

Last minute shopping is underway, since the movers come to pack up the house tomorrow. We headed down to Entebbe to visit the Lands and Survey Department for souvenirs of the areas I worked in Uganda. After waiting for the lady in the map sales office for a while, we waded through the piled up maps to figure out exactly what we wanted. None of my choices were already printed, so we had to hunt through the building for the man who runs the map printer. We sat down w ith this computer engineering volunteer to choose our maps and have them printed on huge rolls of paper. Can't wait to have an apartment so that we can frame them!

2008-07-27T14:28:00.000+03:00

We head back to the US on the 3^rd of August, and have been trying to squeeze in a little relaxation with friends in the midst of the moving madness. I really didn't take advantage of the pampering opportunities in Kampala nearly often enough!

Absurd cocktails in the afternoon

Pedicures with Tanya and Dorte

Sunning and swimming at Munyonyo

2008-07-25T14:25:00.000+03:00

Today was my last day in the office. For almost a year and a half I've been working with some of the kindest, most dedicated people I've met. I've been avoiding thinking about (or discussing) leaving at all, so my leaving came as a surprise to a few people. I wish that I had the option to start school in Jan instead. We've accomplished a lot with the HPV vaccine project so far, but implementation is just getting underway! I'm looking forward to hearing from the team how things go in the second district, and keeping in touch with the great friends that I've made here.

The UVRI-IAVI team threw me and the other leaving colleagues a really nice farewell party after work, and my colleagues from PATH, the National Immunization Program, Uganda Women's Health Initiative, Save A Woman Initiative, and the Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation came as well.

A photo collage of my colleagues from UVRI-IAVI: Dr Kaleebu, Peter, William, and me and Kody

The Stop Cervical Cancer Conference team: Nikky, Stella, Dan, James, Emmanuel, Claire, and Rachel

2008-07-22T14:15:00.000+03:00

As soon as we returned, I dove into work on the 2nd Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa Conference. On the 15th, we helped organize a press briefing at the Ministry of Health, in advance of the conference on the 21st – 22nd. Uganda's First Lady, Hon. Janet Museveni opened and closed the conference as the Chief Guest. The goal of the conference was to bring together policymakers, health professionals and advocates to discuss cervical cancer prevention and control, and specifically ways to accelerate access to the new HPV vaccines. We had good representation from around the continent, with Kenya's Minister of Health attending, as well as representatives from Nigeria and South Africa's Ministries. The country reports on current cervical cancer prevention were stark, highlighting the urgent need for greater attention to this preventable disease. Hopefully, GAVI will add HPV vaccines to their portfolio in the near future, putting the vaccine in reach of those who need it the most.

Press Briefing with Dr Mbonye, (Head of Repro Health Division, MOH), Hon Dr Richard Nduhura, (Minster of State for Health, General Duties), and Princess Nikky Onyeri

Ndere Troup performing at state dinner for delegates

2008-07-19T14:00:00.000+03:00

Leslie hosted a fantastic going away party for us out at her land. Not exactly camping, her tented house with thatched roof is finally finished after 8 long months. We grilled, had a performance by the local community, and managed to make smores (after running to every supermarket in town to find the ingredients). The most memorable going away I'll probably ever have! See this post for more pictures of the land.

The in-progress waterless toilet from South Africa (a very high-tech outhouse)

Mikkel and Dorte in the treehouse

Making pina coladas

Peformance from the local village

All the comforts of home - toilet seat back for the pit latrine

Me and Leslie

2008-07-17T13:48:00.000+03:00

We're leaving in just a few days now, and I've been completely avoiding the reality of leaving Uganda behind. People have been asking what I'll miss most, and I have to say that Patience and her siblings Brian and Alex are pretty high up on the list. We'll miss you guys!

2008-07-13T13:14:00.000+03:00

After my meetings in Nairobi, Kody and I headed off to Lamu – an island off the Kenyan Coast. We arrived at the airstrip on Manda island and a cart took our bags down to the dock. A short ferry ride on wooden boats with an outboard motor takes you to Lamu itself.

It's a Swahili town, with older buildings made out of coral stones, and tiny streets too small for cars. Donkeys are an important form of transport here, and the only vehicle is actually a donkey ambulance.

Hope that Air Kenya won't be using donkeys to get us back to Nairobi.

Kody has a lot of phobias

We walked down the island past Shela town to get to the beach, where we happened across goats in the sand dunes, and a guy walks 2 camels and a little dog. The walk is a long one back – should have hitched a dhow to take us back to Lamu Town!

The next day we took a dhow trip out to fish on the water. Our sailors were much better at fishing than we were. I did catch a little one, though. The guys barbequed the fish, and made a nice fresh salad for us. We had an excellent beach picnic, a swim in the warm Indian Ocean waters, and a nap under the trees. It was perfect, except that I woke up covered in sand fly bites. Unbelievably itchy!

My little catch

lunch!

Sunset from our hotel

Overnight, a wall collapsed near our hotel so we had to do a little rubble-climbing to get to the waterfront.

After gorging ourselves on the most delicious smoothies you'll ever have and tons of ocean fish, we had to head back to Nairobi to catch our flight home.

The waiting room at the Manda Airstrip

A last hurrah in Kenya!

2008-07-07T11:32:00.002+03:00

Every quarter, our team in Africa meets to discuss the operational workplan and common issues across our sites on the continent. Since I’ll be leaving IAVI in just a few weeks, I wanted to take the opportunity to inform people about my work over the last 1.5 years, and how I think my HPV project should be carried forward. Kody and I decided to do some sightseeing before and after, since it’s our last chance to visit Kenya.

We planned to go the Masai Mara to try to see the great wildebeest migration. We left for Nairobi the night before in order to catch our flight out to the Mara. We booked a hotel near the airport which had an interesting idea of what constitutes tasteful, luxurious décor.

Elevator lobby near our room.

We headed out the next morning to Nairobi Wilson airport for our flight. It’s a little like a strip mall of airlines.

Kody in waiting area.

While we waited, we looked at the tiny planes taking off and landing and wondered just how small ours would be. Smaller than any I’d ever been on before, it turned out! But at about 30 seats, it wasn’t too scary. We landed at the first airstrip and were a little horried to see the deplaning passengers being handed hot towels before they proceeded to the bush bar staffed by Masai. I guess that’s what they’re paying $800/night for. Thankfully, our welcome was much more low key.

Our plane at the Olkiombo airstrip

The game viewing started right away – we were lucky enough to spot a cheetah on our way to the lodge.

Crested Cranes

Kody and Gab on a game drive

Elephants having lunch

Giraffes on the savannah

We stayed at the Fig Tree Camp site – a lovely and comfortable tented lodge. Although we were sleeping in tents, we were hardly roughing it. (The tents had tiled bathrooms attached, and very nice four-poster beds.) Vervet monkeys and baboons are all around, so the first thing we were told was to always zip your tent shut. Our neighbor ignored that advice, and we came back to find his tent full of monkeys enjoying popcorn. Kody saved the day, chasing the stragglers out.

Don’t feed the wildlife

Watching giraffes

We came across a stranded van out on the game drive, and made our second rescue of the day. They’d tried to drive up a deeply rutted track and got stuck in the thick mud. Our driver had to pull them out with a chain. The man in red is our guide.

If you want to blow $425 in an hour, take a balloon ride over the Masai Mara

We drove up right next to a pride of lions – two females, one male and seven cubs. Scary close!

Hippos

Mongooses (or is it Mongeese?)

The wildebeest migration is the big attraction at this time of year. We managed to catch the beginning of this massive movement. The wildebeest seem spectacularly dumb, so it’s a miracle that so many of the 1.6M actually make it. Of course, a lot get eaten. We saw lions, vultures, and Malibu stork all munching on wildebeest. I'll be uploading videos to my flickr page soon, so check back!

Wildebeest on the move

Our plane back to Nairobi was even smaller. The plane landed, the pilot hopped out with a clipboard calling for Kodiak Starr x2. There were a mere 14 seats, with a passenger seated next to the pilot. Must have been an amazing view!

The landscape over the countryside to the capital was spectacular. This photo shows a village. Note that there is a double boundary. First, one around the house. And second, an interior one which is a livestock corral. Must be to protect the animals from raiders.

Back to Nairobi for a few days of work. Afterwords, we’re off to Lamu!

A Shaq-loving matatu around Nairobi

2008-07-04T11:24:00.000+03:00

I missed our annual team bonding event when I went to Kenya with Mikkel and Kody, but the office organized a team photo day at the office. Here’s our team in the garden.

2008-06-30T11:12:00.001+03:00

My friend Mikkel asked me to participate in a radio story contest from RE: Sound. The idea is that you need to make a 3-minute story incorporating the voice of a stranger, and taking inspiration from at least 2 of the 5 books chosen by the organizers. You can download our final story here

Getting ready to record

2008-06-29T21:49:00.003+03:00

The time is flying by. Kody’s been here almost 3 months already, and that means its time to take a trip out of Uganda to get his visa renewed. Our friend Mikkel has the same issue, so the three of us decided to take a roadtrip over the border to Kenya.

My only other experience crossing a border by land was into Canada, a world away from Uganda. As we approached the Ugandan border, the touts came out to “assist” us with clearing our vehicle through customs. These smooth talkers try to confuse you into thinking that you need to pay something or get special help in order to move across, which of course is not true. We told them we’d manage fine on our own, but to no avail. As we drove towards the Kenyan border entrance, one even followed us by bicycle to try for a tip one more time!

Waiting at the border crossing in Malaba.

So, so many forms! Have your passport stamped for exit, fill out customs forms for the vehicle at the customs office, take them to the police station for authorization to leave, and then repeat again on the other side. In between, dodge the hustlers trying to sell you currency for the other side, and “help” you with your vehicle. What a relief to be through!

Just on the other side of the border, I was surprised at how different Kenya looked from Uganda. It looked far more developed – much better roads, better looking houses (at least at the roadside), and you could even use credit or ATM cards at the gas station!

Our first destination was the Kakamega Forest. This forest used to stretch across Africa, but only a small part of the primary (old) forest is left. We hiked through, checking out the birds, monkeys, and ancient trees.

At the riverside with our guide

Mikkel and Kody.

We moved on to Kisumu, with the plan to cross back into Uganda further south at Busia. The landscape was far more rocky than I’d see of Uganda I’ve traveled through.

Omo washing powder ads painted on the hillside rocks.

Barack Obama’s father is from this region of the country, and everyone wanted to know if we supported him. In the Hillary/Barack debate, our guide in Kakamega Forest told us he was disappointed that it wouldn’t be Hillary. After all, a black president isn’t that exciting to an African (they’ve got plenty), but a female president is truly rare…

In front of the B. Obama hotel in Kisumu.

My Aunt Lewana’s nickname in the family is Biddy, which apparently is a brand of margarine sold in Kenya.

Street ad for Biddy Margarine in Kisumu Town.

Not knowing much about Kisumu, as we walked through the downtown area we wondered how long it had looked like this. A burned out huge grocery store, stores full of rubbish with broken windows, and a lot of non-functioning store fronts. Apparently I haven’t been following the news as well as I thought. Kisumu was one of the hotspots during the post-election crisis, and this destruction was the end result.

2008-06-26T21:43:00.000+03:00

I’ve been at the Ministry of Health a lot lately for meetings. This MOH bus parked out front always catches my eye.

2008-06-25T21:36:00.000+03:00

I finally went in for a haircut, and feel so much better!

Ron, I miss you!

2008-06-21T22:38:00.000+03:00

I've had an irrational fear of finding a hair dresser in Kampala. As a result, I haven't cut my hair in a full year. As you can see, it's gotten a little out of control. Off to the hairdresser!

2008-06-20T20:23:00.002+03:00

The high cost of gas plus the bad exchange rate for the American dollar means that fuel (for my vehicle, diesel) costs about $6.45 a gallon in Kampala. Just thought that might make those of you in the US feel a little bit better about what you're paying at the pump!

2008-06-18T17:29:00.002+03:00

I've uploaded a few recent videos to my flickr account that I thought you might be interested in. (The connection's too slow to try to upload to my blog, too!)

Click here for chimpanzees in Kibale Forest.

Click here for traditional Ugandan dances.

Check out Kody's photos since moving to Kampala here on flickr :)

2008-06-07T10:51:00.000+03:00

There less than 2 months left until we head back to the US, so we’re trying to squeeze in a lot of weekend trips these days. This weekend, we headed to Lake Mburo (my third time). On our way into the park, we saw

Ugan

’s national bird, the crested crane, up close.

Tons of warthogs everywhere. I love their mullets, and the way their tails stick straight up when they run.

Caught in the rain, again

My favorite type of tree in Lake Mburo – kind of a tree/cactus cross

The view of one of several lakes in the park

Building a campfire near our tent

Early morning walk to catch a glimpse of hyenas

You can barely tell with my sad camera, but that’s a hyena. We saw a mother and three cubs sneak into their burrows (stolen from aardvarks).

After the hyena walk, we had to rush back to Kampala. I’m due in Ibanda (a few hours past Lake Mburo) this afternoon, but have to meet the team I’m traveling with in Kampal. I had about 45 minutes at home before I was back out the door…

2008-06-04T10:40:00.000+03:00

Lately, Kody and I have really been getting into Scrabble. Like most games we play, we’re not entirely sure that we’re playing by the rules. Is 'leggy' an acceptable word? No scrabble dictionary to check, so I guess so. What’s baffling me is how Kody has been kicking my butt. Witness this final board, where Kody scored 52 points for the word ‘quiver’. Spelling's not really his thing, but he’s killing me.

2008-05-24T11:06:00.000+03:00

When Kody visited in September, we missed our chance to go to Murchison because people bailed the morning of our scheduled trip. I decided to take advantage of American Memorial Day to squeeze in a little trip. We met up a the Red Chilli Backpackers hostel in Kampala with the rest of the group and set off for a safari weekend.

Water buffalo

Giraffes

Olive baboons

Sunset over the Nile

Warthogs resting in the shade of a neighbor's tent

Don't get too close to the hippos!

Cliffs over the river banks on our Nile boat trip

Murchison Falls in the distance

Uganda's newest tabloid, "The Onion" - much racier than the US version!

Standing at the top of Murchison Falls

Too bad we lost Kody :(

2008-05-22T22:36:00.000+03:00

Alas for poor Mr. Golden Pig, the day has come to break the piñata. Kody and I demonstrated how the whole piñata thing works, and got them ready to take a swing.

Dividing up the booty

After two and a half weeks, he meets his end and has a new life as a (smelly, moldy) mask.

World AIDS Vaccine Day

2008-05-18T22:08:00.000+03:00

This year, the different research groups working on HIV vaccine research in Uganda held coordinated events to commemorate World AIDS Vaccine Day. IAVI’s event was at Kigungu,a a fishing community near our trial site in Entebbe.

Kody and I worked up some ideas to paint on the side of a fishing boat, playing on the theme of protection – lifejackets for water, and condoms on land. The highlight of the day was a boat race, with life jackets and a small cash prize for the winners.

Marching through the village

Picked up a few friends

Once I started taking pictures, everyone wanted a portrait (smiling or not).

The community lines up to receive free health services – voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, deworming, blood pressure checks, etc

2008-05-15T21:57:00.000+03:00

The piñata is officially now hard enough to be decorated.

So far, we’ve stretched out the family entertainment for 9 days. I think we can keep the kids entertained with this project for at least two weeks.

Shoes tumble outside the door as the kids run in the house to work on the piñata.
The neighbors get in on the act

2008-05-12T21:52:00.000+03:00

Well, we’re definitely still in the rainy season. I had my wipers replaced, but they kept popping off every time I tried to use them. Thankfully, I had a Kody to brave the downpour and tie them onto the car for me. With ribbons, no less...

Treehouse Camping

2008-05-10T15:38:00.000+03:00

Well, the piñata wasn’t quite ready for the party, so after adding another layer, Kody and I headed over to Leslie’s house. Her friends Kate and Cam built an amazing treehouse for their kids, and we were invited for a treehouse sleepover. We headed over on Leslie’s boat, with tons of supplies and fixings for some very nice meals. Ever had fondue while camping?

Leslie's house - just waiting for the canvas walls!

I’d last visited Leslie’s land late last year, and wanted to head up the hill to see progress on a primary school that Kate is helping to complete in the community. Nearly ready for pupils! Here’s the school last year.

The treehouse - two full levels, and one loft!

Sundowners on the third level perch

Waking up to a lake view in the loft

Enjoying the sun as we pack up for home! (That's the mattress from our bed at home. Home we didn't bring critters home.)

Cinco de Quatro

2008-05-04T15:36:00.000+03:00

On the way home from Fort Portal we stopped at some roadside markets to get ingredients for a Cinco de Mayo feast. I’d been missing Mexican food and it was a good excuse to have a little party. Dinner was great, but we had no idea how hard it would be to pull off. Homemade tortillas, passion punch (sadly, no tequila in the stores), black beans, spicy slaw and fajitas. Mmmmmmm……

For décor, Kody decided to make a piñata with Alex, Brian and Patience. Here, the kids in action.

2008-05-03T18:23:00.000+03:00

Kody and I headed to Fort Portal, about 3.5 hours east of Kampala, for the Labor Day holiday. Our first night, we stayed at a nice little community campsite which has its own crater lake. In the morning we headed off to Kibale Forest to do some chimpanzee tracking.

At first I thought we might not see too many – initially, we only saw a lone chimp high up in a tree. The guide took our group across the forest at a fast clip and eventually we found a big group. We saw quite a bit of action – the group hunting colubus monkeys together, fights over honey, mating, and power plays between the males. Scarier – and more exciting – than I’d thought it would be!
Eating honey stolen from the bees

Hunting colobus monkeys - these guys are the gorund team, waiting to catch any colobus that their friends manage to shake out of the trees

Our second night, we treated ourselves to a bit of luxury at Ndali Lodge, perched on a hill top between two crater lakes (one of which you can reach via a steep staircase from the lodge).

The crater lake below Ndali

Boys fishing in the lake

We got caught in an afternoon rainshower during our walk around the crater's rim. Hiding in the grasses wasn’t much cover.

We rushed back from Fort Portal to attend the wedding reception for my colleague Paul, who was marrying Rose. Rose and Paul met at IAVI – our first IAVI marriage!

Kody's first taste of Ugandan wedding cake

From forest to ballroom in 4 hours

Happy Anniversary to me!

2008-04-22T17:29:00.000+03:00

The one-year anniversary of my move to Kampala (today!) also happens to be Earth Day. I did a little comparison of my carbon footprint over the last year, and *surprise! surprise!* while I've been here trying to do good, my travel around the globe has been taking its toll. A little comparison of:

Me in Brooklyn (until April last year)
Me since moving to Uganda (compared to other Americans in the USA)
Me since moving to Uganda (compared to Ugandans)

Guess I have a lot to make up for when I get back.....

2008-04-09T19:07:00.000+03:00

I took a few days off of work (least I can do since the guy moved continents, right?) and we headed to Jinja for a drive around Jinja, lunch near the Bujagali falls, and dodging huge trucks on the way home.

2008-04-07T19:01:00.000+03:00

Last time Kody was here, I really had no idea where to hang out in Kampala. This time around, I'm trying to do a much better job (have to keep up appearances of a very active social life, right?). We met up with Dorte and Mikkel for dinner at Tuhende, and then headed over to the Mayfair Casino for a comparatively quiet cocktail.

On the way home, I was thanking my lucky stars that I have been extremely disciplined about what I had to drink that night. I had the pleasure of taking my first breathalyzer test on the way home. I was sure that I was fine, but the whole process was a little nerve-wracking. Especially because the officer speaking with me made it very clear that we could come to an 'agreement' if I thought I would have 'trouble' with the tests. Disconcerting indeed.

Seems that not everyone got the offer - at least three people were hauled off to jail in the 15 minutes I was there.

Welcome to Kampala, Kody!

Peaches and Herb

2008-04-05T18:53:00.000+03:00

Kody arrived, safe and sound, after a rough last few days in the US. Getting evicted is never fun, but getting the news when your friends (aka subletters) are on the doorstep? And you're 8 hours away in Maine? Sucks. Mike and Dianne will have to come move the rest of Kody's things to storage. Otherwise, he seems to be settling in fine.

Stuck to the interweb, as per usual.

2008-03-21T23:58:00.003+03:00

Kwanjula Paul and Rose (134)
Originally uploaded by gablam

Last weekend I joined colleagues to celebrate the kwanjula of Rose and Paul, colleagues from IAVI who are getting married this spring. I followed along with the other ladies, trying to judge when I was supposed to kneel, etc. The ceremony was in Luganda, but you could follow along the context failry well. Being on the man's side at this traditional introduction (engagement) ceremony, we had a lot more work to do.

Somehow I managed to balance baskets on my head with one hand, while keeping my traditional dress together with the other. For the second round of gift-giving, I ended up at the front of the line. Since I wasn't sure where I was supposed to be going (or what I was supposed to be doing) I was a little nervous about the whole thing, but had fun dancing the group in. My colleagues tell me that I (the 'one who comes from far away'), the only foreigner at the kwanjula, was given a name. By the end, we'd given goats, chickens, a cow, heaps of baskets, crates of beer, a huge gourd of traditional brew, traveling clothes and who knows what else. And the bride-to-be wore no fewer than four different dresses. The Bugandans do love a costume change! More photos on flickr here.

2008-03-21T09:05:00.000+03:00

Raw00696
Originally uploaded by gablam

My rescue was successful, so I've got a few more photos from India to share. I'm hoping to get more from my colleagues - including the Delhi debut of my hip hop duo with the lovely Maaza.

They're on flickr here.

Back-tracking a little bit

2008-03-20T20:26:00.000+03:00

I had my first-ever kayaking experience with my friend Dorte on Lake Victoria.

We were a little worried that we would be trapped at the sailing club when we finished, because the road was closed off for a car rally. You could see the dust and hear the cheers from the lake! When we finished our fun by choppy kayak trip (I was covered in Lake Victoria by the end, and convinced that I'd contracted bilharzia), we had to enter the car rally in order to get home. The crowd loved Dorte's driving!

2008-03-17T21:28:00.000+03:00

landing.JPG
Originally uploaded by glamourelle

Children at a fishing village landing site near my work in Entebbe

HAZA!!!!

2008-03-13T14:27:00.001+03:00

I've managed to recover the vast majority of pictures and videos that I stupidly formatted over, using the miraculous program RescuePRO. I'll be uploading more photos from India when I return from a short trip to the field here in Uganda. For now, enjoy this one of some guy trying to sell my friend Skip a fake beard (and Skip trying to ditch him) in front of the Red
Fort in Old Delhi.

Back on the blog!

2008-03-10T19:01:00.001+03:00

A lot has been going on in the last month, and I just haven't found the time to update the blog lately. In brief, all of Kampala went to see UB40 perform live (we don't get too many international acts here). Things are picking up on my cervical cancer vaccine project, and so I'm finally starting to travel out into the field more. I went to India (for work) for the first time last week, and stupidly deleted all of my photos. So the only proof I have is this photo of me at the Taj Mahal. The other 12 glamour shots won't go up online, but are available on request.

And most importantly, I'm counting the days until Kody moves to Uganda!

2008-02-20T22:06:00.000+03:00

Guinea fowl helping themselves to the lunch buffet at the Protea Hotel in Kampala

Deep thoughts

2008-02-15T22:06:00.000+03:00

.... on a matatu around Kampala

2008-02-04T22:37:00.001+03:00

I can't believe I'm missing the election tomorrow. I've voted in most elections since I turned 18, and have never missed a primary or presidential race. A certain Starr would say "That's what happens when you move to Africa". True, true. I'm missing out on a lot of things being these thousands of miles away.

Not that I'd decided who to vote for. Most of the news coverage has been personality and demographics over positions; not very helpful when you'd like to make a reasoned choice. The coverage of who's most electable is maddening. As was the "Hillary crying" moment. And the media dissection of Barack's blackness almost made me forget that he's mixed. Like me. I've spent so little time thinking of myself in American racial terms since moving to here that in a strange way, I'd nearly forgotten. No matter how I identify, I'm a muzungu to Ugandans.

By the time I get back, the choice of who to vote for in the presidential election will have largely been made for me. Couldn't see myself voting for McCain, could I? I tried sending in the absentee ballot application, but with the postal service taking 3-4 weeks to deliver to Uganda, I thought the chances of me receiving it in time were pretty slim. Too bad you can't do an electronic ballot. Or just vote at the American Embassy, like all the other expats here do.

2008-01-24T18:47:00.000+03:00

Happy New Year! I came back from the snow of Maine and Montreal and rain of Carcassonne to find blissful sunshine and heat in Kampala. It's nice to be back in the land of no coats and sandals year-round.

Christmas with the Starrs was great, even if I did miss my family. And even though I fell every single day. I guess that's why people wear snowboots; clogs really don't cut it. It was worth the bruises and chills to have a white Christmas, go sledding, break out a pink flamingo pinata, and spend time with Kodiak.

A few days after Christmas, we headed up to Canada for some quality time and tax (violation) evasion. I got to practice my French, we ate poutine, and rang in the New Year at a goth club. Apparently, goths hate countdowns because we went from trying to enjoy-some pretty hard and undanceable music, to wishing everyone a happy new year. I felt a little out of place in my sparkly pink top.

On my way home to Uganda, I stopped in Carcassonne, France to visit with my grandmother, aunt and cousins for a few days. By the end of the trip, I could understand (and enjoy) Chris Rock dubbed into French, but I still can hardly string a sentence together. Hopefully my Christmas present from the folks (Rosetta Stone program) will help with that...

I took too many pictures to post here in the blog, so please check out my flickr page here.

Kody's also put his photos on flickr here.

2007-12-21T03:37:00.000+03:00

I'm headed back to the US for the holidays. A little scared of the snow that awaits me at Kody's house in Solon, Maine, but looking forward to spending Christmas with the Starr clan. Back in 2008!

2007-12-14T22:30:00.000+03:00

The day after our staff gift exchange, we had a holiday party at the American Recreation Association with everyone's families, and some of our key partners.

The kids treated us to songs and dances...

Before Santa came to deliver presents

A few of my new friends

2007-12-13T21:55:00.000+03:00

I hosted a holiday gift exchange at my house for my IAVI co-workers. We did secret Santa's this year, leaving little gifts for each other around the office. After everyone guessing who had been their Santa, we revealed ourselves the final present. I hadn't managed to have a house warming party, so this ended up being my first big gathering at the house. Hopefully I'll get around to having a few more next year. It was a nice way to start the holidays, and an excuse to put up decorations that feel out of season in our 80 degree sunshine!

Examining the evidence - secret Santa or secret admirer?

Our Primary Investigator, Dr Kaleebu surprising his Santa

A group photo on the rare occasion that everyone is around

2007-12-11T20:37:00.000+03:00

Step #2 (placing a newspapers announcement) in the endless quest to replace my driving permit has taken place. I'm not sure what step #3 is, but no doubt it will involve at least three trips to some official office. I was robbed nearly six weeks ago now, and haven't managed to replace much yet.

I have to add that 6 weeks, five phone calls, and a few unhappy messages to online customer service later, I have yet to get my Commerce Bank ATM card replaced. Their "America's Most Convenient Bank" claim might be true when you're in the US, but they're pretty useless at dealing with people abroad. But who knows, maybe January's going to be my month.

2007-12-08T20:31:00.000+03:00

Well, people in Kampala are sort of worried about Ebola, but trying to keep a sense of humor about things, too. Below, Ebola shots served at a party this weekend....

2007-12-08T13:08:00.000+03:00

The Cooking Club met at Leslie for a holiday dinner and gift exchange tonight.

A very confused bat crashed the party,

and almost became Jackie's dinner

And It Don't Stop

2007-12-06T19:16:00.002+03:00

Four serious outbreaks are now going on in the country:

Ebola in the west
Meningitis in West Nile region
Bubonic plague in Nebbi
Cholera in Hoima and Buliisa
Yellow fever in the north (Kitgum), and maybe hepatitis, too

In my Kampala meetings today, the usually friendly Ugandan handshake was being replaced with either (1) knocking forearms if you're both wearing long sleeves or (2) just waving hello. I'm not a hypochondriac, but I passed on the matooke at lunch today (which usually involves some amount of hand contact in the dishing), and might just start carrying the hand sanitizer. I hope this flu-ish bug I've got doesn't turn into something that actually requires medical attention. I think hospitals are the last place that anyone wants to be right now.

"The people mainly affected are women because in that district (Nebbi), women only come up on the bed (for sex)," Dr Otaala said, at the Media Centre in Kampala.
"The flea (that causes plague) can only jump up to six inches (high) and (that means) if everybody was sleeping on a bed, there would be no plague in this country," Dr Zaramba said in a separate interview.

2007-12-04T22:50:00.000+03:00

Still more office critters. These guys keep the grass around the office short. Despite what the photo might lead you to believe, sheep really aren't very cute once they grow up.

Ebola confirmed in Uganda

2007-12-03T12:05:00.000+03:00

An outbreak of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in Bundibugyo, in the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains (western Uganda). We considered making the winding drive to Bundibugyo on my recent Fort Portal trip, just days before the news hit the papers. Luckily, we decided that we'd leave that journey for another time. The picture here is of the view towards Bundibugyo.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712030011.html

2007-12-01T22:07:00.000+03:00

This year's World AIDS Day event was held at Gaba, a landing site and fishing community near Kampala.

2007-12-01T08:44:00.000+03:00

More critters from around the office...

2007-11-29T15:45:00.000+03:00

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting was last night. And for some reason, I started crying when I saw photos on the front of the NY Times webpage. I like Christmas trees and all, but was surprised to be sitting in my office actually crying over a tree. Maybe I've been watching too much 30 Rock (how did I miss that show when I was in the US?). Maybe it's because Kody's been working on the website. Maybe I was thinking about what a crazy year it's been. Or maybe I'm feeling really homesick these days.

Can't wait for Christmas...

2007-11-27T23:58:00.000+03:00

CHOGM finally arrived. Up until the last day, the preparations were still underway. On Wednesday sidewalks were being laid, flags put up, and we got guardrails in strategic roadside locations. Thursday and Friday were declared public holidays (maybe so the motorcades wouldn't have to deal with regular Kampala traffic). So I headed out to Fort Portal with Sharon and Jonas.

I got a Thanksgiving holiday, but not the delicious dinner to go with it....over-boiled chicken, chapati and guacamole. I didn't bother opening the can of cranberry sauce I'd brought along, just in case.

Colobus monkeys sleeping off a big lunch near our bandas at Lake Nkuruba

View of Lake Nyamirima and Lake Nyinabulita (both crater lakes) from Top of the World. It was a little too cloudy to really see the Rwenzori mountains that day.

Collecting rainwater at a hillside compound

Girl bringing water back from the well

Rockin the old school boombox

Caught in a rain storm and sheltering in someone's house

And then caught in the mud

Pulled out with a little help from the village

View from our lakeside bandas at Lake Nyinabulita, home to the areas only hippo (be careful if you decide to go for a swim)

Scarecrow in the fields near the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary

Walking through the Bigodi wetlands

Stag horn ferns growing on orange-flowered trees

Cacoa tree

Olive baboons

My first documented sighting of Uganda's national bird, the crested crane

View towards Bundibugyo, in the Rwenzori Mountain foothills

Butcher shop in town on the way home

On his way to the butcher shop?

Just learned that my camera has a widescreen view. Dang!

2007-11-19T20:04:00.000+03:00

I'm finally online at home! That may not sound like a major accomplishment, but this is the end (I hope!) of a three month process to find and install a good internet connection at my house. So, I can skype - and hopefully video chat - keep the blog a little more up to date, and generally keep in touch with folks.

Now I just need to figure out how to get my bluetooth working...

2007-11-17T20:36:00.000+03:00

Kampala's getting ready for Christmas. I've started my shopping...although I've bought myself more presents than for anyone else yet. Who doesn't need a post-robbery pick-me-up, though? Christmas tunes are on the radio and singing winter wonderland just isn't the same without Rebecca and wearing a sundress. Still trying to figure out how I'll decorate the house when I host a small party for my work mates. From the selection I saw at Uchumi (the big supermarket at the big mall), I don't think I'll be getting a tree this year.

Charlie Brown trees, every last one of em.

2007-11-16T20:44:00.000+03:00

I've been watching this scaffolding go up, and wondering what monstrous billboard is going to be on the front of Garden City. I've been told that it's going to be a drive in! One of my favorite memories is of the drive in when I was a kid. We'd park backwards in our big 80s brown van, put the seats down into a bed, and eat pizza while we watched ghostbusters. Curious to see how this one - on the top of a parking garage - turns out.

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000+03:00

Saturday started out pretty good. I worked a little more on getting internet at home (maybe this week! Yippee!) and met up with some friends for lunch. I started my Christmas shopping and read a little. In the evening, I headed out to meet friends for dinner and everything went down hill.

I took the shortest route – through the industrial area – to get to the new Chinese Restaurant/Motel in Kololo. You can’t miss it – its draped with hundreds of lights. I waited for the cars to pass to make my turn on the connecting road and was thinking about whether I actually knew which street the restaurant was on. All of a sudden, my door yanked open and a man was reaching into my car. It looked like he was trying to climb IN. I screamed at him to get the f*** out and tried to push him away. I drove off, and then realized that he’d taken my purse with him. Damn. I’d thought about just putting some cash and my driving permit in the purse, but felt lazy and took the whole wallet. So in addition to losing some cash, all of my credit cards, and having to close my bank accounts, I’d lost my favorite brown wallet. I’ve carried this wallet since I was 18. I bought in Gilroy, CA at the same place I bought my cherry penny loafers for my Overtones uniform. I loved that wallet. And it had a really cute picture of me, my parents, and big sis in it, too. Mom had her afro, and Papa still had a mustache.

Jonas took me down to the police station to file a report. No computers – just a big paper register. Here’s my ‘receipt’ and complaint number. The people who stamp the reports weren’t in, so I’ll have to go back for a copy of that. A fabulous souvenir of my time in Uganda.

After the police station, we met the rest of the group at the Korean restaurant and then I went home to cancel every single account I have. L But the Korean food was pretty good.

2007-11-09T10:52:00.000+03:00

Anyone know how to fix the black screen of ipod death? I’m not ready to part with mine yet, but I don’t think it can be resuscitated.

:(

2007-11-04T09:27:00.000+03:00

I headed out of town this weekend with some friends to go to Sipi Falls, about 5 hours east of Kampala. Shamefully, Jinja (about 90 minutes from Kampala) was as far east as I’d been until this trip. We got some coffee on the way, and I was ecstatic to have my first to-go cup in months. 5 hours later we arrived in Sipi after climbing the long and winding hillside. We hadn’t booked so, had to hunt around for a place to stay. A tent is definitely on my shopping list for the next US trip.

After breakfast, we headed out for a hike to the falls. We picked up an entourage of local children along the way, and we went right to the base of one of the falls.

Cutting wood on the edge of the valley's steep hillsides

Sunday morning, we all headed over the top of the falls to watch a few of our group abseil (aka repel down the cliff side next to the falls). Maybe next time I’ll get into the harness. For now, I was perfectly content to watch the others as they went over the cliff.

Thanks for sharing your photos, Larry, Jonas and Kasper!

2007-10-31T09:20:00.000+03:00

I recently finished reading “The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity”. It was one of those books that I’d randomly picked up at the Strand Annex after work, and then let sit on the shelf for a long, long time. I didn’t bring many books when I moved here, so I figured I should bring something thought provoking that I hadn’t already read. After I made my way through Harry Potter and a few other 700+page fantasy books, it was still there waiting for me. The author spent a lot of working with charities in Somalia in the 90s. The stories he tells are terrible, and really make you want to consider whether we do any good by giving development aid. Who’s really being developed? The poorest and most vulnerable? How often is it the already-elite profiting from the influx of money and goods?

Food aid in particular received a lot of attention – and criticism – in Maren’s book. Walking around town I saw a little sliver of that aid pie going somewhere other than its intended destination. Walk into the Embassy Supermarket and you’ll see a tall pile of USAID vegetable oil cans for sale right in the entrance. As the name suggests, its right across from the US Embassy. The same thing’s happening all over town – I took this photo in a market near my house.

2007-10-27T10:06:00.000+03:00

All of my loved ones made it through the fires ok - thank goodness!

Home Fires Burning

2007-10-25T10:42:00.000+03:00

When I was in high school, a big wildfire threatened the community near my home. Our house was in no danger, but we watched the flames from the balcony at night, and the ash floated over ours streets and coated the cars. My parents had a school out in the canyon pretty close to the blaze. They opened up the school to the firefighters and gave them coffee and snacks and somewhere to sit down and take a break.
I haven't been following the news back home closely, but tuned in when I saw the California wildfire reports online. The Santiago fire is near the homes of a few of my family members - thankfully the sister who living in an apartment right near the foothills moved earlier in the year. My little sister is at San Diego State - the campus isn't under threat of fire, but the smoke situation can't be good....Hoping the Santa Anas cooperate, and that everyone stays safe.
"The fire was set near Santiago and Silverado canyons in a way to maximize its spread, authorities said, and will probably take at least two weeks to contain."