Galapagos Islands ’11: Trip of a Lifetime

The Galapagos trip was unbelievable. Our guide’s name was Miguel. Almost 57-years-old, this Ecuadorian from Guayaquil who now lives on San Cristobal (one of the Galapagos island) is full of vitality and unfailingly responds to questions with “Oh, well…”

Wayfarers

The trip began on Friday morning at 6:30am, when our group reported to the Quito airport. We flew from there to Guayaquil to the Galapagos, arriving around lunchtime. I met Miguel and my eight fellow passengers (the boat is designed for 16, so I struck gold with a smaller group), and we made our way to the Treasure of the Galapagos I, our yacht for the next four days. The yacht was made in 2010, so we were breaking it in. I was assigned Cabin 9, a twin bed suite with a private bathroom, hot water, and private balcony. It was my room, which meant I had two beds all to myself (a real change from the typical 8-person rooms in the hostel). The yacht was equipped with a giant sun deck, hot tub, lounge, dining room, multiple decks, and nine private cabins.

The Treasure of the Galapagos I

There were 10 staff members for 9 guests (including Miguel), which meant I had over one staff member to myself. The meals were unbelievable, and once again a startling change from the Ecuadorian food I’d been eating for over three weeks. After every activity we were fed snacks, some type of fresh juice, and water. Whenever we entered an indoor area we were required to remove our shoes. Day 1 was extremely rocky due to the rough tides, and all of us began to fear that the exorbitant price wasn’t worth it. But after heavy pill popping (Dramamine was only $1 at the local pharmacy), we were high as kites and ready for the adventure. Here’s a short list of animals we encountered throughout the trip: sea turtles, land turtles, sharks, penguins, every type of fish, eels, sea lions, seals, every type of bird (namely, the blue footed-booby), land iguanas, crabs, etc.

Carolina blue feet. represent.

After meeting everyone on board and settling into our rooms, we headed to the Charles Darwin Research Center, which is home to dozens of turtles. Miguel explained to us that the center is divided into the male habitat, female habitat, and the baby turtle habitat. The turtles were massive, and they completely ignored us. We posed inches away from them and took some pretty amazing pictures. Afterwards we walked around the island, which, to our surprise, looks like a typical island beach town. We shopped a while and then headed back to the yacht for dinner.

During the night the yacht moved from one island to the other, which meant at times I was thrashed around in my bed by the tides. Saturday morning we had an alpine start of 6am. We hiked around for a few hours and saw our first blue-footed booby bird, a staple of the Galapagos. A tiny baby sea lion greeted us ashore, where he posed for few snapshots.

What a ham

Along the hike we encountered some iguanas, birds, sea lions, etc. That afternoon we jumped in the water for our first snorkeling of the trip. The giant yachts in the bay don’t stop the underwater world from thriving. The snorkeling was unbelievable: thousands upon thousands of schools of fish, rainbow fish (remember the storybook?), and even a few sharks (cue Jaws music).

Preparing for some insane snorkeling

After a seafood dinner on Saturday night and the most delicious hot chocolate (literally a melted bar of chocolate and milk), a few of us made our way to the top deck of the yacht. Because Ecuador is on the equator, both the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross are visible simultaneously. The Milky Way is especially prominent on the equator, another added bonus. We sat in the empty hot tub searching the sky for a shooting star, and after about 30 minutes I saw one, made a wish, and called it a night. On Sunday morning we woke up at 7am for a breakfast of yogurt and granola, pineapple, watermelon, oranges, eggs, and corn on the cob. At about 8:00 we took our usual raft from the yacht to the National Park of the Galapagos, which should be renamed “Iguana Land.” A few sea lions welcomed us on land, but the iguanas immediately stole the show. Along the path marked by several stakes were dozens upon dozens of land iguanas. The cardinal rule on this island is that you move around the iguanas, not vice versa. Although a few of the creatures desperately need a dermatologist appointment, they were strikingly beautiful. Some were a vibrant, scaly yellow, all of which I named “Sunshine” (Remember the Titans, anyone?). Others were shedding emotions, deep sentiments, and lots of dead skin. Miguel guided us to the highest point of the park, which we soon discovered was the sea lion public bathroom. It literally smelled like a hot port-a-john, but that didn’t stop us from snapping some breathtaking (well, we held our breath) shots (jello).

The smell spoiled the view

We returned to the Treasure of the Galapagos around 10:30am. I spent the time uploading pictures from my iPhone to my Mac in the event that one or the other crashes. Lunch was especially exotic: octopus and shrimp tomato pasta, palm tree , and a mysterious salad. I sampled everything, but clung to the nut tray of cashews and peanuts. At 1:30pm we changed into our form-fitting wet suits to prepare for snorkeling with the sea lions. This was literally the coolest thing I have ever done. The crew and I dove into the blue-green water and immediately the sea lions joined in for playtime. I unintentionally distanced myself from the rest of the group for a few minutes, where I encountered a shark. It was about eight feet away and didn’t give a rat’s tail that I could be a week’s worth of meals. He wasn’t disturbed in the least, but I entered panic mode. I made my way quickly to the raft and climbed in. After a quick calming period I jumped back in with the others. There were about six sea lions swimming with us at the shore. Their flexibility is tantamount to an Olympic gymnast. For about thirty minutes we both got acclimated to each other. They twisted and turned their necks, inspecting the unattractive new guests wearing giant masks and funny suits. Finally after a few icebreakers we had some real fun. We reached out our hands and stroked them as they passed. When we emerged from the water, they did too, seeming eager to resume the underwater fun. Back under, the sea lions twisted and turned gracefully, always eyeing us as they moved. At one point I lifted my head out of the water and a baby sea lion met my eyes. He was resting his head on a rock, so I moved my hand closer; he let me pet his face for a few seconds before going back under. Finally the fun came to a close, and the sea lions were just as upset as we were. They swam out to wave us goodbye.

National Geographic June issue

Miguel dropped us off in a deeper area to continue snorkeling. Becky and I stayed together, a little concerned about sharks. Underwater we saw massive schools of fish. Literally there were thousands that formed a giant mass, which they do for protection. I immediately thought there is a good reason why they made this whale-like formation: sharks. Becky and I then saw a sea lion swim and jump onto the rocky shore, which confirmed my shark suspicion. I emerged from the water, and what I found was National Geographic worthy (actually, the entire 4-day trip was straight out of the magazine): blue-footed boobies, sea lions, iguanas, pelicans, and red crabs rested on the black rocks against the Carolina blue sky.

terror

“Hablas ingles? No? (sigh)…”

I’m writing this blog post while Rihanna’s pop-reggaeton greatest hits flow through my ears and prepare for me an early onset of hearing loss. To my misfortune, Rihanna isn’t nearly as popular here as I anticipated. Nonetheless, I request “What’s My Name?” at every bar I attend with the Secret Garden Hostal party bus crew. Literally, we take a party bus (a school bus by day) to “Gringo Land,” a night district in Quito.

On to the internship:

This week I was assigned the task of analyzing club foot in the area of Otavalo, most famous for its all-day, everyday market (where I’ve bought an entire alpaca outfit). Our goal here is to get an understanding of clubfoot in more rural areas, since we are planning to partner with doctors in the major cities of Quito and Guayaquil. Before I began the research, I made sure to be a proper gringo and find a gringo restaurant to frequent. A mere glance around and my eyes met heaven: Buena Vista. It’s an organic-only eatery that serves a warm brownie with real ice cream and plays Elton John’s greatest hits. It’s only flaw is the intermittent wifi, but we can’t always win.

Otavalo market from Buena Vista balcony.

First on the list of clinics and hospitals was “Hambi Wuasi,” which sounds more like a hookah bar than a medical facility. Due to the low level of activity, I met immediately with the director. There are certain days when my Spanish is rudely incoherent, and lucky me I chose my first day of real interviews! Nevertheless, I discovered some very interesting information:

• According to the director, there are and never have been any clubfoot patients that have entered his door since his tenure began
• If there were a club foot patient, he/she would be sent to El Hospital San Luis
• The clinic doesn’t have the ability to treat clubfoot; it’s focus is primary care and not much else. If someone has a significant problem, he/she will go to San Luis.
• The clinic is partially free. The Ministry of Health provides some funding. A consultation is $5. Any medicine is also $5.
• The director explained that his clinic offers modern and traditional medicine (Otavalo is a very traditional town where many Quechua people reside; here’s a helpful Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua_people)
• The director had never heard of the Ponsetti Method

Scoring a meeting with the director of San Luis hospital was almost as difficult as remembering to put your used tissues in the trash instead of the toilet here (tmi?). Her secretary required that I write a letter in Spanish explaining the need for a meeting, who I am, and available times. While you may wince at my speech, you would literally cry at my writing (a bit of a stretch; my writing isn’t half bad, although I resort to the present tense mostly). After about 30 minutes, I was told that the director is ready for me. As the director read my letter she grimaced, and I prepared for the worst. Although it wasn’t a bad interview, it wasn’t good either. She signed a bunch of papers as I asked her broken questions. But she wasn’t going to get off easy. Although it took a while, I got what I wanted: 

• There aren’t many people with foot problems at San Luis
• It’s a basic hospital with internal medicine, etc.; but no orthopedic ward
• If there are any surgeries, they are basic and on bones 
• Every service is free here, thanks to the Ministry of Health
• If a clubfoot patient walked into the hospital, he/she would be referred to Baca Ortiz

I found it disturbing that the Hambi Wuasi director said he would refer clubfoot patients to San Luis, while the San Luis director said she would refer them to Baca Ortiz Hospital (the big kahuna in Quito). This means someone with clubfoot in Otavalo will be shuffled around from one hospital to the next, finally ending up in Baca Ortiz. Ideally, parents will be taking their child with clubfoot to the nearest clinic to get treatment. The Ponsetti Method is fairly simple when the right tools are available. Because clubfoot treatment in Otavalo is essentially nonexistent, the parent must take his/her month(s)-old child to Quito, a 2.5 hour bus ride. There, the parent and child must take a metro, bus, or expensive taxi to Baca Ortiz, which is a good distance from the bus station. Upon reaching Baca Ortiz, the parent and child must wait in an endless line for potentially hours. They will probably have to spend the night in Quito with either family or at a pricey hotel near the hospital in order to make it back the next day to stand in line again. This summer miraclefeet is getting a concrete understanding of clubfoot across Ecuador. Ideally, the clubfoot patients in rural areas would receive some help in getting access to treatment. This could be through mobile care or partnerships with other international health organizations that might know of people with clubfoot.

I met a French woman named Nathalie.

Hold your tongue; we have at least a 20 year age gap. We met at Secret Garden in Quito a week ago, and on Monday she came up to Otavalo to have dinner with me at, none other than, Buena Vista. The next day we went to this Italian restaurant run by the sweetest Ecuadorian woman. I was feeling a bit groggy, so she gave me this miraculous tea. Two hours later, I was in tip-top shape. The pizza was epic:

Immersing myself in the Catholic culture (about 90-95% of Ecuador is Catholic), I slept in a convent for two nights. Actually, it’s a former convent that is now a home for children with HIV. My good friend Kelly from Carolina is leading a Nourish International Campus Y summer trip, so about five Carolina students are volunteering there for five weeks. The building is absolutely massive. I had my own bedroom and bathroom, as well as fried plantains for dessert.

Kelly and I at Otavalo market. CHECK THE ALPACA GRANDPA SWEATER

Researching various clinics and hospitals requires constant travel by bus and metro. Luckily, I hate both forms of transportation! I understand their environmental merit, but the buses in particular put me in a sour mood. While you’d think the bus’ TV would help ease the journey, the driver consistently plays the most terrible, violent movies. Massacres, blood, and gore. As I’m trying to sleep while clutching my bookbag for dear life (I’ve heard some unsettling stories about bookbags stored at one’s feet, only to be cut into by another passenger), I am reawakened every few minutes by an entire town being blown up. Hey, it’s simply part of the experience.

I can only describe it as birthday candle monster man

The vendor at the famous Otavalo market figured after buying a few scarves I'd also buy this gem. Although I haven't made the purchase yet, I'm already making a mental list of when and where to wear this. #1 on the list: Chapel Hill Halloween '11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clubfoot Symposium in Guayaquil

Like I explained briefly before, I’m in Ecuador this summer as an intern for miraclefeet. Our mission is to work with certain doctors in major cities to establish health centers for people with clubfoot.

The miraclefeet approach has three basic principles:

• miraclefeet provides performance-based grants to partner hospitals in developing countries to increase the number of children being treated.
• miraclefeet supports the full Ponseti Method treatment, including bracing, to ensure that optimal long-term outcomes (miraclefeet does not fund surgery with the exception of the tenotomy, which is a minor procedure requiring local anesthetia).
• miraclefeet seeks to influence hospital and national health policy to create sustainable programs using its results to build the case for the Ponseti Method as a solution for clubfoot.

A few days before my departure, I began to get some typical travel jitters. As a non-pre-med student, I am still slightly concerned with competence level. Won’t doctors consider me out of my league? An impostor? In order to gain a better understanding of the Ponseti Method, which is what we as miraclefeet promote in developing countries (as opposed to surgery to correct clubfoot), I attended the Club Foot Symposium in Guayaquil for two days.

The Symoposium was meant to train a few dozen doctors and orthopedic surgeons from Ecuador on the Ponseti Method. The doctors were mostly from Guayaquil and Quito. In order to be trained, the organizers brought in a few Ponseti experts: Dr. Jose Morcuende of Iowa, Dr. Erika Arana of Mexico, and Dr. Mario Sequeria of Nicaragua.

Day 1 of the conference consisted of numerous powerpoints and presentations, all in Spanish. They covered the basic concept of clubfoot, molding, casting, bracing, etc. It was necessarily redundant, because many of the doctors were entirely unaware of the Ponseti Method. Each doctor appeared to be very invested in the conference, as they took scrupulous notes, photos, and videos, and asked numerous questions for clarification.

My role in the conference was to observe each doctor’s response to the presentation, gather their information, and get a more detailed understanding of the Ponseti Method. I was very impressed with each doctor’s investment in the conference. They seemed serious and ready to learn. Of course, each doctor text messaged on his/her Blackberry during every break, but that’s becoming a global habit.

After a lunch break the experts taught the Ecuadorian doctors exactly how to mold and properly cast on model feet. Michael and Merica Steenbeck, a physical therapist and nurse from Holland, and I made ourselves useful by preparing the necessary materials for the doctors.

The doctors utilized their Blackberries and cameras by taking constant videos and pictures while the experts explained the molding and casting.

    

Day 2 of the conference focused on patient care, parent knowledge of the Ponseti Method and its procedures, and performing the casting on live patients.

           

During breaks I made sure to pull each doctor aside, introduce myself and miraclefeet, and jot down their information (name, cell, email, hospital, city). I repeated the same memorized Spanish phrases in order to get what I needed. Without fail, while introducing myself I was asked about medical school. “No, soy un estudiante de historia y negocios,” I’d respond. A look of irony and slight amusement would emerge on the doctors face. Although being pre-med or a medical student would have assisted me in establishing my presence at the conference, I won most of the doctors over with my humor and curiosity – all spoken in Spanish. I inquired about their work with pediatrics, clubfoot patients, opinions of the Ecuadorian health care system, and more. We shared jokes, some of which were doctor jokes that I didn’t quite follow.

Throughout the day incessant cries from the thirty or so babies ricocheted off the four walls. While the Ponseti Method is supposed to minimize the pain for patients, it does not eliminate it. The doctor must manipulate the leg and foot during the casting, which means there is some degree of pain.

By the end of the conference everyone was absolutely exhausted. I spoke with an energy-spent Dr. Torres, the head doctor of the major children’s hospital in Guayaquil about his response to the conference. He seemed excited to meet with me and Chesca in the near future about a potential partnership with miraclefeet. I also learned that he has a tie to the Ministry of Health, which we as miraclefeet want to utilize if possible. It’s important to make our partnerships sustainable, and having Ecuador’s Ministry of Health on our side would be ideal.

In the coming days Chesca and I will discuss how to approach partnerships in the major cities of Guayaquil and Quito. We want to target these two areas in particular because we have connections already with certain doctors, Dr. Torres among them. Although it is a daunting task, I have full faith that these partnerships will be successful. Miraclefeet has a strong understanding of how to ensure that the doctors will use the grant money to effectively treat as many clubfoot patients as possible. While Guayaquil and Quito are our main targets, our ultimate goal is to expand access to the Ponseti Method to all Ecuadorians.

La Primera Semana en Ecuador, bebé

Hola gringos,

I’m writing this blog post from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, in Iguanazú Hostal where I’ve been for the past five days. La Hostal is quite Americanized: Rolling Stone poster with The Doors on the cover, Kurt Cobain poster, a live bull dog, and American flag bed spreads. Internet here is worlds better than Uganda’s. I brought my iPhone and can check it as ravenously as we all do back home.

I call him Wilson

Here’s what has happened so far:

I arrived in Quito last Monday and stayed in Secret Garden Hostal for two nights.

View from 'La Virgin de Quito'

Notice contrasting times

The hostal offers private spanish lessons, so I spent four hours last Tuesday with Jackie, the instructor. We bought a cell phone, visited Eugenio Espejo Hospital, and had lunch together. The hospital, in particular, was very uncomfortable for Jackie. I dragged her there because I wanted to familiarize myself with Ecuadorian hospitals and visit the orthopedic ward. We spent about an hour in an elevator with sickly and diseased patients in several attempts to find the ward. Finally we made it to the ward, only to find out that the head doctor had just clocked out. Well, shoot. I decided to offer Jackie lunch as an apology for the traumatic hospital experience.

First meal: pollo, arroz, verduras nom nom nom

On Wednesday I made a spontaneous decision to move to Secret Garden’s sister hostel at Cotopaxi, a very removed area about 2.5 hours from Quito. Cotopaxi boasts one of the largest active volcanos in the world. I made the trip with two Scandinavian girls, Anne and her friend, who I call “reggae,” because her real name was literally impossible to pronounce. Joining us were two new friends from the longhorn state, Andy and his son Landon.

We were greeted at the hostal by two volunteers from California with a fairly unique and classic Californian story. The couple, by my estimates in their mid thirties, decided to leave everything and travel for more than two years BY CAR to South America. They drove throughout the US, through Mexico and down to Ecuador and plan to remain away from home indefinitely. Their car was parked at the hostal, where they volunteer without pay. I’ll leave the slightly foolish decision-making to them.

Our group hiked through the Cotopaxi forest for a few hours upon arrival. At the end of the trail was this beauty:

Banzaiiiii

We embraced each other for warmth, as water was about 40 degrees

Contrary to popular belief, Ecuador, while on the equator, is not nearly as stroke-inducing as North Carolina right now. In fact, it’s winter here! Well, the dry season, which means it still rains fairly often.

That night Anne and I talked to two new Scandinavian friends, Ollie (aspiring movie critic) and Maria, about movies for nearly three hours. Per usual, they brought up the classic American Pie. It didn’t help that while I tried to refute the characterizations of American college students in the movie I mentioned that I’m in a fraternity.

The next day we woke up desiring bruises on our inner thighs, so we went on a six hour horseback ride to one of the Cotopaxi volcanos. My horse, Achilles, had an insatiable superiority complex, refusing to let anyone else maintain the front position along the path. And he detested me. At one point he took off on a seemingly interminable sprint. In about a minute I was a mile ahead of everyone with a dust cloud separating us. After choking him and a few hundred expletives later, I managed to stop the s.o.b.

Achilles, a cute asshole.

PANTS

Clubfoot craziness

Hey Everybody,

Last summer I spent eight weeks in Uganda to the detriment of my parents. I’ve decided to expedite the graying process for them and thus travel to Ecuador for nine weeks. Surprise! I literally leave in 1 hour…here’s the plan:

Fly from RDU to Miami; 3 hour layover with some of the world’s most attractive people; say goodbye to ‘Merica and fly to Quito; arrive at 9:35pm.

There is only a one hour time difference between Ecuador and the East Coast, so please let’s Skype! There are no excuses this time.

Quito is actually the second-highest capital city in the world. This means I’m escaping the torrid heat and humidity of North Carolina summertime and basking in 60 degree humidity-free mountain air for the next two months.

Once I arrive in Quito, I’ll be met at the airport by a man holding a sign that reads “Secret Garden.” This may sound like I’m walking into a sex-trafficker’s hands, but I promise I’ve done the research and it’s the name of my legitimate hostel. I’m staying in Quito for three days, taking a language course and touring the city. My friend, Amanda, is in Quito for the summer so I’m planning on meeting up with her. Ironically, today is her birthday!

At this point you’re probably curious as to why I’m in Ecuador. Because I’m writing this blog post at the very last minute, my thoughts are as sporadic and unintelligible as my Spanish (impending doom…hence, the immediate Spanish course upon arrival). I am interning for a non-profit called “miraclefeet.” Miraclefeet seeks to deliver simple, affordable and effective treatment to children born with clubfoot in developing countries. More specifically, I am the intern for the executive director of the non-profit, Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, a Carolina grad. Her husband and three kids will be in Ecuador this summer, too. So for the time being I am her fourth child, or the fourth wheel…Anyway, our mission for the summer is to make a large-scale assessment of club foot in Ecuador. I will be visiting public hospitals, private hospitals, clinics, and more, interviewing the doctors there and trying to get an understanding of how the country responds to club foot. We will be promoting the Ponsetti method, a syndicated corrective procedure to correct clubfoot that is 97% effective. After making the assessment and gathering information and data, we will provide 2-3 doctors with $10,000 grants to establish health centers for people with club foot. So far, miraclefeet has established centers in Nicaragua, Brazil, and Mexico, with more countries coming quickly, Ecuador among them!

What is club foot and miraclefeet? Check out this link: http://www.miraclefeet.org/index.php to learn more.

Hail Ecuador (that’s for you, Dickey),

Austin

 

A full two weeks of grant writing, adventure, more Ugandan food, and muesli

Two weekends ago I embarked on a 3-day African Safari.  Zoe and I traveled to Kampala and met up with our friends who are interning in Uganda’s capital city. Luckily they allowed us to spend the night in their comparatively luxurious apartments again, enjoy their company, and use their free wireless internet. Friday morning we left Kampala at 5:15am and drove 6 hours to Murchison Falls, located in the eastern part of Uganda. Our “safari truck” was this massive van that could hold up to about 20 people, and with only 10 it made the trip very comfortable. I was initially worried that because we had so many people we would be forced to split up into two groups. There was so much room that we each had about 2-3 seats to ourselves. We spent the long drive there mostly repositioning ourselves while napping due to the thousands of potholes and lack of pavement on the roads. Many of us also attempted to read and listened to our iPods.

We arrived at Murchison Falls just in time for the safari boat cruise on the Nile. The most attractive and slender animals on the safari, hippos, covered the edge of the water and were our main source of entertainment. After the 3 hours boat cruise, we reached the actual falls, which first involved a strenuous 1-hour hike. I was horribly out of shape due to the lack of physical activity for nearly two months, so I was elated when I heard that the hike would be grueling. I positioned myself in the line of people so that I could hike as fast as possible. If any of you know me well, you know that I love to run. Although this wasn’t running, I hiked as if someone was chasing me. By the end of it my entire body was covered in sweat, but I had a grand smile on my face. Finally, physical activity. The hike ended at Murchison Falls, which are the largest and most breathtaking falls I have ever seen. After dozens of snapshots, we once again boarded our monstrous van and drove to our campsite.

The campsite site was in the savanna desolate of civilization, but teeming with live animals (they made their presence known at night with screams and hollers). There were small tents, a covered kitchen area, and, to our pleasant surprise, showers. There was just one other tourist group there which provided us with some privacy. Needless to say, we were all exhausted from the day’s adventures so we showered, ate a hearty Ugandan-style dinner, and went to bed in our tents. The tents luckily had mattresses and blankets provided.

The next morning we arose at 5am and ate a quick breakfast (I had a bowl of dry cereal…I don’t necessarily trust the dairy products here) before once again boarding our safari van. This van always remained with us. For about four hours we went on a game reserve viewing in the safari van which was incredible. We saw lions, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, elephants, baboons, etc. What I found most exciting was that it was so much different than the zoo. Seeing these animals in their natural habitats was much more real and authentic. My favorite animal sighting was easily the lion. Another safari van directed us off-road and within a matter of minutes I was staring at a beautiful lion approximately 15-20 feet from our van. Surprisingly, the lion was not in any way provoked or disturbed by our close proximity. In fact, he posed for us (pictures on Facebook).

Afterward we had a leisurely lunch back at the campsite. We then drove another two hours to begin chimpanzee trekking. Chimp trekking was definitely an adventure because it literally involved chasing chimps throughout the forest to get a prime view. It was difficult because it began thundering and lightly raining, so we only saw 3-4 in the trees eating. About half of the hike was spent off-trail, which meant climbing and crawling through the thick forest. Somehow I managed to leave the trek unscathed, as no bugs found me too attractive to bite.

We then moved to our new campsite which was beside the rhino trekking, our Sunday morning activity. Our campsite was similar to the last, meaning a piece of land with tents. However, the showers actually had hot water at which we marveled. We stopped marveling when we found a snake in the shower.

Rhino trekking was a short adventure similar to chimp trekking. We basically stalked a rhino called “Little Obama” and his mother for about an hour with a hired guide. The origin of its name is more creative than I expected. It’s not because of Uganda’s fiery passion for all things Obama. Actually Little Obama’s mom is from the US and his dad is from Kenya. Rhino trekking was another exciting and authentic experience. We were within approximately 30 feet of the rhino so we had to remain very quiet the entire time. At one point I was exhausted from the silence and overwhelmed by the beauty of the rhino and his mother and exclaimed, “Change We Can Believe In, right here!!” Of course, this startled the rhinos to the point of no return and trekking ended with the 10 of us sprinting to the safari van, the disturbed rhinos charging behind us.

Afterward we hit the campsite again for lunch and then drove back to Kampala, about a 3-hour drive. Zoe and I voted to stay in Kampala for one more night because our rear ends were awfully sore from so much uncomfortable sitting (the roads here are atrocious; however, many of them are being “refurbished’ due to the imminent elections). We ordered four large pizzas from a nearby “Italian” pizza restaurant and watched Ghost before retiring for the night.

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My internship has continued to prosper. Like I said before, I was moved to another SACCO, a disabilities Savings and Credit Cooperative. The purpose of the SACCO is to provide PWDs (people with disabilities) with financial services. I am nearly finished with writing the grant for the SACCO, which is my main task until I leave. The grant, provided by the Disability Rights Fund (DRF), would enable the SACCO to better advocate for the inclusion of PWDs in financial services based on a specific section of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. This grant is extremely long and requires a very detailed budget for the grant, the organization’s overall budget for the fiscal year, a work plan, etc.

A student from the University of San Francisco is interning with the organization that houses my SACCO, Integrated Disability Women’s Association (IDIWA).  But before I go further, I want to explain IDIWA. Last year IDIWA applied for the DRF grant and received $30,000, which could buy you anything and everything in Uganda. The executive secretary of IDIWA, Elizabeth (she is basically the manager of the organization), spearheads these initiatives to apply for grant money. She is extremely impressive and brilliant, and she is the perfect exception to Ugandans because she has an indefatigable work ethic. I desperately want her to run for President and change the state of this country, but I think Museveni would be too much of a fight. IDIWA has monthly discussions on various topics, and each monthly session is led by a different staff member. The topic for this year is HIV/AIDS, and the intern from San Francisco, Bethany, was assigned the task of leading a discussion about the stigma and discrimination that people face with HIV/AIDS. On Tuesday Bethany asked if I could assist her in researching and presenting, and I gladly obliged. All day Wednesday we researched the assigned topic and found very interesting results. We made a PowerPoint that we could loosely follow during the discussion. Did you know that someone (a foreigner) who is HIV-positive could not legally enter the US until January 2010? In late 2009 Obama declared that people with HIV/AIDS should be allowed to enter the US. However, Desmond Tutu wrote an article recently in the New York Times criticizing Obama’s support of HIV/AIDS research in Africa. He stated that Bush’s AIDS policy was much more benevolent than Obama’s is currently. The former president created a program (I can’t remember the acronym) that gave billions of dollars to AIDS research in Africa. During the campaign, Obama promised that we would continue funding the program, $1 billion each year. However, the funding has been reduced to $336 million. Although it is a sharp decrease in funds, clearly America is not in a state to give billions of dollars to this program. Perhaps once America exits this economic meltdown it will increase AIDS research.

The presentation was held Thursday morning and it went phenomenally well. Bethany and I divided the 10 staff members into three groups and assigned each group three different questions. The groups answered them and presented. I was overwhelmed by how knowledgeable the staff is of HIV/AIDS. In fact, nearly every question we asked was answered correctly by the staff (we had researched the answers). Bethany and I took advantage of the discussion to inquire about HIV/AIDS in Uganda. The staff told us that AIDS is a subject that is never ignored here. Many newspapers contain a column about AIDS, there are radio shows about AIDS, and the government has political campaigns about AIDS, all in an attempt to educate the general populace about the deadly disease. The biggest difference between AIDS in American versus Uganda is how it is spread. In America, sexual intercourse between two men is the biggest culprit, while in Uganda it is heterosexually spread. Our presentation was intended to last 30 minutes, but after nearly two hours we finished. I walked away in a state of pure elation. These discussions are the perfect way to build relationships among the employees because it creates a positive learning environment that extends beyond everyday work. People can actively share their thoughts and discuss issues facing Uganda in a healthy matter. Wherever I end up working, I hope that my office does something similar to IDIWA.

This weekend Zoe and I traveled to Jinja to my favorite spot in all of Uganda: Backpackers. It’s a hostel that we regularly frequent (this was our third weekend there). My plan for the weekend was to do absolutely nothing, and that is indeed what I did. Relaxation. Backpackers has free wireless internet, a delicious Westernized menu, a bar, and great company. I spent most of the weekend eating. Although it takes sometimes over an hour for your food to be served at Backpackers, I found something on the menu that takes less than 5 minutes and is mouth-wateringly delicious: muesli, yoghurt, and bananas. Muesli is basically granola, one of my favorite foods. It is the perfect reminder of home. I literally had five bowls over the course of the weekend. Because dorms are only $7 a night and the internet is free, I splurge on food (mostly veggie burgers with French fries and muesli/banana/yoghurt). Needless to say, most of my weekend was spent in a food coma. Zoe and I also reunited with our friends from the UK! They are a great group of people around our age who are here for another two weeks constructing a school. On Saturday I bought the remainder of my souvenirs and ate another veggie burger. Saturday night was an absolute blast. Patrick Ryan, who I have mentioned before (another scholar who is doing a microfinance internship in Uganda) came to Backpackers and we hung out. Also, Jackie, a new medical ELI intern living in Iganga came to Backpackers for the weekend with us. Laura, one of the Brits, had a birthday, so we all went out to Sombreros, a notorious club in Jinja (my second visit). We danced the night away until 3am. It was spectacular (I love dancing).

On Sunday I spontaneously bungee jumped into the Nile. I was contemplating doing it, but the steep price of $80 for less than two minutes of the biggest adrenaline rush of my life was not too convincing. However, a lot of my friends here have done it and words couldn’t describe the fun they experienced, so I decided to go for it. Jackie and Zoe served as my biggest fans and camerawomen for the big drop. Luckily about seven Invisible Children teachers had the same idea and bungee jumped with me.  We signed the waiver, were weighed, and climbed up 150 feet and reached the top. The “Bungee Master” (yes, I’m not kidding) led the jump. Each of us jumped individually, and because I was not an Invisible Children intern I went first. The Bungee Master literally ties rope around both your feet (which is attached to a long rope; yeah, that’s it) and instructs you to inch your way along a plank that juts out two feet. As I inched my way forward I made the fatal mistake of looking down, which instantly took away my breath and confidence. My landing spot is awfully close to these monstrous cliffs, and my first thought was that I would jump and immediately hit the cliff instead of the water.”Bungee Master,” I said, “has anyone ever hit those cliffs before?!” “No, mate,” he said in his Australian accent, “Just dive.” Suddenly everyone began counting, “3…2……..1!!” At that point my body refused to send me forward. I stood there for about 30 second in utter terror. I was slightly embarrassed because I was chickening out at literally the last minute. Finally, I asked the Bungee Master, “Are you allowed to push me?” “Sure,” he said. And suddenly I was headed straight down at a tremendous speed toward the the Nile. He shoved me off as soon as I asked, probably because I was being a baby and taking too much time to jump. The entire jump was a complete blur. I spun and spun, bungeed and bungeed, and screamed and screamed. The expletives that came out of my mouth were thankfully muted by people’s cheers. Because I went feet first instead of the classic, graceful dive, I experienced a harsh whiplash that looks more painful on video than it was in reality (it didn’t hurt). As I hung upside down by my feet in the air, I was screaming with utter delight. I did it! It was insane!! Two employees pulled me down into their raft, unleashed my feet, and told me to climb back up where my friends were sitting (at the outdoor bar/restaurant with a perfect view of the jump). The adrenaline rush I experienced was absolutely indescribably. I felt light headed and suddenly was starving. When I got back to Zoe and Jackie, we immediately ordered pizzas. I watched the video on my camera that Zoe filmed. She yells, “Move your ASS!” after I failed to jump twice. I’ll upload it to Facebook when I return because this masterpiece needs to be made public. It’s a complete embarrassment, but very entertaining. While waiting for our pizzas, we watched as every single jumper after me performed a flawless, graceful dive. Although I was unarguably the sloppiest jumper, I provided the most laughs and I am proud of that.

This week marks my last full week of work at the SACCO and in Uganda. My task for the week is to complete the grant and submit it online. This weekend Zoe and I are planning to spend most of our time with our host family here in Iganga, while making a short day-trip back to Backpackers in Jinja (Uganda’s second largest city). Next week I have work on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday Zoe and I are taking a private car to Entebbe Airport. ELI pays for our trip from Entebbe Airport to Iganga, but not a roundtrip. A private car costs a whopping $100 for one person, and because Zoe and I are leaving about day apart we decided to save $50 by taking the same car together. My flight is late Thursday, so I’ll be staying in Entebbe Backpackers Hostel Wednesday night and moving to the airport Thursday. This trip has happened in one big flash. It’s already been almost seven weeks and oftentimes I feel like I just arrived. But I’m uber excited to return home to be with my family and friends again before going back to Chapel Hill to begin the fall semester.

Quite a scare, but thankfully we’re all safe

Last weekend Zoe and I traveled about 40 minutes via matatu (bus taxi) to the wonderful city of Jinja, or more properly named, Mzungu heaven. This was our second mini-vacation to Jinja. Four weeks ago we adventured down the Nile in a raft with the other ELI interns in Iganga. This time I was determined to not suffer from soapy eyes or agonizing abdominal pains.

We stayed in the notorious Backpackers Hostel for three nights and were assigned to a large dorm room housed by six Brits. As it turns out, the Brits were staying in this same room for six weeks, a very long time to stay in a hostel, even a good one. Fortune brought us these Brits, because they really made the weekend. They are here building a primary school and are some of the most welcoming people I have ever met (after careful persuasion, we got the room for all three nights after being informed that we would have to stay in tents 2/3 nights).

Our trip to Jinja was centered on horseback riding along the night, but more importantly downloading the final episode of Season 1 of Glee that ended up taking 40 hours. Unfortunately, only one of the two goals was actually accomplished, but I am happy to say it was the latter. On Friday night I sat down in the lounge of Backpackers and looked up to find a girl from my Spanish class at Carolina named Vanessa sitting across from me!!! I was totally flabbergasted!! I learned after a long conversation that she and seven other Carolina students are in Uganda with the Campus Y teaching at an orphanage in Busia, a town about one hour from Iganga. Seeing other Carolina students spontaneously really made my night and weekend. I am discovering a new passion of mine after being in Uganda for now almost five weeks: fellowship with mzungus in foreign countries. I absolutely love talking with non-Ugandans about the purpose of their trip and their experiences, especially Carolina students. She and I agreed that Carolina is a very internationally focused school, something for which I have a lot of pride.

We woke up Saturday morning and, to our disappoint, learned that horseback riding was booked for the rest of July. The alternative was still quite excellent. We ate brunch at Source of the Nile Café (I had a vanilla ice-cream, pineapple, yoghurt, and banana smoothie) and shopped along Main Street for the remainder of the day. I haggled for lower prices on souvenirs that cost about $2, but it’s the principle of the matter: no mzungu prices! That night we ate dinner at Backpackers. Zoe and I had delicious veggie burgers with chips (French fries) and watched Germany vs. Uruguay. Afterwards we went to Sombreros (unsure as to why it has a Mexican name), an infamous Ugandan club in town. I can now attest to its infamy, considering the place was swimming with hungry prostitutes. But it was nonetheless a great time because it was crawling with fellow mzungus from Backpackers. Actually the majority of the music played was American, including a Justin Beiber song. And I again ran into the Campus Y Carolina students, this time at the club!

Sunday the Brits, Zoe, and I traveled via boda to the Nile to see Bujagali Falls, a huge rapid that we rafted earlier in our trip. I took loads of pictures because no cameras were taken while rafting. That afternoon I ironically ran into Patrick Ryan, a fellow scholar and friend from Carolina. He is interning with Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) in a small town outside of Jinja and was here for the weekend too. I ended up taking a boda with him and Letty (a student from Northwestern who is also an FSD intern) to the bungee jumping area at the Nile to watch some of Letty’s friend take the leap of faith. Northwestern has 26 FSD interns in Uganda this summer, an astounding number. And it turns out four of them are in Iganga! Bungee jumping, from an onlooker’s standpoint, looked ridiculous. I’ve got to do it while I’m here! The cost is absurd, $80, but when it is into the Nile I think it’s worth it. It was really nice to catch up with Patrick and to meet the Northwestern FSD interns. That night we, all the Brits and FSD interns, went to 2 Friends and ate great pizza while watching the final game of the World Cup. There were probably over 200 people watching the game on the big screen, most of them mzungus. I decided to pull for Spain because they had never made it to the final match before (yeah, I was shocked when I heard that too). And they won!

Monday morning I woke up and an FSD intern told me something that knotted my stomach and took me aback: “Kampala was bombed last night during the game!” Someone’s parents had called one of the FSD interns around 2am last night informing her of the situation. My first thought was the safety of the Yale interns that Zoe and I stayed with the weekend before. I immediately told everyone in my room what happened, and we all rushed outside to the lounge where everyone else had gathered. Why did this happen? Who? Where in Kampala? Is there anyone dead? Am I going to have to go home and cut my trip short three weeks? I learned that the attack was by Somalians. They bombed two places, one of which was an Ethiopian restaurant. This particular news completely threw me for a loop because Zoe and I and our new friends from Yale were at that same Ethiopian restaurant one week earlier watching the World Cup. Zoe’s jaw dropped when I informed her about the bombing at the restaurant. Had the Somalians decided to instigate the attack one week earlier, Zoe and I would have likely been dead. Patrick and I were guessing whether the Foundation would have us come home or not, and both of us were in agreement that we’d most likely be home by the end of the week. I didn’t have enough MTN (air time) on my phone to immediately call my parents and tell them I was safe. Zoe and I acted according to plan and headed back to Iganga in a matatu. I have honestly never felt like this in my entire life: paranoia, pure fear, uncertainty. Zoe said she had a similar feeling after 9/11. For me, this was different. I was away from the safety and comfort of family and in Africa where Al Qaida was now only about one hour or less away from me. When we arrived home, we told our host family about the attacks. We called Michael, our in-country ELI supervisor, and asked what we should do. He told us that everything would be fine and that we should report to work. Let me tell you, one of the hardest things I have ever done was go to my SACCO and pretend like everything was fine and not having called my parents to tell them I was alive. At 5:30am US Eastern time, I called my parents and finally told them I was fine. My mom had seen the news on WRAL the night before and knew about it hours before me. My dad had emailed me to ask if I was okay. I unfortunately woke up to no internet throughout all of East Africa, so I had no way of contacting anyone via email or Facebook or anything. Technological isolation. Evidently Museveni, president of Uganda, made the executive decision to pull the plug on all internet because Somalians were purportedly using it to communicate amongst each other throughout East Africa. I called the Foundation around 5pm Monday afternoon and talked to Karen, one of the advisors. She was relieved to hear my voice, as I was the last Scholar to call (oops). I asked her if we would be going home by the end of the week, and to my surprise she said we all can stay (there are about eight other scholars in Uganda). She said normally these are isolated attacks, so the likelihood of something else occurring is very slim. I’m glad I’m staying for these last three weeks because my work is really prospering at my SACCO and at the primary school.

By the way, I am working at another SACCO now. The Abalamagi SACCO at which I worked for the past five weeks is undergoing some changes (retraining and staff changes) so I am taking a break from it for the time being. Michael, my supervisor, found a nearby SACCO called Iganga Disabled People’s Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. The SACCO was registered in 2003, but was recently officially opened in August 2009. It has two unpaid staff members, one cashier and a manager, and is run by a Board of Directors containing five people. The Board has three committees: executive, loans, and supervisor. The vision of the SACCO is to have financial services enjoyed by persons with disabilities for sustainable improvement in their social and economic situations. Its mission is to support productive poor people with disabilities to engage in income generating activities. In less than one year, the SACCO has acquired 55 members, all of whom are disabled, and is continuing to grow at a fast pace. Right now I am helping the SACCO write two grants, each for $10,000, from the Disability Rights Fund (DRF). The grant is an exorbitant amount of money for Ugandan standards, so it will really go a long way. Integrated Disabled Women Activities (IDIWA) houses the SACCO in their facilities and helps to mobilize the community members for the SACCO to then lead the sensitization process. IDIWA received a $30,000 grant from DRF last year and used it to redesign the entire compound: new facilities, new DELL computers, new equipment, etc. The place looks fantastic now. The executive secretary of IDIWA has instructed the SACCO and another smaller organization (branch off of IDIWA that is also housed in its facilities) to apply for the grant this year. Therefore, I am writing one grant and helping write the other one. Every day I work with the cashier, who is disabled with a deformed leg, asking her questions about the SACCO and how it will use the grant money. The grant writing is actually very long, and it includes a budget (which the SACCO doesn’t have yet) and a huge timeline of how the money will be spent. It is due August 19, so we have adequate time to make it perfect. Here is an excerpt of the grant that I wrote yesterday at work:

1. Proposal Summary

Iganga Disabled People’s Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (IDP SACCO) has designed a one year project to increase advocacy for the inclusion of disabled people in the programs of microfinance institutions in the Iganga District. The primary reason for applying for this grant is to support the disabled members of the community. In Iganga, and many other districts in Uganda, PWDs are the poorest of the poor. They struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. Microfinance in Uganda is heavily promoted and is considered the best way to alleviate poverty, and it has been heavily infused in the Iganga District. There are multiple microfinance institutions, banks, etc. that offer financial services to people. However, PWDs are constantly excluded from these services. This discriminatory activity needs to end. Financial institutions continually charge PWDs the highest interest rates for loans. They consider PWDs to be lack financial aptitude and ability. PWDs are repeatedly turned away from opening any account in most banks. Larger financial organizations with the ability to end this discrimination have so far failed to do so. PWDs should qualify for any and all financial services available to community members. This SACCO opened to serve as the foundation for financial equality for PWDs in the Iganga District. However, lack of adequate funds has reduced the SACCO’s ability to realize its full potential. Therefore, the SACCO is applying for this grant in order to have the financial means to be the strongest advocate for PWDs and their right to financial services. The SACCO is applying under the Rights Advocacy and Monitoring Through Addressing Implementation of CRPD Articles, specifically Article 28 Section C of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons.

As you can see above, I am learning a lot about PWDs in Iganga. Before coming to this SACCO, I was completely unaware of the discrimination that PWDs suffer, especially financially. I have seen many people in wheelchairs while here, so there is clearly a market for IDIWA and this SACCO. I asked IDIWA how many winners there were last year from Uganda and she said there were about 10, so hopefully we can win! Honestly, I think our SACCO is the perfect match for this grant. Results will be announced in December.

The primary school at which I work has exams all week, so I was only able to teach once this week. Last Friday a fight broke out in my class between two of the older boys in my class. I was sitting with a few students reviewing their work and looked up to find a kid literally karate kicking the other kid in the face! It was insanity. Other students quickly jumped in to break it up, and some teachers appeared outside to see what the problem was. Evidently the fight was over a girl, go figure. The two students were sent outside and caned. I left because it was 9:30am, which is when I leave to go back home and grab my lunch and head to the SACCO.

The kids in my host family told me they think the entire P6 class (all 160 of my students) will perform better on the English exam this week than in the past because of my teaching. As a new teacher, I would say that is the ultimate compliment.

Oh, and the finale of Glee Season 1 was GREAT! I haven’t seen hardly any of the episodes from the season, but Zoe did an adequate job of filling me in on the details of Sue Sylvester, Will (teacher who directs Glee Club), and the rest of the drama surrounding these bubbly high school singing all-stars.

Pictures!

The falls were amazing.

A cave behind the water at Sipi Falls.

Last weekend Zoe and I connected with some of her Yale friends who are interning at various organizations in Kampala. It was an epic weekend of relaxation, great eating at a British chain restaurant called 'Cafe Javas' (now my new favorite restaurant on the planet, considering I can avoid rice and beans there), and a trip to the Entebbe Wildlife Refuge Center. We saw everything, from chimps to giraffes.

Every day a man on a bicycle "moves" by our house. His arrival is always introduced by the "Alice in Wonderland" tune, which he blasts from his bicycle. At this point in the trip, I was ravenous for any form of ice cream. I paid the $.10 for a cone, but dropped it. Second-go-round, I paid another $.10 and took a giant bite to ensure that the wet mess wouldn't fall again. Flavor: bubble gum. Consistency: sno-cone-esque.

Zoe and me with Joet, Kaka, and another of the 9 kids in my host family. You'd never guess how serious these guys usually are - they go buck wild when a camera is pulled out.

Zoe and I were preparing to leave for Kampala. Sitting on the front porch, I looked up and saw out of the corner of my eye a Carolina logo. "What?!" I exclaimed at the top of lungs. "Come over here!! Quick!!" I immediately stripped off my shirt, threw on my Carolina t-shirt, and grabbed my camera, ready for the ultimate snapshot. Heel yeah!!!!

Biti (my host mom) looking beautiful as always. We often sit on the back porch, a giant slab of concrete designed as steps, at nights and have tea, listen to music on my computer, play games, and do homework. There are nine children in my host family, so needless to say it's always a party. The kids normally cook while Biti supervises and butts in whenever necessary. She voluntarily took in her nieces and nephews and is paying for their private school education (the public alternative is an atrocity).

Credit to Jackclyn for helping me load these images. A little out of order, but here is finally a visual accompaniment for my past descriptions!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Edit: I was in Jinja this weekend, not a part of the Kampala bombing. Prayers be with the families of those who were affected by that incident.

Staying positive

I know the last post is distressing, but I am really enjoying the challenge. I came not to simply learn accounting and help a SACCO, but to do even more. I’m honestly thrilled that I have the opportunity to assist in this capacity in the reformation of this SACCO. It’s teaching me so much, words cannot describe.

Right now I’m sitting in front of a large fan in a cushioned chair, using wireless internet, watching Brazil lose on a static-free TV, still absorbing the thrill of the 15-minute long shower I just took, and about to go eat an American dinner with some of Zoe’s friends. This is the ultimate vacation.