tulia, simba!: kisumu, down by the lake

we have a lot of class right now. 9-5 everyday with a little break for lunch. it's mildly miserable. but on thursday we rallied after class and went the national agricultural fair, for an hour. the president had been in town to "open the ceremonies." there were little booths, and children EVERYWHERE (in school uniforms and girl/boy scouts attire) and camels and rides. we got suckered into a dance competition (the prize, you ask? a box of grape juice) in front of a crowd of excited kenyan children. and we rode the swings--probably thrown out by the st. louis state fair in about 1949. some of the chains were held together with chicken wire and they started the machine by setting off a spark in a tub of water. i wouldn't put my 4 minutes of fun on the list of safer things i've ever done. (read: i was terrified).

the operators of the ride

the stairs up to the ride of death

yay! i love sunflowers!

walking into the grounds with the school children

a view from stage during our dance competition

friday morning we headed to kisumu to tour the CDC (Center for Disease Control). it was pretty great. the CDC is working on quite a few large projects, including a stage III trial of a malaria vaccine funded by Bill and Melinda that i just read about in the BBC. we were able to ride out to the testing sites and talk to the directors of the trials. the CDC is also in both refugee camps here--Kakuma and Dadaab--doing preventative research on disease outbreaks (primarily TB and cholera) and testing refugees before they resettle to the U.S. and become your neighbor! we toured their air-conditioned, state of the art labs where they breed mosquitoes to examine their reproductive practices and to test the strength of mosquito nets. and the day we were the there the WHO approved a rotavirus vaccine (that had been tested in Kenya) for the whole world--this is important since 527,000 children under 5 died of rotavirus in 2004 (WHO). it was an informative-networking-packed-weekend.

kayla and i on the roof of our hotel before going out

looking at malaria-positive slides

a sign in the clinic

that night we went to the deputy director's house for dinner. he lives in a compound reserved for U.S. government employees and the homes are gorgeous with well-manicured lawns. we sat in the backyard and sipped red wine, ate sunchips (food can be bought at the embassy apparently) and chocolate cake and talked about past adventures and future goals. i want this life. there is something so romantic and adventurous--yet comfortable--about sitting in africa talking with a handful of expatriates. it's as if you're part of a well-cared for club and you're choosing to live right on the fringe of it. family, you should probably get your shots now, christmas may be in africa within the next 5 years.

the next morning we got up and went on a boat ride and sat by the lake sipping cold coca-cola.