Challenges Analyzing Health Data

50 Things to do when I come home

My last blog post got me thinking of all the things I want to do when I’m back in the states. So here are the top 50 I brainstormed in no particular order.

50 things to do when I come home

1. go wine tasting
2. wear a jacket (it’s been too hot here)
3. take a bath or long shower with hot water
4. eat a cheeseburger
5. watch espn
6. bbq some meat
7. have a beer from the tap
8. play golf with my dad
9. surf the internet at faster than 14k
10. eat bacon
11. drink water from the tap
12. order something on amazon.com
13. get ready for the day without having to take malaria meds
14. spend an entire day out without sweating
15. hang out with my niece
16. see a movie at a movie theatre
17. cook ‘San Francisco pork chops’ for my family
18. have my waiter give me a recommendation on the food at a restaurant
19. go grocery shopping
20. drive
21. sleep with bedding
22. sleep without waking up to any number of bugs crawling on me
23. go outside at night
24. be anonymous
25. enjoy real customer service
26. buy something at a price that everyone pays, not just a white person
27. be able to have a conversation with a stranger
28. sleep in a bed without mosquito netting
29. sit in a meeting where I can understand what’s being talked about
30. watch HDTV
31. make a toll free phone call
32. watch a youtube video
33. eat a chocolate chip cookie
34. go to a baseball game
35. go to a dinner/house party
36. go to Costco
37. listen to pandora
38. go out to a fun/nice restaurant
39. go to a concert
40. print something on a printer
41. have a mentor/manager at work
42. get bottomless fries at Red Robin
43. rent a movie
44. get a milk shake
45. build a bonfire
46. camp
47. go to a public place without getting overwhelmed by B.O.
48. go on a weekend road trip
49. hang out with an old friend
50. Get a hair cut

A Year of Lent

Easter is now only two weeks away and over the past few years I’ve looked forward to Easter not only for the traditional Easter festivities but also because it marks the end of Lent, and more specifically, the end of a period of self denial of something I’ve chosen to live without. This year was different in that I haven’t chosen to sacrifice something specifically for Lent because I don’t have much to sacrifice that I already haven’t.

I chose to come to Tanzania for this fellowship year because I was compelled by the opportunity to get to work on tackling one of the worlds’ toughest challenges: HIV/AIDS in East Africa. However, though I’ve worked and traveled in the third world many times before, I didn’t realize how many American comforts I’d be sacrificing at the same time. Through the months of forced denial, I’ve come to affectionately call this my Year of Lent.

My first month living in the rural town of Kilwa, Tanzania was hard but I learned to deal with it. When the second month was harder than the first, I didn’t know if I was going to make it the whole year. But then something changed. I started to enjoy the simplicity of my life.

We have so many choices in the US of things to do that there’s an expectation that you do something fantastic with the time you have. At the same time, with so many choices, it’s often hard to decide what to do. Resting is not an option; "you can sleep when you die." Everyone goes to the movies. What can I do that’s particularly fun and unique?

I’m dramatizing it a bit but a pressure does exist to be interesting and do interesting things. The beauty of my life here is that I have very few options of what to do with my free time. There are virtually no choices and consequently there’s no stress to make the 'right' choice.

So my Year of Lent continues and my ‘Easter’ is four and a half months away at the beginning of August. Much as I’ve enjoyed the act of self-denial while participating in past Lents, I’ve also come to appreciate having a whole year of my life filled only by books to read, a beach to run on, and a bed to nap in.

I still find myself craving home and the things that come with it.  However, I’ll undoubtedly miss the simple life of rural Tanzania when I’m back.

Paycheck Problems

Following up on Feedback

Enough fun videos of animals. Here's another boring work video :)

I miss my family (who went back to the US after a long visit a week and a half ago) but Goodluck and I are starting to get a lot of momentum going with work so I'm excited to be back. Somehow from getting home last week till now I feel like the end of my fellowship is coming on too fast. Another great sign to me that life is good (mostly due to my work going so well).

Wildebeest Migration

This video doesn't do the migration justice but there are literally millions of animals hanging out on a huge plain. I think I have some good pictures of it that I'll post soon.

Lion, Lion Cubs

Safari Ride Narrated by Dad

Cheetah Crying for Mother

Giraffe Fight

Back from Family Safari

After going 7 months without seeing anyone from home, my family came to visit for two weeks and I had a great trip with them! I'll be putting up a series of videos this week shot during our Safari through norther Tanzania and southern Kenya. Enjoy!

Here's the first: