Combi Nation

The Combi is the most common form of transport in Gaborone (according to my pseudo-scientific appraisal). I think it will be the most reasonable way for me to get around. Combi's are vans that hold 14 people and are limited to 80K on the highways. The picture on top is the outside of the Combi and the picture on the bottom is the inside... don't worry, we were not upside-down. What you see there is the view you do NOT want to have from the back seat. Can you guess which passenger is me?

Today, I took my first Combi ride- home from work. Tomorrow, I will try getting there that way.

I miss you, Dina (my Honda) and Spokane Transit!

BHP

This week has been a whirlwind of getting to know people, learning how things work (or don't work) and taking in my new surroundings. The weather is absolutely beautiful. If this is the middle of winter, I dare guess what it is like in the summer.
I have spent most of my time meeting with people, transferring from place to place (I am sleeping at my 4th address in 4 nights tonight), and absorbing a lot of new information. The picture above is of me in front of BHP.

Arrival in Botswana

I have arrived in Gaborone. The 15.5 hour flight from NY to Johannesburg was actually quite nice- I had a good seatmate and got some rest.
Here are a few signs I encountered that reminded me that I was in for a long flight:
I arrived at my seat to find a handy little packet (special World Cup edition) filled with toothbrush/ paste, sleeping mask, and slippers.
Just after watching the third in-flight movie, someone behind me commented to her traveling companion that ‘we only have 7 hours to go.’ By the way, I watched Valentine’s Day, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, some Nicholas Sparks- inspired movie and part of Alice in Wonderland.
After arriving in Gabs (as in Gaborone) I went to my hotel- which turned out to be somewhat underwhelming. Exhausted and tired, I think I was dually disappointed and needy of some unavailable TLC.
This morning (Monday) I made it to the Botswana Harvard Partnership and am getting to know the staff and researchers who I will be working with. Everyone here has been very helpful.
I have a phone, but I cannot seem to make calls to the US, yet.

Bethesda

Orientation at NIH: July 7-20, 2010

We finished up our orientation and training sessions in Bethesda yesterday. Now I am in Boston attending a mini-orientation that is specific to my project in Botswana. The picture here is of Gaone (my 'twin'), Sten Vermund (the Director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health and FICRS-F Principal Investigator) and me standing in front of a fountain at the Stone House on the NIH campus. Our orientation included many engaging and distinguished speakers from the Global Health community. Sessions included presentations from many of the directors of various institutes/ centers throughout NIH, bio-statistics and grant writing lectures, research reports, and seminars on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and tropical diseases. I am humled and inspired by what I have learned so far- and I am looking forward to the road ahead. I feel especially blessed to have been able to spend the past 2 weeks with the other 2010-2011 Fogarty scholars and fellows who are now going out to locations across the globe to continue to learn, grow, and work to improve global health for the future.

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to my blog. Thank you for visiting. Many of you have asked me to 'keep in touch' and to share my experiences while I am in Botswana. Rather than clog your e-mail in boxes, I thought I would let you be in control. So, you may elect to visit this site when you want an update. Please also feel free to share/ comment/ or e-mail me directly.
.... let the adventure begin.