Pictures

I have to say, thanks everyone for the posts. I enjoy them so much. We should have some pictures up now. If you click on Dustin's blog (there's a link below) there should be a stream of pictures. They are just ones that we have taken around the city.

June 10
Today we started at the Foundation. We managed to take taxis all the way there without getting lost. Everyone was impressed with us. At the foundation we met with Rev Obed to ask him some questions about the evaluation and to tell him about what we were doing. We have already run into a bit of a problem. It is difficult for anyone to judge success in this program, so we are kind going to have to figure it out along the way. In the end I suppose that will be a major contribution we will make. Defining success.
Interestingly, for all the family members, we met a doctor and her daughter from Baton Rouge. I can’t remember their names at the moment, but the daughter goes to school with Caroline. Dr. Muhumuza had invited the mom/physician to visit SAS for three weeks, and she brought her daughter with her. We happened to be at the clinic at the same time. It was very enjoyable to sit and talk with them at the Foundation.
The foundation gave us lunch, and I had that archetypal experience that you see in the movies. I had them serve my plate, and the two meat options were goat and fish. I went with the goat because I had not tried it yet. The meat part was very good, but then I ate something that I thought was a vegetable because it was bumpy. Then when I put it in my mouth it wasn’t a vegetable at all, it was an organ of some sort (I’m pretty sure it was the stomach). I had to get it down to be polite, but it was tough going. Everything else was great, but now I know I guess.
We’ve had a little difficulty with eating meat in general, so we have been eating vegetarian a lot. We certainly aren’t any worse for the wear. I think we me have some pictures coming soon. We managed to get the pictures transferred from Dustin’s camera onto a CD, so the next task is going to be uploading them to the internet.

June 11
Today I haven’t felt very good. I woke up with a head ache that was right behind my eye. I have spent most of the day sleeping and trying to get a draft of our proposal ready for Dr. Bagenda when he came by. He only stopped briefly and helped us with a couple of different things. Andrew also came by so that we could catch him up on what was going on. I think he is going to help us take some notes.

June 12
Dustin and I have traded off. Yesterday I didn’t feel good, now he doesn’t feel good. His is a stomach problem. He bought some local peanut butter and we think that might be what it was. The jar wasn’t sealed very well, and I didn’t have any of it.

So I quickly made some last minute changes on the proposal. I was frustrated and stress that we didn’t have it done sooner, but Dr. Bagenda picked me up and took me to the research center and the hospital where the IRB committee was housed. He gave me a tour of the entire complex. I meet several deans and the chair of the IRB committee. He had recently been to Memphis and thought it was wonderful, so I guess that’s good for us. In the family center Dr. Bagenda conducts his research, and they study the transmission of HIV between mother and child. In the center there is children running around everwhere, up and down the office halls. They also have a small store where the women who are participants make crafts. The money they earn, they get to keep. So the hospital is very good about supporting all of the needs of their participants. I think Dustin and I will end up buying a lot of things from that store. After six hours around the hospital we finally got the IRB turned in. It was difficult to have copies made, and to meet up with the right people (as always). He also said that monkeys hang around the area a lot, but I didn’t spot them this time.

Grace came today, which I was glad for. I made me feel better about leaving Dustin at home. She made some soup for us. She keeps complaining that we don’t eat enough. She accuses us of starving ourselves, which is clearly not the case. But she just mothers us so much, and she worries all the time. Especially when we are not feeling well, she immediately wants to take us to the clinic. It’s hard to talk her out of it, you can’t directly oppose her.

By the time I got back, Dustin was feeling fine. I think he was just tired from not having eaten and expelling all the bad stuff.