A Christmas Surprise

I left the field a few weeks early, due to holidays and my position closing, and flew home to San Francisco.  The journey was long (flights through Nairobi, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York, with debriefings in Paris and New York), but smooth.

The whole thing was a big secret, though.  I was surprising my parents, with the help of my brother.  We gave them a wrapped box as a present.  We had dropped several hints about puppies in the previous few weeks, complete with a training manual on how to house-train your pet in 7 days.

Their reaction was calm and elated.  No heart attacks, no drama, just a good laugh and appreciation.

It was my first time celebrating the holidays with my parents in 4 years.

World AIDS Day

Our district celebrated World AIDS Day on Saturday. We were an integral supporter with fuel donations for transport, tents, tables, chairs, T shirts, shade canopies and nearly 100 staff attendees who all received their own T shirts and a soda.

It was a logistical nightmare. But all problems got fixed and the larger puzzle that was this event was solved. People laughed, enjoyed themselves, got tested and learned about HIV.

Well done logs.

The Glamorous Life of a Base Log: Finding Serial Numbers

In the course of doing my full inventory of all electronic equipment on the base, I need to record all items' serial numbers. Serial numbers are usually in the least convenient place to read them. In the lab, instead of removing or turning all the sensitive lab equipment (some of which were running tests), I used my trusty smart phone as a periscope/mirror to find those hard-to-reach serial numbers.

Back in Malawi

Fire in the sky. I'm settling back in after summiting Kilimanjaro.

And like that, the clouds were gone

After a day of torrential downpour yesterday (oh, that's why they call it the rainy season), I woke to partially cloudy skies. An hour later, the clouds are gone, just leaving some high cirrus clouds to remind me of the season.

It's a good day to start climbing Kilimanjaro.

International Airports

Since it seems like many countries have only one airport, or several airports that only operate every few days, just about every airport is International. It lends prestige and procedure to what would at best be a small regional airport in the United States.

The security check was a disinterested semi-search through my jam-packed backpack after a brief puzzlement over how to open it (solved when she ordered me, "open."), followed by a casual pat-down that didn't touch anything other than my sense of personal space.

And done, I'm at my gate.

Kilimanjaro

I have to take a holiday at some point during my mission. I'm in Africa. Kili is on my life list.

Those three facts combined to lead me here, about to depart on a flight to Addis Ababa then onward to Kilimanjaro International Airport. I'm climbing the seven-day Lemosho route. It's the rainy season, so I'll probably be going alone, but I chose the "lite" series, so I'll only have 3 staff with me. Three staff to support one single person... This will be very different from my lone forays into the wilderness, completely independent and self-sufficient.

But it's ok, I'm not looking at this like a backpacking trip. I'm looking at this like a vacation.

A tough vacation to the top of a continent, but a vacation.

Bring it.