tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87502252011-04-21T20:22:36.212-07:00On the brink, on the rise. You'll know the truth when you see it with your eyes.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1131194668631692122005-11-05T07:19:00.000-08:002005-11-05T04:46:56.596-08:00

And wham. Just like a time warp, a black hole, space travel to the other side, I'm back in New York. Instead of morning Muslim prayers, car alarms wake me. Not only the people, but the ads, the characters on TV, and indeed, the whole power structure is resurrected for muzungos, like myself. On the whole, everything seems really shiny to me, very clean, and very fabricated. Still, it's great to be

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1131000237083920412005-11-02T22:18:00.000-08:002005-11-02T22:43:57.113-08:00

It's a different type of morning reville at Temeke Hospital. More than a 100 patients line up on the wooden benches outside the TB clinic. One by one, they walk to the front, place their green patient card under a stone in the order in which they arrived, and walk back to their seats to wait until their name is called.Temeke Hospital is a district hospital located 10 km from the national hospital

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130865596111518672005-11-01T09:06:00.000-08:002005-11-02T01:08:38.090-08:00

OK, JUST because there was nothing on except the latest Bollywood flick, I watched Bush's speech on avian flu. I am so boiling, I don't even know what to do with myself.7.1 BILLION DOLLARS! FOR PREVENTION OF A POSSIBLE PANDEMIC OF AVIAN FLU? How about some real money toward the actual pandemics that are now ranging throughout the world? Compare this money to the $15 billion Bush put toward AIDS

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130757482793160832005-10-31T02:58:00.000-08:002005-10-31T03:25:26.763-08:00

Just came back from Muhimbili Hospital, where I visited the newly created outpatient clinic and refurbished lab, compliments of the Abbott Fund. Very much needed, as before there was no clinic (five or ten doctors just gathered in a room and shepherded patients in like cattle) and the lab can now get test results back in 4 days, rather than 3 months.Now, when Abbott decided it wanted to be

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130689669058300522005-10-30T08:18:00.000-08:002005-10-30T08:27:49.060-08:00

Rolled back into Dar today, into a deeply Muslim neighborhood. I think the end of Ramadan is drawing near, and so many women are covered from head to toe. Some just wrap themselves with kangas, while others wear black and cover their face. In Zanzibar, where they had the elections today (which will hopefully quell the fighting there), the population of Muslims is so large that it's illegal during

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130689089879731482005-10-30T08:08:00.000-08:002005-10-30T08:34:03.573-08:00

The diagnostics to test for TB are so ancient, it seems that giant African TB-smelling rats can do a better job than the tools available today.Research from Tanzanian's Apopo Centre, a research program at the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, shows that a certain kind of rat taken from the bush can be trained to detect TB in patients' sputum. Perhaps more importantly, these rats can

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130609129813165602005-10-29T09:00:00.000-07:002005-10-30T08:35:19.296-08:00

There's a metric out there somewhere that 40 percent of Tanzania's economy stems from foreign aid. That's great that the world is just rushing to their help. But more and more, I see that the stipulations attached to those contracts are preventing them from doing the most good.Case in point. The Chinese government gave lots of money to build a railroad. But Tanzania had to hire a Chinese company,

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130570222050618002005-10-29T00:05:00.000-07:002005-10-29T00:17:02.060-07:00

There's nothing like a jaunt around Tanzania to remind me how far we've come in the US in women's rights. I mean, I complain all the time that Pharm Exec doesn't feature as many females as it should, but compare that against "hunting" a bride and locking her into the house for two days while you summon your cows for her family, and it really puts it into perspective. Oh, the Chagga tribe--those

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130133884967675282005-10-23T22:53:00.000-07:002005-10-23T23:12:27.356-07:00

Let me tell you a little bit about the the Maasi tribe.They live in the Northern and Eastern part of Tanzania, as well as some parts of Kenya. Although they are transient, most stayed in the wild open plains where their goats and cattle had plenty to graze upon.Back in 1996, the government uprooted them from the Serengeti, and displaced them further east. Since then, some have drifted further

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1130055997752944522005-10-23T01:10:00.000-07:002005-10-23T01:26:37.793-07:00

Some advice for my fellow African tourists. Please take the following advice into consideration when taking the bus.1.) Choose your seat wisely.Now, this may not really be a choice, since you are assigned a seat when you purchase a ticket. If you are lucky, you will get the window seat (as I did). This way, you can regulate the window and choose between how much smell you can stand, and how much

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129817301977865732005-10-20T06:58:00.000-07:002005-10-20T07:08:21.983-07:00

Strange to think that a leprosy hospital can be a beautiful place. But it really was. Run by a Swiss nun that's been there for 50 years, the place provides free care to lepers. It's clean. These people get care. And rather than the numbers of HIV patients which are endlessly growing, the number of leprosy patients are decreasing. WHO even put an elimination goal in its white paper. (Strange

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129743476825729832005-10-19T10:28:00.000-07:002005-10-19T10:44:18.236-07:00

It feels like it's been another lifetime...even since I left Bagamoyo yesterday. Ifakara is a strange and wonderful place. And dusty. Very, very, dusty. It might only be considered a town because there are a set of train tracks running through it. Have yet to see a train, but there are def. tracks.Basically, I'm staying at a place that is part hospital, part medical training center, and part

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129559221991882322005-10-17T07:24:00.000-07:002005-10-17T07:27:02.006-07:00

Muslim women covered in bright kangas color every environment in Tanzania. That was also the case this morning, during my visit to Bagamoyo District Hospital.The hospital, which serves the 82 villages in the district, runs on a budget equal to $70,000 US dollars. That pays for staff, overhead such as lighting, electricity, and services for the 150-bed hospital. To put it in context, that amount

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129450503263131972005-10-16T11:17:00.000-07:002005-10-16T01:15:04.970-07:00

I'm here. But instead of feeling like I've entered into another dimension, I feel like I'm the martian. A vanful of muzungo journalists teetering down the road to Bagamoyo seems almost like a funny sight to me.Maybe the delirium from the 10 hour flight to Dar hasn't yet worn off. And let me just take the time to say this now--it's like, Africa hot here.My initial sense is that it seems like

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129391792406388632005-10-15T04:56:00.000-07:002005-10-15T08:56:32.413-07:00

So, I've reached London safe and sound. Thanks to business class, I was able to sleep about four or so hours last night, and function well enough to negotiate the tube and hang in the city center for a few hours.It's a beautiful day today,so much nicer than the last 40 days and 40 nights of floods in New York. I had some coffee, walked around Oxford Circus, chilled in the park in front of the

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129296659631140692005-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:002005-10-14T06:30:59.653-07:00

Never realized that the song from the Lion King "Hakuna Matata" was actually a Swahili phrase that meant "No problem." I expect to become fluent shortly, but don't hold out on me: if you know some Swahili words, please share.

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1129293876326202052005-10-14T08:28:00.000-07:002005-10-14T05:44:36.386-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a year. I leave for Tanzania today. Don't really feel scared, or nervous, or anything like that at all. Mostly, I just feel tired. I've been working hard--last night until 2 am to finish up--and in between that, hosting a holy African man (more on that later), talking to people about starting a nonprofit, and, of course, maintaining my #1 girlfriend-of-rocker

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1101868985861481452004-11-30T21:49:00.000-08:002004-11-30T18:47:58.086-08:00

Up on a hilltop, near the towering and untamed Mt. Elgon, lives a community of about 500 Ugandan Jews. Last Friday, a clustering of those people stood outside the synagogue, waiting for Saturday morning service. "Shabbat Shalom," greeted one woman, who sat fanning herself under the cover of shade. Then, the seven or eight children who stood 'round her legs cautiously chorused, "Shabbat Shalom."

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1101587920658354662004-11-27T23:45:00.000-08:002004-11-27T12:51:06.000-08:00

I just peed in a place called "the pit." Hmmmm...less than savory. It's been a hectic week since I last updated. So here's the skinny: Traveled to Mbalae last Friday night. Here's one to grow on--don't ever travel at night in Uganda. The roads are terrible, there's no where to stop and get, well, anything, there's the threat of bandits, and then it starts to rain. Of course, I got stuck in a jam

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1101588278448364952004-11-27T13:41:00.000-08:002004-11-27T12:44:38.450-08:00

An interesting factoid: Ugandans are fascinated with homosexuality. They have no openly gay people here, so they just pepper me with questions. And many refer to John Kerry as the opposition that supported gay marriage. Of all the things!

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1100804471066821562004-11-18T22:39:00.000-08:002004-11-18T11:01:11.066-08:00

Last night, I totally lost it. The events of the past week, not to mention the hundreds of faces, voices, and harsh facts, caught up with me. And I cried for all the people that I feel so hopeless to help. Feeling a bit better today as I regained my focus as one who has come to report, not necessarily to do anything. Of course, I've never really believed that, but it's a helpful thought. My

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1100358801682621352004-11-13T07:08:00.000-08:002004-11-13T07:13:21.683-08:00

Fun fact: Ugandans don't do any type of hiking through the forest. Ronald asked me to explain why I wanted to go on the Mabira Forest Trail. Um, isn't it obvious? Within moments, I spotted two monkeys! And one followed us in the trees for a little while! Butterflies galore, a millipede as big as my hand, and indigenous people carrying sugarcane and long logs of wood to make a fire balanced on

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1100358028583894452004-11-13T06:42:00.000-08:002004-11-13T07:03:10.740-08:00

A world away that even I, after studying Uganda for a year, could never have imagined. After appointments on Friday, I took Ronald the tour guide up on his offer to head out of town and up toward Jinga, which is the source of the Nile. It's about a hour and a half drive away from here and all along it you can see how the Ugandan people live. Outside the city, I am quite the sight in all my

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1100182392707712552004-11-11T17:55:00.000-08:002004-11-11T06:13:12.706-08:00

I've been sweating for two days straight. Perhaps it all started when I thought I could wear my "plane gear" (fleece sweatshirt and sweatpants) on the car ride to the hotel. It began as a trickle, as I passed the landscape of Uganda, women carrying parcels on their heads, sitting side saddle on the boda bodas. It further developed when visiting the slums of Kabalagala to talk with Paddy Luzige of

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1099946788137632132004-11-08T17:23:00.000-08:002004-11-08T12:46:28.136-08:00

The car taking me to JFK should be here in a few, and then I begin my two day journey to Entebbe. And so, I stopped in at the local Queens record shop and scored a few picks from the bargain bin to keep me entertained: early Bob Marley (rasta, mon), Patsy Kline (the Standards), and the Cure (to color my layover in London). Here's better music to listen to: mark right and the young unknowns are

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1099448088527441152004-11-02T21:15:00.000-08:002004-11-02T18:14:48.526-08:00

Frantically scrambling to finish up work so I can get out of here before 10 p.m. Hey, if it weren't for last minutes, nothing would ever get done. Surprises are coming up out of the woodwork. I now plan to spend a day or two in the Rakai district in Uganda, which is ground zero for that country--the first AIDs cases were identified there. And I'm on the fence whether or not to travel out to

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1099280854268105062004-10-31T22:40:00.000-08:002004-10-31T19:51:38.386-08:00

I'm out! I moved out! It kinda went like this: Four hours of mad dashing around to finish packing up. Followed by schleping down boxes, bags, and furniture. And the very heavy, but very special, ceremic elephant/end table. And before we knew it, we had filled the van... Followed by driving and unloading lots of stuff down lots of steps in Hoboken. Followed by Round 2 of more driving and more

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1098962155764655282004-10-28T04:05:00.000-07:002004-10-28T04:15:55.763-07:00

As I danced to the song at my friend's wedding, I realized: She DOES work hard for the money. I've been doing the 8 am to 9 pm shift at work for the last few days, trying to pull the November issue together, and then coming home to pack. Plus all my anxiety and nervousness and excitedness has rolled up into a big ball of sleeplessness. But don't feel bad for me. I saw the lunar eclipse last

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1098657372456321512004-10-24T18:27:00.000-07:002004-10-24T15:36:12.456-07:00

Every sign is pointing me to go. Case in point is the fire that was in my building today. I decided to take a break from packing and get some air. When I left my apartment, it seemed a bit smokey in the hallways. I ran into a neighbor on the bottom floor, and we both agreed it seemed like something to worry about. I called 911, and seven fire trucks pulled onto my block with moments. It

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1098408641799059232004-10-21T20:30:00.000-07:002004-10-24T15:25:59.146-07:00

When is big just too damn big? Tracer Analytics had some research, which a collegue showed me today, that proved that time has already past. Certainly, mergers don't make companies more profitable, and they certainly aren't worth the cost of the meager patchings for the pipeline. So...what gives? But even more than that, bigness makes companies breed this strange faceless type of communications

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1098240743958466932004-10-19T22:23:00.000-07:002004-10-19T19:52:23.960-07:00

Right now I'm being forced to clean. Now, although this seems like a mindless chore of urban necessity, it makes me mad because I won't be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Hello? Check out how awful this is--I'm cleaning because my landlord is having an "open house" at my apartment tomorrow evening. Red wine and finger foods to make it a party? No. Insted, clean the bathtub to look like

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750225.post-1097955411437822712004-10-16T13:19:00.000-07:002004-10-16T12:43:36.486-07:00

In the next three weeks, I need to a.) pack, and move out of my apartment b.) go to Jamaica c.) attend two weddings d.) pack, and go to Uganda. Now, all these events are wonderful occasions in their own right. Taken together, I feel like I'm standing outside my body, looking on, in an enormous heap of Jewish worry. That, in turn, causes me to party like a rockstar. Which, in turn, makes the

Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11274897560638688537noreply@blogger.com1