Pictures

So, here it goes with trying to post a link to some of our picutes. http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=151501484/a=8923758_8923758/t_=8923758

Hope this works. You may have to have a snapfish account, not really sure.
Becca

Highlights

Well, we are home and slowly adjusting to life back in the US. It's so strange to have things like internet and phones and be able to order labs at work. A post describing our entire week of vacation would be extremely long but I thought I would share some of the highlights of the week for me.

Our husbands arriving in Botswana has to be on the list. It was great to see them after 3 weeks. We all went out and climbed Kgale hill the day they arrived and it was a lot of fun showing them what we have been up to. Plus, we found yet another way to climb the hill so every trip has been different.

Our entire trip to Kwara camp in the Delta was amazing. Our guides found just about everything we wanted to see (except for the elusive leopard) even when it ment driving off road, over shrubs and trees to get there first. We saw lions eating a zebra (just a few feet from the car), a large pride of lions with 19 month old cubs, wild dogs killing an impala (gruesome as that was), cheetas, hippos, elephants and every antelope species you can imagine. the camp was beautiful (it's my kind of camping to have hardwood floors in your tent) and the food was great. Couldn't have asked for a better trip. We took a scenic flight over the delta which was great. It's fun to see the animals from the air and even saw a rhino which is apparently really rare.

Victoria Falls was beautiful, there is so much spray that it feels like it was raining. We even got to take a helicopter tour over the falls. It was short but one of my favorite things from the trip. I'm going to try to get some pictures uploaded later today, however I am not as smart as Micah and may not be able to figure it out. If not, I'll post a link to my snapfish account (assuming I can figure out how to post a link. I know it should be easy but I'll blame it on jet lag).

Made it home

We all made it home and are glad to be back. Will be talking to all of you soon. Note we are now driving on the right side of the road!

Short stopover in Germany

Last leg of our flight is on time and we are getting ready to board at 9:20am Frankfurt time with arrival in Houston still scheduled for 2:30pm Sunday afternoon!

Arrival in South Africa

We all just made it off the last prop job plane for quite a while. Think that makes 6 props total excluding the heli flight :)

So we will still be updating the blog with pictures/day-by-day blows of events, but it will have to happen from the comfort of our homes in the states, as dynamic, realtime blogging doesn't work so well when there is lack of power/internet

Leaving Botswana

So it appears Botswana doesn't want is to leave. We arrived back in town yesterday and are now in transit to the airport. The funny thing is that while it is in the 90's (deg. F) today, we got caught in a brief hail storm. Below is a picture of ice caught by one of Becca's luggage.

Still Alive

All, we have made it to the town of Kasane where we are looking at the Chobe National Park. will be trying to update the blog a big more now that we are at our second location which has power... well sometimes (we got back from our game ride this morning and the power was out, once it came back on they told me I should hurry ;)

(We will try to post some pictures later time/power/internet connection permitting)

We absolutely loved our first camp - Kwara Camp (Hi Blue - manager, General Custer - Guide/Best off road driver ever, and Justice - our expert spotter). We flew from Gabarone to a bare landing strip where "the General" was waiting to pick us up. From there we drove to our camp which had no electricity except for what could be provided by with a few solar panels (3 lights per tent only). Even with this limitation we really liked the camp and the people we met while there.

We had game drives where we would hardly ever stick to the roads and saw lions feeding on zebra, wild dogs (which I spotted the last day) attack a small antelope, etc...

I have < onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">internet time... Will post more later.

More Pictures and Plans

Well the guys (us) made it to Botswana today. Think the plans are to go hiking tonight before the sun sets... have to also find time to eat. Longer term:

1. We will start driving ourselves to Maun tomorrow (Saturday).
2. From there we will stay at a camp in the Okavango Delta (Kwara camp) for 2 days
3. Next we will fly up to the Chobe National Park where we will stay 3 days at the garden lodge
4. Take a day trip to Victoria Falls in neighboring Zimbabwe where we will need a visa to enter the country

As becca said someone posted the Africa Blog to Digg.com! Thanks to whomever that was. If you like this site please go to digg using this link and signup and digg us! so that others will have a chance of seeing this site.

So the internet in Botswana is a bit slow, but I managed to get some good photos uploaded...

South Africa Arrival

Scott and I, had a good flight from Germany just a bit bumpy other than that we met some nice Canadian & South African (working in Canada), needless to say I understand much more about African tribes and marrage culture.

We had some luggage issues which forced us to claim Scott's bag then get passports stamped both in and out, We are now enroute to our short 1 hour plane ride to Gaborone

See our beautiful ride:

Ha, thought you would fall for that... this is the real plane:

Last Day at Work

Hey everybody, it's our last day of work today. So someone posted our blog on digg.com. I've never heard of digg which according to Portia makes me out of the loop. I should be used to this by now I guess. It was posted by cottonsheep, who I also don't know. At least I don't think I know someone named cottonsheep. Maybe I do, who knows. A day of new things I guess. So if you are cottonsheep and I know you let me know who you are and if I don't know you, hello, nice to meet you.

The guys should be nearing Jo'burg now. Their flight was a little delayed but they should make it in plenty of time. We'll be picking them up from the airport. Then we start our week of vacation. We, in theory, are climbing Kgale hill this afternoon. I say in theory because let's face it, it has been really really hot the last few days and it doesn't get cooler until after the sun goes down (not the safest time to climb the side of the mountain). We may start and collapse on the side of the hill and never get up again. And I'm pretty sure that Tim or Paul (i think his name is Paul) or which ever taxi driver we use will not exert much energy to come and find us. By the way, I love the fact that I am in a country where you are walking around somewhere and a stranger comes up to you and says "do you need a ride" and you get in his car. Just like that. Oh well, it's worked so far.

Tomorrow we get up ridiculously early and drive to Maun. Which is very far away and will be a very long drive. Luckily there is a rhino sanctuary along the way and since in Kruger I only saw a rhino for .2 seconds before it turned it's butt to me and walked away, I think we should stop. We'll stay in Maun for the night then fly to Kwara camp in the delta where it is 2 days of game viewing in croc and hippo infested waters (at least that's what I keep telling Portia). Next, we head to Chobe where we will be staying at the garden lodge for 3 nights. One of those days we will head to Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Should be a good time. I don't think we will have internet access so most likely further updates will be once we get home.

More things you can't get in Botswana:
IO set ups
A maid who doesn't eat all your bread
Real Snickers (it says Snickers on the package but doesn't taste like Snickers) - Snickers is kind of a fun word.
All mexican food products - they say they are here but they are lying.

More later - Becca

9am Frankfurt Germany time

So we made it to our 12 hour stopover in Germany, we had a good day (though it was a bit wet and rainy - we layered clothes and were fine). We ventured to the city for a look around and am now back in the airport awaiting our longest leg to Johannesburg, South Africa... Both of us taking cat naps trying to get used to time shift!

Germany likes America

Sorry, this isn't of much value... But I thought it was funny. This sign was outside of one of the many museums in Frankfurt... Course it was also right near a line of trash cans.

7:10 - Over Washington DC

Not sure if this is Washington DC, but the video screen shows that we are close. Food was good (Beef) with lots of liquids. Only took one nap so far, Scott and I mostly reading books/ebooks

Last Week

Well, we are on our last week before our vacation starts. The time has flown by. I'm still on the wards and it's been interesting. The lack of resources (though I admit I am spoiled because I work at TCH) is frustrating but more so is the apathy of the staff. Here when children die it seems not to be a big deal and I just can't wrap my brain around that. I know that more often here than at home times will come when you just can't do anything but I think you should always try. There is no medical school here so I'm sure that plays a part. I have now been to 2 resucitations. One the child died in the ICU and the other I think is fine. There are no IO needles here so you try to use regular needles (guess how well that works). We ended up fluid bolusing a kid via NG because after 2.5 hours no one had managed to get a line. It actually worked quite well but not something I'm willing to do at home.

Yesterday we went on outreach which Portia has already talked about so I won't go into details. She failed to mention that as we were bumping along the Botswana country side the radio was playing such great hits at Ace of Base and We Will Rock You which our Botswana counterparts were quite excited about. It was entertaining. All were we missing was some hairspray and ripped jeans.

Since we go done early yesterday afternoon we went out to Botswana craft which is sort of a cooperative of local women who make some of the local crafts. They have some of the most interesting baskets. Unfortunately, the big ones were well out of my price range. They also have a lot of stuff made out of ostrich egg and I got a bracelet. Apparently, they use the eggs to store water then when they break make jewelry and other decorations out of it. For those of you who don't remember my last trip to Africa, never eat an ostrich egg. It deceptively looks like an egg but has a really gritty consistency and an after taste that just won't go away.

Scott and Micah should be nearing Frankfurt right now. They take the same route we did on the way here and should get here tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait to see them.
Becca

Almost off the ground

We are currently on the tarmac, should be in the air soon
-Micah/Scott (we were too shy to take pictures of ourself)

Outreach

Outreach basically consists of going to people's homes and checking up on them etc. We drove to a nearby village to test 2 children for HIV. The mother knew we were coming and "went to go get firewood"...for about 6 hours. Just trying to avoid us because we cannot test the children without her permission. They lived in the traditional circle huts made of mud with a thatched roof. There was nothing inside the hut other than a few scattered items like a shoe, bowl, etc. There was a small cooking area outside that consisted of a fire pit and a few grilling pieces. The next house was a plaster house with only one room and of course no indoor plumbing/electricity. An older sister and brother stayed there and took care of their younger siblings. However, the older sibs were unemployed and unwilling to look for work, which means their younger sibs are on Food Basket and government programs which barely provide enough for basic dietary requirements. (and absolutely no veggies - scurvy crossed my mind) We were checking on her little sister who was taking her TB medication and recovering from malnutrition. She actually looked pretty good today. Stunted growth of course, but no signs of overt deficiency now. She also had speech delay, but you can add speech therapy to the list of things you can't get in Botswana. Next we went to a daycare and a local clinic to see if anyone needed us. There is a large group of orphans coming to the daycare next week that they will arrange to meet and test if they want. Another group of kids really needed a PPD, but we don't have them. Hopefully tomorrow we can get some from a local clinic and go test these kids. I'm so sure the younger brother has TB, I don't know if I even want one. :-) We went to the last house on our list to check if a recently diagnosed mother had taken her kids to get treated at the local HIV clinic. Of course not. We had a long chat about the importance of treatment blah blah blah. If she doesn't show up in clinic tomorrow, we are going to find her. I am going to try and do outreach again tomorrow. So far I have enjoyed it the most out of all the things we have done. Hopefully, tomorrow we are going to meet a group of kids for testing.

We have also been working on a presentation for journal club tomorrow. My brain is fried thinking of maximal likelihood analysis and phylogenetic trees. I can't wait until that is over. I never want to hear the words "phylogenetic tree" again.

Answering Questions

1. You can get coke products (especially fanta) everywhere for 3.5Pula. They do have a KFC, but no McDonald's. The more popular fast food chains are Nando's (chicken), Winky's (burgers), Hungry Lion (chicken), Debonairs (the afore mentioned pizza place), and Something Fishy (a fish place). No drive thru. You can get a lot of the basics here (including toilet paper), they just aren't the brands you are used too. Fresh milk only available in the whole milk variety. We finally found pretzels yesterday. The mexican food people say is available here still eludes us. Lots of chips, including beef flavored.

2. Guns are illegal in Botswana and only the army has them. Not even the cops. So.. no GSWs. (and I haven't seen a spear wound yet...I think that is more the Zulu's) Mainly lots of infections.

3. It is super hard to get a line here. (I'll let Becca talk about that adventure later) They don't have IO kits (they just use the biggest needle they have). And forget about central lines or cut downs.

Going on Outreach to people's homes today. Will tell you how it goes later.

Last Day in the Kalahari

The second night was a little more restful. At least I didn't hear any animals though the other tent had something scratching at it all night. Probably just a mouse but more fun to think it was something bigger. We woke very early again and set out for another game drive. More of the same springbok, hartabeest and orynx. We also found a couple of large tortises and an eagle. We followed leopard and lion tracks for quite a while but alas they eluded us. After our drive we ate breakfast and packed up camp. On the way home we stopped at the Kutse Lodge for lunch and a swim in the pool. The cold water was very refreshing after 2 days in the dessert without airconditioning. The rest of the trip home was rather uneventful. It did rain on the way home and as our land rover had no windows I got a bit wet.

More things not found in Botswana:
Gentic workups
Metabolic workups
Vending machines

More later - Becca

More of the Kalahari

The tents we put are "lion proof". The tents are made of heavy duty canvas that is cross weaved so if they do put a claw in, it only goes an inch or so. Apparently this makes it "lion proof". We were under strict instruction that if we had to go out at night, we were to go in groups or call Tim and he would go with us. We had hyenas in our camp the first night (never heard them, but the tracks were there in the morning). We heard the lions talking to each other at about 3am. I thought they sounded far away (which helped me sleep), it wasn't until the morning I found out they were only 500m away. The next morning at sunrise (530am augugh), we went on another game drive to find the lions. We finally found them a couple of kilometers down the road. They commonly follow the road to travel (its easier). There was one male and 2 females. Becca got some great close up shots as they were only 25 feet or so from the car. There are 5 prides of lion that live in the Kalahari, and the researchers are doing a lot of stuff with them. Apparently 6 years ago they stopped breeding for 3 years. No one is really sure why, and then 3 years ago, they started breeding again, but this time all of the cubs survived (usual death rate ~95%). They are trying to find out why. We returned to camp and sat in the heat for a few hours. I tried to sleep, but it was too hot in the tent. We went out again in the afternoon. Becca and I were riding on top of the land rover and got quite a sunburn (even using sunscreen). Once we finally stopped, we saw rain coming in. I thought it was actually kinda fun to see the rain roll in across the desert. (btw, the desert is covered with grass that is about 2 feet high and looks like johnson grass. there are a lot of scrub bushes except on the pans, and a few small trees. under everything is only sand). It wasn't as much fun when we went to camp and had to fix our tents and collect the things that had blown away/gotten wet. That night we all went to bed a little early we were so tired. I learned a lot of things however from quizzing Tim incessantly. He showed me some basics of tracking (what the prints looked like, how to tell how old it is). And I just learned a lot of random facts about the animals. Kodo can tolerate raises in their core body temp, they dont sweat, and they can stop urinating to conserve water. They excrete a concentrated uric acid pellet instead. They are the most adapted of the desert antelope. Lions travel in prides which consist of the lioness, a dominate male and perhap a couple others (if there is more than one male, they are usually related), and the cubs. Males come and go and they are only there to breed and protect the lionesses from other male lions. The lioness hunts and protects the territory. Once a male is 1-2 years old, he is kicked out of the pride and spends some time in solitary until he can take over a new pride. Once he does, he kills all the cubs of the previous male (unless the lioness can hide them). Male lions often only live to be about 5 years old in the wild and are usually killed by other lions (if not by humans). The government prohibts the killing of lions and reimburses you for the loss of an animal if it is killed by a lion. what else.... ostrich's share the responsibility of sitting on the nest. Giraffes live to be about 15 years old. Rhinos and hippos stomp out fires if they see them. Elephants are very aware of their surroundings and are actually amazingly quiet. There are a number of lion prides in northern botswana that have learned to hunt elephants. I'll think of other stuff later. Gotta get back to clinic.

Kalahari Day 1

On Friday we had a half day of clinic and then headed off for the Kalahari. Our campsite is only 200 km from Gabarone but only 80 of that was paved. We were riding in a landrover with no airconditioning so it was a hot trip. The biggest problem on the way there were all the cows, goats and donkeys that would wander into the road. Our camp site was basic but nicer than expected. There was a "shower" and toilet area. Both were enclosed and the shower is a large bucket on a pulley that you fill with water and then turn a spout to let the water out the bottom. We quickly set up camp and went out for a game drive. The Kalahari is a scrub dessert and this is the rainy season so everything is relatively green. It is dotted with pans which are areas where water collects and therefore has a high salt content in the ground. Less vegetation grows here and it is easier to spot animals. We saw herds of orynx, red hartebeest, springbok, a couple kudu, 5 giraffe including one baby and lots of birds. That night was clear and you could see the milkyway perfectly. It cooled off once the sun went down which was very nice. We feel asleep that night listening to the sounds of insects, lions and jackels.

A few more random things to add to what you can not get in Botswana:
Colonoscopy's
EEG unless at the private hospital and an emergency (though no one could come up with something emergent enough to warrent and EEG)
Echo's read by a cardiologist (you read your own and let''s just say that doesn't work very well)
Hot Fudge - by far the most disturbing of the list.
Blended drinks such as pina coladas

I have to head to clinic now but we'll tell you about the rest of the trip later.
Becca