Our last week in Nairobi.
I'm pretty excited to come home now. It's like hitting the home stretch when you get down to a week before you have to go home!! Things at ILRI seem to be the same. Our hostel room is looking better than it ever has before thanks to some of the accommodations we stayed at in Madagascar!
Speaking of which...Madagascar was wonderful! Kind of a mixed barrel of highs and lows but overall an incredible experience. Our trip began with Matt and I watching the weather report the night before, as previously mentioned by Matt in another post, and Madagascar was to be hit by a cyclone. Seeing as Matt filled you in on the fun bits of that trip I'll wait until I get home to add to the story!
However, the rest of the trip went a lot more smoothly. From the port city of Taomasina (previously known as Tamatave), we caught a boat down the scenic Canal des Panagalanes to a beautiful hide-a-way called the Bush House. The only down side to it was the mosquitoes. I did persevere though and Matt and I ended up spending a fun-filled morning with some lemurs at a private reserve really close to where we stayed. We got to feed them, pet them, and of course they jumped on our backs and shoulders (as seen in the picture). It was pretty crazy considering they were still considered wild animals and we NEVER feed the animals at home! But, when in Rome, right? Plus, it was an isolated incident...we didn't get to feed the lemurs at the other park...I think it was just that this one was private...
So, from there we went back to Taomasina and left for Ile Ste Marie. An island where I finally had my lobster...a whole one for 6 dollars US. It was CRAZY! And delicious. I think I must have had seafood every single day while in Madagascar. Heaven. Anyways, Matt and I pretty much just chilled everyday on the island until we had to head back to Tana...not a very pretty compared to the island...but hey, what can you do? I feel so hard done by...just kidding!
Well, I'm sure I could tell you a lot more but I think I'll wait until I come home in a WEEK'S TIME!! WOO HOO!!!!
Miss you all,
Jessica
Showing posts with label jessica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jessica. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sunday, December 10, 2006
STD Workshop
Hello Everyone!
Nairobi is still great! Of course, it's not home. I miss everyone so much and, much to my surprise, I miss the cold weather! I look outside everyday expecting to find cloudy skies, drizzle, and biting winds but only see the odd white cloud amidst blue sky and no breeze. Really, I'm not trying to rub it in or anything but I really do miss the cold!
Anyways, like I may have told some of you, I was invited to do a sexual health workshop for grade 8's this passed Saturday. The kids came from a slum here in Nairobi called Mathare. There is an association here called the Spanish Speaking Women's Association and they help out at the slum by pretty much providing the whole school! The teachers, the building...everything! They're even sending some of the kids who are graduating from the primary school (1-8) to secondary school. Unlike how it is back home, parents have to pay for their kids to go to high school. It's really sad because most parents don't have the capital to do so and even if they do, they prioritize their kids and usually send the boys.
So, this Saturday I gave a half-day presentation on everything I know about reproductive health! It was...interesting! I got a lot of giggles when I pulled out the banana for my condom demo, but other than that the kids were really great. I didn't get a lot of questions but I chalked it up to the kids being shy. Plus, the questions I DID get were really good. There are some really smart kids in the group! I talked to this one boy, I think his name was John, and he said his favourite subject was mathematics. I really liked him. I was also challenged a bit by the teacher. He commented on my HIV/AIDS section on being a little dark, I think. I was trying to explain to the kids that viruses can't be cured and HIV happened to be one of them. So, of course if you contract HIV you can't get rid of it! I think the teacher wanted me to give the kids a little more...hope. Haha, I explained to him that I would try my best but wanted to give them the grim facts and perhaps scare them into using condoms!
Other than that, nothing more to report! I'm still having a good time! Now, I am excitedly anticipating Matt's little sister Jenn and her fiancee Paul to arrive in Nairobi for Christmas! We will be heading down to Tanzania for part of it as Matt and Jenn's Aunt Mary and Uncle Duncan has generously given us a two-night stay at a hotel near Kilimanjaro! I want to take this opportunity and thank them very much!! I'm looking very forward to it and can't wait to write about it next!
See you all soon!
Jess
Nairobi is still great! Of course, it's not home. I miss everyone so much and, much to my surprise, I miss the cold weather! I look outside everyday expecting to find cloudy skies, drizzle, and biting winds but only see the odd white cloud amidst blue sky and no breeze. Really, I'm not trying to rub it in or anything but I really do miss the cold!
Anyways, like I may have told some of you, I was invited to do a sexual health workshop for grade 8's this passed Saturday. The kids came from a slum here in Nairobi called Mathare. There is an association here called the Spanish Speaking Women's Association and they help out at the slum by pretty much providing the whole school! The teachers, the building...everything! They're even sending some of the kids who are graduating from the primary school (1-8) to secondary school. Unlike how it is back home, parents have to pay for their kids to go to high school. It's really sad because most parents don't have the capital to do so and even if they do, they prioritize their kids and usually send the boys.
So, this Saturday I gave a half-day presentation on everything I know about reproductive health! It was...interesting! I got a lot of giggles when I pulled out the banana for my condom demo, but other than that the kids were really great. I didn't get a lot of questions but I chalked it up to the kids being shy. Plus, the questions I DID get were really good. There are some really smart kids in the group! I talked to this one boy, I think his name was John, and he said his favourite subject was mathematics. I really liked him. I was also challenged a bit by the teacher. He commented on my HIV/AIDS section on being a little dark, I think. I was trying to explain to the kids that viruses can't be cured and HIV happened to be one of them. So, of course if you contract HIV you can't get rid of it! I think the teacher wanted me to give the kids a little more...hope. Haha, I explained to him that I would try my best but wanted to give them the grim facts and perhaps scare them into using condoms!
Other than that, nothing more to report! I'm still having a good time! Now, I am excitedly anticipating Matt's little sister Jenn and her fiancee Paul to arrive in Nairobi for Christmas! We will be heading down to Tanzania for part of it as Matt and Jenn's Aunt Mary and Uncle Duncan has generously given us a two-night stay at a hotel near Kilimanjaro! I want to take this opportunity and thank them very much!! I'm looking very forward to it and can't wait to write about it next!
See you all soon!
Jess
Friday, December 01, 2006
Sorry so long no post!
Hello Everyone!
I know Matt is doing all the blogging so I thought I'd just write something so you all knew I was still alive! Things are going well here...Matt and I just came back from Aberdares National Park. It was...interesting! Haha, I promised Matt I would let him do the post on our adventures there so you'll have to wait!
Work is going well here though...I'm really busy. I started my own project no too long ago and am going full steam ahead with it. STD research doesn't seem to be happening right now unfortunately but I am still trying. I'll keep you all updated on that. Anyways, I must go now but I promise to get in touch on a more frequent basis from now on!
- Jess
I know Matt is doing all the blogging so I thought I'd just write something so you all knew I was still alive! Things are going well here...Matt and I just came back from Aberdares National Park. It was...interesting! Haha, I promised Matt I would let him do the post on our adventures there so you'll have to wait!
Work is going well here though...I'm really busy. I started my own project no too long ago and am going full steam ahead with it. STD research doesn't seem to be happening right now unfortunately but I am still trying. I'll keep you all updated on that. Anyways, I must go now but I promise to get in touch on a more frequent basis from now on!
- Jess
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I Felt the Rain Down in Africa...
Hello All!
So I thought I was leaving the West Coast and its rain behind...but...I was wrong. Right now Nairobi is getting a taste of the "short rainy season" where there are huge dumps of rain all day in short or long spurts. The positive side is that it's still quite warm except at night when it can get quite cold! I know what you must be thinking, "This doesn't sound like African weather! Kenya is situated on the equator for gosh sakes!" But I assure you it rains every day and gets cold every night! My only consolation is that it will get smoking hot in December/January...temperature should rise up to about 35 degrees!
In other news, Matt and I have been upgraded to a house at ILRI! It's quite a bit larger with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and huge kitchen with more cabinet and counter space than I can use! I felt kind of reluctant to move in at first because it's so huge! We can hardly fill it up with our meagre possessions and I'm sure as heck not about to buy a whole bunch of stuff to fill it up with! So Matt and I are having to listen to our echoes every time we talk for the time being.
I'm hoping to visit the Masaii Market soon so we can try and find some cheap decorative things to place about the house...not to mention try and find an Africa get up that I can wear to Africa night! I'm really looking forward to it! It's an annual soiree that they have here at ILRI where everyone dresses up in African clothing and there's a night of dancing, entertainment and games! Excellent! And, even though Matt and I haven't been out safariing for a while, we're definitely still having fun meeting people and going out for meals. In fact, we went out to a restaurant yesterday where I tried Eland for the first time! It was delicious! So as you can see, life continues on in Kenya for us! We really miss everyone, though, and I can't wait to come to Mexico and see some of you! YAY!! Well, will post again soon...I promise!
So I thought I was leaving the West Coast and its rain behind...but...I was wrong. Right now Nairobi is getting a taste of the "short rainy season" where there are huge dumps of rain all day in short or long spurts. The positive side is that it's still quite warm except at night when it can get quite cold! I know what you must be thinking, "This doesn't sound like African weather! Kenya is situated on the equator for gosh sakes!" But I assure you it rains every day and gets cold every night! My only consolation is that it will get smoking hot in December/January...temperature should rise up to about 35 degrees!
In other news, Matt and I have been upgraded to a house at ILRI! It's quite a bit larger with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and huge kitchen with more cabinet and counter space than I can use! I felt kind of reluctant to move in at first because it's so huge! We can hardly fill it up with our meagre possessions and I'm sure as heck not about to buy a whole bunch of stuff to fill it up with! So Matt and I are having to listen to our echoes every time we talk for the time being.
I'm hoping to visit the Masaii Market soon so we can try and find some cheap decorative things to place about the house...not to mention try and find an Africa get up that I can wear to Africa night! I'm really looking forward to it! It's an annual soiree that they have here at ILRI where everyone dresses up in African clothing and there's a night of dancing, entertainment and games! Excellent! And, even though Matt and I haven't been out safariing for a while, we're definitely still having fun meeting people and going out for meals. In fact, we went out to a restaurant yesterday where I tried Eland for the first time! It was delicious! So as you can see, life continues on in Kenya for us! We really miss everyone, though, and I can't wait to come to Mexico and see some of you! YAY!! Well, will post again soon...I promise!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Jess's First Day on the Job!
Hi Everyone!
Well well well! I hope everyone is doing well! I am doing great! I just started my first day of work in the lab today. I won't go too into the scientific details but my work has to do with goats rather than cows like Matty's working on!
There's a type of goat that is somewhat resistant to a certain nematode parasite. People have since crossed this goat with another species of goat that is larger and yields more product. So my job is to correlate resistance and size to mix and see which mixed breed yields the most product and is most resistant to the nematode! Fascinating isn't it? Haha, I'm sure you are all just nodding your heads in agreement! But trust me, all the lab work I'm doing is very relevant to my field and it's great just getting my 'feet wet' so to speak, you know?
But, alas, before I work on that project, (which I think will be my very own) I'm training with two people who are working on the phylogenetics of chickens! The importance of this is to observe the evolution of the chickens throughout Africa and compare that with chicken samples all over the world. Very important today with avian flu going around! Very tedious too! I worked on over 200 samples today! It was very tiring since I'm not used to sitting over a bench all day working! But I think I'll get used to it!
So, in short that's my account of what I'll be doing. I haven't given up hope yet with finding STD research work, but, as I said before it's kind of hard starting anything without being able to get into town. So I'll be phoning around once we sort out our car business. And, of course, I'll be looking into doing some work at a sexual health clinic of some sort as well...ahhh...getting busy already! Excellent! Talk to you all soon and take care!
Well well well! I hope everyone is doing well! I am doing great! I just started my first day of work in the lab today. I won't go too into the scientific details but my work has to do with goats rather than cows like Matty's working on!
There's a type of goat that is somewhat resistant to a certain nematode parasite. People have since crossed this goat with another species of goat that is larger and yields more product. So my job is to correlate resistance and size to mix and see which mixed breed yields the most product and is most resistant to the nematode! Fascinating isn't it? Haha, I'm sure you are all just nodding your heads in agreement! But trust me, all the lab work I'm doing is very relevant to my field and it's great just getting my 'feet wet' so to speak, you know?
But, alas, before I work on that project, (which I think will be my very own) I'm training with two people who are working on the phylogenetics of chickens! The importance of this is to observe the evolution of the chickens throughout Africa and compare that with chicken samples all over the world. Very important today with avian flu going around! Very tedious too! I worked on over 200 samples today! It was very tiring since I'm not used to sitting over a bench all day working! But I think I'll get used to it!
So, in short that's my account of what I'll be doing. I haven't given up hope yet with finding STD research work, but, as I said before it's kind of hard starting anything without being able to get into town. So I'll be phoning around once we sort out our car business. And, of course, I'll be looking into doing some work at a sexual health clinic of some sort as well...ahhh...getting busy already! Excellent! Talk to you all soon and take care!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Jessica's First Post
Jambo Everyone!
So...this is it! My last night in Canada! Tomorrow Matt and I leave for London where we will stay the
night and then to Africa! I can't believe that the time has finally come. It feels that the time went by both quickly and slowly. I'm feeling very excited but a little nervous as I don't know what to expect; and I'm feeling a little sad because I already miss everyone back home! However, I will continue on because I know that Matt and I are in for a real adventure!
It was very nice to visit everyone before we left. It was also especially nice to visit Montreal (my very first time!), home of the famous Montreal smoked beef sandwich! YUM! Teddy and Sylvie were very generous and
hospitible and it was nice to see them before we left (thanks for everything by the way!)! It was also great to see my friend Kristin who also lives in Montreal! A short visit, but worth all the Montreal traffic headache! Next on our journey was Matt's mommy's cabin in Sydenham! So beautiful to see the trees turning beautiful golds and reds! It was truly relaxing at Nancy's cabin and I thank her so much for the wonderful surroundings and chance to just sit around, relax, read and drink tea (no seriously, those were my jobs 'to do' while I was there!!)...oh! And not to mention, the scrumptious turkey dinner we had the night before leaving!
Anyways, I will leave you now and I promise to keep you all updated on my African journey! Hopefully I will be up to a
lot of things like safaris and volunteering! I will let you all know what we're up to and I look 
forward to seeing a lot of you come January for Jason and Kirsten's wedding!!
Signing off now.... Jessica
So...this is it! My last night in Canada! Tomorrow Matt and I leave for London where we will stay the
night and then to Africa! I can't believe that the time has finally come. It feels that the time went by both quickly and slowly. I'm feeling very excited but a little nervous as I don't know what to expect; and I'm feeling a little sad because I already miss everyone back home! However, I will continue on because I know that Matt and I are in for a real adventure!It was very nice to visit everyone before we left. It was also especially nice to visit Montreal (my very first time!), home of the famous Montreal smoked beef sandwich! YUM! Teddy and Sylvie were very generous and
hospitible and it was nice to see them before we left (thanks for everything by the way!)! It was also great to see my friend Kristin who also lives in Montreal! A short visit, but worth all the Montreal traffic headache! Next on our journey was Matt's mommy's cabin in Sydenham! So beautiful to see the trees turning beautiful golds and reds! It was truly relaxing at Nancy's cabin and I thank her so much for the wonderful surroundings and chance to just sit around, relax, read and drink tea (no seriously, those were my jobs 'to do' while I was there!!)...oh! And not to mention, the scrumptious turkey dinner we had the night before leaving!Anyways, I will leave you now and I promise to keep you all updated on my African journey! Hopefully I will be up to a
lot of things like safaris and volunteering! I will let you all know what we're up to and I look 
forward to seeing a lot of you come January for Jason and Kirsten's wedding!!Signing off now.... Jessica
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