HIV R4P

Nope, this is not a rapper’s name, it was the conference I went to in Cape Town, South Africa.

ohhhh… a woven bag and a beaded lanyard!

HIV Research For Prevention was partially sponsored by IAVI. I was invited to both help represent my site at KAVI as well as explain how IAVI and GSK partner up to assist worldwide. I met with many IAVI employees from around the world. I was also introduced to some of the leaders in the field of HIV research. Personally, I felt I did an amazing job pretending I too am an expert on HIV. “You have been studying HIV since the ‘80s? Well I was born in the ‘80s and have been studying HIV for five months. So yes, I would love to compare our findings.” This was obviously not an actual conversation and I was lucky that there was almost always at least one other person (i.e. real expert) in the conversation with me.

Cape Town

I could talk about how great the conference was (probably the best conference I have ever attended), but you really just want to see pictures of Cape Town.

Here is the extremely brief summary:

• Developing nations (mainly African countries) continue to be under equip with accurate knowledge about virus transmission and medical supplies.
• Developed countries are of course at high risk, but most have an insurance plan to cover HIV treatment. People with HIV can live a mostly unaffected life if given early treatment.

1. Which groups need to be addressed
   1. Minority groups such as sex workers, transgender, and men who have sex with men are at high risk but are underrepresented in clinical trials
   2. Advertisements for preventative measures are not directed towards these groups
2. Where should the the focus be going
   1. Further research with preventative medicines such as antivirals (remember this is a ‘research for prevention’ conference)
   2. Reduced cost to consumer to make preventative medicines a possibility for any budget
   3. Male circumcision (personal note: at birth. The Maasai perform male circumcision at age 13 *cringe* as a progression of the boy becoming a man)
   4. Female empowerment with additional birth control options such as female condoms or diaphragms with anti-HIV gel coating

The conference started on Tuesday so I arrived Saturday night.

Camps Bay

The outside temperature was perfect: averaging around 75 F, but the water is extremely cold (probably around 55 F).

Day Tour of the Peninsula

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is the tip of the African peninsula. This is where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet.

Boat ride to ‘Seal Island’

So many seals

Boulders Beach

Plan for half a day when you visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

King Protea- South Africa’s national flower

    

Table Mountain

Table Mountain

It looks like I am making a C. The person I asked to take the picture apparently had no idea what I was trying to do.

View from the top

Evening Cape Town Tour

Morning Shark Cage Dive

I did not bring my camera so I do not have any pictures  😦

It was cool to see great white sharks chomp on chum from a very close distance. The water was freezing though.

I really enjoyed Cape Town and hope to return again to explore more as well as go on wine tours. Johannesburg would also be nice to visit.

I instinctively wanted to use Swahili greetings, but then I had to remind myself that they speak Afrikaans here (and fluent English). It’s like taking to a German person but the only word you know is ‘Volkswagen’ so you shout that.

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I have been taking Swahili lessons. Now I can comfortably stay greetings, tell people what I am eating (in all tenses), and negotiate prices (using only some numbers). I also know how to say soldier, which makes the rent-a-guards that patrol my apartment complex very happy when I upgrade their job role.

The language is rather simple and I wish I took lessons back in August because I suspect I would be able to hold full conversations by now. Because a lot of people in Nairobi combine Swahili and English in the same sentence, it often makes it even easier. There are some interesting parts that I now understand a lot better. Such as:

You may hear someone speaking in English say “Me I am going shopping.” (note: NOT: Me? I am going shopping). This is because the exact Swahili translation for anything about oneself is “Me I am…”

Here is one fast food chain that makes a Swahili-English pun. Kuku means chicken.

We are “kuku” about chicken!

In Swahili they don’t usually say the word “hello” (except to tourists: “Jambo”). The basic greetings start with “how are you?”

So when I say, in English, “hello” or “good morning,” Most people will respond with “I am fine.”

Then there are the words that have multiple meanings. This is common with any language, but there are some sentences where context is crucial to understanding the meaning:

The word ‘nyanya’ means both tomato and grandma. So: ‘Sisi ni kula nyanya’ means either we are eating tomatoes OR grandma. Let’s hope context clues solve that mystery quickly.