Small Changes to Make a Far More Comfortable Lab

My labmates share lab coasts and goggles. The coats are years old and they show their age with holes and stains. In other words, they are gross. Christine, CAM, and Elizabeth from my home GSK site were empathetic and gave me a box with safety goggles, two lab coats, disposable coats, and chocolates!!! The latter is not for scientific purposes.

Thanks Elizabeth!

My coworkers were thrilled to get the disposable coats. I have not shared the chocolates yet.

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In other lab issues:

We ran out of P200 pipette tips. I spent half a day using the P20 seven times per wash (150 uL max volume/well). Right before I got carpel tunnel syndrome, my coworker found a very old box of individually wrapped tips. I have never seen this- but maybe my fellow colleagues who used to mouth pipette had worked with these? Maybe you even donated them in 1970. Anyway, I was grateful.

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I asked my coworker what happens to our trash when it leaves our apartment. He said that they burn it.

“What about the recycling?” I further inquired. [The maid removes plastic and paper from the trash. After noticing her do this only recently, we obviously put those things to the side for her now.]

“We don’t recycle like in the U.S. They burn that too, but probably separately [from the regular trash].”

“So there are no landfills?”

A brief description of what a landfill is followed. Then I gave a better description so to distinguish a landfill from a toxic waste site.

“We used to have them, but they were unsanitary. People used to walk in them and take out what they wanted. So now everything gets burned.”

I did not go any further in my environmental speech about how Kenya is killing the earth.

U.S.A, U.S.A!!! A Very Short Visit Home

I was so eager to return to the U.S. for a one week visit. A part of me was afraid that I would not want to get on the plane to continue my work back in Kenya.

It was great to see friends and family and I wish I had more than a week so I could see everyone. I split the week between my parent’s home and Boston. I truly appreciate those who made time for me- especially family who drove to devote an entire day to visit and friends who I only gave a very short and specific window (e.g. “are you free between 9:35am and 11:15am?”). I am very sorry if I did not see you- I will make up for it when I return permanently in December!

I mostly wish the timing worked out so I could visit my coworkers and thank them again for supporting me.

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There are many things that I had forgotten were not normal or things I have just been so used to living in Kenya. The differences were blaring during my home visit:

Life in Kenya:

Waiting in line– If you are not hovering over the person in front of you, then you are not in line.

Uncommon signs:

Only $40 !!!!

Taxis

• When my dad picked me up at the airport I instinctively walked to the left side “Did you want to drive?” My dad asked. “Opps. No, I forgot the U.S. drives on the other side.”
• Oh yeah, also- people sit in the passenger seat, not the back seat if you are alone. You can of course just go in the back, but that is seen as unfriendly.
• Haggling for the price before you set off is not a big deal, but have you ever paid halfway through the ride so they could stop and get gas?
• This road may be designed for one lane in each direction, but why not make a third lane in the center if your lane is stuck in traffic?
• Getting pulled over by the police is not uncommon. It’s a game- the police want a bribe and I threaten to call my embassy. If my roommates are in the car then we expand the game and see “whose embassy will answer first?” The threat is enough to let us go.

Mall ‘Cops‘– There are security points at every mall and supermarket entrance. Two lines split by gender to have your bag searched, body frisked and wanded with a metal detector. My laptop bag has six zippered exterior compartments. I just open up one (of my choosing) so they can look inside and I am allowed to pass.

The internet is dial-up slow

iTunes: The episode is only 16 minutes long

Life in the United States of America

• Money- Everyone accepts credit cards. Kenya (where almost nobody takes credit cards) has a different advantage here. They use M-Pesa (mobile money) where you can pay for goods and services using your cell phone. Nearly everyone accepts M-Pesa since you just need to have a cell phone… and even the Maasai have a cell phone.
• I don’t usually wear sunscreen when I leave my house to walk 10 minutes to the store.
• When I was thirsty I went to the sink tap and drank the water… and I did not die from dysentery.
• In Kenya, our maid washes and folds our laundry. Imagine my disappointed when my mom washed my clothes and they didn’t show up on my bed ironed and folded. Sometimes I wonder which is the 3^rd world country…

Even my underwear is ironed!

When the week was up and my vacation was over, I was okay with returning to Kenya (or at least accepting). To use some cliché words that I have heard from every PULSE volunteer: I felt refreshed and invigorated to continue and finish the second half of my assignment (I don’t think one gets accepted in the program unless they use these words like MadLibs).

On the connecting flight from Istanbul to Nairobi the flight attendants thought the guy sitting across from me was dead. They asked if there was a doctor on the plane and a psychologist from Rhode Island heeded the call. I confirmed with Anna and Liz, both psychologist, how many of their Ph.D. classes dealt with  medical emergencies.”We are not that kind of doctor.” It was quickly very clear that neither was he.

So that made the last eight hours (out of 20 hours) fly by. Don’t worry, he woke up 30 min. before we landed. When I shared this story with Anna, she brought up a good point- why didn’t they land sooner and take him to a hospital?

Maybe I won’t take Turkish Airways back to the U.S. I’m just glad I ordered the lasagna.

Embassy Visit

September was a very high security alert month in Nairobi. There were the annual concerns about 9-11 and Sept. 21 was one year after the attack at Westgate Mall in Nairobi. You are right, I didn’t tell you about it and that is because I didn’t want anyone to be concerned. Nothing really changed in my daily routine because I know not to go to shopping centers or any other highly populated areas on weekend afternoons. Also, I picked an apartment away from heavily tourist areas so it would not be a likely target. Fortunately there where zero incidences.

U.S. Embassy

GSK set up a meeting with USAID for an informal gemba process information sharing to empower next-generation synergies… Sorry, I have gone months without hearing corporate buzzwords. Basically, the five of us visited the U.S. Embassy to meet with a director of USAID Kenya.

It felt great to be on U.S. soil again.

Of course pictures were prohibited, but breaking the rules a little is a benefit of being an American. Of course Eileen (from Texas) and I hassled Lisa and Beverely (UK) and Caroline (Canada) and told them how great it was to be out of Nairobi and in America.

I can’t find an English clip, but you get the idea. The marine says “We don’t tolerate that kind of crap in America.”

The meeting went very well, despite the miscommunication of why we where there. GSK told us we were there to learn about USAID and he thought we were going to give a presentation to him.

IAVI receives nearly all of its funding from USAID grants and I learned a lot about what they are reading for in a great proposal. Maybe something in my notes will be helpful to IAVI during the next grant writing process.

It was interesting to hear that USAID funding will likely remain with deficiencies over “rich people problems.” So HIV and malaria will receive funding over the growing problems of hypertension (which I might have by the time I leave due to the high salt foods) and diabetes. Broken down further describes how the major focus will likely to stay on HIV treatment since it is easier to show impact (e.g. number of Kenyans now on ART from 3,000 in 2006 to 700,000 today). Funds for prevention are harder to show impact (e.g. are the free condom programs contributing to reduced HIV or is it something else?). Funding for HIV programs has been reduced due to funding going to Ebola outbreak. This will dramatically affect IAVI next year.

United Nations

“Welcome” (said to a group)

Immediately across from the U.S. Embassy is the United Nations building. We took the tour of the beautiful compound. I was amazed that the green landscape and modern architecture existed within Nairobi.

They also had donated art from many countries.

I have no idea what this is representing

Worldwide, elephants are also at risk of stepping on landminds

Here we pretended to be debating issues we feel strongly about. Some examples were: global warming, poaching, better healthcare funding, and avocados should be on the food pyramid. Guess which one I said.

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Mini Science Lesson- Blood Separation

You might have learned that blood consists of three elements: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This simple break up is very useful for blood donation. However, I am interested in the smaller molecules of antibodies.

Separation by weight:

When whole blood is spun really fast (actually quite slow compared to other scientific processes) it can be separated by mass. The cells break which allows the most dense parts to collect at the bottom. The less dense will remain on top (plasma) or in the middle (buffy coat). It is in this small center region where the antibodies can be extracted.

This assignment has taught me blood handling, separation, and freezing methods.

Did you know: buffy coat gets its name because of the color? I did not know ‘buffy’ is a color… but my sense of color definition is rather small.

Amboseli National Park

Thank you all for the comments and the emails regarding my low point of my time here in Kenya. I am now feeling physically healthier and mentally content.

Next to laughter, medicine is the best medicine.

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This past weekend we took a trip west to Amboseli. This park, located close to the border of Tanzania, is more known for its scenery and views of Mt. Kilimanjaro and less visited for the exotic wildlife. The two day, one night trip allowed us to see the sunset and sunrise from within the park.

We did see a lot of zebras, buffalo, different species of gazelle, and herds of elephants.

check out the baby elephant on the right barely afloat

   

I know, I know, I too am bored with seeing African elephants. They just ruin pictures of Mount Kilimanjaro.

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We always take a cab back from the grocery store. I know that the fare should be 400KSH. There is always negotiation involved so sometimes I ask “how much to go back home” other times I tell them “I will pay 400 shillings for you to take me home.” Either way they give a price that is too high and the game continues when I say “Hapan, ghali sana!” Meaning, “no, too expensive.” I like to use the few Swahili phrases I know in the rare case they ignore the butchering of their language and think I’m a local.

Either way, then I let them know that we take a cab every week and the fair price is 400 shillings. They suddenly agree and off we go.

This time I asked how much. The driver said 300 shillings. I was so used to the game so I said “ghali sana,” but fortunately my fellow PULSE friends were there and said in unison “YES.”

And now I know that 300 shillings is the fair price…

It is not all puppies and rainbows

This week I am a little low. It is probably because I miss friends, family, and not always feeling slightly ill. It is mostly that last point right now since I stayed home from work- I have felt sicker more often this month then I have in any entire year. I’m fine, but I did get to experience a visit to the hospital for a bacterial infection. I was concerned it was malaria (and no, Ebola has still not come even close to Kenya. So there is no concern for Ebola).

http://joyreactor.com/post/698272

I have tried to only show the positive side of my journey, but this one post will be the parts I hate about Nairobi. To be honest, I only enjoy the time I am at work and the weekends when I leave the city. Walking to/from work is awful due to the pollution and weeknights are boring because it is not safe to leave the apartment complex after dark. It gets dark at 6:45pm.

My one mile walk to work:

Liter everywhere. There is no incentive to keep the city clean so when people are done with their soda or maize on the cob they just drop it.

Can you see the green and black water? The trash along the stream?

What do you do when the pile of garage gets high? Burn it.

All vehicles must go through and emissions inspection. Corruption is so high that it is easy to bribe for a passing grade. Black smoke pours out of the exhaust of matatus and buses. There are apparently no traffic laws and no one has the right of way.

The green walk sign means nothing.

The internet is slow and not reliable. I envisioned using Skype to keep touch with friends and family, but the internet bandwidth is often over stretched. Then the seven hour time difference makes it difficult to talk to everyone back home anyway.

It is especially hard to miss out on yearly traditions, birthday’s, Heather/Dan’s wedding, and soon, holidays. So many memories that I will not be there for.

On the positive side, there are many things to look forward to in October:

• Ambeselli Safari
• Visit to U.S.
• Visit to GSK Kenya manufacturing site
• Work conference in Cape Town, South Africa

Elephant Orphanage and City Park

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – Elephant Orphanage currently raises about thirty elephants between the age of two months to two years of age. They are orphaned due to their mother being poached or they were left after they fell down a well.

Now they raise and release them into the wild. Each elephant is continued to be watched after for eight years. They claim a success rate of ~90% integration back into the wild.

I did not get to feed one, but I did pet a few. Their skin was rough and hairy.

The rope will surely stop a stampede

I am continually amazed by the size of elephants compared to the noise they make when they walk. Such a large beast should create an equally enormous stomp on every step. Yet their footsteps are silent.

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City Park

Silly me for expecting this park within Nairobi to be like Central Park or the Boston Commons. Tripadvisor raved that it is a great place for a picnic AND you can feed monkeys!

We enter the park and monkeys immediately gather around us. We walk and look for a place to sit on the ground to eat. And the monkeys get closer.

Were you in Outbreak?

When the monkeys are two feet away, we unanimously make a decision to leave before they grab our lunch out of our hands.

To add to the uneasiness, there were people ‘living’ there. It felt wrong to feed the monkeys while people were hungry.

That was the least safe I have felt in Nairobi.

Monkeys are the pigeons of Nairobi. This picture was taken looking out from my apartment balcony.

They are loud when they fight each other and the guard dogs bark at them every morning.

Entrepreneurs

Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. Even those who have a career are looking for ways to go in business for themselves.

Competition is extreme with multiple people selling the exact same product next to each other. I pass these four consecutive sugar cane salesmen when I walk home from work.

Also note the cars. Those are not parked, traffic is just that bad.

I do enjoy the one-stop shopping: while I came here to buy sugar cane, but now that you mention it, I do need a cell phone case, floor mats for my car, and a coat rack.     Sorry it is difficult to take pictures of these people because if you slow down at all they assume you want to buy.

Today I found this one-stop shopping convenient. I forgot my belt somewhere in Greece (probably at one of the dozen security check points to enter/leave Africa).

As I was waiting for more holes to be put into the belt (apparently they have large belts that they size to fit anyone), I bought oranges, an avocado, and three dvds.

One of the outdoor ‘shopping plazas’ I pass going to work.

It’s a shame that the avocado is not in season and I had to buy such a small one.

Thank goodness it only cost ~$0.40. To be honest, I got “ripped off” since they charged me more than a local (mzungu tax). However, I find it tiresome to haggle when saving less than $1.

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My cell phone is a pay-as-you-go which means I have to buy mobile minutes to make calls to my friends and family. Since everyone is selling something, I typically ask a vendor who looks like they would also be selling mobile minutes. I’m right nine out of ten times. That tenth time I usually have to go to the guy next to him. Sure, it is not the best observation skill one could have, but it is convenient.

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Last week there was another first for me:

A new cab driver picked me up outside the crowded hospital where I work: (conversation over cell phone) “I do not see you. What do you look like?”

I could tell the driver that I am wearing a blue button down shirt, khakis, and a grey backpack… but instead I simply said: “I’m white.”

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Ancient Ruins, Olives, and Gyros

After planning a trip many months before I left the US, Anna and I visited Greece!

Getting around was relatively easy since most people spoke fluent English even though the signs and train stations are written in Greek. Thanks to science, I know some Greek letters, but not enough to pronounce anything. Anna and I still debate about how to pronounce ‘gyro’.

yeah… I’m going to need an audio translation for that

We spent two days in Athens exploring the ruins of the Acropolis and Parthenon.

Plaka with Acropolis in the background

Acropolis; The scaffolding ruins the image. We will just have to return when they finish putting up the walls and adding a ceiling.

Erechtheion

Parthenon

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

A lot of this was rebuilt by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (“you broke it, you fix it,” said the Greeks to the invading Romans).

Hey, I’ve seen this guy before!

The god Athena planted this olive tree… and so citizens named their city after her. True story 🙂

View during dinner

Changing of the Guard at Parliament

View of Mount Lycabettus (we went up there too)

We left Athens for a two day tour to see Delphi and the Monasteries of Meteora.

Temple of Apollo in Delphi

Monasteries of Meteora

Built into the cliffs

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The remainder of the week was spent on the island of Crete.

Rethymnon

One day was spent to hike through the Samaria Gorge. Samaria Gorge starts at the top of a mountain and the hike is 12 killometers down. It is an easy hike, but takes about four hours because the rocks are slippery and it was hot. The shadowing of the rock features were stunning, but sadly not captured on camera.

The gorge was amazing, but our cameras could not capture the shadows and detail of the rocks.

The end of the hike led us to a gorgeous beach with black sand!

And the food?

I know I am not the best judge of food at the moment since anything with flavor and low salt tastes amazing to me, but Anna confirms my opinions.

  

The gyros and souvlakis were served open-face with plenty of tzatziki sauce and were always delicious. Salads had an assortment of vegetables with plenty of feta cheese and olives. They did not just use lettuce as filler.

I never thought I liked dolmades because of Desfina Restaurant in Cambridge (hey Robert- remember that time you saved our coworker’s life?). In Greece they were consistently great. The leaves were not chewy at all and instead dissolved on the tongue.

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Anna and I agreed that when we go back we will explore the many islands and not just stay at one island.

Phone Etiquette

I share the Lab Manager’s office for my five month employment. It is extremely generous of him. Most employees do not have a desk and multiple people share one work station. (Christine D.- I will never again complain that the lab bench space is cramped.)

The Lab Manager is very busy and receives many visitors and phone calls. Anytime someone enters the office to speak with him, I too get a hello and a handshake. Lots of handshaking here. At GSK, I have probably shook my coworkers hands once when I first met them. Now here, every morning I shake hands with most of my coworkers. Like I said many times before, everyone is very friendly.

When the lab manager is out for the day I sometimes answer his phone and inform the caller that he is not here.

I pick up the phone and give the one line speech that I learned from TV secretaries alerting the caller that he is not here, but I can take a message. It is not uncommon to get this response: “Who is calling?”

I feel like I’m talking to a person with dementia. You called me.

What they really mean is “Who is this?” (or because they do try to be polite: with whom am I speaking to, sir?)

The other odd part is that nobody says goodbye on the phone. They just hang up.

So the conversation goes like this:

“Habari (Hello), Bashir is not here, can I take a message for him?”

“Who is calling?”

“This is Kevin.”

*dial tone*

Maasai Mara Safari

Just when I was getting used to the litter on the ground and the heavy air pollution of Nairobi, we take a trip four hours south to untouched land where dangerous and exotic animals roam. Safari time!

We spent two nights in the Maasai Mara on safari in search of the Big Five: buffalo, leopard, lion, elephants, and rhino. These were classified by game hunters as the most difficult, and dangerous, to hunt by foot. Giraffe, zebra, gazelle, hippo, and cheetah were plentiful too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August is the tail end of the wildebeest migration.

Not all the Wildebeest make it.

 

 Storks and an alligator feasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited a Maasai village. Here we participated in a welcome dance and a pre-hunt dance. Sorry I do not have pictures from inside the village, but most children do not wear pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was encouraged to jump as high as I could to try to impress the women. The higher a man jumps, the lower the dowry would be. In the eyes of the Maasai, I am doomed to be a bachelor forever.

But at least I look badass in a lion hat.