My busy weekend

Hello again! I have been very busy since my last blog, so I hope you're sitting comfortably!

So on Friday, I was back at Kabete campus, this time at the clinical studies department. I had some really interesting chats with some of the professors there, including one lady who spent 3 months at Hawkshead in 1973, which was fascinating to talk to her about, and also the chairman of clinical studies. I then went on to join in with the students in their clinics. They have a system that is vaguely similar to our clinical rotations, although it is a bit more of a free for all, and only lasts for 3 months. The first group I joined were doing radiology - we had about 4 cases to radiograph, all of which were varying sizes of German Shepherd which got a bit confusing, especially since they were all in the 'radiography room' at the same time! I chatted to the students, all of whom were very interested to hear about England, and the RVC, and a few of them have plans to come to the UK either to study or work. I then was ushered in to a dark room demonstration...I think you need to come to Kenya to appreciate the true meaning of the name 'dark room'! So for those of you who are not up on your dark rooms, in the UK, we use a red light, so that you can see what you're doing when you go to develop the films, whilst not exposing, and ruining the X ray film. In Kenya, they depend on carrots. I was herded into this very small, pitch dark room with about 20 students, and couldn't see a thing. I could hear the clinician explaining to the students about processing x-rays, and could hear the dipping of film (they develop manually here) but no one else seemed to be too uncomfortable with the situation. Pressed up against I don't know who or what, I just stood stock still, and wondered how on earth they managed to not develop each other!

In the afternoon, I joined a surgery group - doing a lumpectomy on a young puppy. The clinician was doing the op, with one student scrubbed in, and maybe 20 or so students crammed round the operating table to watch. It was a good opportunity to chat to the students, and the banter between the surgeon and the students was good fun. About halfway through the op, the dog woke up, and lifted its head and looked around the room - interestingly though, this is not a cause for concern in Kenya, and the students just patted it until the surgery was over.

That night, I went out into town with three of the first year students. We went to a burger bar at the top of a big shopping centre, (via the escalator - which they used for the first time ever.... I have never taught someone to ride an escalator before!). I have never heard such loud music in my life...and I like loud music, but to say we had gone out to chat, it probably wasn't the most ideal of choices! The windows were vibrating, and you couldn't even hear to shout at each other, so between the noise, and the slight language barrier, some interesting misunderstandings resulted!

We had a nice time though, and they asked me lots of questions about the course in general, and gave me a very honest insight into their education.... And their problems with funding, accommodation, the timetable etc. Seems all students complain as much as we do! They also tried to teach me a few words of Swahili, and were delighted with my anglicized pronunciations!

Something I have found here, is that if you eat out with Kenyans, generally, everyone assumes that the rich 'muzungu' - 'white person' will pay...no questions asked! It caught me a little off guard at first, but now I just have to think about how many people I invite out to dinner!!

On Saturday, Kisipan, Saitoti and I had planned to go to the animal orphanage and Nairobi National Park. Saitoti wentback to his home in Narok, near the Masai mara on Friday night, so was going to meet us there at lunchtime, so Kisipan and I set out at 10 o clock, African Time (11.15) to catch a matatu - these are the taxi come buses that take over the roads in Nairobi. They all have loud African music blaring, and are crammed full, with people hanging out the doors, and jumping on and off whenever they reach their destination, regardless of whether the matatu may be moving! It seems to be some kind of national secret as to where they are going -but so far, every matatu I have been on has miraculously taken me to the right place! They are really good fun though, and a nice way to see the city - we passed flocks of huge marabou storks nesting in the treetops, donkeys grazing in the centre of the roads, more cattle, and general busy Kenyan life.

The animal orphanage itself was somewhat of a disappointment. I had to pay $15 US to get in (compared to the 100 Kenyan Shillings (about £1) for residents - a custom that I was soon to find out applies in nearly all tourist attractions). When we got in, we basically found lots of young, orphaned African animals cooped up in small, very uninspiring cages. Seeing a beautiful, fully grown leopard, pacing up and down a clay yard is quite a heart wrenching sight. We spent as little time there as possible, although I did get to play with a young cheetah, Wendy, that had been orphaned as a tiny cub.

After the orphanage, we went on the Safari Walk - this lived up to expectations much more. The walk borders the Nairobi National Park, and so without having to pay the $50 park entrance fee, you can see a lot of the wild animals in the park, plus some more that they have in huge enclosures. The whole place is miles of boardwalk, through wetland areas, forest and plains, with informative signs about all the animals you may see. Highlights for me were seeing a troop of baboons heading down from the park, and, of course, the rhino!

After an extortionately priced lunch, we jumped back in a matatu, and headed back to the city for a cup of chai. Note that there is no mention of Saitoti yet - he met us back at the YMCA at 6pm!

That night I'd planned to go for dinner with Madeleine and Matilda, the two Swedish girls I met, and some of the Kenyan guys from the globe tree programme ( a Swedish programme helping Kenya's street children) joined us; Boyd, Jackson and Cliff. They were all really fun guys, and we walked into town joking about the pace of Kenyan walking (they stroll so slowly it's almost painful - ironic for the fastest nation on earth!) and their lack of any concept of time or distance. A long time later, just as we were starting to wonder if we were even still in Kenya, we arrived at Hunters, a bar/grill on the other side of Nairobi. They had a bizarre mix of music - a hybrid of African music, with Ace of Base, Celine Dion, Venga boys and even the Macarena - which we all danced at the table - classy! We all spent the entire meal laughing hysterically at the boys, who love to sing and dance, and have no inhibitions whatsoever - a combination that resulted in them standing up and dancing in the middle of the bar. They are all so charismatic, and we all had a really fun night. I had my first Tusker beer - and loved it...I'm going to have to try and find somewhere that sells it back home!

We walked home, and the boys kept us very safe walking back through Nairobi - "don't fear...nothing will happen with Cliff and Jackson here"! Everyone here is very aware that muzungus are a target for crime, especially at night, and take their responsibility as our hosts very seriously.

Today, Saitoti and I took a trip into Kabete to go to the Christian Union - unfortunately, after a matatu ride and an hour's walk around the campus, we found out that for the only time this year, the CU had gone to visit Nairobi - typical! So we headed back into Nairobi, and went to the National Museum. I'm not much of a museum goer, but it really was fascinating - learning all about the tribes, and the rituals and way of life, and lots about African animals too. There is a snake park there too, so I went to learn which snakes I should most avoid when out in the field, and Saitoti horrified me with all sorts of snake related tales! We then took a walk round Uhuru Park in the centre of Nairobi, and Saitoti told me all about the Maasai way of farming and living. It was so interesting hearing about his childhood, and how the Maasai live, I can't wait to get out to the Masai Mara, and see for myself.

I'm now back in the hostel and am getting everything ready for a day with the ambulatory students tomorrow, which I am looking forward to. I've got a really busy week planned, but will try and blog again soon. Kwa Heri (Bye!)

Week one nearly over!

Hey all, so I've had chance to settle in a little bit more now, and can get online using Dr. Kisipan's dongle, so I will be able to blog for the next week at least! I'm starting to get used to the diet of rice or ugali (an African maize based thick bland gloop that they eat with everything), and beans with the occasional pieces of rock thrown in for good measure - keeps you on your toes when you eat! I've also developed a bit of a love for chapattis - nothing like the Indian chapattis we get in England - they're like thick fried pancakes-lovely! And of course the chai - as Kisipan asks me every day "how do we start our day?" and the answer is "Chai!" Though the same answer would apply almost regardless of the question - they love the stuff! The weather's turned now, and it's been really nice and hot - went for a swim in the YMCA pool yesterday, there were huge eagles circling and swooping overhead the whole time - it was amazing!

On the university front, we've had a very productive time - I've spent hours at the university, meeting lecturers, students, technicians, the dean, and easily lose count of how many hands I shake each day! I'm so used to being introduced as 'Dr. Bev, Royal Veterinary' that I've almost starting saying it myself!! It's great meeting people; everyone is so welcoming and supportive of the project, and all have lots of ideas and suggestions. I've been shown round Chiromo, the preclinical campus, and all their facilities, and have met some of the first year students - who I'm going out for dinner with tonight. Yesterday and today I've been at Kabete, the clinical campus out of town, and have seen the pathology, microbiology and parasitology departments, and today have met and been filming some students in their clinical rotations, both in radiology and surgery.

A few observations from my first few days in Kenya- the Kenyans are the most honest, and often blunt people that I've ever met - it's quite refreshing...there are no airs or graces - they are so straightforward that it can often seem rude, but this is just a part of their culture. They are also extremely friendly and welcoming, the most common Swahili word I've heard being 'karibu' - 'welcome'. When I say 'hello' it sounds like 'how are you' in a Kenyan accent, so the response is invariably 'well, thank you'!! And then there's Kenyan time, which means within a couple of hours either side of an agreed time (literally!)- although this could be in part due to the atrocious traffic here - I have never seen anything like it, the whole city becomes a carpark at rush hours, and the pollution is really bad.

That's all from me for now, I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about after the weekend, as we have planned a trip to the animal orphanage, Nairobi National Park, the National Museum, and the University Christian Union....gonna be a busy one!

First day in Nairobi

Hi all,

So this is my first blog post from Africa. I landed in Nairobi after a very speedy non-eventful flight and was met at the airport by Alexander, one of the Vetaid logistics team. We drove through Nairobi, past herds of cattle and goats...on the verges of dual carriageways, and past lots of Kenyans working on the side of the roads. I got to the YMCA, which is right next to the main Nairobi university campus, and, absolutely shattered, went for a sleep before meeting Gabriel to chat about our plans. In the afternoon I met Gabriel, Dr. Kisipan - a lecturer at the university, who is coordinating all of my work at Nairobi University, and Dr. Saitoti, a vet who graduated from Nairobi a couple of years ago, and who will be accompanying me for the Kenyan part of the project. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful, and we spent a good couple of hours chatting about our plans, and discussing some of the fundamental differences between UK and African ways of life, over an African beef stew. After our chat, Dr. Kisipan, Dr. Saitoti and I went into town to get a sim card and some cash - and encountered a few technical hitches. My bank card didn't work - apparently the overly helpful HSBC had blocked my card despite me forewarning them of my trip, and the android phone, which I was depending on for e-mail and phone contact is being more than a little difficult, so I may not be in quite as much contact as I'd hoped if we don't get it working! After trawling round what seemed like most of the banks in Nairobi trying to get cash out, we gave up and went for a cup of Chai - the Kenyan version of tea...basically a very sweet cup of hot milk, that you dunk a teabag and plenty of sugar in! Delicious! After meeting some of the first year students briefly, I ate a quick dinner of rice and vegetables, in the pitch black YMCA dining room, courtesy of the powercut, and then had an early night! I woke up to find hundreds of dead winged termites tha had come under the door in the night - in the heavy rainstorms, very strange! Today I have spent the day at the preclinical campus, and have met a number of lecturers and technicians, who I have interviewed, and had some very interesting off camera chats too! I also attended a histology lecture with the first year students - very strange being at lectures again, especially lectures on the structure of collagen! On the walk to the University with Saitoti, we came across two huge (about 4 ft high) birds - I think they were marabu storks - very impressive, and just wandering around in the city - I was amazed! We spotted some vervet monkeys over another cup of the much loved chai at the university- its amazing seeing wildlife like this on the universty campus! It has been raining hard for most of the afternoon - and everyone is very excited about it after the ten year drought....so I mustn't moan! I am off to do some more interviews now, before heading over to the clinical campus tomorrow. Hopefully will be able to post again soon.

Planning planning planning

So - this is the first post on my African development awareness adventure blog - 2 weeks and counting until I land in Nairobi, ready to head to the University to meet some students and staff for the first series of videos.

To put you in the loop, this trip forms part of the RVC's development awareness initiative, to enhance the appreciation of international development by exploring and contrasting issues related to livestock and health in both East Africa and the UK. This is to assist RVC and East African veterinary students identify with their counterparts and the common professional interests and values that exist. On this trip, I will be working with students and graduates at both Nairobi and Sokoine universities, and also with the charity Vetaid, vets and farmers out in the pastoral communties of Kenya and Tanzania. We will be collecting and editing video material for use both back in the classroom and for educating frontline staff in developing communities. We will also take the opportunity to collect video material to promote an exchange programme between the UK and East African vet schools.

We are currently in the midst of planning; from organising flights and learning how to use the equipment, to planning exactly where I'm going to go, who I'm going to meet, and what I'm going to do! So much to do, and so little time!