First Day of "Work"

Sunday was quiet but nice. Since I am directionally challenged and not yet familiar with my surroundings, I havent been brave enough to wander around town alone yet, so the ever patient Molly took me on a walking tour of the market place etc. Since most were in church this was a quiet day though to me the streets seemed full. The market was full of fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, and anything else you could want. After passing by the meat stand with carcasses hanging out, I think I will not be eating meat for the most part while I am here. We then had a delicious dinner with friends from Team Rwanda and home for the evening.

I awoke monday morning full of excitement, ready to be helpful instead of a bump on a log as I had been. I met Noel (A recently graduated Rwandan Veterinarian) accross the hall at 8 am to being our work. First we were to walk to a nearby partner farm to collect some blood and feces for us to practice with at the lab. This is a very rudimentary farm with 3 cows in a makeshift barn. My cow friends would be proud as I helped to restrain the cows head. As Noel was unable to hit the vein, I offered up my skills. Unfortantely nobody told me that what i thought was a puddle was actually a bottomless pit of cow waste. Yup. I slipped in it. I am not quite ready to discuss the details, but it was the most foul experience of my life.

Back in the lab, after multiple showers, it became clear that Noel was very enthusiastic to learn new techniques. I finally felt useful. We practiced making blood smears and identifying cells. He learned to count platelets, differenciate between cells, and is beginning to learn RBC morphology. There are no books here for him to look at and rarely anyone around to ask, so he has pretty much been self taught. I have done some drawings for him, but hope to have someone at home send me real picturesi can print out for him to have in full color.

Dr. Magda then took us with her to Karisoke Research Center to visit some dogs that had belonged to a famous researcher who passed away last year. There is a local man who's entire job is to look after these two dogs. Unfortunately, during their owner's illness, they were improperly medicated for years and suffer many maladies due to that. We were just doing a general wellness check. One of the dogs has tendon issues ( and is probably cushinoid and has horrible allergies plus a white dog does not fare well in Africa) and one of her back legs doesnt work well. I am brainstorming a way to fashion her a removable splint so that she can get around easier. Both dogs were friendly and very overweight. The diet had been changed to an appropriate one, but they do not get enough excersize due to the one's injury and her sister not wanting to leave her side. They are well taken care of but it is not a great situation. The part of the research center that I saw was beautiful although I did not get a full tour.

We then headed to Magda's home where we visited her 20 month old donkey and her 3 dogs. She has a lovely little set up with a mini barn, fenced in areas etc. Magda was on the Polish Dressage team several years back and is a very accomplished horsewoman. She wanted to show me how she was trimming his feet becuase they dont have any trimmers, nippers, or files. She was creative and brave using an electric circular saw to do his hooves. I was shocked by how well behaved he was for all of this! Quinn would never pick his feet up so nicely and stand for that noise! Although the donkey was not very happy with his back feet being done, he tolerated it way better than I would have anticipated. We are awaiting a hoofknife from a traveling friend. Magda even has this guy lounging nicely! Impressive! Don't worry...I took video!

While finishing up there, Magda recieved a call from the gorilla orphanage. There have been some majoy electric fence issues and one of the more clever girls kept getting out. They have been trying to get an electrician to fix it, but in the meantime they are trying to figure out a long term sedation solution. Since I am not allowed near the gorillas due to having been in the US so recently, I never imagined I would be invited, but Magda said, hop in the car we are going! We parked the truck outside the fence and I climbed onto the roof where I was able to watch the babies frolic, eat, and just hang out. Although the experience was short, it was truly amazing to watch these gentle giants act just like human kids. On the way home we stopped to help a chicken that a motorbike had run over...interesting...

So what started out as a "crappy" day ended up pretty amazing! Molly and I decided to eat leftovers and watch a movie...those of you who know me well can guess the first movie I introduced her to...Stepborthers has now officially entered Rwanda : )

I don't expect I will be able to give this detailed of an update everyday, so I am taking advantage while I can!

Off to the market to shop for dinner!

We had a great day at Virunga lodge...we went with a friend, Julie, from Art of conservation who had us do crafts to show her students. Mine is pictured above. I asked her to tell them a 3 year old made it. Our assignment was to make a female bipedal gorilla then cover with glue and tissue paper....hmmm...mine was supposed to have a hand on hip and scratching her head...the details sorta got washed out lol guess i am throwing artist out of the career options!

Crows here are huge! In the mountain views, you can see how people have built right up the mountain until conservation efforts kicked in, so the gorillas used to come all the way down to where the houses/farms are,but have now been squished to the tops only. Very sad, but also beautiful views!

I made it!

Hello Everyone!

After an almost tearful goodbye to The Baxter and mom, I was off on my adventure....with 2 very overweight bags plus huge carry ons in tow. I managed to escape the extra fees by explaining that they were filled with toys and books for children :) Every once in awhile karma kicks in!

I took that as a good sign until the woman behind me on the plane complained about everything for the first 6 hours, then spent the last 8 hours of the flight vomiting...yup. As scenes from "Stand by Me" and "The Goonies" flashed in my mind, I thought for sure we were about to have a big issue, but thankfully everyone else managed to keep it together. After that, I barely made my connection in Addis (Ethiopia)where i had to go throught the most ridiculous re-check at security...let me just say that I am very glad I did not miss that connection! One other thing...shiny suits and bright shirts with matching cowboy boots are apparently all the rage. Hmm...Africa seems awesome!

When I finally arrived in Kigali, 2 unexpected things occured right off...I got through customs without an issue, and my bags made it! Not surprising, in true Andrea fashion, I got the bag cart with broken wheels and had an embarassing time wheeling out to meet Dr. Jan Ramer.

Jan was def. a sight for sore eyes, and then I met everyone else! Jan's daughter, her boyfriend, his father, and 2 doctor residents,plus Noelle our technician here were all there with their luggage to greet me as well! Kigali is about 2 hours from where I am living and they all needed to get to the airport later that day. So as we all squeezed in and I was commenting how I hope I love it here b/c I may never get on a plane again, our day's plans were announced. Since Jan's daughter had only been here a week, they were not able to do as much as they would have liked so we were first stopping at the main Genocide Memorial Museum. I have to admit I wasnt thrilled at the idea after being awake for over 20 hours, but I tried to be a trooper.

The museum was very well done. Very heavy, very sad, very informative. I have never been anywhere that something so awful had occured so recently. It was a lot to take in.

We went from there back to the airport, then to drop off the residents at a hotel, then it was off to buy tires for the truck! While Noelle was getting us a good price, we met up with a neighbor who we were giving a ride home to. He took us to the best places for bread and wine.

Kigali was a very crowded very busy city. Pedestrians do not have the right of way..the bigger you are, the less any rules apply apparently. I was amazed that nobody was killed as we weaved in and out of back streets on foot and in the truck. While we all know how I feel about busy cities, i have to say that although it was dusty, it was far from dirty. There was no litter, no garbage anywhere.

As we began the journey home to Ruhengeri, we turned away from the city and the air cleared and the mountain rose in front of us. The drive was beautiful. Scary curvy roads that people drive too fast on with people/children walking on the non-existant shoulders that lead to steep falls down the mountain. Made Snickersville Tpke look super safe! We passed an overturned bus that had evidently missed a turn in as the sun was setting.

As we curled up the road, the volcanos appeared in front of us. The most perfect view, with little cloud top hats on each one. My mind was suddenly awake and clear and I was happy to be here. I stayed awake the rest of the ride by asking Jan a million questions about everything from what drugs they use on gorillas and dogs (dex domitor and ketamine for those of my vet/tech readers) to what i will be doing, eating, etc. I felt like a child again, alive with excitment and curiousity as Jan answered all of my queries.

The compound is wonderful, gated, and gaurded by gaurds and gaurd dogs. I was warned about the front yard dog, Chewy, as he is unpredictable, yet so far, we get along just fine. There are 2 house dogs plus a backyard gaurd dog and a wheelchaired dog..so although I miss my Baxter, I am getting plenty of puppy love. No such luck on horses...i heard a rumor there are 2 in Kigali somewhere....

I feel very safe here, Molly (who lives in the same house as me) and Jan are making me feel right at home. The vibe in this country is strange. Everyone here who is over the age of 16 was involved in the genocide as either a survivor or a murderer, and I find myself searching faces (as I was assured others do as well) wondering which they are. The genocide is discussed daily, at least within my group and has really tranformed society. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have to go back living amongst those you hurt and those who hurt you. I am very interested in how this society became this way....with emotions just under the surface....

Well, that was quite a blog! They wont all be this boring and detailed I assure you but I do not want to forget clues to other stories I will want to share when I get home!

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