I went on a safari to Maasai Mara this past weekend. I got to see all the animals in their natural habitat and I got to see a kill. A leopard stalked through the tall grass and shot like a bullet into the middle of a herd and took down a gazelle. It was one of the most exciting things I've witnessed with my own eyes. The safari itself was amazing. It was like watching the Lion King in person. I also happened to stay at the most luxurious lodge in the Maasai Mara. I was tired of Third World living conditions so I decided to splurge. It was well worth it. 


This safari was probably the best trip experience of my life. The only thing that would have made it better was if I was with close friends. I went with a few of the students from my program but I don't know them that well. None of them wanted to kick back after the game drives and have a couple of beers. So I made new friends at the bar.


 I'll try to upload some pictures later but the internet is very unstable right now. 

It's been a while since I've posted an update. I would apologize to my few readers but I'm not sorry. I've been busy. 


Let's see... In the past month I visited Kericho, an area in Kenya famous for it's tea plantations. I got to tour a plantation, pick tea leaves, and visit a factory. I finalized the M&E system at SWAP and it's being tested and rolled out. I added a variable to our antimicrobial hand towel study to compare hand washing amongst control and intervention groups. Hopefully both groups have similar hygiene to reduce confounding. I did a follow up of a CDC study looking at an integration of water sanitation and hygiene education in maternal child health in rural Western Kenya. And when they mean rural, they mean rural. I'm talking about no roads, riding donkeys, never seen a car rural. There was a significant portion of the original results that were inconsistent and simply missing. Since none of these health facilities had electricity or phones, they could not email or communicate their data. It was a fun trip that passed in a whirl. I covered 30 facilities in 4 days updating nearly 10,000 data points. I am currently in Nairobi visiting Hyelim. There is such a difference between urban and rural in Kenya. I had running water and a hot shower for the first time in 2 months. I slept on a bed with a mattress and used a pillow. I ate food cooked on a gas stove, not firewood. I'm currently sitting in a room with air conditioning. And I had Korean food. That last part was the most important for me. You have no idea how happy I was eating rice and kimchi. 


I'm going on a safari next weekend so that should yield a good experience and plenty of photos. I might visit Mombassa, a coastal city because it's the touristy thing to do in Kenya.