Coffee Anyone? Week 6 Blog

Kilimanjaro from Alex and Lorena's farm

The Super Moon on Full Moon night

My apologies for a late post for week number 6.  You will see that there was and is such a lot going on that there was no way to sit down to write and post.  As it turns out, my knee exercises and treatments take most of my day.  It is getting better and that is the blessing but such a lot of really hard work.  It really makes me cry for a little nap.

My week began with the last 3 of the Saa Moja's (seven o'oclock swimmers)  My instructor Sabini, Sophya, and Eric.  We are a very complementary group and having fun while working hard.  My knee is better I think mostly because of Sabini and my PT Dee Dee.

Sophya, Sabini, and Eric

That night was both the super moon and our planned with dinner with one of our adjunct DGHI professors Abu from Shanghai.  We had a good dinner at 10 to 10 pizza, even though only one of us Frances (our admin. director had pizza!)

John Abu Frances Dorothy Trish

Abu was presenting research that he had been involved with in Shanghai regarding smoking cessation and the huge success they have had with this campaign.  I found Shanghai to be lovely and not nearly as polluted as Beijing, but it was definitely a city of smokers.  So three cheers to Abu's work.  Can we replicate it here at KCMC?  We shall see.  Thanks Abu, and such a charming man. We headed home and I took about 30 pictures of the super moon, as you can see up top.

On Tuesday I headed out with my Dada's group to my Dada Agnes' home.  There we had Agnes to greet us but also her husband my dear friend Baba, and her daughter Yusra who has turned into a stunning and very sweet, smart young woman.  Wow!

Dada's and Baba!

Dafrosa being silly!

We had some very traditional Wednesday Pizza night, Bob, Pastor Tony, and then Greg & Nikoli but wait.. Terrie had just returned  to Moshi from a 6 month stay in the US.  She was repairing their house and going to horse shows it seemed, but fortunately the house is much better, and it is great to have her back. She says going back to African time is a bit of adjustment.  Goodness so busy.  Friday night was play night at International School, and who should be the stars, but our "God child" Nikoli and his good friend Ita.  The play was he "Delicious Death" and it was a Miss Marple adaptation.  Our friends Phil and Sara who run Rafiki foundation's eldest daughter Lydia directed the show in less than 5 weeks.! The whole group was quite good but I of course thought that Nikoli and Ita were terrific.  We sat in possibly the worst chairs in the world in the Gym, all of which made the acoustics and the back and knee comfort tough.  But it was worth it to see how far in theatre Nikoli has come, and to mention how tall. But, on to Saturday!

Trish giving presentation about Mother to Child HIV Transmission

Trish and Yusra at Social Work Meeting

Saturday was the all day Regional Social Workers meeting.  I was delighted to be asked to give a presentation on the PMTCT cascade and the "leaky PMTCT cascade" It was well received even though a great deal of the the time of the meeting involved fees and social workers not paying their membership fees. I was driven home by Agnes daughter Yusra and we had a chance to talk together about her hopes for the future.  She loves Math!!! Can you imagine. I think she has a great future ahead of her!

Finally Sunday and the hash.  Coffee anyone?  It was located on a farm in the upper part of Kibosho and the farm is run by Alexandro and his wife Lorena.  They are both originally from Columbia where coffee is a huge business as well. They have two sons who go to ISM even tough it is a 30 minute drive to town.  But the beauty of the farm and the delicious coffee they grow is worth it.

Levi John and Lorena arguing over end and beginning of hash

The hash had its issues, for though John, Levi and Lorena set it carefully with lots of flour, some children must have been watching and made all sorts of false trails with bits of the carefully laid flour, so everyone got off a bit and some even a bit lost.  It was crazy.  But everyone was back in before dark...altogether good fun.

When they were back, I explored the coffee and the house with my camera.

Alex and Lorena house

Some favorite flowers though I don't know their names

beautiful falling geraniums around the house

coffee beans close

Do you know that as high up as this farm is in Kibosho, it takes 32 days from flower to bean, and then another maybe 2 weeks before red and then just a short time to pick.  Down lower the beans come much quicker.

Flowers and hash flour

landscape with coffee mimosa & Acacia trees and flour for the hash

coffee flowers

coffee flowers up close

Funny black bird fluffing like crazy  S/he had a nice call

And after the hash we drink beer and catch up.  I took pictures of an amused Leonard (who was a hare) and one of the local lawyers who usually walks with me.

Amused Leonard--who is a manager on the farm & was quite amused by all the shenanigans of the group

Handsome Ralph who has a wonderful family home in Uwo & is a lawyer

I miss run/walking with Ralph.  He was a constant buddy.  I hope so much I can do it again

The last of the weekend photos are around our house back in Moshi at our beloved #A-5

Rangoon Creeper and Mangos

Cannot keep that creeper out, but it is sooo wonderful beautiful & smelly!

Coffee plant near picking time

Week Two in Moshi

Brandon Kathleen Neha & ME

How has the week been?  Very very busy.  Week two passed and in what seemed like a whirlwind.  I met with the DGHI students Kathleen and Brandon...Great work completed, and with Neha from Duke Engage.  Being involved with them at some level reminded me of how lucky we are to be at Duke where these young people are so smart, and were able to accomplish amazing work this summer.










Our Dean of the School of Medicine arrived with her family.  We had a fabulous dinner at A-5, thank you Melinda, and the Duke/KCMC collaborative presented their work.  That day was followed by presentations by the MEPI team and a trip to Kibosho Hospital.  Full days all around

Ahaz and the MEPI team

The MEPI Team each showed their talents by discussing how our MEPI--Medical Education Partnership Initiative is geared to maximizing the small faculty with excellent learning.
 

Lucy shared her information from the Duke Program Blue Docs which stresses Team Based Learning.  She does a little of everything.

We discovered  an engineering Duke Engage Student at Kibosho Hospital.  In fact there are two, but one was in Moshi.  These young engineers are repairing equipment that is vital to the ongoing work at the hospital, such as x-ray equipment, surge protectors, and masses of other electric things.  They have apparently been invaluable to the hospital.

Dinner at our dear friends the Emmanuels was enhanced even more by the presence of Greg and the Kimaros.  I always feel that I have been transported in time when we go the house in Machame.  It is relaxing and delightful.

At the table with the Emmanuels.  Delicious food wonderful company with some of the stalwarts of our community.

John walking the walk

We volunteered to set the hash at Kibo Farms.  This is a place that has an incredible coffee farm that covers 100's of acres.  The road has been worked on for over 4 years, and it is still treacherous at times.  We watched buses and motorbikes dodging one another as they did a slalom through the big rocks in the road.  At one point, a near miss made John lean on the horn of our pathetic car.  Only a squawk came out and I could only imagine the driver of the bus laughing all the way to Moshi!

John is scouting where to put the check as we walk between beautiful coffee bushes.  The whole walk was lovely, though were to put the crosses and how to stay out of the begger weeds was another matter again.


There was quite a bit of coffee being picked and we were able to watch the trucks going up and down the paths.  The pickers were happy as they would be paid at the end of the day.

The view at Kibo Farm is terrific.  The day was not particularly clear, and was cold, but I could still see many kilometers and loved the red in the house below the corn fields.  Part of what makes "hashing" fun, is the ability to get out and see areas of the countryside we have not seen before.  Thank you Africa!  (and of course Greg for starting hashing here.

Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that road crossing and water crossing are part of the usual fare with a hash and this one will be no exception.  I love the truck filled with corn stalks and the ladies carrying sticks and branches on their heads. And one of the highlights of this hash in particular is the huge turtle named Tom.  When he saw me with camera held, he woke up and started after his food.  Apparently I stood between him and the food and he was not happy.  All the workers at the farm know Tom and care for him.  He may be one of the oldest turtles in Tanzania.

This is what happens when you set a hash.  We could have been considered one of the road hazards as we were picking these things out of our socks all the way home.  Disgusting.
Dinner at the pastors led to a conversation about Palliative Care, one of my favorite topics.  Turns out that they have been trying to help Mama Pulchra.  I hope it works out!