NYT and AIDS

Here's an article in the Times abou the coming AIDS crisis in Uganda and the rest of Africa. It's something I've alluded to a few times here in the blog...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/world/africa/10aids.html?hp

Istanbul, sans Waragi (Part 2)

I soon realized I was going further into terminal A and took a hard left through an open door to find another airport employee. I then asked how to get to terminal F. He looked at me and said, "Bojour". I said, "Hi. I'm in a hurry. I need to get to F48." He stared, blankly and said, "Bonjour, sir." "Yes, yes, bonjour. Can you help me?" "Sir, how did you get here?" I replied, "I walked from A38, through a door and found you. I need to get to F48. Do you know where that is?" With a concerned/quizzical look, he responded, "Sir, may I see your passport?" Oh god. At that point, I knew I had done something very wrong. It was now 9:21am.

He immediately got on the radio and asked for his supervisor. "Sir, please wait 'ere. My superviserre iss on 'er way. She weel be able to help." Eventually, the woman arrived, I showed them the door that was ajar and asked them if they could help me get to F48. They were shocked that the door was open. If the alert level had been any higher, I may not have left Paris. When they realized that I was not a threat, acted alone and just wanted to get on my way, they took my name down and let me go. At this point, I ran back to the bus stand and decided it would be faster to grab the next bus. I got on and anxiously headed to terminal F. It was now 9:33am.

The bus seemed to take forever, but got me to F at 9:39am. I ran up towards gate 48 and tried to get in line for the next security check. "Your boarding pass and passport, please, sir." Oh, god. I vaguely remembered the woman at the Addis airport saying that she could NOT check me in all the way through to my final destination. And since I didn't have any money to pay for internet at the airport, I couldn't do it myself. I hadn't even checked in to the flight! It was now 9:44am.
I ran to the Air France desk across the hall to explain the situation. "I'm sorry, sir. Check-in for this flight is closed." I looked at her. Looked back at the ground. "Please, m'am, I don't have any checked baggage. My flight from Ethiopia was over two hours late. I just arrived. Is there anything you can do to get me on this flight?" She seemed to sense my desperation (didn't take much to notice it) and headed behind the closed door to advocate for me. She returned with a phone number and made the call. Success! I had a boarding pass. It was now 9:52am.
I ran back to the line, got out my laptop and took off my shoes to get through as quickly as I could. "Anyone have liquids? More than 3 oz? " Crap. Waragiiiiiii!!
I had forgotten that I bought some Uganda gin (called Uganda Waragi) at the duty free store in Kampala and carried it with me through Ethiopia. I had wanted to share it with Russ and Charlie in Istanbul, not expecting to go through another level of security on my layover. I hadn't had a problem carrying the liquid on my flight from Addis. Apparently, the French take their security a little more seriously. DAMN IT.
So I left the Waragi at the desk, waved goodbye, shed a small tear and got in line. I made it through security, but not without losing my sunscreen and skin moisturizing lotion as well. DAMN THE FRENCH. First the Waragi and now the sunscreen AND moisturizer?!? It was now 9:55am.
I got my shoes back and SPRINTED to the gate. F48. F48. Where is it? THERE! No one was in line. Crap. 9:57am.
Sweaty and exhausted, I arrived at the gate, the last person to board the plane. Seat 29A. The last row, against the window. I could finally breathe. I was going to Istanbul. Sans Waragi, sunscreen, moisturizer and all my warm feelings toward the French.
Waragiiii!!!  Coppertone!!!

Istanbul, sans Waragi (Part 1)

I made it to Istanbul, but not without a series of twists and turns (and sprints).

My flight out of Addis was set for 11:30pm on May 3, about 8 hours after the rest of the team was heading back to the US. I decided to go to the airport with them to relax, read and write a few emails. Well, I soon realized that I didn't have any birr (money) and the internet cafe didn't take a credit card. Nor did the regular cafe. Or the restaurants. Sweet. After going through customs at 5:30pm, I found a duty free shop that took Visa, so I got a bag of M&Ms to last until dinner on the flight. So after breakfast at 9am, the only thing I had was a bag of M&Ms and water.

I finished my book and headed to the gate at 9pm to check in and get ready for the flight. Or so I thought. The flight was now delayed 2.5 hours until 2am. My first thought was, "crap, I can't eat until 2am." My second thought was, "crap, my layover in Paris is only three hours. It better not be later than 2am."

During that the 2.5 hr delay, a Turkish Airlines flight arrived, unloaded its passengers, picked up new passengers and departed for Istanbul. Damn it.

We were served dinner at 3:30am (finally), but I accidentally ordered a lasagne, which was awful. So I ate half. The rest of the flight was fine, but it seemed to take forever. I just kept thinking about the quick transition I was going to have to make in Paris.

We arrived in Paris at 9am. My flight to Istanbul was set for 9:55am...so I needed to hurry. I found an airport employee and told her of my situation. She got me to the front of the line, so I could find my next gate. I got to the main part of the terminal and learned that my next flight was on the EXACT opposite side of the airport. F. 48. That's terminal F, gate 48. I was at A38. It was now 9:12am. I hadn't yet realized that this was just the start of my problems.

After getting to the main section of the terminal, I looked around for transportation to the new gate. The only option was a bus that comes every 20 minutes and it had JUST left. WHY IS MY ONLY OPTION A BUS?!? WHO DESIGNED THIS AIRPORT?!? So my choices were: a) wait 20 min for the next bus or b) run. I opted for B.

I asked for directions, half-listened and took off. In the wrong direction.
It was now 9:16am.

Out of Africa

Ack! It’s over!?!

The group is leaving Africa today, May 3, bound for the US. I’ll be stopping over in Turkey for the next eight days, returning to the US on May 13. For those unaware, I’m meeting up with two of my college roommates, Charlie and Russ, for a short adventure in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey.

I’ll have more thoughts on the trip later, so check back if you’re interested. For now, I’ve got another country to explore and very little time to reflect on all the things we’ve seen and done here in East Africa. 

Last Night

The group spent our last night reminiscing and recounting inside jokes, sweeping generalizations about each other and things we’ll take away from the trip. It was great.

A few lighthearted examples include: Tim has now brainwashed Kristi and Amelia into using “them” instead of “those” (e.g. them projects aren’t on the schedule); Steve has put some serious thought into the most efficient strategy for bucket baths; Amelia is constantly surprised by the extent of my pop music and popular culture knowledge; and Alex routinely refers to a normal pair of trousers as “long-sleeved pants”.

We also thought it was odd that all five of us were up late chatting and soaking up our last night, while the Swedish team had gone to bed two hours earlier. I’m pretty sure we’re the best GSE team ever, but I also know the Swedes were lame…

This experience is obviously totally different from a study abroad or even a personal traveling experience on many different levels, but one of the most exciting differences for me is the fact that we all live in the same city. Most of my traveling experiences have either been with complete strangers (Australia) or close friends who live in other cities. I now have several new friends in Minneapolis!

It’ll be fun to see how we relate to each other and keep in touch when our lives return to their normal pace. 

District Conference

The Rotary International District 9200 Conference took place over three grueling days from April 29 – May 1. Generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of large conferences. My jobs haven’t required much conference participation over the last five years, but each one isn’t terribly different from the next.

There were a number of important Rotarians at the conference, several of which gave speeches or lead discussion groups based on their position and vocation. The GSE team was not expected to be present for many of the speeches (phew), so we used the time to meet other Rotarians, get to know our Swedish comrades and reflect on our time in Uganda. And sit by the pool.

Both GSE teams presented information about our lives at home and experiences in Africa during the morning session of the last day. We had a large turnout (~250-300 people), which was a nice surprise. We were each approached by several Rotarians looking to make contacts in the US or simply looking for more information about what we do.

There were evening events each night, which was a good opportunity to relax, chat with anyone who was interested and enjoy different aspects of Ethiopia. One night was a simple mixer with a live musician, appetizers and lots of conversation; the second night was a meal at an Ethiopian restaurant, complete with a local cultural performance group (who were fantastic); and the third night was a banquet dinner at the Hilton.

Overall, I think it was a positive experience. We met several Rotarians looking for business cards who were sincerely interested in our work, which was great. We also got to relax at a nice hotel and make some new Swedish friends. As expected, there was certainly a noticeable amount of chest-thumping, glad-handing and general Rotary self-praise. Rotary does some wonderful projects around the world, no doubt, but there is still a prevalent old-boys-club vibe to many of the speeches and functions. This doesn’t appear to be as big of a deal with the young people of Africa, since their young Rotarians vastly outnumber their American counterparts. But it rubbed me the wrong way.

If we’re asked to give a presentation at the District 5950 Conference next week, it’ll be interesting to compare and contrast… 

Oil at Murch

Russ, my roommate from Davidson, passed along this WSJ article about oil drilling in Murchison Falls National Park.
Nice timing.