And still more to do and see

New sights and experiences seem endless here. That’s probably a good thing as I have to admit that even as I enjoy my time here, I’m starting to really look forward to going home where I can sleep in my own bed, clean my clothes in a laundry machine, make my own food in my own kitchen, not constantly move every few days or sometimes every day to another unknown place, hang out with friends,….. Three months hopping around in the field is exhausting. It might be better if I didn’t have to also write and give reports – not here to sightsee afterall, despite what it may seem like from my blogs.










Only one more week and then it’s back to Nairobi. So for now, I’ve been back in Nyanza where it seems just about everyone has a bicycle, and if you don’t have one, you’re in serious need, and repair stalls with just about anything you could need can be found just about anywhere.....women carry loads on their heads so as to free up their hands, which they can use for other things (amazing how they carry just about anything on their heads!).....and fishing is one of the main industries here.

It’s kind of funny in a way that I end my time in Kenya in Nyanza by Lake Victoria. Some things here remind me of home, although it’s all very different, too. In Suba, I was lucky to be able to stay in a guesthouse of the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, which is open to any NGO or representative that works for the benefit of the community. Lucky me. The grounds were beautiful and located on one side of the Mbita peninsula so that I could enjoy the sight and sound of the waters of Lake Victoria lapping the shore. I had been missing the water, but I didn’t realize how much until I saw and heard the rhythmic waves of the lake. Yes, waves, small ones, but still waves.

Lake Victoria is huge, or at least large enough that you can’t see the opposite shores in Uganda, and waves are generated. Pretty cool. There probably would be more industry on this lake if it weren’t for the hyacinth that are essentially floating weeds and threaten the lake’s ecosystem and the locals’ fishing industry. It’s amazing how this plant just seems to take over large areas and therefore limit boat traffic and choke out the oxygen from the water. What looks like land or marsh are large green swaths of hyacinth - yes, all the flat green area beyond the trees in the picture is just floating hyacinth. Crazy.

Anyway, it really was nice to stay at the guesthouse in Suba, even short as the stay was. The grounds were large enough to accommodate decent morning runs. I’m sure I provided some curious amusement or head scratching for the groundspeople and security guards, one of whom would clap for me every time I ran by him. The only real negatives here were the swarms of mosquitoes and other insects that came out every evening, throughout the night, and even into the morning. Thank goodness for mosquito nets, Doom, DEET, and mefloquine.

The other day as we drove, we saw a great rainbow, which made me think of the ones we see all the time back home in Hawaii. I mentioned fishing; they’ve got plenty of fish here that gets sent to Nairobi and even, curiously, to Mombasa (which already sits on the coast), and I’ve enjoyed some very yummy fried tilapia – almost like home. Fruits grow very well here (unlike other parts of the country), so I’ve been able to have plenty. In fact, locals will set up at the roadside to sell fresh pineapples (they’re so sweet – even better than at home?...although these days, less and less of those are actually grown in Hawaii), and loads of bananas are transported to Nairobi and elsewhere constantly.

Yesterday, I got to see and sample fresh fruit and a traditional Kenyan meal at the country home of Nyambok, the provincial disease surveillance coordinator here in Nyanza. He and his family, including his extended family all live on a nice-sized area of land (at least several acres), where they have a modest farm that supplements their food supply and even occasionally income. Nyambok proudly showed me his idyllic homestead, where his children were busy planting maize and beans in a portion of the field, and encouraged me to try guava fresh from the tree – tasty. Then, we enjoyed a meal of stewed chicken, cooked and seasoned kale, and fresh, hot ugale. The last was tastier than what I’ve been served in restaurants, probably because Nyambok’s wife uses whole maize kernels rather than processed maize to make the ugale, although her sister-in-law actually did the honors for us. We finished the meal with fresh, sweet, juicy pineapple Nyambok had picked up earlier at one of the roadside stands we’d passed. Mmm!!