Days 61 & 62

Well yesterday we epitomized the meaning of "lazy Sunday."  We all slept in, watched 3 episodes from season 1 of Game of Thrones, napped and then watched the movie Eagle....what a great day!!!  We have been so busy lately it was nice being able to just relax.

Today we have been pretty busy. We went to a presentation that Shaya put on at UNGE about all of her turtle work.  It was really insightful!  She studies their abundance rates, just like the monkeys, but also tags them, looks at their blood and at the density of eggs.  Pretty cool!

Then Sarah and I went to pick up our dresses we had made for International Women's Day before classes!  I can't wait until the parade!!

After classes, all of the turtle volunteers came over because they will be staying with us for a few days before they all fly back home.  It is gonna be a full house for the rest of this week...looks like I will be escaping to Cafe Malabo to get all of my assignments done!

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 60 - Creciendo Sin Paludismo

Creciendo Sin Paludismo, or Growing Without Malaria, is the name of the Malaria Project that Marathon runs here on Bioko.  So this morning we met with Dr. Wonder, the coordinator of the whole program.  As part of our assignment we asked him all of these questions about the environmental risks, health risks, and the assessments they make for those risks.  But otherwise, he went over the entire process and explained all of the techniques that the various sprayers need to learn before they are actually allowed to go in and spray the homes.  He also talked about all of the properties of the insecticide and how it is biodegradable and better for the environment since they only perform indoor residual spraying.  For anyone who doesn't know, they spray only enough so that they mosquitos land on the wall and then die, not too much so that they are repelled.  Even though Dr. Wonder said that if they are repelled from bedrooms and living rooms it is still better than nothing.

Once he had explained everything and given us masks and coats, we were off!  We went to two different homes and got to see how the spraying is done.  They basically go to homes the day before they plan on spraying, tell the families, ask them to move the furniture away from the walls and then they come and spray.  Some families were very reluctant and even called us "ants and cockroaches" for coming and invading their privacy.  All in all, it was a really cool experience getting to see how they are moving toward keeping families safe.  Marathon is also working on a Malaria vaccine, so hopefully that will be up and working soon!  But since they have started the spraying twice a year the mortality rate from Malaria has decreased significantly.

For the second part of our day, we were supposed to go to Baney, a small village on the island, with Shaya, Justin and Adam to show the Drill Documentary.  It got cancelled though because the president is doing various things around the island right now, so the security is really tight with traveling out of Malabo.

On the plus side this let us have time to watch another Barcelona v. Real Madrid game!!

Since Shaya's turtle volunteers just finished their 5 month span of living at Moaba Playa we got to meet them all.  Karrim has a house in Malabo, as well as Moka, so he had us all over for dinner.  Man is he a good cook! I am obsessed with the plantains here! After we ate we all took a trip to this club called Galaxia...it was fun except the people here don;t go out until around 2 in the morning and so we were there by ourselves for a bit.  It was a fun night either way though!!


Here are some other random pictures I have!

More arm wrestling at Riaba Playa.

One of the stray pigs that were in Riaba.

The fish and rice that Adama's wife made for us...it was delicious!

Reed posing with his chameleon buddy in class.

Aurora and I in Olivia and Mark's apartment.

Dinner that Herminia cooked for us!

Mmmm pescado.

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 59 - ZSL

I was supposed to talk on the radio show today with Prospero about the research I did in Moka, but unfortunately it got cancelled for some event they were hosting.  But it worked out anyways because we ended up having two people from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) come and talk to us.  Their names were Miila and Amalia and they work in Bata, which is on the mainland.  Some of their current projects are quantifying how much bushmeat is hunted/consumed in various villages on mainland EG and trying to implement other sources of protein for the people to consume.  This would include fisheries, or livestock, etc.  There was a lot of overlap with what BBPP is doing here, but it was still very interesting to hear them talk about what they do!! Plus it is always nice having another contact...especially if we go to Bata while we are still here!!!

Shaya, Justin and Adam are staying at the house for the next few days and so we will be doing various activities around the island with them.  I don't think I have mentioned Shaya on my blog yet, but she is the one who runs all of the turtle work on the island for the BBPP and Drexel.  I didn't know this before, but she also is in charge of the jewelry project with the women from Ureka that the fashion major coop students help with!  So what they do is take materials down to the women in Ureka and then they made these necklaces and bracelets!  I didn't have a chance to get any pictures of them yet, but it is an awesome project idea to help get the women jobs.

We had our normal classes today, minus Society and Environment, but tomorrow we are taking a little field trip with Dr. Wonder, who works on the malaria control project with Marathon...which our professor also works with...to see what they do as far as indoor residual spraying and what all that the control project entails.  Plus as part of our assignment we are going to examine the risks and the assessments they take when it comes to both the community and the environment.  I think it will be fun!

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 58 - Getting Dresses Made

International Women's Day, which is on March 8th this year, is very important on the island.  Actually, almost every woman, even some males, get dresses/skirts/blouses/pants made with different colored materials that say "Dia de la mujer" in various patterns.  Aurora and Olivia had already gotten their clothes made, so Sarah and I went out with Aurora...Olivia had work...to get some made for us!! It was fun getting to walk around the city with Aurora and experience some new things we haven't yet.  Plus Aurora is from Guatemala and so her Spanish is a lot better than ours...makes it a little easier!!  I will post some pictures once we get the clothes.

My favorite was this blue color fabric and I had bought enough to get two blouses and a skirt made...we are going to go back on Monday afternoon and make sure they fit and what not.  While at the fabric store, we met this women who gave us all the details on the parade and what other events are going on that day.  She said the parade starts at la plaza de la mujer...I figured...and then marches up Airport Rd until one of the hotels where various activities are going on...I can't wait!!  Plus it is going to be even more fun since Aurora and Olivia will be with me and Sarah!

For dinner Herminia, a woman who had been a cook for students in other years, came over and made us some fish and pasta...mmm it was delicious! And convenient since we don't get back from class until after 9!  She had brought her granddaughter Diana over and she was adorable.  I wish I spoke better Spanish!

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 57 - The US Embassy Event

Today in Spanish class Carmen told me that she was going to talk to the teachers in the English department at her school...I can't wait! I would love to help and since I am running out of time here to get things done, I need to figure out how to help ASAP.

I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that at the pub we met two really friendly women, Yolanda and Elvira.  Elvira speaks some English and wants to learn more, so it was perfect!  Then before our Economics class today the US Embassy was throwing a roundtable event about Civil Rights and Elvira happened to be there.  So she sat with us and Sarah and I had already met Ashley, the woman who helped us with our first day debacle, so we chatted a bit.  The event itself was really interesting!! For some of it they spoke in only Spanish, so it was good practice for us.  The US Ambassador of EG, the US Ambassador for the African Union and a representative from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for EG all spoke.

We were a little upset because we had to leave early in order to be at UNGE in time for class, but it was still an awesome experience!  We keep meeting all of these very interesting people...you know what they say about networking!

I think I am going to contact Ashley and see if there is anyway I can volunteer at the Embassy because it will be another way that I can help out.  Plus it may be a little easier to arrange in between my classes since there would much less of a language barrier!

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 56 - Reed's Birthday!

Today has been a great day!!  We thought we were going to be really crunched with time because we had two papers due for our classes here and some Spanish homework, but we ended up only having Spanish class and our assignments got postponed since we were in Moka for 2 weeks...que suerte!  Plus, it's Reed's birthday!

And on top of all of that, the Real Madrid v. Barcelona game was on and we got to go out to Irish Pub and watch it...what a great day.

There is one thing I forgot to mention about my time in Moka and that is about Gabrilla (he said that is how you spell it, but I am unsure haha) the watchman of the wildlife center.  He was a character...he is from Cameroon and so he spoke some English and he always had everyone laughing.  The one night he had to come out with me to look for galagos because Fermine was busy with Reed and Prospero and although he was complaining the entire time, he actually was good at finding them!  He also was making me laugh the entire time because he started out saying that we wouldn't see any farther on the trails where there weren't any banana plants because they have nothing to eat...they don't eat bananas...then he said that we wouldn't see any because they are asleep...they are nocturnal...and the kicker is that he said we should just go to Cameroon to see galagos because they don't eat everything like the people here...it was a comical night to say the least.

Before leaving, Gabrilla gave me a Cameroon soccer jersey that was too small for him.  A really cool souvenir because David said he had to go to Cameroon in order to get his! haha

Well, now I actually have to start my papers for ENVS and Society...

Hasta luego,
Lindsey

Day 55 - La Paz

So this morning David took me to La Paz, the new Israeli hospital out by Sipopo beach, to get my rash taken care of...it is really uncomfortable to walk since it is behind my knees...ugh sensitive skin!

The doctor there was from Russia and it was surprisingly a nice hospital.  She told me I rubbed up against a plant I was allergic to and then since I didn't have access to any medical care for 2 weeks, it got infected...eek.  But I am on steroids and a topical antibiotic now, so I should be good in a few weeks!

Anyways, back to regular classes today...man we were spoiled being in Moka!  We basically ran our own classes.  I feel more comfortable with my Spanish though...so this week should be cool talking with Carmen!  Speaking of Carmen, if anyone back in the US is looking for a live-in Spanish teacher, she wants a job!  She did this last summer and transitioned from three different houses over 2 months and in turn she also learned some more English.  If anyone knows of anyone or is interested themselves, let me know!  I want to help her out if I can because she is just so kind.

Well, have to go write two papers due for my classes tonight.

Hast luego,
Lindsey