Coming to ya from the Quick 'n Easy internet cafe in Harare...it's already dark here at 5:30 pm and it's surprisingly chilly. I've been wearing my polar fleece, but I don't have it as bad as the locals who've been using their space heaters and big jackets. It's probably only in the mid 60s at the coolest during the day, but it's winter to the Zimbabweans.

It's Thursday now, and last saturday, while we were still in Kenya, we attended a wedding with our friend Beryl. It was her cousin's wedding that took place in a catholic church in Nairobi and was very similar to other catholic weddings I've been to. But the reception was much more fun than the ceremony - lots of good Kenyan food, Luo dancers and music (Luo is the tribe of Beryl and the bride's family), and lots and
lots of people.

We were also treated to meeting Jabez, one of Beryl's younger brothers, at the reception. He is one crazy kook!! He can make you laugh till you cry and his alias is MC MEEK DOCK - his whole life is hip-hop. We recorded lots of improptu raps from Jabez that day. And he promised to help me start my next photo story about the hip-hop scene in Nairobi... (well, scooby doo, Katie!)













Nicole and I arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe on Monday night after taking a flight from Nairobi that lasted 4 hours, but which also made a stop in Lusaka, Zambia on the way. It was the emptiest flight I've taken in a long time - there were only people in the first 9 rows of seats.

The Harare airport is swanky!! I thought Nairobi was plush, but this terminal is brand new and futuristic-looking. And there are pictures of Mugabe up everywhere you look - it was so ridiculous I started laughing. We got our visa and were met by our contact here, Paul Ndebele. He had a sign up with our names on it, but he was the only one waiting for anyone and we were the only passengers left to come out of the arrivals hall.

He took us to a family friend's house for us to stay in for the first night and then the next day we went in to our work base in Zimbabwe - the Blair Research Institute - which is a department of the Ministry of Health here. Paul introduced us around to all the researchers there - many more interesting people doing interesting things. Then Nicole and I went downtown to search for a new place to stay. Harare is good (and does remind me of Seattle in the 1980s, Katie). It's full of buildings built in the late 70s-early 80s with a few brand new buildings sprinkled here and there. It's so much cleaner and more pleasant than Nairobi - there are lanes painted on the roads here, also different from Nairobi. We found a place to stay at a hotel right downtown but close enough to walk to work.

The economy is a mess though, evidenced by the fact that we got 450 Zimbabwean dollars to one U.S. dollar (although this isn't the official rate...). Which means we take away a stack of bills so thick it makes me uneasy! You can eat really well for under $2. And our neat hotel room costs $13. Kinda crazy.

We're still getting our bearings - meeting people at work and figuring out the city. Here are some highlights: there's a pool table in the canteen at the Blair Research Institute. My other favorite place there is the INSECTARY where they raise and keep mosquitos to use for various Malaria tests - I learned so much about Malaria after spending an hour with the researchers in there. Have YOU ever seen mosquitos in the larvae stage? Fascinating. Lion beer (the national favorite). Sadza (a little like grits) and veggies made especially for me, the vegetarian, by the cook at the canteen.

Next week will be a big week - we've arranged to go out to various locations in Zimbabwe with 2 researchers studying Malaria and Schistosomiasis and meet some of the participants in their studies. And today we visited two clinics just outside of Harare where a few trials are being run regarding HIV transmission. We met researchers today - and hopefully trial volunteers will be next...

- Marta