Was nicht ist, kann noch werden

The title of this week's (month's?) blogpost is a quote from a woman I met while in Berlin who was, in turn, quoting an old german saying-- it translates to 'what isn't yet can still become'. It struck me very acutely when she said it, and it has somehow become the unofficial mantra of my summer. (The other unofficial mantra I adopted for the summer, but earlier on, was "It is just going to be fine." Typically applied to disaster or near-disaster conditions.) I love this phrase, and its meaning, and having come back to it often thought it might be nice to share it with my devoted readers. Both of you.
We are halfway through the second workshop and it is going as well as the first, though with twice as big a group there has not been the chance to bond as a group as much as we did in Uganda. At the end of the Uganda workshop, we took a group photo as is customary at scientific meetings and working groups-- though of course in this case we had to take two. One East African style (no smiles, that is the custom for official pictures here; left), and one Western style (smiles all around; right).
Here in Nairobi, the participants are also a wonderful group and working hard. Although we are based in the city, the folks originate from all over the country and it has been fun asking them about where they hail from, how and when they arrived in Nairobi, and how often they get to visit their families. This map I found through the UT-Austin library was made in 1974, but it is cool because it not only shows the major cities in Kenya, but also the tribal majority in each region. At times, tribalism in Kenya has caused major problems because the artificial lines drawn during the colonial era pay no attention to the major differences in culture, language, and way of life that exist between tribes. These days in Kenya, however, things are peaceful. And though the Kikuyu represent the majority in this area, I am still getting to meet and know people from all over the country and continent in this amazing city.Last time I was in Kenya, I moved around the country a lot (I think I have been in every region shown on this map, by ethnic group, except for perhaps two of the smallest ones). This time, however, I mainly am on campus at the University or working from my hotel, so it is cool that the diversity of the place comes to me in the form of the participants who've arrived here from all over for the educational opportunities. It is SO different being here as a scientist rather than as a student, and I am not used to the legitimacy of it all yet. In addition to spending less time hitchhiking (see a few old posts for some of those stories), I give many more talks and take many more showers (so, perhaps not all bad depending on your point of view). As I wrote, I am hoping to get up Mt. Kenya at the end of the trip to fulfill that now ancient goal, but in the mean time I am actually working hard and hoping to create opportunities here that will lead to a sustainable, long lasting exchange with my East African colleagues and friends. This is something I have hoped for for a long time, and it is exciting to think: that which isn't can still become. Napenda sana sehemu ya dunia hiyo, na ninataka kurudi tena na tena kama nikweza. (I love this part of the world and I want to come back again and again if I can). Halafu labda siku moja naweza kukaribishwa wote hapa kunitembelea Afrika ya mashiriki badala schaackmobilini. (Then, maybe one day I can welcome you all here to visit me in East Africa instead of the Schaackmobile). Ni kubwa kuliko kwangu. (It is bigger than my place.)

Participants hard at work in the workshop at the Unviersity of Nairobi.

Round Two

We are back in Nairobi. The workshop in Kampala was fantastic. The participants were so great, we got so lucky with electricity and internet, and our hosts did such a nice job, that I could not have asked for more on any front. In fact, it far surpassed even my doubly-wide optimistic hopes for how it might go. Part of that was because of how the group emerged from its chrysalis after the 2 weeks—we started off a collection of strangers and ended up a group of friends. Not only did I not know the participants beforehand, most of them did not know each other, and now I think they really feel they have a new battalion of professional and personal resources in Kampala as they pursue their research and career goals. I certainly feel that way, and I am grateful to them for so fully engaging in the workshop and making it a success. Above is a picture of the main building on the Makerere University campus, and on the left is the Dept. of Zoology where we have made our home the last 2 weeks.

The other thing I am grateful for is the fact that motorcycles (called bodabodas in Uganda, and pikipikis in Tanzania and Kenya) are taking over the major cities and towns of East Africa. First of all, I love motorcycles and (of course!) scooters. Second, they make so much sense here. The urban planning initiatives are a bit behind the population growth, so if you want to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, you are better off walking or taking a bodaboda (a small glimpse of which is shown here, but you have to imagine them in absolute fleets during rush hour! the Hell's Angels would be proud.) They allow you to enjoy the breeze while swerving in and out of standstill traffic, occasionally chatting with other passengers at intersections-- both of you cheerful because you are going to get where you want to go on time and in style. The women often sit sidesaddle (skirts, you know) and there can easily be 3 passenger and a driver on one vehicle if everyone's comfortable with the arrangement. Of course, they don't just transport people, but charcoal, sacks of fruit, slabs of meat, and all the other things one also sees delicately slung over the backs of bicycles and the heads of men, women, and children when you keep your eyes open. Anyway, bodabodas (and their drivers) made life in Kampala sweet in yet another way the last two weeks, and I am grateful for them too.

We arrived back in Kenya yesterday about midday, and I think it was cool to see Andrew (my teaching assistant and a recent Lewis and Clark graduate) come back to something familiar. I could sense how good it felt to him to land somewhere and feel like he knew the place, and I am happy that our itinerary ended up in a way that had us both start and end in Nairobi. I was sad to leave friends (new and old) in Kampala, but happy to return to a place where KiSwahili is the norm. I had learned basic greetings in Luganda (the unofficial official language in Uganda) and bought a Luganda-English dictionary at the airport on my way out, but it definitely made me realize how much knowing the language is a key part of the intense happiness I feel when I am here. So, it feels good.
As soon as we arrived, I turned around and headed to iHub, a technology innovation center here in Nairobi, where I had arranged to give a talk on the longer term goals I have for bringing bioinformatics and genomics research to East Africa. It is an amazing little hive of activity—they have highspeed wireless internet and provide a place for techies and hackers to program, focusing mainly on mobile phone applications that can help empower, connect, and inform folks in this part of the world. Over my head for sure, but the openness (and emphasis on open-source-ness) made me think that maybe I could inspire some techies to join forces on a bioinformatics and genomics initiative. I was right! A group of about 10 of us got together to talk, listen, and brainstorm yesterday for what turned into over 3 hours. It was fun, and exciting, and (as you have come to expect) I am really optimistic about the possibilities that will come of it, perhaps much more quickly than I had dared hope. The longterm goal is to get a regionally relevant whole genome sequencing project off the ground where the idea, sequencing, annotation, and energy comes from here. The field of bioinformatics and genomics research is quite a democratic one, with a real emphasis on making data and tools free and accessible. Thus, it is an area of science that could and should be doable anywhere, and I want to help make it doable here.

Enough about work! It’s Sunday, and I am enjoying a day of rest after 2 very busy weeks have wrapped up and 2 more very busy weeks are about to start. If that doesn't refresh me, I can always call Dr. Karim, I saw his ad today while out and about....

Kibale National Forest

We survived week one of the bioinformatics and genomics workshop unscathed. It is a bit of a miracle, but so is the fact that this is my job. How lucky am I? Extremely, extremely lucky.

Let me back up. I left off at a roof top in Arusha. The five days spent in TZ were bliss for me as I love that country and its language very much. I also love my dear friend Abbas, who I had not seen in 5 years and with whom it was just as easy to pick up mid-sentence in KiSwahili as it would have been with an old friend from Florida in English. He is warm and generous and smart and open—like many Tanzanians I have met, and it was so fun to pick up where we left off and even take a day to go out in the bush looking for spiders (it was not unlike some of the other diverse expeditions we have been on together, like the day we went to go looking for a magic boy). We found spiders. Tons of them, actually. And it was really a hoot looking and inciting the curiosity and then assistance of mainly the Maasai in the areas we were looking. The Maasai are generally very thoughtful, and extremely observant; somewhat disappointed, as well, when the many spiders they offered up simply weren’t the right kind. It was kind of fun explaining to them that there are 43,000 species of spiders, and we were looking for one of them—Loxosceles rufescens. While looking, we saw probably 40 other species, plus scorpions, millipedes, beetles, horned grasshoppers, ants, worms, zebras, elephants, baboons, blue monkeys, and tons of birds. But alas… Still fun looking though, and hanging out with Abbasi.
From Tanzania, we flew to Entebbe—a town near Kampala (yellow star on the map), the capital of Uganda, on Lake Victoria and home to Makerere University—the host institution for the first workshop I am running in bioinformatics and genomics here in East Africa as part of my post-doctoral duties at L&C (I know, tough work if you can get it, huh?) Last weekend (before the workshop), I went to see the national football (=soccer) team (the Ugandan Cranes) play soccer in a stadium literally buzzing with the sound of 35,000 vevuzulas. This weekend, I am heading west to where I worked as a graduate student at the Univ of Florida (12 years ago!) when I spent an absolutely amazing summer in Kibale National Forest (see heart on the map) doing my field research. I lived with 3 friends from FL in a house at the station that summer, just down the road from the permanent project houses (my advisor and her husband, working on fish, chimps, and plants and Richard Wrangham’s chimp house; see this older post for more on that). There were so many great things about that summer, I don’t know where to start my description.

Lauren in the papyrus swamps.

First, there was my walk to work: 5 km each way through the most beautiful, dense, luscious forest descending gently deeper and deeper into the park until we arrived at a pair of swamp sites [Njuguta and Rwembaita] where I was collecting data. “We” was a team that included various people day-to-day involved with the fish projects, but which always included myself and my field assistant, James Apuli. James is a treasure of a human being, and our long days together that summer were something I cannot speak of highly enough. He was the best assistant, acrobat, problem solver, conversationalist, data collector, and friend I could have asked for... and I get to see him on Saturday! It has been way too long. What else was great about that summer? Well, there was the day Scot and I spent stalking elephants, there were the frequent dinners spent playing Celebrities and eating cabbage rolls, there was the week long retreat to Lake Nabugabo when the rebels came into the park, there was the party for Tammy when I put in the butt implants, there were homemade cookies from Amy’s private stash of chocolate chips, there was the trip to the village doctor for the mango fly infection, there was Fry Night every sunday, everyone getting and using a traditional Rotoro pet name, sampling at the Crater Lakes, black and white colobus monkeys dripping from the trees outside our house, expected and unexpected visits from friends and colleagues, trips to the market for food, faxes, and supplies, and a really, really fun dance party at the end of the summer, that came up right away in conversation when I met up with Jackson (my old friend from that summer, and now a lecturer in the Dept of Zoology here, my colleague co-hosting the workshop, and fellow Uganda Cranes fan). As you can imagine, although I spent almost no time in Kampala that summer (our one day in town, we headed to nearby Jinja to raft the Nile), it is great to be back in another region where I have such fond memories. Mostly, I am grateful to Lauren, my advisor, for giving me that opportunity, even though I am quite certain I was a huge pain in the butt to mentor or try and keep tame. After completing week one of two of the workshop, this weekend we are off duty and I am heading west to see her, … and the swamps, … and the field station, … and James Apuli. I can’t wait!
[By the time I got a chance to post this, I was already back from Kibale, and therefore able to add pictures from the trip to illustrate my excitement about going there in the first place! ]

Me (Abwoli) and James (Apuli) at the research station after 12 years apart.

Safari Imeanza Mwishoni

One would think that a trip to multiple continents, myriad countries, with the chance to see umpteen friends would result in mucho blogging—but who has time? The last two weeks (could it be that I was in Portland two weeks ago?!?) has been so full, so rich, so delicious, so nourishing in so many ways, I hardly know what to say about it and have had little time to sit down and try. But here I am, at the rooftop bar at the Kilimanjaro Backpacker’s Hostel in Arusha, Tanzania right where I belong. It is evening, the sun is shining and has burnt off almost every last cloud of the waning rainy season save for a few wisps atop Mt. Meru. The bar has a breeze that, combined with the sunshine, makes this the most perfect weather for any activity that doesn’t involve snow. The busy intersection below me offers plenty to look at when I can’t bear to look at the computer screen and work, and the sounds and smells that emanate even when I am not looking are probably what I missed most while away from this beautiful place. But I am skipping ahead too fast. I left Portland and was delighted to find out I had actually booked a nonstop flight to Europe—lucky me! I arrived in Amsterdam, caught a train to Paris, jumped on the metro, grabbed a second train to Poitiers and met my dear friend Clement in what is going to serve as his new hometown. Quite conveniently, it isn’t that far from his old hometown, the one where he grew up, and several other places that one would be lucky to call their home along the SW coast of France and an island just off the coast called Ile de Re (a view from a cafe in one of the pretty harbor towns). We spent 5 very relaxing days enjoying the good wine and good cheese and good conversation that France has to offer. It was the closest thing to a real vacation I have taken in a while (I even got too much sun and drank champagne) and I am sooooo glad to have had the chance to visit him and forge the beginning of a new chapter of our friendship, not as post-docs in cultural exile (north Texas), but enjoying the more delectable fruits of the new places we have landed. It was my first trip to France for more than a day or two passing through Paris, or dipping down on the French side of the Pyrenees, and I am excited to go back. Delicious.

Another high speed train took me back to Paris, so I could catch a flight to Berlin—a city in a part of Europe that I have never been to and that, to be honest, I knew very little about before arriving. I still don’t know *that* much, but at least now I know how much there is to know and how much I want to know it. Berlin is spectacular—beautiful, also delicious, interesting, intense, and very different from any other city I have been to on the continent. Although my motive for going was mainly to see my dear friend Britt, the coolness of the city was a huge bonus. As was getting to hang out with other friends at the WIKO (pronounced wee-ko) institute where Britt is based for the year (a very cool think tank-like thing where thoughtful people form disparate disciplines get together for a year to exchange ideas. Yup, that’s it in a nutshell. They *have* to eat lunch together and drink lots of wine on Thursdays, and other than that they are just supposed to learn and discuss and think and write. Doesn’t that sound fun? It is! Even just for 5 days!) In addition to the WIKO fun, my other dear friend GP came for the weekend from Liverpool. We didn't do much touristy stuff, but we did go to a few memorials (like this one at a train station where they shipped Jews off to the death camps-- very subtle but each grate shows the train departure date and the number of people shipped so it really gives you a sense of this terrible time).

Like France, the trip was full of too much awesomeness for the short time I was there, but at least I am glad I got to have a glimpse. Britt also is starting a new job in the fall, and GP just started his—so lots of conversations about how we are all going to pull off settling down, being legit, these kinds of things. Any tips on that, welcome.

I flew from Berlin back to Amsterdam and caught my plane to Nairobi. I sat next to a Kenyan woman the first half of the flight, so got to grease the oh-so-rusty wheels of my kiSwahili before landing. I arrived in Nairobi and caught a taxi to the YMCA—the same place I stayed 16 years ago when I was last here. Happy to report—it hasn’t changed a bit! Except for the addition of a small cyber café, the Nairobi Central YMCA appears to be one of the constants in the universe. Nairobi, on the other hand, has changed quite a bit. Many new buildings, many fewer holes in the road, much tamer matatus, lots more kiSwahili being spoken, and EVERYONE with a cell phone in their hand or held to their ear. These were my first impressions and they were good. I was eager to start walking around and soaking things up—my east Africa battery has been running on empty for a long time (last trip was 2006) and it has been hard to wipe the stupidly happy smile off my face since I got here. More on Nairobi and the trip to TZ overland soon!

The view from the roof of the Kilimanjaro Backpacker's Hostel in downtown Arusha.