Home Sweet Home

Made it home, jet lagged and all. I had a lot of problems with the internet connections the last day in Durban so I have some catch up to do to describe last few days. So stay tuned.

Hluhluwe

You are either on the bus or off the bus. In this case we had a pretty full bus for our game drives in Hluhluwe. We had a great international group with representatives from France, Poland, Canada, Kentucky, and Ohio.




Check out all the photos on my Flickr account




http://www.flickr.com/photos/weisshb/

St Lucia's Hippos and Crocs

Back from Safari!

Last night of meetings

Accepting best poster award from the International Society Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention
Israeli friends Michelle and Liri relaxing after the last day of meetings.
 

Making friends

I am shown with Naseema Vawda from the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine and Adnan Hyder from Johns Hopkins. Both are involved in the Fogarty International Training programs that I am starting to get involved with myself through an NIH grant. Naseema is a local and she has kindly offered me a a chance to see Durban from her perspective when I return from Safari.

Safari starts tomorrow!

Movies of opening ceremony entertainment (click to play)

Opening ceremony was attended by the Queen of Jordan and the current Zulu King! The Queen was accompanied by a huge security detail and the Zulu chief was accompanied by his personal praise singer. Maybe that's what George Bush needs to improve his poll ratings.

Play clip 1 Play clip 2

Play clip 3

Durban Beach Party

 

Burden of Injury Speaker Collage

All the Speakers at the Burden of Injury Conference (except me, I was the one taking te pictures)

Burden of Injury

View from my room at the Blue Waters Hotel. An old hotel with a lot of character. Even had a squash court, but I had neither my racquet, partner or time.






The Cafe Fish was my first real meal in South Africa. Highly recommended by Hotel Staff it was not greatly distinguishable from many other fish places I have been too, except the Polenta was to die for. A rich tomato spicy sauce topped with a lovely green garnish and assorted nuts capped off the delicious and good looking dish.

London Layover Part 2

London Layover

The original plan was to meet a friend living in Wales for a closeup tour of the London Area. A schedule (pronounced shedule here of course) change kept him away so I was forced to improvise. Fortunately the Big Bus Company came to my rescue. These open air buses are part of the London scenery; they are everywhere. But they offer the temporary tourist a perfect vehicle (pun intended) to see the highlights, walk around, and get back on the bus again. The best part are the tour guides and their sense of authentic british humor.


[My apologies for the break in postings. The first hotel in Durban had an internet cafe but the connection was down. I am now in the Hilton on a slow but functional conmnection tryng to catch up.]

First stop was Norfolk Square just outside Paddington Station. Was nice to see early signs of spring popping out of the English soil.



Then it was boarding the Big Bus for a chilly ride around the heart of London. Whether it was the historic Thames, the latest London landmark - the Big Eye (a slow 40 story gigantic ferris wheel), Tower Bridge, Tower of London or Big Ben, there was no mistaking what City I was in.

British Air

The 'big guy' taking me to London. I was shocked to learn there will be both dinner and breakfast. Can't remember the last time I had a real meal on a plane! Then again it will be British food...

First flight

Hop #1 to Chicago.

Departure Day Arrives!

Looks like I have everything except the coat and rain gear I will need for the short excursion from Heathrow to London duirng a 11 hour stayover.









The poster container is sure going to be a pain.











Well all great journeys begin with the first step! Oops!

While this mishap was staged I did logon to find out one of my return flights had been cancelled. Fortunately it turned out just to be a flight/name change. I am good to go!

The feedback I have gotten already is nice. One friend suggested I focus on foods which sounds like a great idea. My meal mates and waiters may question why I keep pulling out my camera for each meal, but hey, if I am serious about this I have to roll with the punches.

A focus on people is an obvious choice to, as are places. So between food, people and places this thing is going to expand rapidly over the next 10 days.

Day before departure

Just checked the 5 day weather forecast for Durban. Wow! Temps rising to the mid-eighties by Friday. With snow flurries still in Pittsburgh this week that's going to be one nice change. Gotta remember to pack the swim suit and sunblock!

Also have to remember to take the weekly antimalarial tomorrow. It's nice it's a once a week pill these days. You start one week before you leave and stay on it until a few weeks after you return. I think the one I have is Mefloquine. It was first developed in the 60s during the Vietnam War because of the emergence of chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria. While quite effective, there is no perfect antimalarial. It must be taken with food, preferably in the evening, and preferably not with alcohol. Minor side effects include: stomach upset, dizziness, vivid (good, bad, erotic and otherwise) dreams, insomnia and anxiety. More serious side effects, such as seizures and psychosis, are relatively rare. So far no real side effects from the first dose; I'll have to watch the timing with any alcohol once in SA since I rarely drink on a plane (it's suppose to exacerbate jet lag).

All right... I'll keep this blog entry brief since I haven't even left yet.