Wrapping up the project in Kisumu

I went back to Kisumu, Kenya for two weeks in September to wrap up the project there that I had been working on this year. It was so much fun to be back! I really enjoy working with my Kenyan colleagues there, who are now old friends, and Kisumu itself feels like a home away from home.I went to the Yacht Club with two of the CDC families one evening, and there was a whole family of hippos cavorting by the shore in the sunset light. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I got some great video.

I also got to take my entire study staff out to lunch at a place called Tilapia Beach, which makes the best fish I have ever tasted anywhere. They have the morning's catch on a rack, and you select the fish you want, and if you want it fried or stewed. It may not look pretty, but the Luo know how to cook fish!

We all ate tons of fish along with our ugali and mboga (corn meal cake and greens). It was terrific! The people below are the head laboratorian, the pharmacy tech, a compliance monitor, and a nurse.

We took a study staff picture beside the lake to commemorate. Every single staff member was able to be there, so this picture is really special!

Chris Odero was my co-coordinator and is one of the world's neatest people. He is extremely bright, motivated, organized, a strong Christian, and terrific to work with. I have been going to church with him while I'm there. We got the study analyzed and started writing the paper together. One of the most rewarding parts of this trip was teaching him everything I knew about the statistical programming language we use (SAS), and then calling him the next week and hearing that he was using what he had learned to analyze the results of a different study. :) He's usually sort of a home body, but I convinced him to come out with me my last night in Kisumu.