Giraffes have long necks

So, its been a week. A crucial question has been answered that has plagued some of us in the group since march. Do chicken's lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs? The answer with 100% confidence from our Tanzanian friend Octavian is that chicken's lay both fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
Agnes referred to africa as a country. I rudely asked for a bill (didn't know the polite way at the time) in a restaurant full of people. The waitress laughed at me and instructed me in the right way. And I saw a giraffe on the roadside. Apparently, they aren't a big deal here.

After waiting in Dar for everyone to arrive and attempting to work with the ministry of health and immigration in Dar, Jenn, Agnes, Roopa, and I left for Karatu meet up with Alexis and Rachel. After meeting them we ate with an american family who visits karatu annualy. They cooked us dinner and gave us loads and loads of advice. Much to my dismay - their primary piece of advice is to go slowly. For those of you who know me, I only have one speed and thats fast. So Im learning how to use the breaks out here and take things slowly and to be very very very very flexible.

Luckily, we have met a few people from a minnesota NGO who have helped us navigate the political structure to solve our problems with immigration and allow us to volunteer at the hospital.

The most interesting thing so far however, was our group meeting with the student health club. These students are in secondary school ( a mix between High school and college). There were about 15 of them and their mission is to Promote awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria. They are very well educated and have a very good understanding of HIV, its modes of transmission and types of treatments available.

I would like to ask you all a few of the questions that were asked of us - (We will share the answers that were discussed with you all when we return).
1) Why is HIV/AIDS so much more prevalent in Africa than America?
2) If you have a sick patient on a bed with who is very low on blood, and the hopsital has no blood bank and the only patient capable of donating blood has HIV. As a doctor, what would you do?
3) How should people in Africa go about making connections and spreading the word to little villages effectively? (Many of the villages speak very different languages and the literacy rate is low.)

Okay, we also met a couple of Sara Schuster's friends in DAR who are medical students at the University of Dar Es Salaam. They are very interested in collaborating with Temple in terms of research and they are also willing to help us coordinate our projects in Tanzania. They also said that the most efficient way to get invovled in Tanzania Healthcare is to be affiliated with a Tanzanian medical school. Something to seriously consider.

Dr. Harbison, if you read this - we are securing all the paperwork and contacts for you to come with no hassles and questions asked at any time of the year that is convenient to you. I hope that this is acceptable. I was also wondering if you could see if any of your colleagues, residents, staff or students would be interested in coming?

I wish you all the best and will do my best to stay connected digitally. Have a great summer. We're having a great winter over here.

Sincerely,
Pavan K. Thangudu