August 24th, 2006
I look danger in the eye and spit in it
Our trip to DC/Maryland this past weekend was a blast. Clinton took three big finals, and we stayed, conveniently, at the Marriott right there at the University of Maryland just north of DC. He has a whole new enthusiasm for being a college student right now, which is really great. On Saturday morning before his first test, we drove to beautiful historic Annapolis, where Clinton used to live, to check out Chesapeake Bay and eat breakfast at Donna’s Corner Cafe, the cutest place ever. Next time Clinton has to take some finals, we will stay in Annapolis!
The weekend sort of had a Peace Corps theme. One night we visited Cynthia from my Peace Corps Gabon group, her boyfriend Babek (vegan, lawyer) and their interesting friends over at Babek’s place near Logan’s Circle. As a side note - Cynthia was actually down staying with us in Durham last week to interview at Intrahealth (Chapel Hill, NC), where she’s just accepted a position! It was the first time I’d ever seen Cynthia in the USA, because up until that point, we’d only seen each other in Gabon and Vietnam! Apparently, that now makes five, yes FIVE, ladies out of my original Peace Corps group of 17 who are currently living in North Carolina. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
The next day I had brunch with Hannah and Laura from the Peace Corps group that arrived in Gabon one year after us, as well as Sherry and Julia from the group TWO years after us! So far, it sounds as though about 90% of us Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) from Gabon that I encounter are working in international public health jobs. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
This week at work has been awfully exciting. We’re preparing for a big visit from the USAID folks (our biggest donor) in early September. I’ve also been working like madwoman on our system for collecting evidence of program impact. My database and “evidence-trolling” systems are revolutionizing our M&E unit at FHI. Someday when I actually learn how to program, the world won’t know what hit ‘em. On top of that, today it was confirmed that I will be traveling for two weeks in mid-October to Nigeria to work on one of FHI’s microbicide trials - probably the first in a series of trips over there.
I’ve always wanted to travel to Nigeria but never could before, because everyone told me that a woman traveling alone there would “surely die”. (This time I’ll be traveling with a very experienced team of people, so don’t worry.) Lagos in particular has always had a powerful allure for me. I think that ever since I started reading Ben Okri (read Dangerous Love, if you can stand the heartbreak) it has made me want to go. A true urban jungle, Lagos is one of the most densely populated places in the world. (11th most populous city worldwide, overall.) A undulating sea of nearly 9 million hot, sweaty, moving bodies, tin shacks, exhaust, grease, sweat, and filth - the city itself lives and breathes like a human. I can’t wait to finally see it. I look danger in the eye and spit in it.
Hah! That being said, tomorrow night is my debut in showbiz, and I’m getting awfully nervous. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of stories. My fear is the audience suggestions. What if I freeze up and cannot think of anything when they say something like “railroad cars”? Accckkkk!