Sorry about the long pause in posting. The entire island is dependent on a tanker to bring oil to the island so they can burn the oil to make electricity. And as the island waits for the tanker, the electricity is always rationed. We'd have electricity for a few hours in the wee hours of the morning (like 3am to 6am sometimes, or 11pm to 1am) but never when it was useful. And never when I could use the internet cafe. But the tanker finally arrived today, thank goodness, so the food in our fridge can stop going bad, I can make more copies of my survey for the 20 new patients I'll get tomorrow, and I can update you all about what's been going on.
Research-wise, I've gotten almost 30 survey participants, which is great, and I've talked to a few doctors, nurses, and activists about the HIV/AIDS situation here. I'll get more tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm feeling good about things. I've been making some contacts, too, and met a fellow American public health student who is also doing HIV work, but on the other island.
She was stuck in Pemba today because of a full flight (those 12-seater planes fill up fast), so we showed her around the town. Not that there's all that much to see. I took her to my haunts: the hospital and HIV/AIDS center, but no one was in, as it's Sunday. Justin showed us around his 'hood, the Archives and history Museum, which was quite well done and cool. While there, it began to rain really hard. You know, those tropical non-rainy season rains that just come down loud and fast. So we waited at the archives and munched on a wonderfully juicy and delicious mango and some sugar cane, and drank young coconut juice. Mmm, mmm, mmm. There are certain perks to living on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean.
Once the rain let up a bit, it was Juma's turn to pick the destination to show off Chake Chake (the town) to our guest, who, incidentally, is also named Sarah. Juma picked his still-favorite spot, the dock where the crabs are. This time, we spotted some new species. And since we're not biologists, we call the new species "the blue ones," "the black ones with the white dots and orange claws," and "the ones with the red claws." Scientific, no?
Juma was supremely excited to have another English-speaker to talk to, and he told her stories almost non-stop. If she wasn't in her 20s, I think Juma might've asked her out. He is still having trouble adjusting and is unwilling to play with the other kids here, but he's having a good time overall. Tonight, he quite contently showed me the suction cups on the octopus leg he was holding before he popped it into his mouth. "Mmm, I loooove octopus."
As for Justin, he's started playing basketball again. He scored four baskets for his team yesterday before injuring his toe and limping home. His friends here come visit every day, and he has been extremely supportive of me in my work. He even ran out and bought kilo after kilo of rice for me to give to my interview participants, lugging 25 kilos on his back across town. He's the best.
Yesterday, we decided we needed a break from the work so we took off to the north end of the island to one of the only beaches. It was relaxing and fun to swim and just soak up some sun (never mind that I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt over my swimsuit because there were so many Pembans around). It was our half-way-through-the-trip vacation, and much needed. We just couldn't be here and not spend a day at a beach.
We hope all is well with you.
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