a small update

Hello,
Everything is going well in Dar.  Yesterday I went to the beach and it was fantastic!
The internet is a bit slow right now, but I will upload a picture or two if it gets any better.
This Tuesday I will be going to a district health center at Bagamoyo to work on Gary's project and see what another town is like.  You can check out Gary's phenomenal blog here and learn more about the project and Dar. http://inspiredaction.typepad.com/writing_as_i_see_the_worl/

mambo mogorogoro

Mambo !

Why have I been strangely silent on this blog since I arrived in Tanzania.  Well, I have been busy working and adventuring with Gary and Molly.  I arrived on a Monday night, went to the office on Tuesday, drove the Mogorogoro on Wed and have been here ever since.  Mogorogoro is a city that is inland of Dar, about two hours.  It is in the mountains near both a national and regional parks.  Since I have been here, I have seen some monkeys, a baboon, a hedgehog –like animal, and Mgombe (cows!).

I am going to try to make this blog less of a resume of things that I have done, but rather I am going to pick a topic or two and write about my thoughts on that subject.  Maybe it will seem less overwhelming that way.   This blog is about what I am doing in Dar Es Salaam.

I realize that I have not told many people what I am doing in Tanzania.   I am currently working on the MUHAS-Academic Learning Project (ALP).  The ALP is a collaboration between UCSF (the University of California; San Francisco) and the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science.  When the partnership began, MUHAS was planning on conducting a curriculum review.  The partnership lead to sharing of information and an interest by MUHAS in competency based curriculum.  The idea that each graduate must finish medical school with a certain number of precise skills- such as good communication with patients and knowledge of infectious disease rather than an input based system focuses on the input, or rather how much information they have to learn-biochemistry etc.  The partnership is unique because each institution has equal footing and will stand to benefit.

My role in the project is flexible, which I enjoy. My main project is to help to write up the Tracer Study, a study that traced recent alumni at their workplace.  There is qualitative and quantitative  data that I am combining and presenting to each school (medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health sciences and environmental health).  But because my job is a bit flexible, I can also pursue other projects that I find interesting.  I would really like to encourage some student collaboration between students here at MUHAS and students at UCSF. 

When I get back to Dar and have a bit more time to write this weekend, I will tell you about the rest of my adventures in Mogorogoro.

Jambo from dar

I have finally arrived here in Dar after a stellar Emirates flight and an overnight stop in Dubai.  It was a great nights rest and Emirates has delicious food.
I noticed alot of things on the way from the airport, whether it was the tons of traffic, rather scary driving style or lots of cigarette advertisements.  But there were also many things that reminded me of Brazil.
I am getting sleepy so that is all for now!

on my way

Jambo!

Heading to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania tomorrow. 
I am passing through Dubai, with a 15 hour stopover.
Wish me luck and watch this space for all of my adventures!

Photo courtesy of Kunal Sood.  I am volunteering at a complex humanitarian emergency simulation.  I am a refugee in the Uzbekistan/ Kyrgyzstan conflict.  Clothes courtesy of Harmonie and Tajikstan!