Critters and Spectacles

blame canada!

Well, well. Mad cow disease rears its crazy head here in the U.S. at last. It had to happen eventually, didn't it? Even my red-blooded, red-meat-eating father got irate about the feeding practices for American beef. Really, it's for the best when you DON'T feed herbivores the ground-up remains of their fellow cattle. It's not just gross, it's unhealthy to eat brains and spinal tissue. So stay away from those hamburgers and hot dogs, people!

Marmalade has some great comments on the U.S. Government's reaction to the problem - we'll just blame Canada for it! She's got a great blog, with entries on knitting and running - two really fun activities that I've found myself obsessing over lately. Check it out.

recent photos

First, a photo from my visit to Tanzania. That's Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background. It was my third time at the wildlife college, but the first time I got a good, clear view of the mountain. Just amazing - I'm so thankful.

Second, a photo of me and a friend from work in our hand-knitted hats. She gave me the pattern and I just LOVE my hat! Self portrait, of course.

Finally, a silly shot from last night's graduation dinner for Matt. Hooray!

lessons from malawi

The first day here in Tanzania has been really good. To someone suffering through the first onslaught of winter in DC, it's perfect weather for December (clear skies, warm sun and a good breeze). But they do need rain. The maize crops may be in trouble if it doesn't rain soon. And that means hungry people.

This is my third time here at Mweka, and the first time I've had a good, clear view of Mt. Kilimanjaro with no clouds on it. It was AMAZING - the moutain just takes up the whole sky! I got some good pictures of it this morning, but I won't be able to download them until I get back this weekend.

Even better than that was seeing the top of Kili in the moonlight the other night. Wow - that's something that won't get preserved on film - you just can't capture it. Normally I love to look at the stars in the African sky when I'm here, but a full moon drowns out some of the spectacle.

I had dinner and a few beers (ah, Castle!) with some other conference participants last night and I learned a few things about Malawi, Namibia and children. We were discussing population growth and conservation and someone asked whether any countries were under populated. Now, that's not something you hear very often, given our concern with huma population growth and overconsumption. But I learned that the president of Namibia had recently made a public appeal to the men of his country to stop drinking beer and go home to sleep with their wives and make babies! He thinks that the country is underpopulated and wants to encourage people to breed. It's very true that African men are fond of their beer - just surprising that they have to be told to have sex.

In Malawi, there's something called fisi culture. Fisi means hyena in kiswahili. When a couple has been married for a few years and has no children, they think that it must be the man's fault. So sometimes, a fisi will be hired to have sex with the woman in hopes of producing a child. And the husband, with full knowledge that the child may not be biologically his, will raise the child as his own. VERY different from most cultures, where the woman is usually blamed for being sterile. However, the system may be spreading HIV/AIDS. If a fisi is having sex with many partners, then the chances of spreading HIV/AIDS is pretty high. And how likely is it that women would want to have sex with some strange man? The fisi system also introduces girls to sex when they reach puberty. In some countries, women are beginning to refuse the fisi system, because they don't want to sleep with an old, drunk man (typical in some village systems) and don't want to expose themselves to diseases. Africa is growing and developing, but women are still treated horribly in many cases.

That's about it for now. The symposium starts tomorrow and I'll give my presentation in the afternoon. My colleagues from Cameroon are, of course, delayed, so the reason that I got here is somewhat moot. I'm hoping that they'll arrive by tomorrow afternoon, so keep your fingers crossed for them.

leavin' on a jet plane

Hi kids -

Just wanted to check in from Amsterdam. The flight here was uneventful and I'm working on my presentation for the conference in Tanzania. I'll leave here in a couple of hours for a 10-hour flight to the land of Kilimajaro. Thank goodness for a little equatorial warmth in December! This month's issue of Runners World has a couple of great stories that are linked to Africa - very cool to keep that motivation with me while I'm gone. Ok, gotta get back to that presentation...

Oh! I also forgot to bring my travel journal with me, so you may see a few more journalish entries than normal here over the next week...

salamander sex

Throughout much of the animal kingdom, wandering females face abuse from their mates when they copulate with other males. Unfortunate, but true. Male lions, for example, bully females and kill all cubs when a new coalition of males takes over an existing pride. Females rarely abuse males when they wander. But in the case of the red backed salamander, the females also dish out punishment when their mates come home from a night of ho'ing. Check it.

Ah, family

Here are a few choice shots from Thanksgiving in Denver. The son-in-law to be, my Dad, and the current son-in-law...

And Daddy with his Aunt Sue, who he hadn't seen in about 30 years. That was one interesting lunch we had!

Allison can tell you more about our family meeting her fiance's family, so you can go here to find out about that...

I'm now one week into an extended travel fest. Herewith, a summary of my schedule:
25-29 November: Thanksgiving in Denver
1 - 5 Dec: Work, work, work
6-13 Dec: Travel to Tanzania, give a presentation, work, work, work
14-21 Dec: Recover from TZ, work, work, work, finish holiday shopping
22-27 Dec: Travel to Memphis for Christmas with (dave's) family
28-31 Dec: Recover, work, work, work, party like it's 2003

Should be fun - wish me luck!