the madness of week one

First a pic of day 1 in peru: here's catherine and I on the Larco Mar pier in Miraflores.
----------------------------
Well boys and girls it's been a madcap, slapdash sort of week so far. I'm 90% of the way to having an apartment to live in (supposed to sign a lease tonight), 90% of the way towards having my very first cat, and have figured out, mostly, how to get combis home from most places. How did all this happen? Well we now know what the roundabout near where we live, where all the combis go, is called. Ovalo Higreta (or something that sounds like that). This is NOT, of course, what it's called on the map (too simple). This was a major advance. And as for the cat (kitten), well he was rescued off the street by a french girl named Berengere who made it her moral obligation to find a home for the cat before she left for Argentina (today). So I'm going to meet said cat today and hopefully take him (90% chance he's male, they think) home today. Of course, once I get him I need to find a vet, make sure he gets shots and doesn't have feline leukemia, etc. Any name suggestions? He's a latino cat, so suggest appropriately. In terms of the flat, I don't want to jinx it so more after a lease is signed.

But of course, what about the global health stuff, you ask? Coming, slowly. Going to the lab today to learn more about the tb stuff they do there.

Finally, I should mention a most entertaining moment the other day where I had to reassure our cab driver that my bills were in fact, real. He thought one coin too light, one bill too folded and missing the stamp that grocery stores sometimes put on bills. He was distraught, poor thing. A very odd experience to convince someone that folds on bills are normal.

Coming soon . . . video of the combis.

hilarious

this video had Catherine and I in stitches. i just had to share it with you all . . .

Update

OK so I've been horrifically bad at blogging recently (read = since I started). Sorry to all my adoring fans (all two of you: mom and dad). But now I've renewed my commitment. However, I'm not the best at just blabbing forever (online, that is) so I'll try to stick to the interesting bits.

First let me say I'm really excited to be down here in Lima. First impressions are that it's very latin america and dirty in the center but feels rather like Paris in Miraflores. It's extremely spread out with very few tall buildings but 8 million people. It has the damp cold weather of Dublin currently (and foggy!), though we are in the dead of winter so it will get better.

I can't wait to feel like a local, get all the combis figured out. Combis are private little vans that run all around the city on all different routes and are a cheap way to get around. They take a little longer than cabs but cost 1 or 2 soles (conversion rate is ~ 2.7 soles = 1 dollar). However the catch is that there are no maps and so you have to figure out how to get a combi to where you are going which involves some luck and skill negotiating with the driver's partner in crime, a guy who hangs out the window and tries to recruit you into the van. However, they are not always totally forthright about exactly where they are going cause they are trying to make a buck too. So far we've stuck with taxis until we get sorted . . ..

I'm also excited to be working with D-labs. Thanks to Mark Brady, the fellow i'm taking over for, I got to meet the D-lab honchos last week at MIT and even got asked to be a reviewer for a design review on developing world projects at IDDS such as a cheap baby incubator and a device to kill HIV while breastfeeding. very cool! I'm hopefully going to get to start working on a prototype for an incubator that won't need electricity soon.

I'll also be working at Universidad Peruana de Cayetano Heredia on the tuberculosis stuff. Got a tour of our labs today and the requisite blood donation for joining the lab. Apparently my blood is control blood for some assays cause (supposedly) I haven't caught local parasites yet. Time will tell. I'm betting I already got something from the refrescas, but I'd rather get sick now and get it over with . . .

Currently living in sort of communal housing in Surco, a quiet neighborhood of Lima. There are a bunch of Frenchies on my floor which is nice cause they've already given me the scoop on yogurt (no sugarless available, boo!) and local substitutes for creme fraiche (tinned creme de leche). Catherine and I are going to start looking for housing in Miraflores and Barranco tomorrow, hopefully. Wish us luck! Abrazos!