Monday, December 31, 2007

Diving with Sharks!

Ben, Harmony and I decided to spend New Year's Eve in South Africa. We left on Friday morning and spent the last four days in Umkomaas, just south of Durban. Why Umkomaas? It's one of 2 places in the world where you can SCUBA dive with Tiger Sharks -- Ben and I spent the last 3 days diving on Aliwal Shoal. The first 2 days, we did shark dives where we baited for sharks. Unfortunately, we did not see any Tiger Sharks, but we saw more than 100 Black Tip sharks and some Dusky's (I even have the DVD to prove it). The visibility was not that great, but seeing sharks feeding really gets the adrenaline pumping. We also saw a Whale shark (on the boat ride back). This morning, we did 2 reef dives. The first dive was a deep water dive to a place called "Cathedral." It was cold and not that impressive because of the visibility. In between the 2 dives, we saw 6 dolphins swimming directly toward the boat. The second dive started at North Sands and was a very nice dive. Almost immediately, we saw a Sand shark. We saw dozens of Stingray, both bluespotted and bull (the type that killed the Crocodile hunter). Near the end of the dive, we saw a ragged tooth shark. It was small, about 4-5 feet long (I love the way they look) and a couple of dolphins in the distance. I'll try to post some pictures when I get a chance. This afternoon, we drove to Durban where we will spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Have a Happy New Year!

Ben took the following photos:

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's Thursday, December 20th and I finally picked-up a tree. It's a sad tree, I know, but the lights play Christmas songs -- Mlenje seems to like it. I miss everyone very much and wish I could be home for the Holiday season.
We're in the middle of the rainy season over here. Just a couple of days ago, I snapped this picture while leaving work. You see some beautiful rainbows over here.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Addition to the Family

Well, I love Mlenje so much that I decided to get another Ridgeback, a bitch from a litter in Zimbabwe whelped on November 5th. Two friends in Lusaka are also getting bitches from this litter. We were lucky enough to have Margaret Wallace, the long time Secretary of The Rhodesian Ridgeback Club in Harare (The Parent Club) and breeder since 1968, pick out the puppies for us. We won't be able to pick them up for a few weeks, but here are the first pictures we have received -- they are 4+ weeks.
Both of the parents are Champions in Zimbabwe.
Sarula Kumalo of Imbahuru...
Gyppslander Savannah...
I am looking forward to another adventure to Zimbabwe to pick these puppies. I am hopeful this trip will be better than the last one.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Two Years in Zambia

Exactly two years ago today, I arrived in Lusaka. What started out as a four month trip has turned into 2 years, so I thought today I would get a little nostalgic. In the past 2 years, I have proposed a Dissertation topic, published four articles (including two in JAMA and one in The Lancet), given an oral presentation at an International AIDS conference, traveled to England, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and South Africa, seen Lions, Rhino, Elephants, a Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Cheetahs, Eagles, Koala Bears, Kangaroo, Whales, Sharks, and countless other animals, and went SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Indian Ocean in Zanzibar. I really didn't know what I was getting into back in 2005. CIDRZ is a great place to work, and the expatriate community in Lusaka is loaded with amazing people from all over the world. I have made friends from Zambia, England, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia, even Canada, and many more countries. I saw two close friends get married this past week in a beautiful Buddhist ceremony in the South African bush. I even acquired a Rhodesian Ridgeback that I love. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my family and the States. I know I am missing many important things in my nieces' lives, like graduations and birthdays, and that does make me sad, but the point of this post is that I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 2 years in Zambia. Since I know this will not last forever, I encourage everyone to visit while I am still here.