Everything in it's right place

The project is organized now – and it kind of feels like a miracle. We now have a proper numbering system for interviews, consent forms, and defined protocol that we abide by (which was all established in our IRB proposal… but, no comment).

All 3 of the Americans are no longer conducting interviews; the Ugandans will do them solo from now on. There was some word that our presence had made several interviewees uncomfortable. It’s not surprising – we just sit there, collecting the data as the Ugandan translates it to us. Usually, we’re not even introduced or explained as to why we’re there. So, basically, we’re just going to be taking the collected interviews from the previous day and enter them into the Access database we built.

Speaking of which, the database is brand spanking new. It only took Lindsey and I probably 8-9 hours to make - a vast improvement over our previous attempts. We gave it to Nickolas on Friday so he could add in the skip patterns and it should be ready early this week. I’m really proud of myself for figuring out how to use Access (and thanks Kris and Lindsey for starting me out!); it’s an annoyingly complex program but extremely useful once you learn the ropes. I can perform more actions on it than I ever thought I would. I feel like I should add it as one of my internship competencies.

The other good news is that during the fall semester, I can continue working on the project. I’m going to be taking 3 credits of independent study to analyze data and begin writing up the research. And I think I might get to have my name on the paper… which would be amazing!

Last Wednesday, Jason Bell, an OB/GYN from U-M, came out. Since he didn’t get to do QENP with us, Godfrey arranged for us to go out to Lake Bunyonyi. The lake is in the very southwestern corner of the country, almost touching Rwanda. The drive out was, again, continually gorgeous. The lake is actually in a small area considered to be malaria-free because of the elevation and because of an absence of hippos, crocs, and diseases, the water is safe to swim in. We did the standard boat ride and stopped on an island for lunch. All of the islands are huge hills so right when you dock the boat, it’s a straight shot up. The restaurant was part of a gigantic, open hut and the view was astounding. It’s definitely a location worth an extended stay… it’s no wonder I saw tons more tourists there than I have anywhere else.

Today marks 4 weeks away from home – and 8 ½ more to go! It’s so strange how you can concurrently feel like you just left home yesterday and that you’ve been somewhere forever…