Week 1 1/17/2017 - 1/22/2017

Wow, what an exciting first few days it has been. I made it to Ifakara in one piece and have settled in nicely. I arrived with Samson around 9pm the night of the 19th to a surprise dinner and introduction party. I feel very welcomed and have learned the names of many new friends. Everyone has gone out of their way to ensure I am comfortable and that I have everything I need. I feel almost spoiled the way I have been treated so far.

I have learned a lot about IHI and how work is conducted. I already visited all the IHI testing sights and have seen a lot of the surrounding area in Ifakara. Ifakara is larger than I expected and seems to always have people out and about the streets. It also seems as though IHI and the Ifakara community are closely intertwined. Many people know my boss Fredros by name and treat him like he is a mini-celebrity when walking through town. While only being here a few day I can already see that the services provided by IHI’s hospital and research are very important to the health of the community. Likewise, the people of Ifakara are important to IHI by allowing members of the institute to conduct experiments in their fields and homes to test the many ideas the scientists have here.

It was lucky to arrive when I did. Conquincidenly, there was a CNN crew doing a story about mosquito repelling sandals the morning after I arrived. I was able to tag along with them while the leaders of IHI gave a tour and explained how the institute operates. The CNN crew told me they had interviewed Bill Gates a few days before and that some people from the Gates Foundation will be visiting IHI in February (probably not Bill himself however). The CNN crew left this morning, but by hanging with them I received a crash course about IHI and what projects are being carried out and where. This information gave me a good idea of what IHI is all about.

The second day after I arrived I was given a quick overview of the machine I will be working with. The “smell machine” isn’t quite operational yet and I was informed my first task will be to get it up and running. Though I probably lack the mechanical engineering skills needed to fix a machine such as this at the moment, I think it will be a fun challenge to learn the skills and to have a complete understanding of the machine I’ll be working with.

Socially I have had a great time. Many people want to know about Marquette and where I’m from, which has made it easy to converse with others. Just last night I was one of the last people to leave Fredros’s home after a goat bbq because so many people wanted to chat (the goat was excellent). I have already many adventures planned out and cant wait to share more details with you all once I conclude them.
Today I relax before my first week of work. I will leave this update here and hope to send another soon.