Who knew the human liver was so BIG?!

Three nights in Hot-lanta!
June 11-14 I was in Atlanta with my boss for the CDC Evaluation Institute. Among the highlights was arriving on the train from the airport in 100 degree downtown Atlanta and getting completely lost. I didn’t think that my hotel – the huge Marriott Marquis – would be so tricky to find. But, overly dressed for a summer’s day in Georgia, I spent about an hour rolling my luggage up and down the streets, sweating until I nearly cried. Finally, I was “rescued” by a homeless drug addict (recovering, he explained) who took me to my hotel, but not before I managed to slip in some motor oil and skid down the sidewalk, nearly toppling over a herd of elderly British tourists, my suitcase flipping awkwardly into the street like an overweight dead bird, cars swerving around it. I was certain that this would mean I’d have nothing to wear for the three-day conference. But somehow the luggage remained unscathed. I arrived at the Marriott covered in sweatstains and brown goo, my eyes bloodshot and throat rasping in desperate thirst. I was worried that the receptionist would be frightened of me and call security. Instead, she offered me a glass of water and a bellboy to help with my greasy suitcase.

The conference was great – I learned an incredible amount about monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and have since been inspired to apply new methods and strategies to my work at FHI. I also met a number of other M&E specialists with whom I will probably keep in contact. Even ran into an old Peace Corps Gabon friend, Sally!

If you’ll be in Atlanta between now and September 4th, I highly recommend the science exhibit, BODIES, located at the Atlanta Civic Center. It was one of the most interesting and creepy exhibits I’ve ever seen. You may have heard about it – it’s the one that uses specially preserved REAL human bodies to show how different organ and bodily systems look and work. It truly changed the way I think about the human body. Who knew the human liver was so BIG?! Who knew the uterus was so small?! Have you ever seen a human cut directly down the middle and been able to look right into both halves from the side? I have! Here’s the Web site of the BODIES exhibit, if you want more information. Be sure to watch the intro!

Balcony beautification
Alas, we did not win the contest. But we do now have a very beautiful deck, which is very pleasant to sit on in the mornings and sip coffee. Behold, our deck with its many delightful flowering plants and Chinese lanterns.

Half marathon training program
Since the Race for the Cure a few weeks ago, (see my race photos here!), my friends Julia and Kay and I have continued running with the Carolina Godiva team training program. We’re working up to our goal of a half marathon in the “Outer Banks” – that’s what North Carolinians call their coastal area. In fact, we’ve already signed up for the Outer Banks Half Marathon on November 12th! To train, we continue to run three times per week, but the program also includes three additional days of strength training and stretching. That’s six days of exercise per week! This past Saturday, Kay, Julia, Bill and I ran SIX miles!

North Carolina Zoo
Yesterday, Clinton and I drove out to Asheboro, NC – about 1 hour 15 min from Durham – to the North Carolina Zoo. Before we arrived, we were a little skeptical – after all, what zoo in rural North Carolina could be that great? But this zoo has indeed exceeded all of our expectations! It was definitely worth the drive. We decided it was by far the nicest zoo we’d ever been to. Some of my favorite parts were the Australian Outback and the Akiba African Market. The sleepy polar bears were pretty funny too. We got caught in a rain shower, but we had an umbrella. This zoo has pretty good coffee too!

Adventures at Family Health International
Tomorrow, a delegation of four very high-ranking Vietnamese government officials will be visiting our office as part of their two-week tour. It’s been my job to organize their visit and brief all the people involved, prepping them with everything from talking points about future work in Vietnam to cultural issues and logicial matters. We all have to wear our best suits and refer to each other using our official titles (Mr. Dr. Ms. etc) Whoa! I’ll be pretty relieved when these guys are on their way out of town, but tomorrow should also be fun and interesting. I’m looking forward to it.

Have a great week, everyone.