Monthly Archives: October 2006

Well, my first Nigeria stay is almost over. I’ve been having daily adventures with my team and will have lots of great pictures to post when I get home.

Keeping up with my running has been tricky because it’s awfully hot and humid, and it’s also been pretty stormy. The running ‘track’ is actually a muddy footpath. You have to jump from side to side to dodge large orange and black lizards that sun themselves there amongst the hibiscus and bougainvillea. It’s an obstacle course of sorts!

My stay here will be complete if tomorrow I can get our driver to stop and buy a certain purple fruit I had not seen since Gabon. In Gabon, it’s called an “atanga”, though I am not sure what it’s called here. It’s a shiny, egg-shaped tree fruit of a deep violet color. You drop it in boiling hot water for about 30 seconds, and then you pull it out and eat it right away, dipped in salt. Once ‘cooked’, it’s a kind of grayish color. It tastes a slightly bitter and very buttery, with a texture like an avocado. When I saw them at a roadside stand here in Lagos I got so excited that I started jumping up and down in the car, my mouth watering.

For any of you who may be wondering, the flight attendants at the hotel have pretty much been keeping their nasty lifestyle to the privacy of their own rooms, so luckily I have not been affected by the ongoing debauchery. Haha.

I’ll be back in the States this Wednesday evening. Hope you all have a great Halloween!

Sorry I haven’t written as much as I would have liked. I have had to borrow my co-worker’s laptop, because the one I checked out from work before I left is apparently not configured for our hotel’s wireless. Arrgh.

Today (Sunday) is our first day off. I slept in and met the group for a late breakfast buffet. There are several restaurants in the hotel to give us plenty of variety, and the food is delicious. I’m trying to taste all the Nigerian food I can while I’m here. There is a running track and a beautiful gym. The hotel is certainly one of the nicest I’ve ever stayed in. I feel very spoiled with all the luxury. We had fresh fruit and birds of paradise flowers in our rooms when we checked in, compliments of the manager who the FHI team has befriended. Yesterday I had a lunch of grilled tiger prawns by the pool and pizza delivered to my room for dinner. Pizza on a white linen tablecloth and silver tray, delivered by the waiter who calls me “Madame”!

The work we’re doing is pretty easy so far but extremely important for the study drug. For the first three days, we carefully went through thousands of lab requisition forms from one of the study sites to make sure that the HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea test results were correctly recorded in the logs and in the database. The last couple of days we’ve been ensuring that the informed consent booklets and signatures are all in order, and that the illiterate participants were assigned a participant advocate. Very important for research ethics.

The study staff (Nigerians) and all of the other Nigerians I’ve met so far are really nice. I bought some beautiful African cloth. A secretary at one of the clinics we visited yesterday sold it to me. We can’t go outside the hotel, but we can go some places with our driver (named Fatai) and the study coordinator, named “O2″. The traffic is crazy and driving would probably give the average person a heart attack, but not me. It is humid here, and the air is thick with exhaust fumes and interesting organic odors – the kind that makes the primitive part of your brain perk up, heightens your senses and compels you to scan the horizon for predators. (haha) The African sun is as bright and hot as I remember. I am African in my heart. It’s like returning home.

Hope you are all well. I’ll write again when I can.

Finally finished packing at 11:00 PM tonight. Doublechecked the FAA Web site for travelers to make sure I had packed my carry-on bags correctly. The site is so funny. I’m glad to read that while cattle prods may not be packed in your carry-on, you are welcome to pack those in your checked luggage. Same goes for sabers, throwing stars and meat cleavers. Awesome! The site says nothing, however, about electric morningstars. Guess I’ll have to leave that item at home.

The rules sure are confusing  (see Washington Post article), but this TSA poster should clear things up:

This is a funny picture I took at the NC State Fair today. We had a great time riding on the Ferris Wheel, checking out the prize-winning bunnies and eating junk food. You can check out other recent pictures here.

My 29th Birthday Was Awesome…
…thanks to my fabulous husband, who took me out for a romantic dinner and gave me the two of the best presents ever invented: chocolate and the iPod video. Actually, when it comes to Clinton, every day could be my birthday. Who else would cook healthy meals for me all week and bring me coffee in bed every single morning?!

The “War Against Terror” Causes Terror
Okay, the war isn’t exactly a “highlight”, but a lot has happened in the past two weeks.
Bush and the GOP are really not doing so well these days. It seems that every type of scandal imaginable has emerged out of the Republican party in the past month. Today we received even more bad news about Bush’s war. This is from a Washington Post article today:

A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.

All I have to say is ouch.

Imagine Living in Near Constant Fear – in the USA!
On October 5th, which was “The World Can’t Wait Day“, a hodgepodge group of 12 of us concerned citizens once again stood at the intersection of NC Hwy 55 and 54 during rush hour to wave signs. We consisted of a two students, a university professor, two public health workers, a mailman, a Web designer, an organic vegetable farmer, an accountant, an unemployed conspiracy theorist, an old folks’ home care worker and a retired military officer. Our signs were a delightfully mismatched collection of our various sentiments about the Bush Administration. As usual, we got a ton of honks and waves. Hundreds of folks on their way home from work, all with funny faces! If only people knew what silly expressions they wear while driving.

One of the best parts of the evening was when a man pulled over, parked his minivan at the gas station near us, got out of the car and walked over to us just to shake our hands and thank us for what we were doing. How cool!

But the best part of all was the man with the phone. For about twenty minutes, he stood on the grass at the nearby gas station looking at us nervously and jabbering intensely into his cel. His shifty eyes told us that we were the subject of his conversation. Fearing the worst, the retired military officer lady (also a fellow sign waver) beckoned him over to us. She thought he had been sent by the government to spy on us, and she was about to tell him that he’d better take a hike.

Contrary to all of our paranoid misconceptions, it turns out he is a Pakistani immigrant who is going through the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen. He said that ever since moving to America, he has been appalled by the actions of our government. He said he’d wanted to speak out and protest against the war and civil rights violations but has been too afraid. He was on the phone with his brother, who was trying to convince him not to join our peaceful protest, for fear that he would be seized, detained and tortured indefinitely without reason and without right to a lawyer or trial. (In case you haven’t heard, they now do that to people in our country, thanks to the Military Commissions Act.)

We told him how sorry we were that he and his family have to live in constant fear. I asked him if he’d like to hold a sign and stand with us. He said that frankly, he was afraid, but he’d do it. I handed him one that said “Save America. Impeach Bush.”, and he stood there with us the whole time and held it bravely in trembling hands. He practically fainted when a helicopter flew overhead. Not sure if it was worth his risking indefinite detainment over, but I’m sure glad he was there with us.

An Inconvenient Truth
It’s true what they say: the Al Gore movie can change your life. At the very least, it will change the way you see the world. Clinton and I just saw the movie last week, and afterward we both decided that we’re not eating meat anymore. (Actually, Clinton’s already been a vegetarian for about one and half months now, but I decided to join him for my own reasons.)

Did you know that eating meat uses up more natural resources and contributes more to global warming than driving a big gas-guzzling car? It’s true. The higher up on the food chain you go, the more non-renewable resources are used up in food production. From the GoVeg.com Web site:

…about one-third of the raw materials used in America each year is consumed by the farmed animal industry.

Although I think that steaks and burgers are really tasty, it’s not enough for me to justify the waste and damage I’m helping to create by eating them.

Crystal’s Running Philosophy
Ran 6.2 miles (10 km) with my running group this past Saturday in the rain and cold for the “Tour de Carrboro” race. < 10-minute miles the whole way and felt very strong at the end. Still gearing up for my first half marathon, which is in less than four and a half weeks! Running isn't just a hobby or exercise routine for me; it's about nourishing my mental health and fueling my drive and ambition in life. It's a lifestyle and a continuous personal challenge.

Choir
Clinton and I started going to the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUFF) about two months ago, and I joined the choir. The group numbers about 50 members now. We have an amazing music director who selects really good music, like Carmina Burana, a South African spiritual and a Native American prayer song. Sweet! We practice every Thursday evening and sing about two Sundays per month. I sing soprano, of course.
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Upcoming good stuff

North Carolina State Fair: Clinton and I are going this weekend to check out the racing pigs, lumberjack competition, “Doggies of the Wild West” show, bluegrass music, North Carolina cloggers and all the fireworks. I’m looking forward to a caramel apple and a roller coaster ride!

Nigeria, first class: I leave this coming Monday morning for Lagos. FHI sends its people in style. All international flights are first class, both ways. It’ll be my first time to travel in such luxury, and I plan to soak it all up. Got my iPod loaded and a stack of books recommended by friends. Sayonara, suckaz.

Anniversary: Very excited about our upcoming first wedding anniversary, November 5th. (“Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November!“) No huge plans, but we are commemorating the occasion by planting a tree at the Nixon Family Farm when we are there for Thanksgiving. A new tradition!

Half Marathon: Again, the Outer Banks (OBX) half marathon is only 4 1/2 weeks away! We have 16 people bunking at the 10-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom spectacular house we reserved that is right on the beach. (Check it out!) Beachfront, yeah!

Final note: Have a great week, everyone. Be sure to stay tuned for Crystal’s blog posts as she writes from one of the most dangerous countries on Earth…

I just found a very useful site for North Carolina voters called Votebook, which gives you information about each of the candidates up for election this year in a very intuitive format. You can check out how they personally rate themselves on a political scale and even see their favorite books and TV shows!

It’s time to stop delaying, folks. Let’s put down the TV remote and do what takes an easy 5 minutes plus one stamp. People in other countries all over the world can only dream of being able to vote. We U.S. citizens take it completely for granted.

Click here to REGISTER TO VOTE.

October 13th is the deadline for mail-in voter registration and **address changes**! Yes, in order to register in time for this November’s election, voter registration forms must be postmarked and mailed on or before October 13, 2006.
If you’ve moved within the past couple of years, you’ll need to fill out the same form in order to change your voting location.

This November’s election is extremely important. Our country needs your votes more than ever. Please do not delay.

Where can you do this?

1) Voter registration forms are available at your local public library.

OR

2) You can print one online and mail it in. Just click here to REGISTER TO VOTE.

The War on Terror is harming women and girls around the world. If you want to read about (yet another reason!) why the so-called War on Terror is a very bad idea, check out this article by the Women’s Human Rights Net – a Web site published by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development.

The U.S. won’t stop…until we’ve killed thousands of people, violated the rights of all American citizens, spent all of our nation’s money and made everyone in the world loathe and distrust us. THAT is supposed to make our country stronger and “safer”?!

Very unfortunately, this week during President Bush’s weekly address, he vowed that the US government “will remain on the offense”, continuing to launch attacks “until terrorism is defeated”. Poor George. What he does not understand is that his war is creating more terrorism, locking us into a deadly and costly vicious cycle.

According to the 10-2-06 podcast from Democracy Now, the Iraq war now costs our country $2 billion per week. Just imagine what our nation’s public school system could do with that kind of money! Or sustainable fuel research or the healthcare system, for that matter.

The War on Terror also creates an enormous amount of fear and distrust around the world. The U.S. goes so far as to justify violating American citizens’ freedoms in order to make the country “safer”. Wiretapping and the death of habeas corpus are only two examples.

What is habeas corpus, you ask, and why is everyone talking about it? “Habeas corpus provides a remedy against arbitrary detentions and constitutional violations. It guarantees an opportunity to go to court, with the aid of a lawyer, to prove one’s innocence (See article from Democracy Now.) ” A bill recently passed in the Senate that will take away habeas corpus from anyone the Bush administration deems to have provided material support to anti-U.S. hostilities.

According to the Democracy Now article:

The bill gives President Bush extraordinary power to detain and try prisoners in the so-called war on terror. The legislation strips detainees of the right to challenge their own detention and gives the President the power to detain them indefinitely. The bill also immunizes U.S. officials from prosecution for torturing detainees who the military and the CIA captured before the end of last year.

The editors of the New York Times described the law as tyrannical. They said its passage marks a low point in American democracy and that it is our generation’s version of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

For more information, please check out Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)’s statement on the Senate floor from September 28, 2006.

Senator Leahy puts it so eloquently,

What has changed in the last five years that our Government is so inept and our people so terrified that we must do what no bomb or attack could ever do by taking away the very freedoms that define America? Why would we allow the terrorists to win by doing to ourselves what they could never do, and abandon the principles for which so many Americans today and through our history have fought and sacrificed?

The World Can’t Wait. This Thursday, October 5th is “The World Can’t Wait” Day. My impeachment buddies and I will be, once again, out at the intersection of NC Highway 54 and 55 waving signs in peaceful protest during rush hour. You’re welcome to drive by and honk!