No Blogging Allowed!?

I went downtown to 29th street at 7th Avenue in Manhattan again today for my pre-mission New York briefing. This one was much shorter than the last one. The bad news: MSF New York says "no blogging allowed." Well, it was not quite as cut and dry as as that, but still a major disappointment.

The communications department told me that blogs are "too live." They say some blogs were getting overly specific about daily activities and routines, and they think it has turned into a security risk. I can understand this concern in unstable settings, of course, where there is risk of violence or attack on humanitarian workers. But what about in places like Puerto Barrios, Guatemala? Does it really hurt to describe the pig-grilling routine for our goodbye parties?

Anyway, I discussed the issue a bit more in depth with my HR officer. She said there have also been problems with patient confidentiality. Any American MD who has survived HIPPA knows better than to post pictures or identities of patients. We came to the conclusion that if I blogged only about 'personal things' it might be OK to keep Whatonearthamidoinghere alive. Of course, 99.9% of my 'personal things' are of no interest to anybody. I don't think a list of my souvenir purchases or a detailed description of my new suitcase-on-wheels is worth posting.

I will discuss the issue a bit more with the Head of Mission, who has the final say, I was told. Hopefully I will be able to post a few pics of Kenya and my team. In any case, I will stay away from project specifics and the inner workings of MSF here on blogger. It looks like I will have to save these juicy details for my private journal and hippocampal grey matter.

Busia, Kenya

Tomorrow I am leaving for Busia, Kenia, by way of Barcelona. I am going to work on another project with MSF/Doctors Without Borders. Busia is in Western Kenya, right on the border with Uganda. It is right near the shore of Lake
Victoria. The closest town on the map is Kisumu, which is actually two hours southeast of Busia via car.

I do not know much about MSF's history or current work in Kenya. I do know that the Busia project is another HIV/AIDS project. Like Puerto Barrios, Busia is hot and humid. One of the biggest differences from Guatemala is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the area. In Busia, about 15-20% of the population is infected with HIV; Izabal Guatemala has about 1% prevalence. I know nothing about the people I will be living with and working with in Kenya.

I do not know if I will have access to the internet, and if so, how much. My guess is that I will manage to post pictures and bits on this blog every once in a while. Stay tuned...

What on Earth Are We Doing Here?

Dear Confused Friends:

That last post was written by my friend Maria de los Angeles Navarro, the Puerto Barrios logistician. [Pic at right is of Angeles looking effortlessly beautiful, as usual.] A few of you might not have understood what she wrote. She uses words that are difficult for those of us with language learning disabilities and/or hypoplastic left temporal hemispheres. Nevertheless, I hope she keeps writing entries from Guatemala. It gives the blog more of an international flavor, don't you think? And we would also keep up on the progress of MSF's work in Guatemala, not to mention gossip from Barrios. Hopefully I will find a few other willing blog contributors from the MSF staff I meet in Spain or in Africa.

Sincerely,

--Housesitting in luxury Soho loft, and readying myself to go to Kenya

The last party-La última fiesta

Hace ya más de un mes que se celebró la fiesta de despedida de Nell. Y esa fue la última fiesta de despedida que se celebró en Puerto Barrios. A diferencia de la fiesta de Sole y Rafa no hubo ningún cochino muerto. La ausencia del cerdo se compensó con mucha ensalada, guacamole y papalinas, litros de ron y unos chorizos a la brasa como único producto de origen animal. La foto de la izquierda corresponde al momento en que la fiesta se animó después de que todos habían probado el mojito especial y a alguien se le ocurrió poner música punta. De tanta gente que llegó, entre compañeros, trabajadores de los centros de salud y hospitales, y amigos de amigos, no cabía un alfiler. Como en todas las fiestas que se precien hubo alguna pelea, algún estropicio, bastantes borrachos y mucho baile. Hubo música para todos los gustos, cuando en un acto de ludicez a Nell se le ocurrió poner rock!! No tan estúpida, eh? Aunque no se salvó de bailar un merengue a lo guatemalteco. Hasta las cinco de la madrugada tuvieron que escuchar nuestros vecinos el jaleo -aunque creo que alguno se animó y se vino a echar un bailoteo-. Al día siguiente con los ojos pegados todavía despedimos en Litegua a Nuria, Jose Luís y Nell que se iban de vacaciones de semana santa. Más tarde Conrado se fue para Livington (punto). Y el fin de semana se presentó para la que suscribe como un entrenamiento de lo que vendría después. Osea, ahora. Empecemos a recoger el tinglao que se acabaron las fiestas.