TravelStream™ news feed for member tamerin on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tamerin en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:51:59 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1240851420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1240851420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1240851420/tpod.html Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:51:59 -0400 Veterinary adventures in Peru and beyond!

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Cusco, Peru

We arrived in Agua Calientes (the closest town to Machu Picchu) on sunday night.  We went to the hot springs to soothe our extremely tired muscles, ate dinner, and went out for "one drink" to a local bar.  However, those famous last words of one drink, turned into dancing the night away until close to 2 am.  Then we had to wake up and leave for Machu Picchu a few short hours later!
When we got to Machu Picchu, it was rainy and cold.  However, it cleared up by late morning.  Jose gave us a tour of the ruins in the early morning, then around 10 am we climbed the nearby mountain to get the famous view of Machu Picchu!  I couldn't believe that we were climbing another mountain, but once we arrived at the top, it was all worth the trek up!
Machu Picchu is definitely one of the wonders of the word.  It is incredible to imaging people 600 years ago carrying stones up this mountain, sculpting them to perfection, and creating such a beautiful city!
Again, pictures say a thousand words.....so enjoy the photos!
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Cusco, Peru

Zarah, Gael, Gael's mom, and I sent out on early saturday morning for our three day hike through the Andean Mountains to Machu Picchu.  We hiked on one of the four main Incan trails originating from Cusco, which was used during the empire's rule in the 1400's.  It was an incredible few days, with lots of beauty, pain, laughter, and inspiration!  I can't even begin to describe the crazy feeling of hiking by foot on trails used by Incan people, just as they had done 600 years ago!  We did not see any people, cars or signs of civilization for two days.  Although I find myself saying this after many of my journeys, this truly was one of the most amazing things I have ever done!
Cusco, where we started, is at about 2500 meters above sea level (8200 feet).  The highest point that we crossed during our adventure was about 5000 meters (16,400 feet).  I have no idea how many miles we walked, but the numbers are not what matter.  Carrying all of our belongings on our back, it was a difficult trek up mountain range after mountain range.  However, we just had to look at the incredible beauty that surrounded us and take one step at a time, and even Gael's 53 year-old mother made the trek!
Since pictures say a thousand words, I am going to say no more.....please enjoy some of my photos!
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Junin, Ondores, Huancayo, and beyond!, Peru

Monday, 4/13/09

We traveled 6+ hours to the highlands of Peru to collect
fecal samples for ecchinococcosis ELISA analysis preserved in formalin and
ecchinococcosis PCR preserved in alcohol. 
Fecal floatation samples were also collect when extra fecal material was
available for my MPH project regarding the prevalence of zoonotic GI parasites
in canines in this area.  We will
be visiting three different towns to collect the above samples and blood to try
and develop and standardized an ecchinococcocosis Western Blot diagnostic
test.  The fecal samples were
collected using fecal loops or our fingers and then divided up into the
appropriate tubes for analysis. 
Then the dogs will be treated with Praziquantel (PZQ).  Each dog will randomly be assigned to a
different treatment group of one PZQ treatment, a treatment every 6 months and
then treatment every 6 weeks.  The
other members of our group will be returning to each town a week following
treatment to collect fecal samples to see how well the PZQ cleared the
tapeworms and also to continue the treatments at the specified intervals.

 

After a long car ride, we ate a small dinner and went to bed
because we were all a little sick from being at 4000+-meter altitude.  It was so cold during the day and night
that I had to wear 4 pairs of pants/thermals and 6 shirts and sweaters.  None of the hostels, houses,
restaurants or cars have any central heating.  So there was never a chance to warm up all week long.

 

Tuesday, 4/14/09 and Wednesday, 4/15/09 - Ondores;
Thursday, 4/16/09 - Pachacayo; Friday, 4/17/09 - Canchayllo

These four days consisted of us collecting the
above-mentioned samples.  We were
working with three vets from Peru, Dr. Kachani, 2 researches, 2 drivers/animal
handlers, and the three of us from Western U - Gael, Zarah, and I.  In Ondoras to start our study off on
Tuesday morning, we arrived and the town's people would not let our cars or us
into the town.  Because the price
of sheep and alpaca wool had dropped as a result of the world financial crisis,
the town's people were striking. 
We are not sure why they town's people that stayed behind did not want
us in the town.  It might have been
that since their were less people around they did not want foreigners, or it
could have been that they someone in authority was pissed off and just decided
not to let us in.   For
whatever reasons some of the vets and a researcher had to have a meeting with the
head doctor of the town and some other members of the community.  I am not sure what was discussed, but
eventually they opened to the gates to the town and we were able to bring out
stuff in.  Due to the strikes, we
were also not able to get to the town that the research team usually stays in,
so we stayed in Junin.  On Tuesday
and Wednesday we did not have a centralized location to collect samples.  So we had to walk from house to house
knocking on the doors and asking if they had dogs to use in our study.  We had to carry around all of our
equipment and it took a long time to travel between barrios and find dogs to
sample.  As a result of this and
the lack of people in the village, we only collected 86 separate dog samples in
two days.  However, we were able to
develop an organized system where every person of the team had a job that they
became very fast at.

 

Wednesday night we drove to Pachacayo, which is a very
interesting community set in a small valley next to a beautiful river.  It is a group of farmers and ranchers
who decided 30+ years ago to form an organized socialist-type town.  Each town's person has a role in the
success of the community and gives money to a central fund.  This fund goes towards purchasing and
caring for sheep, cattle, and horses that belong to the entire town.  It also funds a low cost restaurant, a
vet, physician, and engineer to live there.  It was fascinating to me to see how well planned everything
was and how well everyone worked together to better their community and hence
their lives.  Their lives were very
simple, but potentially much better than it would have been if each family were
own their own to provide for themselves. 
In the morning in this village, I helped ultrasound sheep for
ecchinococcosis cysts in the liver with a human physician.  The vet school we are working with
purchased all 8 positive sheep for research on the development of the disease
and possible treatment options in sheep. 
The rest of the group went door-to-door to collect the appropriate samples.  In the afternoon we had a central
location that we worked from and we were able to collect from 98 total dogs in
the community.

 

Thursday morning we drove to a nearby town called Canchayllo,
which has a smaller population of dogs. 
We were able to have a centralized location and collect 67 in the
morning.  Then we drove to Huancayo
for our weekend work.

 

Although our work was fairly repetitive, I learned so much
about doing fieldwork in Peru and had a lot of fun with the rest of the
team.  I found it fascinating that
there was little if any explanation of the study or what were would be doing
with the animals.  The people were
very quick to offer their dog to us for any sort of free vet care.  We also never had to collect a consent
form or permission from overseeing animal or human rights organization, like
would be needed to conduct a similar study in the USA.

 

Also because many of the dogs roam free in the communities,
they would freak out when put on a leash. 
However the owners seemed to have better control of the dogs than in the
USA.  Also because many of the dogs
are kept as guardians of the campo and animals, they were extremely aggressive
toward us, which made it really fun to restrain the dog and collect
samples.  We also never saw any
"normal" poop, like what we are used to seeing from dogs in the USA.  The feces came in a variety of colors
ranging from tar black to a tan white. 
The consistencies ranged from rock hard to complete liquid.  We also found any number of weird
objects in the rectum of the dogs, such as rope, bone, plastic, rocks,
hairballs, plants, insects, and food wrappers.

 

Animals in Peru enjoy a very extreme level of freedom where
they are rarely fenced in or tied up. 
Most animals, including the dogs, cattle, alpacas, and sheep roam the
surrounding fields of the community and are occasionally herded around to
different areas.  They all seemed
to get along fine across species and not roam too far from the main town area. 

 

Another unfortunate thing that I noticed was that many of
the animals and people had simple health problems that are so easily fixed in
developed nations with access to healthcare.  For example, many of the people and animals were severely
lame and or crippled with a variety of different limb deformities.  Some of the lamenesses could be
attributed to injury, while many others appeared to be due to congenital
defects.

 

Saturday, 4/18/2009 - San Jose de Quero and Sunday,
4/19/2009 - Chaquicocha

This weekend we will be conducting KAP surveys in a
different area of the highlands. 
Since the prevalence of ecchinococcosis is about 3%, versus 9% in the
villages that we collected fecal samples in, the research team decided not to
conduct the ELISA and PCR research in the dogs here.  Also, the research experts were afraid that if we conducted
the KAP survey in the sample villages while conducting the other research, then
the people could change their behavior and skew the results.  So instead, Gael conducted a KAP survey
regarding the health practices, knowledge and attitude of the town's people
regarding ecchinococcosis in this new area.  The research team spends time building a relationship with
political and health leaders in each community in order to conduct their
research.  However, the group did
not happen to ask permission for our work from one other person of authority in
the community, so he told the community nurse that if she told the town's
people of our work or helped us in any way, he would fire her.  Consequently when we arrived in the
village, no one came to the town center to volunteer for us.  We were going to collect a reference
fecal sample from the dogs and then Gael would ask the dog owner some questions
from his survey.  However, after
waiting all morning no one came.

 

Then one of the vets decided to drive to a different area of
the town to see if we could walk door-to-door to collect samples.  Unfortunately we only found three dogs
and owners to question.  So after
hours of waiting, we decided to return to the Huancayo, where we were staying,
to have lunch and our first free afternoon.  This was also the first shower we were able to take since
the previous Sunday.  After wearing
the same 4 layers of pants and 6 shirts, it was wonderful to shower and change
clothes!  Then we spent the
afternoon walking around the artesian shops, the local cathedral, and talking
with locals that we met on the street.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1239491880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1239491880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/5/1239491880/tpod.html Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:21:14 -0400 Veterinary adventures in Peru and beyond!

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Lima, Peru

We hired a driver for the day and went on a tour of the city.  We visited some ancient ruins outside of the city, la playa, craft center, and miraflores.  It was a great day, but we wished we had more time at the beach. 
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Lima, Peru

Sunday we oriented ourselves to the neighborhood, bought supplies, and prepared for our rotation.  We had quite an adventure finding food and preparing vegan food from the local markets.
Monday we worked with kittens that will be infected with sarcocyta.  So we needed to ensure that they were parasite free before they vet school could start the study.  We performed fecal floatations for each animal and examined the poop under a microscope.  All five kittens were negative so they are ready to be infected!  We also worked with guinea pigs infected with Chagas disease.  We took blood and examined it under the microscope.  Then we also assisted with the breeding program by flushing the vaginas of the female guinea pigs and examine the stage of estrus and the presence of sperm under the microscope.  Tuesday we worked with a new shipment of baby pigs.  Each animal needed to have ear tags placed for their unique identification number.  Then we took blood from the jugular for disease screening and vaccinated them for swine fever.  Even though we are deaf from their high pitch screeches, we had a fun time!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/4/1218927600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/4/1218927600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/4/1218927600/tpod.html Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:50:24 -0400 Wildlife work in South African and adventures in Madagascar!

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Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Friday morning Dr. Brothers picked up all the students from the hotel or airport in Johannesburg and drove us to a beautiful lodge on a cheetah reserve outside Pretoria. We spent most of yesterday resting, wondering the property gardens, hiking the surrounding mountain, and generally getting to the know the other students and Dr. Brothers' family. We are here with a very diverse group of students. There are eight students total, Manpreet and I, Kim (a guy) and Sam (a woman) from Davis Vet School, Natalie from Australia, Shirley from Taiwan, and Morena from Brazil. Steven, the eighth student, has not arrived and we don't know anything about him. There are speculations that he is also North American, but our guesses will be put to rest some time tonight when he arrives.

The lodge is a beautiful oasis amongst a fairly arid terrain. The De Wildt Lodge, where we are staying, is a non-profit organization that is one of the most successful cheetah breeding and rehabilitation centers in the world. After a morning introductory lecture from Dr. Brothers, we spent the entire afternoon at the cheetah reserve. In addition to cheetahs, there are a variety of other wild animals housed there for various breeding, rehabilitation, and research projects, including the African Wild Dog (which are the second most endangered animal in Africa), Vervet monkeys, wild cats (similar to domestic house cats), carcal and various eagles, vultures, and ungulates. A fifth year (out of seven) vet student here in South African named Chris gave us our tour of the facility. He is very involved with IVSA (International Veterinary Student Association) so he knew many students from our class at Western. He drove us around the property and explained the various projects and a brief introduction to the biology, physiology, behavior, and husbandry to the animals here at the center. Chris also taught us about the community projects they have educating the farmers and their children in the surrounding area about cheetahs so that they don't harm the animals when they come on the property. We were then able to pet and take pictures with the Ambassador cheetah named Byron, who they use for many of the educational projects. It was amazing to be in face to face with some of these cheetahs and wild dogs, which could kill us in seconds if they wished. I will never forget the daunting, intense stare of a cheetah only a few feet in front of me.

That is all for now....Hope everyone at home is doing well! Love you and miss you!!
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Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

I will be sending out my usual travelpod updates as to all my crazy ventures. Please feel free to forward my emails to anyone who might be interested. Also, I will not be offended if you wish to be taken off my email list.

Now here is a quick update about our flight halfway across the globe. After flying for two days, Manpreet (a classmate of mine) and I arrived in Johannesburg this morning (Thursday). The flight was good and we meet some really cool people. On my flight from SFO to Frankford, Germany, I sat next to a 75 year-old woman from Denmark. She has had an interesting life and kept me well entertained. There was also a young guy from Isreal who had been studying in the Bay Areas for the past few years. To stretch our legs we went to the back of the plane and we ended up turning it into a little bar. There was a group of us on the flight that stood in the back taking and drinking for hours! Besides the interesting people you meet on international flights, I was able to get a glimpse into the life of some veteran international flight attendants. After a five hours layover in Frankford, we boarded our plane for another 11-hour flight to Joburg.

We had a very pleasant surprise when we went to get on the hotel shuttle bus at the airport. As I waited for the passengers currently on the shuttle to climb off and collect their luggage, a middle-aged man with his young family jumped down in front of me. I really didn't think anything of it until the man shockingly stated, "No way! Western University??!!!" I replied, "You know the school?" His response, "My name is Dr. Scott Anderson. I am a surgeon in Los Angles and we love externs from your school! We have them all the time!" He asked me a few questions about what year I was and what I was doing so far from school. However, after not sleeping much for the past week, I was not too quick on my toes. Although I would have liked to be more alert and eloquent with my words, it was a wonderful chance meeting and a good sign for our school's reputation. I never thought that I would meet a veterinarian in Africa that not only knew of my school, but also was extremely fond of our program. What a great way to start the trip!

Since we arrived in the early morning, we were able to take care of changing money, renting a cell phone, and wireless Internet. After breakfast at the hotel, we washed up (FINALLY!), watched a little Olympic action, took a nap, and generally relaxed the rest of the day. The doctor we are working with for the month is going to pick us up from our hotel tomorrow morning. So it is time for me to go to bed.

If you would like to contact me, my email is: tscott@westernu.edu and my cell phone for the next two months is: 011-27-82-856-3553. It is free for me to receive phone calls, so please feel free to call me as much as your budget will allow!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1183050900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1183050900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1183050900/tpod.html Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:29:15 -0400 Veterinary work in Morocco and vacation on the beaches of Croatia

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Fez, Morocco

jgl
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182882720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182882720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182882720/tpod.html Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:14:09 -0400 Veterinary work in Morocco and vacation on the beaches of Croatia

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Marrakech, Morocco

Salaam Alaykum

WOW is all I can say for the past few days! This trip with Dr. Kachani contained some of the most fascinating and intense days that we have had so far in Morocco.

Before we began our journey, Doc took Lindsay and I out to dinner on Friday. Since the other students left, I think that all three of us were feeling the emptiness that had set in at the Fondouk. So being the wonderful man that Doc is, he took us to an amazing restaurant at a new pouch place called Zen. As usual, Doc ordered us drinks and wine with dinner. With a little probing, he proceeded to tell us about working at the Olympics, working for the Italian mafia, and all the drama that goes on at the Fondouk. It was, of course, all of the stories about our Moroccan coworkers that really got our minds going. There is so much drama and fighting that goes on behind closed doors, that most of the wonderful workers that we know on a day to day basis, are now tainted in our minds. All we could do is just laugh about the different set of values and important morals that exist in Morocco. So many things that are normal and expected in an Islamic society, seem so silly and foreign to us, for example not eating so that a lamb can be purchased and sacrificed for a new baby's birth. After a long wonderful dinner, we headed home and called Dr. Kachani to tell her when we would be arriving the next day.

We started our journey by boarding a train in Fez around 11 am. Even with all of our careful planning, we some how almost managed to miss the train. So here we were sprinting next to the train with all of our luggage and a bookstore worth of books for Dr. Kachani. Of course our seats were in the furthest train, but we managed to be the last ones to board the train. In our cabin, there was an older man and a very beautiful, friendly young woman. Even though the man didn't speak English, he was insistent on talking with us. He would switch between the little bit of Spanish that he knew, to French or Arabic when he couldn't remember a word. After watching us struggle to communicate for about thirty minutes, the young woman finally chimed in. It turns out that she has lived in the US and is very fluent in English, along with a handful of other languages. The older man was an anthropologist and he seemed to want to tell us all of the history of Morocco and its famous cities, in addition to ask us for the social structure and history of our country. Unfortunately, instead of being able to enjoy a conversation with a person of our age and sex, the young woman spent most of the train ride translating for this curious man. However, the four hour train ride went by relatively fast and we were in Rabat in no time.

When she picked us up, Dr. Kachani was pretty upset because her car had just started smoking and died in front of the train station. So her work colleague had to come pick us up. He dropped us all off at the house of one of Dr. Kachani's favorite students, Isham. He is now a very successful poultry veterinarian working for a European company. We enjoyed an amazing lunch, prepared by his maid, with his family in the garden. Isham has just recently finished building an astonishing, modernly decorated home on the outskirts of Rabat.

Now before I continue with the story, I need to let you all in on something that happened before Lindsay and I left. The two of us were meeting with Dr. Kachani about once a week for the last month before we left for Morocco. During these hour long sessions, we would ask questions in preparation for the trip or Dr. Kachani would talk to us about various topics such as Moroccan culture. One day I asked her how easy it would be for us as vegetarians. She immediately got upset and said that she would not have taken us on this trip had she known that we were vegetarian. She went on to explain that she had taken vegetarian and vegan students in the past who had been served meat in some of the poor villages and had create a huge problem out of the situation. Immediately recognizing the problem, I assured her that we would not embarrass her by refusing meat or make a big deal about being served meat. Now to continue with the story....

So Lindsay and I had already been preparing ourselves that we were going to have to eat meat at some point on this four day trip. We just didn't know that it was going to be right then at Isham's house. Since we did not want to embarrass Dr. Kachani at her friend's house, when we were served the meat we ate it. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE EATEN MEAT IN ALMOST TEN YEARS!!!! It was not an easy feat. Thank God it was chicken with some ham in it. The chicken was covered in cheese and then fried, which made the taste and texture more palatable. Since we there was also salad and rice on the table, Lindsay and I cut the meat into tiny pieces and would mix it amongst other food. Unfortunately, it turns out later that Dr. Kachani didn't think that we needed to eat meat there at Isham's house. She was more concerned with the village we were going to stay in. Suddenly, I felt that I had broken a very strong moral value for no reason. Before I got too upset, I quickly assured myself that it was for Dr. Kachani's relationship with her student and for the respect of my professor. However, my stomach and my mind are still upset about how that situation turned out. I am trying not to let the meat eating ruin a wonderful lunch amongst international colleagues.

The rest of the evening was spent wondering through the Medina, old town, of Rabat. Although we have been to a few Medinas in other cities, this experience was especially pleasant because we were with two locals. They knew how to bargain, which stores were the best, and what all the crazy herbs and spices were used for. In the market place, we would stop to try random nuts and candy or face powders. Then Dr. Kachani, Lindsay, and I bought matching shirts for working in the village. All and all, it was a fantastic day!

After a short restful night at Dr. Kachani's flat near the ocean, we boarded an early morning train to Marrakech. Although we were pretty tired, the train ride provided an excellent opportunity to get to know Dr. Kachani better. She has done some incredible things to improve the health of people in Morocco and around the world. She has worked for such famous organizations as WHO, FAO, and the European Union. She has also had some horrible misfortunes in her life. During the train ride, we grappled with many of the world's problems and then attempt to solve them.

Four hours later, we arrived in Marrakech, Dr. Kachani's home town. We were picked up by a fellow veterinarian and friend of Dr. Kachani's for 28 years. He took us to his four story house and we ate more food. We sat around his house, while Dr. Kachani caught up on old times with all of the guests that came to see her. After the afternoon heat had past (it was 42 degrees Celsius, about 110 F), we meet up with another colleague of Dr. Kachani's, Ouafa, to head to the village in the High Atlas Mountains.

Dr. Kachani and Ouafa are both part of a nonprofit organization that is involved in improving women's rights and health. The two women have been working on community development and health issues with this village for over ten years. The newest project, which they started last summer, is the part that Lindsay and I were involved in during this trip. From donations, the organization buys animals for the poorest women in the village (it is similar to The Heifer Project). Most of these women do not have running water in their homes and have husbands who have died or are unable to work for some reason. Animals are like money for these women. Most of the women don't eat the animals, but they are able to sell them or trade them for other produces, such as food for their children. The one stipulation of the project is that the ewe is not allowed to be sold. Consequently, each year the ewe produces another baby that becomes more money in the bank for these women.

Before Lindsay and I donated the money that we had raised back home, we visited the six women in this village that were the first to receive the sheep for the project. We wanted to document the success or failure of the project before we continued it. Over the next two days, we visited all of the women and their sheep. We asked them about the health of their sheep, what they feed them, if they were happy with the animals, and whether they felt that we should continue this project. They were all so happy with the gifts, that they continually praised Dr. Kachani, Ouafa, and us for the animals. At the beginning of the project last summer, each woman was given a ewe and a lamb. Over the past year, only one ewe had died and all of the ewes had produced at least one additional lamb. We considered the project a huge success!! Consequently, Lindsay and I left enough money to buy at least two more women each a ewe and a lamb. Because we had run out of time, we were not able to select the recipients ourselves. However, Dr. Kachani and Ouafa will be returning to the village July 7th for an end of the school year party. At that time, Dr. Kachani will be taking pictures of Lindsay and my women with their new sheep. (This is not a sales pitch, but if you would like to donate to this organization, please let me know. About $100 can buy a ewe and her lamb for one woman and her children)

During this two day stay in the incredible Atlas Mountains (see photos), we kissed more Berber people then we have ever kissed men, we ate couscous until our stomachs exploded, drank the entire ocean's worth of mint tea, and mastered the art of crouching in an ammonia filled four foot room and peeing into a dark hole. I also learned that my first name means "I love you" in Berber and my last name means "Shut up!" in Arabic. It is so fitting of me to have a name that means, "I love you! Shut up!" But really, it was an incredible experience to be able to live amongst a very ancient secluded tribe in the middle of the High Atlas Mountains (we were over 2300 meters up). I felt like we were making a different in these people's lives and that they were truly thankful for our visit. To express their gratitude, one of the young girls that we stayed with painted beautiful designs on our hands with Henna.

That afternoon we made the long drive back to Rabat. Lindsay and I slept in on Tuesday and took the train at one pm back to Fez. We got home last night, had a drink with Doc, unpacked, and went to bed early. Stella, our kitten, stayed home to man the fort. Doc fed her chicken out of his lap. So we are pretty sure that she will be ok when we leave for good this weekend.

Dr. Kachani continues to ask us about our experience in the village. I think that she is looking for us to be deeply moved by the poverty that we saw. However, the truth is that both Lindsay and I have seen people living in much worse poverty in other countries. Dr. Kachani keeps emphasizing how poor the women are and then asks us what we think. Without having much to say, I began to feel guilty. Have I become so desensitized to pain and suffering, that I am not even moved by the lack of some of the most basic human needs? Because we had a four hour train ride home to Fez, I had plenty of time to think about this. Also, it just so happened that I was reading the chapter in His Holiness The Dalai Lama's book entitled, "Finding Meaning in Pain and Suffering." The book has been very pertinent to my life at this time. I would like to share some of it with you, however I am tired of typing right now. Hopefully, I will be able to type of a few of my favorite passages and send them out to you before I leave the Fondouk.

For now, Lindsay and I are trying to enjoy our last few days here. I can't believe how fast the past month has gone. We have had an incredible gift to be able to live and work with Doc. I have learned so much from him and the other workers. They have all made Lindsay and I better vets in the future!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182103500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182103500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tamerin/morocco-croatia/1182103500/tpod.html Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:57:03 -0400 Veterinary work in Morocco and vacation on the beaches of Croatia

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Rabat, Morocco

Last Sunday Doc took us to the Moroccan National Grand Prix of horse jumping, which took place in Rabat. After a two plus hour drive from Fez to Rabat, we all had to use the restroom. So Doc stopped at his other home away from home, the Hilton Rabat!!! As we drove up to this immense building, there were your usual Rolls-Royces and Bentleys parked outside. Our measly Mercedes was lost in the front parking lot. Upon entering this immaculate hotel, there were groups of covered men everywhere. The men appeared to have been from The United Emirates and Saudi Arabia. They were scattered throughout the lobby and tea rooms. It seemed to me that all of the world's oil was right there in their hands! It was an interesting, but intense scene to innocently observe. I, of course, wanted pictures of the precarious meetings. However, after much discouragement from my friends, I just starred enough to take some mental pictures.

The week leading up to The Grand Prix, is called The Week of the Horse (Semaine Du Chevel). It is a series of events, shows, and celebrations. On Sunday the festivities were held at Princess Lalla's property (the King's sister), which is called Dar Es Salam (The City of Peace). Because Doc is seen as a God in the Moroccan horse world and he used to treat The Princess's horses, as soon as we drove into the parking lot people were approaching the car to kiss him and say hello. He took us on a tour of the grounds and we met a countless number of people, who I have already mostly forgotten.

After our tour, we headed back into the car to go to lunch. Doc took us to one of the nicest restaurants in Rabat! We sat in the beautifully decorated outdoor garden, with Moroccan art and pottery scattered throughout the facilities. Since Doc is a regular, we immediately got our choice of prime seating in the center of the garden next to the fountain. As soon as we sat down, Doc asked, "Does anyone want an appetizer.....a scotch, whiskey, beer, or wine?" Since most restaurants don't serve alcohol, how could we turn that down! So we each ordered a drink to help us decided between the plethoras of amazing dishes on the menu. After our lunch orders were placed, Doc proceeded to order two bottles of wine for lunch. He sure knows how to take care of his students!!! As we sat in the tropical garden paradise, laughing and sipping on Moroccan wine, I thought to myself what a hard life I have!

Slightly buzzed after an amazing lunch and some even better wine, we all swayed our way back to the car (please note that Doc did not have very much alcohol as he was driving us). We arrived back at Dar Es Salam in time to watch the end of The Junior competition. Then the true Grand Prix began!

As I sat and watched these stunning horses jump over preteen jumps, I almost forgot where I was. After only seeing the animals of the poor at the Fondouk, I forgot what a normal horse looked like. However, with this realization also came the harsh reality of this country. It is so full of contrasts. There are so many dreadfully poor people, who are disabled and can barely afford to have an animal. However, here I was sitting amongst the Moroccan elite. They were no different than our rich back home, driving their BMWs, Land Cruisers, and Mercedes, and putting on their fake smiles and their Sunday's best. But for some reason, when you have starving people living in shacks with suffering animals directly across the street, the extremes seemed so much more intense. I suddenly became lost in my new observation and forgot to watch a good part of the competition.

Sorry for that little interlude......So back to the Grand Prix.....It just so happened, that one of Doc's clients won the entire competition!!! We had met him when we first arrived and he had asked for us to pray for him. He seemed like a dorky, smaller man with not much working for him. I never thought that hours later, he would become the number one rider in Morocco! However, the winner was an extremely grateful young man. Like a good Muslim, he praised Ala for his win, and then gave his gold metal and ribbon to Doc as a token of his gratitude. We took pictures with him and schmoozed with the elite. Then we headed back to Rabat after a long, but amazing, day in the intense African sun!

I proceeded to wake up Monday with the flu that Lindsay had had the week prior. It was not a fun two days of not leaving my bed. However, I am feeling much better and the hell is definitely in my past now.

Then Wednesday the other two students left for America. It has been a little quiet and depressing around her with just Lindsay and I around. After our pity party last night, Doc is taking us out for dinner tonight. Then tomorrow, Lindsay and I leave for Rabat to meet up with our professor. She is taking us to meet with a women's group and some school children in Marrakech. We should be back to the Fondouk on Tuesday. So please don't expect to hear from me until then.

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