Learning Curve

So why this week of meetings?  Because there are so many moving parts to this program and these moving parts are spread across the world. Sometimes email and Skype calls do not have the same effect as putting people in the same room to present, discuss and have side conversations over coffee breaks and meals.

One corner of the resort

The first half of the week our program team presented information and received input/feedback from our partner research centers. Topics included current research portfolio, how to grow our research themes, how to monitor and evaluated progress, reporting requirements etc.  The second half of the week was a smaller group of researchers discussing a topic that has been new to me: aflatoxins.  Two days of discussing research gaps on how to prevent and treat crops contaminated with this fungus that is prolific in all sorts of crops: maize, peanuts, cassava, a whole bunch of grains, chilies, and spices.  It can get into the milk of animals who have consumed contaminated feed.  Besides causing liver disease and even death when consumed in high concentrations, a chief interest in developing countries is whether it causes stunting in children.  One way contamination is prevented - at least in the US for now - is by biocontrol where a competing but safe variety of the fungus is put on fields so that it out numbers and drives down the bad variety.  And the topic goes on and on and on.  Two days worth in this case.

Thus ended this week of non-stop information inputs.  Not all went in unfortunately and hopefully that portion that did, sticks.  On another note, I never did see the hippos come out of the water, but I'll end with this view of the path down to the lake.

Wildlife Excursion

Turns out the resort is bit bigger than I thought and backs up against Lake Naivasha.  After our second full day of sessions, two of which I led and am glad are out of the way, we trooped down to the lake to get into several 8-seater flat motor boats to do a bit of wild-life watching, or harassing as the case might be.

There was a diverse range of birds - which made me think my grandmother with her life-list would have really been impressed - and a spit of land called Crescent Island, was teaming with herds of animals.  Wildebeest,impala, zebras, pelicans, flamingos and others I didn't recognize.  Apparently if you visit the isle by land, there are giraffes and other large animals.  Along the shore on our side of the lake we saw hippos in the water.

Africa Light

I am spending the week in Kenya.  It perhaps sounds adventurous, and while maybe I should feel a bit guilty to be attending meetings at a posh resort, quite frankly, if you have to be tired and "on" for 5 days straight, having a beautiful room on a fancy property seems justified. Add that it feels a bit like a fancy jail, and the argument for justification grows.  I'm realizing that all of my experiences in Africa, both Kenya and JoBurg have involved gates, walls and guards.  But I digress.

To sum up, I flew with several colleagues which was a nice change.  We spent our first night in a very meager guesthouse in Nairobi.  So sparse in fact that other meeting attendees who stayed there before coming to Naivasha, requested to stay elsewhere when they go back to Nairobi.

This week we have back-to-back meetings, interspersed with side meetings since this is one of two times during the year that we can sit down and go over work plans, deliverables, budgets, timetables and other concerns.  There is an excursion planned for tomorrow when we are going to go see some wild life.  So while no picture worthy moments so far, there will likely be some tomorrow.

Requisite meeting photo

Bonn

Bonn city view

There seemed to be a lot of scope for a title with a cheesy pun but I'll just leave it simple.  It is the last leg of the European conference circuit.  Many who were in Granada are now seeing each other again in Bonn.  However, going from a picturesque city with a 6-day conference of 4,000 to the outskirts of a small town with a 3-day meeting of 300, does have its differences, and mostly in a good way.

The 2-hour train ride from Frankfurt to Bonn along the Rhine River was beautiful.  Something out of a fairy tale with castles, ruins, traditional little towns and vineyards climbing straight up the sides of mountains.  Unfortunately I was seated both on the wrong side and backwards so did not get any photos.  Perhaps on the way back.

Museum Koenig

Our conference is at a facility which is in what could be described as an industrial park.  However, both nights we have had events in town.  The first night our dinner was held in the Museum Koenig which houses a zoological exhibit and also was the new German democracy immediately after WWII since it was one of the few large buildings intact.  The second night the City of Bonn hosted a reception at their renovated City Hall.  A few of us went early, toured the birth home of Beethoven and wandered around the city's walking streets.  

Deutschland Limbo

Granada is done and Bonn has not started yet.  Since there was no easy, inexpensive side trip to take, and with an acquaintance in Frankfurt, I decided to spend the weekend exploring this often overlooked city.  A city probably best known for its frustrating airport transfers - a necessary evil to get to many parts of the world.  But this time, I actually exited the terminal.

"Love" locks on the bridge

Today's tour involved walking all over the city, food street, shopping street, European Central Bank, old opera house, walking bridge, riverfront on both sides, old square taken over by political party campaigning (the election is tomorrow), and lunch consisting of the local specialty called "green sauce", which was hard boiled egg and potato drowning is a creamy herb sauce.  I'll save you the search:  http://germanfood.about.com/od/saucessweetandsavory/r/gruene-sosse.htm

Frankfurt "green sauce" lunch

Carbo-Loading

Catedral de Granada

I am in Granada to attend a nutrition conference.  The subject matters range from straight-up hi-tech clinical dietetics to combating malnutrition in developing countries.  One would think at a food related meeting, they'd get the food right at least.  Logistics, sound systems perhaps no, but food?  That should be easy.  However, after receiving a sandwich in my lunch bag consisting of a thick slab of Spanish omelette in a baguette, I feel justified in a bit of complaining.  Indeed, I've been to diabetes conferences where the newcomer breakfast featured sugar cereals and whole milk.  The RDs were practically slapping each other to get the Total boxes and skim milk cartons.  At another, coffee breaks featured chocolate covered donuts and ice cream bars. But I digress.  At this conference, the coffee breaks come with mini-pastries and fruit and the afternoon coffee comes with mini-cookies and fruit.  The lunch sacks are salad and not one, but two sandwiches, though salad is a loose term.  Sometimes an assortment of seafood and sometimes a pasta salad.  There are very few places to eat nearby and I think they are trying to keep us at the conference center - ergo, we are kept fed and caffeinated on premises.

Tufts alumni & professors

On the plus side, I know many people here - many people from DC.  Colleagues, former grad school classmates and professors and acquaintances from the international nutrition world.  Plus, a friend of mine from DC happened to be traveling nearby and came down to stay with me for a couple days.  We ventured out last night and found a great little hole-in-the-wall eatery off a side street.  Cheap, good, friendly, oh but it turned out the proprietress is Italian.  Ah well.  Spanish cuisine is coyly playing hard-to-get.

Granada

Atop the Alhambra

Lack of time and reliable hotel internet has made it difficult to post.  Plus, spending all day in conference sessions does not for interesting material make.  However, three days in, and I have played hooky a bit, probably less than other attendees, and joined in on some outings.  Despite logistical difficulties, and everyone has their story of innovative and/or sketchy measures to reach the conference, it is an amazing setting.  Plus the city center is quite small and with several thousand at the conference, you are likely to run into people you know.

view from hotel balcony

My hotel is tucked away between two alleys, just wide enough to walk through the outdoor seating of the neighboring restaurants.  It is also short walks to the conference and sights like the Alhambra.  I took a stroll up the steep hill to take in the views, and on my way back passed the head of my organization making his way up to do the same thing.  Last night, 15 of us went to a fixed price dinner and flamenco show.  We spent a 1/2 hour trusting google maps on a ipad to get us through the maze of tiny streets going up the side of a hill.  Researchers...  In the end it was on a main thoroughfare.  I'm not sure how the conference organizers expect people to show up at 8a when it's nearly impossible to go out for dinner and get home before midnight.

Moon over the Alhambra