"Course Practicals"

So I guess it's about time I started to talk about the whole work thing...That is what I'm here for, right? I've been with six Vet students at the University partaking in what they term "course practicals." From what I've gathered, while school is in session the laboratory component of courses is rather limited and the students spend an intense (by Tanzanian standards) 10 days working in the lab and the field. Mind you, everything is still on Swahili time--which means that 8:00 sharp really means sometime around 8:20 or 8:30.

The students are hilarious and can't seem to get enough of the mzungu. They assume that I know the answer to every question when really they know a whole lot more than me. (Mom, you were right...I definitely need to take Microbiology) I've been very impressed by their facility with all sorts of bacteria and viruses. They certainly know their stuff! They are so welcoming and insist that I do everything they do. They love to talk about the States and were completely blown away by the cost of education. One asked how we pay for it. Another responded, "Don't you know, white is the color of money."

Today we inoculated mice, and by inoculated I mean gave them a shot with some nasty parasites. If they aren't handled correctly they bite you and--apparently--this hurts. I tried to explain the similarity to my late hamster Maybel but the concept of a hamster and a pet made very little sense to them. Silly mzungu. When I asked what they had named the mice they were at first puzzled. I thought they didn't understand but when I asked in Swahili they answered, "Moja, mbili..." or "One, two...". One student, whose name means Thunderstorm in Swahili, said, "Let's name this one Obama." I named mine McCain and another one was bestowed with Hillary. Incidentally, we later dissected Hillary. Thunderstorm was my partner for the dissection and insisted that I do all the cutting and poking. We found a tumor in poor Hillary :( along with all the normal organs; we proceeded to do organ smears. My favorite was the squash smear of part of the brain--a true moment of hilarity when students from the other group showed me their George Bush brain...it's even better when you hear it with an accent.

I washed my hands like forty times before lunch.