wrapping up work
June 25, 2008
somehow the end of work has completely snuck up on me. i have been busy with the various seemingly unrelated jobs that i have, trying to tie up all the loose ends before i finish work on monday, june 30th. i have loved my time working at unza and chelstone and for cih, but still, i am looking forward to moving on.
in terms of my work i have been busy as a research supervisor for students from canada who have arrived here in zambia. two of the students are actually building on my research at the chelstone clinic, so we have all been busy trying to create a somewhat seamless link between the two groups.
i have also been trying to write up the results for my research that finally finished at the beginning of june. all fifteen patient interviews and the staff focus group were in fact completed, transcribed, coded etc etc basically until it made my eyes go blurry. i think the research has uncovered some important findings and i have been encouraged by my research supervisors to try and get it published, so that will be one of my tasks during the inevitable time of unemployment this fall.
in addition to research and research supervison, i have been helping the unit of physical education at unza with their diploma program offered to the zambian army. this has been a really enjoyable experience. basically, we had a few classes looking at public health and HIV/AIDS in zambia and they went as to be expected. but than, i was asked to assist in one of the practical units. so somehow, i began assisting in teaching the zambian army to swim. we have just completed three weeks of swimming lessons, starting with putting our faces in the water and blowing bubbles and finishing with the back stroke and front crawl (or at least versions of them). the classes have been a lot of fun despite the fact that it is winter in lusaka and generally quite cold. the soldiers really enjoyed themselves and the opportunity to learn how to swim… not a common skill in a landlocked country like zambia.
worse comes to worse i could start offering swimming lessons in zambia if nothing else pans out…
