Mangos, Meetings and Making time

November is the wettest month with rains keeping us inside and blocking the day for a whole day sometimes with temperatures from 23-31°C that can feel like 40°C in the humidity. The rain can also interfere with the electricity supply, and the river is rising to levels that already flood some areas of Lambaréné… So here we are attempting to do high quality medical research despite water and power cuts and enjoying our lives all along.

As exhausting as this is, I’ll also share some of the beauty that comes with it.

Sunday, 27 October: As a special German treat, we made cheese spaetzle that were nourishing body and soul – I literally didn’t have this much cheese since I came almost nine months ago! And as mango season is here, we made cake, too. What a pleasure to live with people who actually enjoy cooking.

Wednesday, 30 October: In preparation for a next phase of my study that will be randomized placebo-controlled, we had a training for the pharmacists today. This means that some of the future study participants will be treated with the actual study drug ivermectin, while others will get placebo-tablets that don’t hold any active substance. Neither the physicians nor the participants are supposed to know which of the two they took, so here the pharmacists will step in and we discussed all logistics today.

Thursday, 31 October: Christina found a map of Lambaréné today that illustrates quite well how dominated the place is by the broad Ogooué River. You can really imagine that just a few decades ago, all transport was by water, not road (which would probably still be more comfortable today, considering the state of the road). We have a student room in the building next door now that has wi-fi that I used for a thorough update and prayer video call with Fina, my sister in heart.

Friday, 01 November: Today was a public holiday for All Saints’ Day, so I got myself a slow, fruity breakfast, before having to go to work as patient visits are ongoing. Most of our flatmates were in Libreville to handle their resident permits, so Ayo, Christina and I celebrated the holiday with a dinner out that was involuntarily a candlelight dinner, as some parts of the town struggled with electricity. It was very tasty, nonetheless.

Saturday, 02 November: This new season, much more intense than the rainy season when I came, as You might have noticed by now, also gives some nice gifts: Sitting outside for breakfast this morning I couldn’t help putting marvel at an invasion of butterflies. In the evening I was invited for Fanny’s birthday party, a nurse from the other team in our building. As it is the habit, she as the host prepared a meal for everyone that we shared. And those willing (I am willing most of the time) still went out to dance afterwards. A lovely evening and a nice opportunity to see new faces from inside and outside our institution.

Sunday, 03 November: These past few days I discovered some new taxi stickers doing low-key Christian mission, and I love it. One of the things I love is how naturally I can live my faith here wherever, whenever. So far having been a calm church-and-lunch Sunday, Christina was asked by a colleague if not one of us was of B- or 0- blood group for a child that got admitted at Schweitzer Hospital with a Haemoglobin level of 3 g/dl (normal would have been maybe 15), so the child had a severe anaemia and urgently needed a blood transfusion. None of us were of this group so we asked dozens of colleagues and friends, until a willing and suitable donor was found. Apparently, there is no bigger stock of blood, maybe also due to logistic reasons, and I don’t know of any blood donation services in Lambaréné…

Tuesday, 05 November: Our coordinator Françoise’s sister makes mango juice, and this is now what everybody in the office lives off.

Wednesday, 06 November: Today Dr. Ghyslain and Dr. Anita held a first aid course, a premiere at Cermel. There’s apparently no real structured program in Gabon, also not at nurse’s schools etc, so going through Basic Life Support, doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and seeing a defibrillator was a first for many in this improvised course. After having postponed it several times, our microscopists Cyriel finally held the opening of his and his brother’s snack bar tonight. We had expected something humble, but the place was actually big and spacious, with inside and outside area, a dance floor, nice paintings… And so, Wilfrid, Laura and I stayed quite a while and also met other colleagues from the laboratory there.

Friday, 08 November: What better could You do on a Friday evening than sort out laboratory results? Luckily, I had the lab’s support though. And these are situations where I feel productive and arrived here.

Sunday, 10 November: Today we held the opening ceremony for the second African Congress for Clinical Trials to be held for the following days in Lambaréné. The wait for officials was long again, the speeches enthusiastic and formal – And the dinner afterwards really tasty.

Monday, 11 November: In the morning, there was a statistics course in which I learned above all what I will have to learn. Programming in R, reviewing what statistic test should be used for what... Then presentations commenced. Guests to this congress came from Gabon, the wider regions and many European guests. Some were presenting their own research on diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, but also schistosomiasis, loa loa… I also finally got to meet some more researchers from Tübingen institute for Tropical Medicine that I had only met via email before, especially our coordinating investigator Dr. Jana Held.

Tuesday, 12 November: This afternoon, there were the presentations from our group members Dr. Lia, Dr. Dearie, Dr. Wilfrid and me. As if to reward us, in the evening a dinner was held at Ogooué Palace for all congressists.

Wednesday, 13 November: The congress was concluded at noon and I made use of the transport to Libreville arranged by Cermel. I was on a very special mission – My dear friend Sibu was in Libreville for a work trip! If You want to read about her, go back four years in this blog to read about my time in South Africa. We went to a Chinese restaurant that a friend of mine recommended and brought each other up to date. Coming together after a long time and just clicking with each other is a miraculous thing.

Thursday, 14 November: After the stressful past days of participant visits, the congress, and travel I slept in and started the day with a swim in the ocean and lengthy brunch. Then in the afternoon I made my way to a book shop in town that my colleague Rodrigue had recommended me. Whoever knows me knows I can easily get lost in these and I could have easily gone home without any money left in my purse. Especially because these books cost up to 45€. I then focused myself on the unit with African authors, a lot of them very local, and ended up deciding for a book with caricatures about Gabon, a collection of narratives of African queens and other historical figures and for coming back upon a next opportunity.

Friday, 15 November: In the morning I met Sibu at the airport to say goodbye, with the promise to see each other as soon as we can, whenever this may be. Then I headed to the General Hospital where Cermel has an office that I used for a teleconference – Who thought I was actually on holidays? There I also met Freddy again, who had just left Cermel this month and we got to quickly say hi. And because I love airports so much, after having dropped my stuff at Doria’s, I headed back to the airport to see Tabea off who had to go back to Germany after only a month due to family reasons. Nathanaël was also in town and joined me to attend Cédric’s birthday party with some of his friends (he’s a colleague who now works in the institute in Tübingen but was in the country for the congress).

Saturday, 16 November: The heavy rains made me start my day slowly and I spent most of it having quality time with some friends. Nathanaël and I also paid a visit to the Institut français for their science week with demonstrations of 3D printers, screenings of space documentaries etc. – It is striking how You feel as though You were in France once inside this building. The evening was reserved for Doria and her children who luckily don’t seem to get tired of hosting me. Having more than one, namely three full days in Libreville made the whole thing much more worthwhile and a much-needed getaway from Lambaréné daily craze.

Tuesday, 19 November: I have to write about this because especially in contrast to my new flatmates it’s remarkable – I made us cook together today and it was more than pasta, we made risotto, with wine and everything.

Thursday, 21 November: Over lunch break I paid visit to Stéphane’s to see my nieces again. The baby girl is almost three months old now and the first grader still asks me what I put on my skin to become so white… And she gave me my first Christmas present this year, a card she made in school. And she can already write my name if I spell it after only two months of school.

Saturday, 23 November: Just to repeat or issues with water again – I went over to Schweitzer compound which has their own water supply to do laundry at a friend’s. Yes, we are suffering. And no, it’s not all of Gabon. Locals are complaining just as much as we expats are. Then I spent a splendid afternoon pool with Fanny and her son Kezy – thank You so much for sharing these moments.

Sunday, 24 November: Jacob and Lisa moved from campus to their own house while I was in Libreville and this Sunday, we celebrated their new home with a big barbecue for campus inhabitants and Lisa’s colleagues from Schweitzer.

Tuesday, 26 November: We finally had the first screenings for the final cohort of the study. And we were granted water from the reserve – Oh how doing laundry and taking a long shower can make You happy…

A friend from Germany just asked me about my Christmas plans and I had to laugh, as I hardly plan anything ahead nowadays. As colleagues, housemates, the weather… are constantly changing, lately I go with the flow while still pursuing my thesis work. And in the end some nice events and moments come to be, others don’t, and it’s a beautiful thing.

See You, take care,

Doro

292 days in Gabon