I’m Leaving.. on a Jet Plane!
Well, I’m almost packed for my trip, and now am working on mentally preparing for what is soon to come. I leave in two days (Wednesday, the 27th), and will return on July 18th. Let’s hope I come back with a little bit of a tan! 
I just got a call from my mother telling me that the laundry lady who has worked with Mothers Without Borders for a long time just died from AIDS, leaving behind three orphans.
I realized that I might be confronted with death while on this trip, and that’s something new to me. All I’ve experienced so far is a relative or two dying of old age. That’s expected and natural. Watching a mother or an infant die is another thing entirely.
I’m not sure how I’ll handle it.
A colleague of mine informed me this morning of this National Geographic article in this month’s issue about the Malaria epidemic. Now there’s some good pre-Africa reading material! I’ll be picking up my Malarone (Malaria medicine) today, so here’s to hoping that I come back with my health intact!
I’m not sure how much internet access I’ll have while I’m over there. I imagine that I’ll be able to drop by the internet café every 2-4 days to update the blog, so check back regularly to get the latest on what I’m up to!
Thanks to all of you who have donated money and supplies, and expressed an interest in the trip. It’s going to be an amazing three weeks, and I hope that you all can live vicariously through me as I venture off to distant lands to change the world, one person at a time!
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Ja.
Be sure to use lots of deet, and always use mosquito netting, the kind that goes all the way to the floor so your arms or legs wont stick out. An ounce of prevention……
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Aside from the fact that it’s the bane of human civilization, Plasmodium is actually a fascinating and clever little critter. It’s got a bag of tricks that any Iraqi insurgent would envy….
For another example, when Plasmodium infects red blood cells, it produces special “adhesion” proteins that make the blood cell stick to the walls of the vessel. This keeps it away from the spleen which might otherwise recognize the infected cell and destroy it(the spleen is Plasmodium’s worst nightmare.) Yet somehow, it prevents the immune system from recognizing these alien proteins and making antibodies against them….
Living inside a host body is no free ride, and blood is, in fact, one of the most un-friendly environments on earth. It’s a minefield of toxins, “complement” proteins, lytic enzymes, killer cells, and antibodies designed to cripple and destroy invaders.
If you’re interested, read Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer, is you ever come across it…..
anyway, I don’t know why I get so exited about a single celled parasite,
~J.W.