Some of Africa's Fiercest

I apologize for the sort of dry last post. I know it’s been a little while since one with pictures, but it’s been a hectic week at work. Columbia’s version of an ethics committee approved my project and I finally submitted my application for approval from the South African ethics committee this past Wednesday. So now, I wait and pray to God that they don’t delay my approval here too long. In the meantime, there is a flurry of activity here at the office to work on another ethics application as well as collect as much data as possible to submit a preliminary abstract on a third study I’m helping with. Boring stuff so far, but I report it for all those out there who think I’m only playing here. See? Work. :)

Truth is, I’m making up for all the play and fun I had last week and weekend meeting some of Africa’s fiercest creatures. But let me start from the beginning. One week ago, eight other international Doris Duke fellows arrived in Durban for an international conference on HIV/AIDS Advanced Care taking place at one of Durban’s poshest hotels on the Golden Mile. For two days, we attended lectures on how to treat the sickest HIV/AIDS patients during the day and then explored Durban as a group. It was, in a word, awesome. Even the lectures. I realized that while I appreciate the end goals of research, going through charts and articles is not my passion. I miss patients. I miss the human touch and the human psyche, despite all its complications and difficulties. Hearing about how to take care of other human beings was a much-needed reminder of why I’m here. I was very much a lecture-phobe the first two years of med school, often choosing sleep over lectures, so I was almost shocked to realize how much these lectures re-affirmed my love of medicine.

I was less shocked to find that the international fellows were a lot of fun! In a way, we’re very like-minded. We all feel the itch to travel and explore, but also the itch to work with some of the world’s sickest. And thankfully, also the itch to eat, drink and dance! On Friday, we went to a Sharks game, the Rugby team for the Kwazulu-Natal province. As it turns out, I’m a rugby fan! Who knew! It was so fierce…these men who played a confusing combination of soccer and football with little more than light shoulder padding. That night, I vowed two things to myself: 1) Take a cab to the next rugby game so you can partake of the beer-drinking and 2) Learn the rules of rugby. Can’t wait to go to more games to begin fulfilling these two vows.

Then Saturday, six of us woke up at 6 AM (never mind we’d been out past midnight on Friday night) to drive 3 hours north to Hluluwe Umfolozi Park, a game reserve near St. Lucia. Our day began with a lazy two-hour ferry cruise through the St. Lucia estuary to look at hippos, crocodiles and the exotic mélange of birds and eagles that live in this estuary. Now, some of you may not know this, but some of my happiest moments in life are on boats. I simply love being on the water with the wind in my hair, so this ferry ride alone was well worth the 3-hour drive. What I’m sure will come as a surprise to NO ONE is that my favorite part of the ferry ride was watching the baby hippos ride their mothers’ backs. SO CUTE. I had to resist the urge to jump in the water and swim over to scratch their chubby little bellies. (It was not actually such a hard urge to resist given the crocodile-infested water and the fact that mother hippos separated from their young are anything but cute.)

After this lovely boat ride, we attempted to find a typical Zululand lunch in the small town near the park but after countless townspeople directed us to the numerous Americanized fast food establishments, insisting it was the only food available (KFC, for instance, is weirdly huge here…there’s a store every 10 kms, I swear), we finally settled on a pizza lunch. After lunch, we drove our rented car directly into the game reserve and thus began our “Where is Waldo, I mean endangered large wild animal?” game. There were six of us in a minibus-type vehicle and after 10 minutes of driving without seeing an animal, as good medical students, we assigned each other quadrants of window space to concentrate on. It only took five minutes before someone shouted, “Giraffe! Stop! Stop!” As the first animals we saw that day, I’ve decided to commemorate them here.

But after that, it felt like we were catching glimpses of South Africa’s “Big Five” every few kilometers. The “Big Five” refers to five of South Africa’s greatest wild animals: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. During the next three hours of driving through the game reserve, we were able to see four of these five, sometimes at adrenaline-raising close ranges. At one point, we turned a curve in the road and found ourselves literally 50 feet from an elephant just casually chewing some reeds. Then at the top of another hill, we came upon not one, not two but FIVE lions just chilling on the side of the road. (We kept our windows closed for this one.)

Another bend in the road brought us next to a rhino about 300 meters away. This is the one that really made my pulse climb. It seemed to be grazing peacefully when we first caught sight of it. However, as soon as it noticed our car parked and five human beings hanging out of their respective window snapping pictures like crazy madmen, it slowly lowered its enormous sharp horn to the ground and stood there, looking at us sideways. I instantly remembered their famously short tempers and started wondering whether at the very least our driver should be ready to throw the car into first gear in case this thing decided to charge us. But no, thankfully, it just stood there, like a fearsome sentinel, warning us to not get any closer. Soon it became clear why, as a smaller rhino (perhaps its mate?) came into the clearing and continued eating nonchalantly.

As we drove home that night, I realized why it is that I’ve always felt I could not truly enjoy zoos. I love animals and used to love the trips to the zoo when I was younger. But this, this is what it’s supposed to be like if we as humans want the privilege of observing animals. If we want to trespass their habitats and invade their space, then at least it should be an open space, limited only by the natural boundaries of prey and predator, food and water.

I mentioned that this was the weekend I met some of Africa’s fiercest. I meant that in reference to three entities. I’ve already told you all about two of these: those crazy rugby players and the gorgeous Big Five creatures. However, after spending five days with the other international fellows, I believe they deserve to be included. Living in Durban makes me the fellow with the most urban experience, the most access to the pleasures and comforts of modern life. Hearing the experiences of the other fellows, spending their eight, nine and ten months in some of the most rural and poor areas of Africa, supplanted any feelings of fierceness I had about myself. They have also traveled to a new faraway land with a strange language and culture and a not entirely safe society to live in. They have also left everyone they loved (well except for the guy who brought his fiancée—a freelance writer—with him to Botswana…so jealous!). But, where I have nice gyms, malls, beaches and restaurants, they have none of this. It was humbling and encouraging for me to meet these fierce men and women. I’ve decided to try to stop complaining about the lack of fast-speed internet in my flat or any of the other small frustrations. This is Africa, after all. What was I expecting? As I read in a manual written by previous research fellows who’d spent time in Durban, “Africa is not for sissies.” I’ve never thought of myself as a sissy and I’m definitely not going to start being one now. Well, let’s be real. I’m going to try to not be one too often.