16-22 July - Data Analysis; Reading in Ghana

This week marked the initiation of data analysis. Not surprisingly, data analysis is one of my favorite things. I just love working with numbers, figuring out problems, and interpreting SAS output. Nevertheless....data analysis is not exciting. Nor is it interesting, at least for now. I've determined a few statistically significant relationships, but nothing too groundbreaking...except, however, that a low CD4 count is apparently related to a higher birth rate. Hmm. We'll see.

One huge perk of data analysis is that I get to work from Dr. Agyarko-Poku's office at the foundation of the Asante King (Otumfuo Osei Tutu II). This comes with working at a desk, in air-conditioning (compared to working at the very edge of a desk in a crowded, poorly-ventilated hospital records office). I must say, analysis is much easier when I don't have to worry about sweat dripping on my computer.

View from the foundation office

Life in Ghana has become incredibly solitary. All of the other international volunteers that I knew in the area have left.  Ghanaians seem to enjoy socializing at three points: at work, at funerals/weddings (Saturdays & Sundays), and at church. "Hanging out" on a weeknight really doesn't happen. I was supposed to attend a funeral yesterday, but the driver never came to pick me up. Thus, I am often left to my own devices. One can only watch so many movies in a day and I have spent increasingly significant amounts of time reading. Since arriving in Ghana a little over 10 weeks ago, I have (nearly) finished 6 books:

-In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan) - Fully recommend! This "eater's manifesto" explores exactly why the foods we eat are so unhealthy, from portion size to types of food eaten to food processing. A really enjoyable read, and one that has actually changed how I eat (or...will change how I eat once I get back to the US...not a ton of control over meals here).

-How We Decide (Jonah Lehrer) - Very fascinating book about how humans make decisions, including how we sometimes make poor decisions because we are too informed and how past experiences help make us better decision makers.

-The Man Who Ate Everything (Jeffrey Steingarten) - Pretty decent book from Vogue's food critic. The book starts out very strongly, with Steingarten's experience overcoming dislike of several foods including kimchi and anchovies. The remainder of the book is filled with short stories that describe Steingarten's experiences exploring the world of food...but they become increasingly dense and stiff.

-Shakespeare's Kitchen (Lore Segal) - Described as a "loosely connected collection of short stories" on Amazon, this book feels more like a novel that takes place over a long period of time, with chunks missing in between chapters. Shakespeare's Kitchen revolves around a young woman who has immigrated to the US from Austria as she struggles to make connections while working for a literary think tank. Not that great.

-My Father's Tears (John Updike) - Beautiful portrait of America, presented in (actual) short stories. I really enjoyed Updike's writing - challenging enough, but not inaccessible. I particularly enjoyed his story about 9/11 told from four points of view.

-Inside the Outbreaks (Mark Pendergrast) - Finally, I decide to read a public health book while at my Master of Public Health internship! This book tells of many adventures of the CDC's elite task force, the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). Told through many (many) short recollections of outbreaks and investigations, Pendergrast diligently covers the history of the EIS. It's a little hard to read, given each recollection is a ~5 paragraph case study.


Still on my list for the summer:

-My Own Country - A Doctor's Story, Abraham Verghese

-The American Plague - The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, The Epidemic that Shaped Our History, Molly Caldwell Crosby

-In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson