So we’ve been working hard hard hard these past few days, jolted out of our play and touring and getting to know the city by the tasks at hand: installing winxp and network cards onto about 3 dozen donated, recycled computers (mainly without cd drives and sometimes with broken or dysfunctional components). We volunteered to help Prof N get the computer lab up and running for the med students at the university, which is part of a larger collaboration with an ngo here named kinkéliba (i’ll try to get a link to it on the sidebar, so you can check it out).
Prof N has been pouring her time, energy, and i think personal money into this project, so we are happy to be able to help her with something that she feels so strongly about. We definitely have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re up to ordinateur number 23 or so with operating systems and have about 20 network cards done (the rest are still in transit here, as everything has been delayed about a week or 4). Next we have to make sure the network, well…works ;o), with the hub and the ADSL and the server and all that fun stuff, install Office, and then set up all of the printers and work stations- it really is quite a project!
It turns out that the opening of the computer lab is set to coincide with the opening of the book fair at the university (textbooks are hard to come by here so a book fair is a mega-deal, with overflow crowds, attempts at bribery, and plenty of concern over theft), which happens to be another project that Prof N is spearheading (i don’t think she sleeps… ever). To top it all off, the first lady of Senegal will be inaugurating the whole affair, which means everything must be not only finished on time but aesthetically pleasing!! Hooplaadeeda!
With all the excitement of the computer lab, mike almost forgot to worry about the presentation he is giving at the international health conference at the university (he’s currently fixing the French on his slides) in…about 30 minutes or something like that ;o) wish him luck!
Other than work, we’ve been busy today dodging tear gas on campus (i guess every year the students go on strike and get into tiffs with the police, who retaliate against their stone-throwing with tear gas and the like), riding around in ‘car rapides,’ (taxi-like wagons chocked full of passengers… today my foot fell through the wooden floor, sending my shoe flying into the street- luckily someone hopped off and retrieved it for me so all was well), and getting into misadventures with Senegalese banks (an atm charged mike’s account without giving him the expected money, so we are in the throes of getting his money back…eek). I’ve also had more than my share of croissants for the day; gotta cut back on those.
Updates: mike’s presentation went well and we are enjoying FREE internet in a Pfizer booth at the medical conference:
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