So far so good here. Today I gave 4 talks (6 hours worth) to some pharmacists (about 20) around the country that are involved or who may be involved in HIV care. I had a sore throat from talking all day but I think it went well overall. The pharmacists really seemed interested in listening to the talks.

Tomorrow I am flying to Tobago for the night. It was only $24 each way from Trinidad. I am really looking forward to going. Tobago is the more touristy island of the two with plenty of beaches. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is going to be much sun. It has been quite rainy here all week and they are calling for clouds and possibly rain tomorrow. I just want a little tan… is that so much to ask for? Maybe I should take a few cipro tonight? Also, I have not made a hotel reservation yet, it will be an adventure to find one. I have heard there are some within walking distance from the hotel.

Gopal had asked how we get around Trinidad. We have two drivers that take us around to where we need to go. They work for the Foundation M-F and drive us all around the country. One of them loves 80s music and he likes to play it loud. When he is waiting for us, you can tell he has arrived, as you can hear music booming from his car. We were at dinner the other night and he was waiting outside and you could hear UB40s “Red Red Wine” as loud as possible outside. There are also “route taxi’s” and basically they are taxis that drive along a certain route and just pick up passengers as they go along. I’m not such a fan of the route taxis as it usually involves being crunched in with some other people.

Traffic here is horrible, in general. Everyone has a car and there are not many highways, so it takes a while to get around. Gas here is very cheap and usually each member of the family has a car. Its pretty interesting because nobody carpools either, so there is quite a bit of air pollution. There are so many cars on the highway and only one person riding in each one. Not to mention people here drive like maniacs and there are not many seatbelts in the cars that I have been riding in. I had a near death experience on Tuesday when a gas tanker truck tried to mash us into a cement wall. I managed to survive, but I suffered from 8 or so mosquito bites on one leg yesterday when I was walking around the hospital. Dengue Fever here I come….

I have met some very nice people here so far, but look forward to seeing everyone at home too. I am excited to have Haley, Lynsey, and Andrew for the Yankees-Indians Series at the end of April.

Talk to you all soon!