Inauguration - Liz, Mom and Obama

I arrived in DC the Friday of the first week in school, January 16. Immediately after arriving, Liz and I boarded a bus to New York where we spent the weekend. We ate great food, went to museums, ice-skated and saw two Broadway plays; The Lion King and Little Mermaid. We returned to DC on Sunday night. My Mother came in town on Tuesday, the day before inauguration, and together we picked up our tickets; three from Matheson and three from Bennett. My mother slept the night at Liz's. The day of Inauguration was Unbelievably cold. Gates opened at 9am. We left the house around 6:30am and walked from Liz's Dupont Circle apartment to our gate. We had a Blue ticket, the first standing section after the seats. We barely made it in and stood for the entire ceremony. The environment was indescribable. Everyone was so happy. Race, religion, gender and every other dividing line seemed to disappear. The actual swearing was anti-climactic but his speech was amazing. He put forth his new vision of America. It was inspiring.
I stayed in DC another 6 days after inauguration, departing on January 26th. It was an incredible trip; one I'll be telling my kids about.

San Jose - Costa Rica

The morning after the Sugar Bowl, Saturday January 3rd, I flew down to San Jose Costa Rica for my last international trip as an advance man. The seven hours of flight time was significantly better than the 30 hour drive home from New Orleans that the rest of the group had to endure. The following day, Sunday, provided the agents and I with a down day, which we used to explore the Costa Rican rain forest. We signed up for a three hour zip line tour that took us along the canopy of the forest. It was incredible. We wore harnesses and helmets and flew through trees and other vegetation. It was one of the most fun things I've ever done. When the tour ended, we took the longest zip line in the world; stretching over a mile from one mountain to another. It was terrifying.

The advance work went smoothly. The purpose of the trip was to open an FDA office in the region, which ran almost exactly the same as the Guangzhou trip. Having successfully completed a similar trip made everything a lot easier. One interesting development that occurred involved the Costa Rican Health Minister. She wanted to meet with me in order to run through the events of the visit so on Tuesday, the day before the Secretary arrived, I drove with the Control Officer, Tim Lattimer, to the Health Ministry and met with the "Ministra." When the Secretary arrived the next day, the Ministra fell ill and could not attend any of the meetings, meaning that I was the only HHS employee to meet with her. The Vice Minister took her place.

The Secretary arrived at 4am on Wednesday January 7th, which caused me to sleep only one hour that night. The day of events went smoothly and by 6pm on Wednesday he and the delegation was gone. Early the next morning, sleep deprived and relieved, I flew back to Salt Lake. It was a great trip to end my Secretarial travel.

New Orleans - Sugar Bowl

I returned home from DC on December 19th, just in time for the Beta Rho Mu Winter Formal. From there I had essentially ten days down time before what would become an epic friends trip; a journey to New Orleans for the Utah vs. Alabama game in the 75th Sugar Bowl. On Monday the 27th of December, Blake Henderson, Crismon Turner, Mark Ericson, Michael Henriod, Jonny and Jenny Spendlove, Scott and Jayne Swallow, my brother Braden and I rented two cars and started our drive into the Big Easy. The first day we drove nearly 12 hours, making our way down through Colorado, stopping in Durango, and into New Mexico; finally staying the night in Santa Fe. The next day, after walking through Santa Fe and visiting the Georgia O'Keefe museum, we drove another 10 hours through Texas, stopping at the Cadillac ranch and sleeping the night in Dallas. The final day of driving took us from Dallas into New Orleans. We arrived at 11:15 pm on New Year's Eve. We quickly dropped our stuff off at the hotel and bolted for Bourbon Street. The French Quarter was packed. We were probably the only sober people in the area. Beads were being thrown around and debauchery was everywhere. It was amazing and incredibly fun. We lingered until around 3 am and then called it a night. Without a doubt, it was the most fun New Years I have ever had.

The next few days before the game we spent most our time in the French quarter, participating in the bowl game festivities, listening to live music and gambling. When game time came, we walked from Bourbon Street to the Super Dome. The mile or so walk was packed with fans. The atmosphere was like nothing I've ever seen. We enter the stadium and found our seats, second tier twenty yard line. The game itself was unbelievable. Utah jumped out to an improbable twenty-one point lead in the first ten minutes. It was completely unexpected. Only Braden and Blake Henderson had the guts to pick Utah in the game. Everyone else, including myself, were "realists," hoping for a close game but not expecting a victory. In the end, the Utes won by a score of 31-17, initiating serious talk that Utah should be the national champs.

The trip without the game would have been worth it. The drive was enjoyable and we were able to see a large portion of America. Adding in the Utes' manhandling Alabama made the trip absolutely unforgettable. It was one of the most incredible trips of my life. On January 3rd, while the rest of the group started the long trip home, I boarded a plane to Costa Rica.

Roanoke and Virginia Tech

On Friday December 12th, Elizabeth and I drove down to Roanoke Virginia. Liz signed up for the GRE late and consequently couldn't find a location to take the test in DC. Roanoke, a four hour drive, was the closest location. We rented a car, booked a hotel on my Marriott Hotel points and drove into southern Virginia after work. On Saturday I dropped Liz off at the testing center and then drove to Blacksburg, the home of Virginia Tech. I wanted to see the site and memorial of the student massacre. I was able to enter and walk around Norris Hall, where the shooter entered and did most of the damage. The memorial is small but touching. Each fallen student and teacher have a stone with etched writing stating their name and age.

After visiting Virginia Tech, I picked up Liz and we drove home. Regrettably, On the way home I got a "reckless driving" speeding ticket for 24 over the speed limit. One more mile over and I would have been arrested.

Guangzhou, China

I left for Guangzhou around noon on Saturday November 15th. I first flew to Beijing where I connected on Air China to Guangzhou. One interesting note about the Dulles to Beijing leg, I watched our flight path from on the in-flight TV and noticed that we flew directly north, passing over the North Pole, to reach Beijing. My last two flights to Asia took me west over the Pacific Ocean but for some reason this one opted to fly north. I tried to look out the window as we passed over the North Pole but it was too dark to see anything.

Nearly 24 hours from the time I left my apartment for the airport in DC, I landed in Guangzhou. The city lies about 55 miles from Hong Kong in the south of China. The purpose of the visit was to open FDA shops in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. This is part of a larger plan to inspect imports in their country of origin rather than wait until the products reach our borders. In my opinion, the Secretary and Rich have been remarkable in their vision and negotiations with the Chinese. This is clearly a better system than the one we currently have to inspect imports. There were three basic events on the trip: a product safety round table with Chinese and American business leaders, the opening of the FDA shop, and a visit to a business that sends it’s product to the United States; in this case a fish factory. Guangzhou is the center of production for goods that enter the United States. When something says “Made in China” it most likely originates from Guangzhou. Because of Guangzhou’s central role in import production, CNN took particular interest in this portion of the trip. They sent a film crew and a field reporter from Hong Kong to cover the events. About midway through the day, the camera man told me that in addition to airing on CNN International, Lou Dobbs would run the story. Everyone seemed to think this was a bad thing as “Lou Dobbs hates the current administration.” I can’t imagine that the FDA openings could be spun in bad light. I see absolutely no drawbacks to the Secretary’s plan. Lou Dobbs is very angry though. Who knows? The day ran well and the delegation was off to Shanghai by Thursday night, November 20th. I left the following day, again connecting through Beijing. Before I left my hotel for the airport in Guangzhou I was able to see the story on CNN International. It was fulfilling to see the press shots I set up on TV. This is the first event I’ve done that’s been covered by any significant media outlet. The link to the piece is http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/11/20/yoon.china.fda.cnn?iref=videosearch . I’ve yet to see the Lou Dobbs piece. I’ll be interested to see how that turns out.

Boston #3

On the night of Wednesday November 12th I flew to Boston. It was the start of a month long period of concentrated travel. The Secretary had a speech at Harvard Medical School on Personalize Healthcare, a concept I consider to be completely impractical. The most notable occurrence of the trip was my visit to BU. I was able to walk around campus and meet with a councilor. It’s a nice campus but every time I’m there I can’t stop thinking about Michigan. I think Ryan and Michigan Law’s cathedral like buildings have ruined my appreciation of university campuses. I returned to DC on November 14th, one day before my trip to Guangzhou.

Halloween, Philadelphia and New York

This Halloween was the best I’ve had in years. I dressed up as Walt Whitman and Blake, in a self-made masterpiece, was Leaves of Grass. The picture above explains it all. We walked around Georgetown for a while, which was body to body, and then met up with Liz, who dressed up as a bushel of grapes.

On Friday November 8th, I traveled up to Philadelphia for a night to see Pete. He was interviewing at Penn Medical School. We visited the “Rocky Steps” and walked around downtown. We slept the night at Ryan and Camille’s. The next morning, I drove Pete to the airport and then boarded a bus to New York City, where I met up with Mitch, Mark and Blake. The purpose of the visit was the Jazz-Knicks game in Madison Square Garden. We scalped $40 tickets and sat in pretty good seats; mid-section behind the basket. The Jazz lost, their first of the season, but it was still worth it. After the game, we drove back to DC.

Additional Cairo Pictures

These are some additional Cairo pictures. The photo where I'm pointing to the top of the pyramid was taken by an inebriated pyramid security guard. My finger is supposed to be touching the point of the pyramid. This is only one of a number of awkwardly posed pictures the guard made me do. After performing the "favor," he demanded payment. The kid who is kissing the camel was my camel tour guide. The camel ride was also a "favor" which ended up costing us.

Cairo, Egypt

My time in Egypt has followed the same chaotic trend that has plagued the past couple months of travel. I arrived on the afternoon of October 21st, after a long night of travel. The agents and I dropped off our things and went directly to a meeting at the embassy. We reviewed the trip and plugged up any holes in the schedule. Everything was going according to plan until the nightly trip call. On the call, Allyson mentioned the possibility that the Secretary would leave a day early from Cairo and head back to DC. By the next morning I was warned that the entire Egypt portion was in danger of being canceled. At noon, the final word came in; The Secretary would not visit Egypt. We were ordered to find the soonest flight back to DC. Fortunately we were able to go to the pyramids. The site was really touristy but still incredible. We rode camels, took pictures and saw everything there is to see. It wasn’t quite as memorable as the Great Wall or Machu Pichu. It didn't have that sacred feel of the other two locations. I’m glad I got to see them before I left though.

Most of the pictures are self explanatory. The people in the pictures are the team I traveled with. The last picture was taken from my hotel window. My room overlooked the Nile.

Denver and Boston

(Written in retrospect 4/7/09)
The most notable experience of these two trip was an outburst by the Secretary directed toward me. Denver and Boston were the first trips I advanced without a travel aid. Usually Cecil or Allyson accompany him on every trip. They keep him on time and make sure everything runs smoothly while I, or any other advance person, has jumped ahead to the next event. This did not cause a problem in Denver because all the events were in the same hotel. I picked him up from his room myself and brought him to the event. In Boston, however, there was an unfortunate occurrence. When the Secretary arrived in Boston the night before the events I informed him of a breakfast commitment in the morning and impressed upon him the importance that he leave that engagement at 8:15 am in order to make it in time for his speech at the electronic health records conference at 8:30 am; the purpose of his visit. The security agents and I had determined that the drive from the breakfast to the site of his speech would take approximately 8 minutes, leaving a 7 minute grace period if he left on time. I handed him a mini schedule and said goodbye until the next day. The next morning I arrived at the site of the speech early to make sure everything was set. Security protocol requires that whenever the Secretary leaves one site to another, all the agents are informed. Starting at 8:10 am I stood by the side of the agent in charge of that event and waited for the confirmation of his departure. 8:15 am arrived and no call. 8:20 arrived and still no call. Finally at 8:25, the Secretary left the breakfast. Knowing that he would likely arrive late I rushed upstairs and arranged for the previous speaker, CMS Administrator Kerry Weems, to prolong his remarks 5 minutes to accommodate the Secretary. Kerry had no problem doing so and the everything was back on schedule. As I ran back downstairs at around 8:28 am, the security agent I was with handed me his blackberry and told me the Secretary wanted to speak with me. The Secretary was noticeably rattled, but polite. He told me there was a fair amount of traffic that he didn't think I accounted for and that due to this he would be late. He told me to make the necessary adjustments for his tardiness and hung up the phone. As I had just accounted for the lost time, I remained by the side of the security agent and waited for his arrival. A few minutes later, the security guard got another call. He again handed the phone to me where, to my surprise, the Secretary was on the line. This time the Secretary was angry. He screamed at me, telling me the drive time I had from the breakfast to the speech was "way off" and that I "better make this right!" I then abruptly hung up the phone. Surprised by this, I asked the security agent how far away they were. He said the drive was taking less then expected and that they should in the next minute or so. At 8:31 am the Secretary arrived. He didn't say a word to me but was clearly agitated and upset. I explained that his tardiness had been arranged for and that he would be introduced by Kerry.

All in all, the drive took 6 minutes. Despite my debriefing the night before and the schedule I handed him, the Secretary left the breakfast ten minutes late, which adds up to him arriving one minute behind schedule. I was upset about the situation for months after I returned home. I thought, "Is the Secretary that helpless that he can't stay on time by himself. He had no right to treat me like that when it was him who lost track of time." Though I still resent that I became the scapegoat for his absentmindedness, I have become more sympathetic toward his helplessness. Since he enter office as Utah Governor, Leavitt has been driven everywhere by security. He has had advance people and travel aids usher him through every event he's attended. This has lasted for well over a decade. I'm sure, to a certain degree, he has become helpless. It's understandable. Also, this was the only unpleasant situation I had with the Secretary during my year of working for him. Other than this occurrence, he has treated me with nothing but respect, and indifference. I have had numerous people tell me how lucky I am to work for such an easy going person. Though this experience certainly does not paint him in that light, he was very easy going and patient in nearly every other circumstance. Everyone has bad moments. I just happened to receive the brunt of one of his.

Boston with Liz

Liz and I had a weekend without travel or any significant commitments so we decided to take a road trip up to New England. We rented a car late Friday afternoon and made the 8 hour drive into Boston. We arrived late and stayed the night at the apartment of Liz’ sister, Katherine. The next morning we made our way to Beacon Hill where Liz and Katherine took me to their favorite breakfast place, Paramount. The food was incredible. I order, and finished, three separate plates of food. My favorites were the banana pancakes and the fried egg sandwich. After mulling around Beacon Hill, Liz, Katherine and I drove to Concord where we saw the homes and graves of Emerson, Hawthorn and Thoreau. We then visited nearby Walden Pond. The already bad weather turned into a downpour when we arrived at Walden. By the time we walked down and reached the water we were soaked. This made the decision to jump into the pond very easy. Liz and Katherine stayed on shore while I swam around a hundred yards out into the water. Swimming in Walden was, for me, the highlight of the trip.
We returned from Walden and met up with Matt Ward, his wife Sarah and Liz’s cousins for dinner. After dinner, we went candlepin bowling; a uniquely New England experience. The next day, Liz and I drove back to DC. On the way home we stopped by Ryan and Camille’s new home in Delaware where we ate Sunday dinner and spent time with Eliza and Bennett.

Houston - Hurrican Ike

I arrived in San Antonio late on Sunday September 16th with a vague idea of what I would be doing. I had a skeleton schedule with the address of a general population center. I was told that I would receive a contact the next day during the conference call. According to the preliminary plans, the Secretary would fly down to Houston with the President on Air Force One. After surveying the damage in the Houston/Galveston area with Bush, he would board the FAA plane to San Antonio and then on to Austin. On the conference call the next morning, however, the schedule changed dramatically. The FAA withdrew their commitment to let the Secretary use their plane, which meant the only place he would be able to visit would be Houston. This created a problem because nobody from our office had been sent to Houston. The presidential advance takes care of anyone traveling with the President. With the Secretary assuming his own schedule now in Houston, someone from his staff was needed to form a visit. I was the closest to Houston at the time, a three hour drive, so they sent me. I checked out of my hotel, hopped in my rental car and left San Antonio on I-10. As before, I was only given an address; no contact. I was promised the phone number of a point person when I arrived. The address was for a hospital complex with over twenty different buildings. After the three hour drive, I arrived at the complex, still without a contact. I tried barging into one of the buildings and asking for help but that got me nowhere. The pubescent front desk clerk was of no help whatsoever. I waited for a an hour or so, emailing to try and figure out what to do, when I got a call telling me my services were no longer needed. The Secretary would only accompany the President and then head back to DC.

The soonest flight back to DC was the next morning. Luckily, I had been able to get in touch with my aunt Janice in time to arrange a place to sleep. Due to the disaster, there were no hotel rooms available. Janice and John saved me from sleeping in my car. When I arrived, I helped clear their backyard of debris and stand up a fallen fence. This was the first time that I had been able to give any manual relief to the areas hit by the storms.

Janice and John fed me and lent me my cousin Jake’s bed. The next morning I woke up early and flew back to DC.

France - Angers and Rouen

According to the original schedule, I was to depart for France on September 2nd. That gave me time in both Angers and Rouen to advance the sites before the weekend. However, due to Hurricane Gustav, I didn't return from Baton Rouge until late on the 3rd. The soonest that I could leave for France without a significant charge was the afternoon of the following day, Thursday September 4th. This left me 24 hours downtime to do wash, repack and "rest." The lack of rest on the Michigan road trip and the Gustav travel left me extremely sleep deprived. Unfortunately, the situation only worsened. My flight into France was a red eye, putting into Paris at 6am on Friday. Due to the delay in my advance schedule, I had to start working right away. Jason Bell, the security advance assigned to my stops, picked me up from the airport and we started directly for Angers, a samll town in western France. We had to advance all the events in the city before the weekend. The French, not surprisingly, were inflexible about working Saturday or Sunday. Together with the French officials we looked over the district office, where the Secretary would hold a bilateral with Germany, and traveled to the Chateau Brissac, the site of the EU health conference. At the later, the Duke of Brissac gave us a personal tour of his chateau. The castle was amazing. It was, however, only a sampling of granduer of the actual event.

The next morning we drove north into Rouen. Eight years earlier my family and I visited Rouen with Ryan, who had just finished his mission. Jason and I saw a lot of the same things my family and I did in 2000. We visited Monet's favorite cathedral and stopped by the Joan of Arc museum (by far the most bizarre museum I've ever seen). The next day we advanced the SANOFI pastuer pharmaceudical plant. They were accomadating enough to work with us on a Sunday. After leaving the plant we rushed back to Angers.

The Secretary arrived Monday afternoon. The first event in Angers was the before mentioned Chateau. I arrived an hour before the Secretary to make sure everything was ready. While waiting I met the health ministers from almost every major country in Europe, including the EU Health Minister. When the Secretary arrived, a chior of hornsmen announced his arrival. The party that ensued was straight out of a 19th century novel. The castle was lit up. The ministers and their staff were treated to a 10 course meal. Two hot air balloons were inflated outside. I could hardly believe I was there to experience it.

The rest of the trip went as planned. After my events I had a couple days in Paris. I coverd all the major Paris sites. It was a blast.

Surprisingly, over the course of the trip I was able to improve my French. By the end, I could get around with the couple phrases I learned. It has wet my appetite to learn more. I've studied a few times since and hope to continue my improvement before a possible trip to Belgium in a few months.In addition to learning French, I fell in love Angers. The city was incredible. The streets were lined with little shops and everyone was friendly. I had the chance to walk around the city quite a bit while I was there. The hotels and sites were close enough that I didn't have to use the driver as much. Afte my time there, Angers vaulted to my premier spot for overseas residences. I really think I would love living there. I made pretty good contacts with the Prefe and his staff so if the inclination to move there grows I should have some options.

Baton Rouge - Hurricane Gustav

Blake, John and I returned from Michigan Sunday evening after a full day of driving. The trek out to Ann Arbor was tiring; Lot's of time on the road and very little sleep. Arriving Sunday provided me with Monday, Labor Day, to recover before my flight to France on Tuesday. Everything went according to plan for most of the morning on Labor Day. I slept in and was enjoying a bowl of Cheerios when my blackberry started to buzz. It continued buzzing for the next couple minutes. I tried to ignore it but after a while I realized I was receiving an inordinate amount of e-mails for a holiday. When I checked my messages I was immediately hit with the reality that I would not enjoy a leisurely Labor Day.

The emails explained that Hurricane Gustav hit Baton Rouge harder than expected and that the Secretary would be traveling down to Louisiana in the next couple days. I was asked to come into work and prepare to leave for Louisiana. After being in the office for a couple hours that afternoon, Adam Toronto and I boarded a plane for Jackson Mississippi, the nearest open airport to Baton Rouge. We arrived late and stayed the night in Jackson. Due to the amount of evacuees from the storm, there was only one available room in the city, which housed a single king size bed. Both Adam and I refused to sleep on the floor so there was no other option than to share the bed. Numerous jokes were made, and continue to be made, about the odd sleeping arrangement. Adam summed up with situation when he said "You're the last person I thought I would share a bed with tonight and this is the last city where I thought I would be sleeping."

We woke up at 4am the following morning and began a three and a half hour drive into Baton Rouge. As we neared the city the devastation became more and more apparent. Fallen trees and billboards became more frequent while cars on the road became less frequent. When we enter Baton Rouge, everything seemed array. Stoplights were pivoted by the wind, facing them in the wrong direction. Power lines were down. There was flooding and debris everywhere. The entire city was without power. We met up with the security agents in Baton Rouge and started shaping the Secretary's visit to the area. We visited the FEMA joint operation center where HHS, FAA, National Guard, Red Cross and every other agency involved in the relief effort housed their control centers. It was located in an old abandoned department store building. The building was running off generators, which only provided power for everyone's computers. This created a blue glow which somewhat lit the area. Everyone we met seemed exhausted. They talked about not sleeping for consecutive nights. The pace was frantic. FEMA establishes a similar joint operation center for every significant disaster.

After the joint operation center we visited the Pete Maravich Athletic Center; the home of the LSU basketball team. Due to the loss of power, local hospitals had to evacuate into the arena. There were doctors running around everywhere and at least 500 beds. As before with joint operation center, everyone seemed exhausted. The building was in okay shape, beside some leaks and a roof panel missing. The scene was how I imagined the Superdome in New Orleans, but to a much smaller and less serious scale.

Following the arena, I split off from Adam and traveled to Alexandria Louisiana to survey a general population center; A site where evacuees can receive a bed and food. I was able to meet with the head of the Red Cross for that area, Scott Graham, and the Public Health Service administrator for the center, Daren Daley. The two men were inspiring to work with. The Red Cross and the Public Health Services receive funding from different sources, which can create problems if resources have to be shared and consolidated. These two, however, worked incredibly together exchanging medical supplies, food, etc. When I asked them what led to their successful coexistence, Daren Daley said, "We're both former military. We have the attitude that things need to get done efficiently. Funding issues are secondary to the well being of the people here." Both men were volunteers.

I had to sleep the night in Lafayette because I couldn't get a hotel in Baton Rouge. The next morning plans changed dramatically. The President asked the Secretary to join him in a press conference in Baton Rouge which eliminated Alexandria and the general population center from the agenda. In it's place, I had to advance a hospital during an evacuation. They gave me thirty minutes notice and no contact. This forced me to barge in through the emergency entrance and explain the situation. I was eventually directed to the hospital CEO and together we formed a tour for the Secretary. The tour displayed, sick patients, a control center and fifty ambulances awaiting to take the hospital's patients away to a different location.

After the hospital I flew to Atlanta on the CDC jet with the Secretary where I boarded a flight to DC. I got home late on Tuesday night.

This was unlike any other trip I've taken. Adrenaline pushed me past my exhaustion point. This was the first time that I was able to realize the scope of a major natural disaster. I couldn't believe the wreckage caused by the storm. I don't know how people can recover from losing their homes, cars, etc in a storm like this. I was most impressed by the volunteers. They were the backbone of every operation we saw. The Red Cross in particular was incredible. Their willingness to leave everything for weeks at a time to work on hurricane relief amazed me. I don't think I've ever cared enough that I felt compelled to take action at a time like this. It made me realize the service aspect of my life is lacking. Most of the volunteers we worked with didn't particularly like me. I pulled them away from their work to worry about the Secretary. I nagged them about details and nuances. I admired them though. I've since joined the Red Cross as a volunteer.

Utah vs. Michigan

Over Labor Day weekend Blake Henderson, John Pearson and I rented a car and drove out to Ann Arbor for the Utah - Michigan football game. We didn't leave DC until after the work day on Friday, which got us into Ann Arbor just before 4am. My Dad, Braden and Ryan and Camille also made to trip out to see the game. To make the trip as affordable as possible we crashed on the floor of my Dad's hotel.



The game was incredible. The Big House was electric, until the Utes jumped out to a three score lead. We drove back the next day, Sunday, which ended up being lucky because of Hurricane Gustav.

Ivory Coast Pictures

This is footage I took of the tribal village event. It catches the very end of the singing and dancing. They started singing, dancing and drumming twenty minutes before the delegation arrived and they didn't stop until five minutes or so after everyone was seated. The footage ends with master of ceremonies speaking from a megaphone. Because the location was so remote, there was no way to use microphones and sound system. We thought about bringing in a generator but decided that megaphones would work fine.

These are three young women at the village event. Everyone from the tribe dressed in traditional African clothing.

A Tribal choir chants, drums and sings to the delegation as they take their seats the music was beautiful I have video footage that I'm going to try and upload.

This is either the tallest or largest cathedral in the world. We heard both but we couldn't decide which was true. The group consists of Ron Ray, John Poelman, Dennis Rude and I. Ron and Dennis are the security detail for the Secretary.

This is Dennis and I in front of the UN plane we took from Abidjan to Bouake with the delegation. One year earlier there was an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister on the same Bouake airstrip you see in the picture. Someone launched a rocket launcher and blew up the side of his plane. Six people were killed but the Prime Minister survived.

This is the UN airport in Abidjan. We flew on the plane nearest to me in the picture.

Bouake, Ivory Coast - Day Two

Yesterday morning, Saturday August 9th, we arose early and made the five hour road trip to Bouake. It was interesting to see the Ivorian country side. It was very similar to Ecuador but with some unique trees and grass I do not remember seeing in South America. After the drive we settled ourselves into our hotel and advanced a couple of the events that are to take place in the town and the surrounding areas. The two sites we visited were incredible.

Our first stop was a a courtyard outside of a Muslim Mosque. The event there centers around an HIV prevention program run by the muslim cleric in the area. Interestingly enough, in northern Ivory Coast, Muslim churches address AIDS far more often and efficiently than do Christian churches. The pressures surrounding AIDS stigma effect Christian leaders much more than Muslim clerics. While discussing the event, a thunderstorm passed overhead, which forced us into the mosque for cover. We took off our shoes and stepped inside. I had never been inside a mosque before. It consisted of one large room. The floors were covered in layers of carpet and the walls and pillars were painted white. I asked if I could take a photo and one of the mosque staff offered to give me a tour. It was amazing. He showed me where they store the Koran and where the cleric reads the passages for the congregation. They were extremely friendly and excited at our interest.

Our next stop was a once in a lifetime experience. We drove a half an hour out of Bouake in order to visit a small, remote tribe. AIDS testing crews on motorcycles drive to these villages and test as many as will volunteer in the community. As before in Abidjan and Bouake, AIDS stigma is very powerful and prevents people from being tested. The Secretary will be tested for the second time on the trip in front of the tribe and national TV cameras and newspapers to combat this problem.

When we arrived, a crowd of villagers gathered to greet us. I must have shaken five hundred hands during the visit. The tribal children adored us. They swarmed and cheered as we took pictures and rubbed their heads. They loved seeing themselves on the camera screen after a photo was taken. They were so charismatic and happy.

After organizing the village event we went back to the hotel and rested. It was a long day.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Day One

I am typing on a very strange keyboard right now. The letters are not arranged in the same way in the Ivory Coast as they are on American keyboards. As a result I will not be submitting a very long post.

My first day in the Ivory Coast was amazing. We flew in last night but because of night time restrictions in the country and our exhaustion from our flights we went directly to bed. This morning we met with the ambassador, who, in my opinion, is the most impressive ambassador I have seen so far. She is very involved in the trip and and clearly understands the country. I have come to learn that there are two types of ambassadors; those who are appointed and those who are career state department employees. She is of the second class. Due to the civil war in Ivory Coast, the country is what is called a high risk, hardship post. Only the best ambassadors are assigned to such difficult places.

After our meeting with the ambassador we did our site visits. We visited an AIDS clinic where the Secretary will tour the facilities and be tested. A major issue in the Ivory Coast is a stigma surrounding HIV tests. The Secretary will be tested in front of numerous TV film crews and newspaper cameras to help combat that problem. We also stopped by a chicken market where an Avian Flu outbreak was detected a few years ago.

Tomorrow we travel north into a small town named Bouake. Beginning in 2002 the country has been in a state of civil war. Bouake lies just inside rebel territory; the northern part of the country. There has not been fighting in a for over a year now and the government and rebel forces have even agreed to a fragile power sharing agreement. It will be interesting to see both sides of the country; the rebel north and the government run south. It is a five hour drive and we can only travel by day. We retrun Sunday before sundown. Hopefully I will be able to post something after I return.

So far I have loved my time here. The poverty is no worse than Guayaquil but I feel much safer. It has been interesting to see the common veins that run through economic poverty throughout the world. Poor neighborhoods in Ecuador, China, Nicaragua and Ivory Coast all have similar architecture, street vendors, etc. Bouake will be much more rural, which should change the type of poverty I will see. Sadly, I have become far too comfortable with poverty. After my time in Guayaquil, hardly anything shocks me anymore. I wish I were more impacted and sensitive.