This has been the most worthless blog ever, but even so I decided that with the little extra time I had I would finish up my time in Africa. As I was riding on the daladala back from Arusha today, I decided that with my last post I would make a couple of lists.
List 1 - Things I still don't understand about Tanzania
1. Names of Daladalas- Or are they even the names? They are what is written on top of the daladala as it careens down the highway with its driver hanging two limbs out of the side and grinning like he has a death wish. Some examples: Unique Sisters, Bosnia, Sunset Beach, Del Piero, Jay-z, Mombasa Poa (Cool), One Love. My personal Favorite is Christ's Blood: Satisfaction Guaranteed. It's written in thug blood-drips font and just looks extremely hardcore.
2. Why it's impossible to tell someone something they don't want to hear- This had made things confusing for me on more than one occasion, and I think it really contributed to a lot of problems at the hospitals.
3. The point of Many NGOs- There are many that do a lot of good, but there are so much many more that just seem to be about doing enough to pat yourself on the back, get drunk, and then get the hell out of Africa. I'm not sure that I am really much better than that, but I've gotten so fed up by this because I just don't understand. Or maybe, I do understand all too well.
List 2 - Things I now understand better about Tanzania
1. Why it's so important to greet every single person- This one is a maybe. But I've been so encouraged by random conversations with people, connecting with people I never would have had the opportunity to at home.
2. Diseases and HIV in Africa and Tanzania- This was something I really wanted to gain a better understanding and I think I do. On the one hand, I realize how things are not as bad as they are painted to be in America. On the other hand I see just how devastating health issues in Africa are, and how rooted they are in frustrating things like politics and culture. Things which people have the ability to change, but won't or can't.
3. Swahili-Or so I'd like to think.
Oh, these lists could go on and on, but I won't try now. I need to get home and enjoy my last night with my homestay. Maybe later I will update.
8.23.2008
8.06.2008
nzuri tu. mzima yangu ni shaghalabagala, mpaka sasa
well, it's drawing close to the end of my time at machame and i've finally caught my breath enough for a blogpost. i know it's been lame, but it's been a crazy month and i've not had time for anything else. after a dalla dalla trip to moshi today for a quick cup of ultra-strong kilimanjaro brew, i've finally got the energy. also, the internet is behaving for once, so i need to capitolize on the opportunity.
i have no idea where to begin or what to say. africa (tanzania) has left me incredibly frustrated, amazingly surprised, overwhelmed with grace, searching for answers and wracked with apathy all at once. i don't exactly know what my next steps should be, but i have some clues.
i have learned a lot. i think.
oh, i've lost my energy again. this will have to do for now.
i have no idea where to begin or what to say. africa (tanzania) has left me incredibly frustrated, amazingly surprised, overwhelmed with grace, searching for answers and wracked with apathy all at once. i don't exactly know what my next steps should be, but i have some clues.
i have learned a lot. i think.
oh, i've lost my energy again. this will have to do for now.
6.23.2008
“Ninapenda kula mbwe”
“I like to eat [live] dog.” Possibly my favorite utterance by Ben yet. His frustrations at learning Swahili are highly amusing to everyone in the family, especially Thereza, who pretends to know much less than she does. This is her own unique sense of humor, and she enjoys torturing her mzungu friend. She’s a fun teacher despite not being the most trustworthy. We (Ben and I) are both coming along “pole pole- slowly”- although no one is learning as fast as Boon, who is the true Kiswahili master. This is good, because he seems to fall into all kinds of hapless trouble and is able to keep his head above water. There always seems to be one guy like that on every adventure.
{I know. You have no idea about who these people are. Too bad, it’s my blog, so I get to pretend like I have been regularly posting all along.}
Classes have been going well. Jason and I are the slowest to finish every lab, but I’m taking that as a good sign. It shows I have a thorough partner who wants to get the job done properly. When we finally do finish, it’s sometimes possible to meet up with Ben at his favorite place: the orphanage just down the road. Personally, I find the hundred or so kids with poopy diapers and runny noses a little overwhelming. But they are absurdly cute- the ones that speak English do so with flawless accents. This is both because the director is American and because of the number of foreign students studying at Danish that stop by on the way back from class. It’s hard to leave and Ben says the older kids (3-4) know that your leaving without them doesn’t bode well for them.
It was good to go into Arusha on Friday and get some “hands on” time at Mt Meru Hospital. We found a quiet corner with stacks of junk, some of which we were able to repair. This sphygmomanometer was the first thing we fixed- easy fix, there was a leak in the tubing. After that some folks moved onto an autoclave of an indeterminate era of origin, while others worked on repair of some old electric scooters.
Kristian’s makeshift work seat. We finally got it working…then rode it joyfully…then broke it again. We’ll have to come back to tackle it again. Jason, Lucas and I want to conquer this faulty power supply so that we can charge up the other scooter and maybe race them next week. The problem is somewhere around that blue thing on the left (we don’t know what it is).
The Usa River muezzin is calling, my Sunday is drawing to a close. When people ask where I am staying, I like to say that I come into school from the USA every day. It’s beautiful here (especially during those rare moments when the sun clears).
This is a picture of David and Maxima and their baby Brenda playing with Ben's iPod thingy during a power outage. I only post it because I think it's cool.
{I know. You have no idea about who these people are. Too bad, it’s my blog, so I get to pretend like I have been regularly posting all along.}
Classes have been going well. Jason and I are the slowest to finish every lab, but I’m taking that as a good sign. It shows I have a thorough partner who wants to get the job done properly. When we finally do finish, it’s sometimes possible to meet up with Ben at his favorite place: the orphanage just down the road. Personally, I find the hundred or so kids with poopy diapers and runny noses a little overwhelming. But they are absurdly cute- the ones that speak English do so with flawless accents. This is both because the director is American and because of the number of foreign students studying at Danish that stop by on the way back from class. It’s hard to leave and Ben says the older kids (3-4) know that your leaving without them doesn’t bode well for them.
It was good to go into Arusha on Friday and get some “hands on” time at Mt Meru Hospital. We found a quiet corner with stacks of junk, some of which we were able to repair. This sphygmomanometer was the first thing we fixed- easy fix, there was a leak in the tubing. After that some folks moved onto an autoclave of an indeterminate era of origin, while others worked on repair of some old electric scooters.
Kristian’s makeshift work seat. We finally got it working…then rode it joyfully…then broke it again. We’ll have to come back to tackle it again. Jason, Lucas and I want to conquer this faulty power supply so that we can charge up the other scooter and maybe race them next week. The problem is somewhere around that blue thing on the left (we don’t know what it is).
The Usa River muezzin is calling, my Sunday is drawing to a close. When people ask where I am staying, I like to say that I come into school from the USA every day. It’s beautiful here (especially during those rare moments when the sun clears).
This is a picture of David and Maxima and their baby Brenda playing with Ben's iPod thingy during a power outage. I only post it because I think it's cool.
6.12.2008
hujambo
Well, I had attempted to make a blog post last night, but unfortunately just as I hit "publish" the powered failed, the wireless went out, and the post was lost forever. How sad. It was great too, but you'll never know. I'm writing now after the first day of classes since we have some free time as it's our first day. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a dahla dahla into Arusha to buy a flashlight and watch which I think will be necessary pretty soon.
Just to update on the trip here and my first impressions:
I traveled for nearly three full days. The morning train from Pittsburgh to DC left at 5 am. I slept mostly, but my eyes opened occasionally to give me glimpses of the passing scenery. Everywhere were gorgeous gentle green valleys and I was a bit sad to leave as I passed through Panther Hollow and looked up at the house I called home for the last few months. DC was chaotic, the train arrived 2 hours late, the metro was backed up due the orange metro line (the one I had intended to take) jumping the tracks and backing everything up. So I had to surface at L'Enfant plaza and wait in the heat with my bags for the city bus to Dulles. All in all, no big deal, and I was amazed at the patience and friendliness of the people of DC through the whole ordeal. Ethiopian airlines was not the nicest, but I had two seats to myself to stretch out and sleep on. After stopping in Rome for refueling, and flying across North Africa we landed in Addis Ababa where I spent the night. The hotel was dubiously called the Hotel Semen on my transfer ticket, but it wasn't bad and I was only there for a few hours to sleep.
My impression of Addis is this: it's like someone got it in their head to make their own version of the typical Indian city, but somehow got everything just slightly wrong. The people have sharp features and light skin and look not quite like Indians, but certainly not like Africans. The Amharic script (called "moonscript" by Tyler Trawick) is devoid of any resemblance to Devanagari, like nothing I have seen before. At 8,000 ft. high the city is just a little too cold to be any major Indian city I have ever been to. The Coptic church looks a bit like Hinduism sometimes, but with crosses placed everywhere. The jetlag must have exacerbated the feeling that everything was just slightly out of place.
On the transfer I was able to meet a couple people and hear their views on Africa and Tanzania, and the problems and solutions they face: a woman from Kenya who works for a consortium of NGOs in East Africa and the US, a extraordinarily friendly businessman from Dar Es Salaam, and pilot, originally from Hershey who has been working plane for hire taking tourists into the Serengeti for the last two years. All very different, all very interesting.
The plane ride from Addis to Kilimanjaro airport via Nairobi was fun, I met Boon, a Malaysian student at Duke who is doing the Engineering World Health program as well. On our way in we had an incredible view of the summit of Kilimanjaro, which I won't forget soon. As soon as I can, I'll edit that picture into this post.
If I get time tomorrow, I'll post about classes and my host family, etc.
On a side note, there are monkeys everywhere and it is awesome. I love monkeys.
::edit:: finally, kilimanjaro
Just to update on the trip here and my first impressions:
I traveled for nearly three full days. The morning train from Pittsburgh to DC left at 5 am. I slept mostly, but my eyes opened occasionally to give me glimpses of the passing scenery. Everywhere were gorgeous gentle green valleys and I was a bit sad to leave as I passed through Panther Hollow and looked up at the house I called home for the last few months. DC was chaotic, the train arrived 2 hours late, the metro was backed up due the orange metro line (the one I had intended to take) jumping the tracks and backing everything up. So I had to surface at L'Enfant plaza and wait in the heat with my bags for the city bus to Dulles. All in all, no big deal, and I was amazed at the patience and friendliness of the people of DC through the whole ordeal. Ethiopian airlines was not the nicest, but I had two seats to myself to stretch out and sleep on. After stopping in Rome for refueling, and flying across North Africa we landed in Addis Ababa where I spent the night. The hotel was dubiously called the Hotel Semen on my transfer ticket, but it wasn't bad and I was only there for a few hours to sleep.
My impression of Addis is this: it's like someone got it in their head to make their own version of the typical Indian city, but somehow got everything just slightly wrong. The people have sharp features and light skin and look not quite like Indians, but certainly not like Africans. The Amharic script (called "moonscript" by Tyler Trawick) is devoid of any resemblance to Devanagari, like nothing I have seen before. At 8,000 ft. high the city is just a little too cold to be any major Indian city I have ever been to. The Coptic church looks a bit like Hinduism sometimes, but with crosses placed everywhere. The jetlag must have exacerbated the feeling that everything was just slightly out of place.
On the transfer I was able to meet a couple people and hear their views on Africa and Tanzania, and the problems and solutions they face: a woman from Kenya who works for a consortium of NGOs in East Africa and the US, a extraordinarily friendly businessman from Dar Es Salaam, and pilot, originally from Hershey who has been working plane for hire taking tourists into the Serengeti for the last two years. All very different, all very interesting.
The plane ride from Addis to Kilimanjaro airport via Nairobi was fun, I met Boon, a Malaysian student at Duke who is doing the Engineering World Health program as well. On our way in we had an incredible view of the summit of Kilimanjaro, which I won't forget soon. As soon as I can, I'll edit that picture into this post.
If I get time tomorrow, I'll post about classes and my host family, etc.
On a side note, there are monkeys everywhere and it is awesome. I love monkeys.
::edit:: finally, kilimanjaro
5.23.2008
In Memorium
5.20.2008
So, it's time I attended to the task at hand. For a long while, there was a great silence on the African front. This was greatly appreciated by me, since it would have distracted me from the crazy semester I was dealing with. But I really have no excuse for ignoring this blog anymore, so here goes.
For those who may be just tuning in, I'll be in Africa for 2 months with a program called Engineering World Health which is sponsored by Duke University. I'll be doing the summer institute program. The first month will be spent taking classes: mornings will be filled with Swahili lessons while afternoons will be spent becoming familiar with the finer points of fixing "broke-dahn" medical equipment. The second month is when the action starts; I'll be sent out with a partner to work in a hospital somewhere in rural Tanzania. These hospitals lack many resources and are often unable to staff many people capable of servicing broken down medical equipment. Having a few extra hands around during the summer to help fix things and bring donations provides a much needed shot of energy for these hospitals.
So I'll be learning Swahili, using my bioengineering "skills", and working in the developing world it in a situation which is physically, mentally and culturally challenging. For those of you who know me well, you probably think my head runs the risk of exploding whenever I think about this.
On Saturday I got my assignment. I'll be working with one other guy from Penn State at the Machame Lutheran Hospital in Moshi, Tanzania. It's a small rural hospital literally located on the slopes of mount Kilimanjaro. This is the description I was given:
Machame is a small Lutheran Hospital located about 20 km outside of the City of Moshi in the neighboring hills. It is located up the mountain near a very small village and serves the poor patients living on the hillside that cannot easily access medical services in the City of Moshi. The Hospital has 120 beds and sees approximately 2,000 inpatients per year and a much greater number of outpatients. The Hospital building is very old but has a recent addition. Most funding comes through grants sponsored by the Lutheran Church. The Hospital hosts a number of medical students for training and provides services in most medical specialties, including pediatrics, ob-gyn, internal medicine and surgery.
Hospital departments include an 8 bed ICU that also serves as the emergency department. The ICU is very under-equipped and only has one working patient monitor. The two operating theatres are well stocked and function continuously. There are 2 working x-ray devices in the hospital and the clinical laboratory can complete most essential blood tests.
The Hospital does not have an official equipment budget and uses cost-sharing to purchase equipment. It is estimated that 20% of the Hospital’s equipment was donated and that 60% of the instruments is currently working.
A quick google search didn't yield much, but I was able to find this image taken from the hospital grounds.
That's Kilimanjaro in the background. It struck me that I'll be going during what is technically winter, to what looks like a pretty cool place, so I can kiss any ideas I had about "summer in Africa" being superhot goodbye.
Edit:: Props to Rachel for making the closing observation. When I say "it struck me" I guess I really meant to say, "Rachel told me". My bad. Blogging power went to my head.
For those who may be just tuning in, I'll be in Africa for 2 months with a program called Engineering World Health which is sponsored by Duke University. I'll be doing the summer institute program. The first month will be spent taking classes: mornings will be filled with Swahili lessons while afternoons will be spent becoming familiar with the finer points of fixing "broke-dahn" medical equipment. The second month is when the action starts; I'll be sent out with a partner to work in a hospital somewhere in rural Tanzania. These hospitals lack many resources and are often unable to staff many people capable of servicing broken down medical equipment. Having a few extra hands around during the summer to help fix things and bring donations provides a much needed shot of energy for these hospitals.
So I'll be learning Swahili, using my bioengineering "skills", and working in the developing world it in a situation which is physically, mentally and culturally challenging. For those of you who know me well, you probably think my head runs the risk of exploding whenever I think about this.
On Saturday I got my assignment. I'll be working with one other guy from Penn State at the Machame Lutheran Hospital in Moshi, Tanzania. It's a small rural hospital literally located on the slopes of mount Kilimanjaro. This is the description I was given:
Machame is a small Lutheran Hospital located about 20 km outside of the City of Moshi in the neighboring hills. It is located up the mountain near a very small village and serves the poor patients living on the hillside that cannot easily access medical services in the City of Moshi. The Hospital has 120 beds and sees approximately 2,000 inpatients per year and a much greater number of outpatients. The Hospital building is very old but has a recent addition. Most funding comes through grants sponsored by the Lutheran Church. The Hospital hosts a number of medical students for training and provides services in most medical specialties, including pediatrics, ob-gyn, internal medicine and surgery.
Hospital departments include an 8 bed ICU that also serves as the emergency department. The ICU is very under-equipped and only has one working patient monitor. The two operating theatres are well stocked and function continuously. There are 2 working x-ray devices in the hospital and the clinical laboratory can complete most essential blood tests.
The Hospital does not have an official equipment budget and uses cost-sharing to purchase equipment. It is estimated that 20% of the Hospital’s equipment was donated and that 60% of the instruments is currently working.
A quick google search didn't yield much, but I was able to find this image taken from the hospital grounds.
That's Kilimanjaro in the background. It struck me that I'll be going during what is technically winter, to what looks like a pretty cool place, so I can kiss any ideas I had about "summer in Africa" being superhot goodbye.
Edit:: Props to Rachel for making the closing observation. When I say "it struck me" I guess I really meant to say, "Rachel told me". My bad. Blogging power went to my head.
Tying my thoughts together
I really had no particular reason for posting that last image, other than the fact that I had people asking about the next "tanzany" post, and I had nothing to offer. So I cheated and posted an image I Stumbled-upon of some street graffiti in Bangkok. It had no connection to anything other than that I found it interesting. Maybe it was loosely connected to the conviction I've been feeling towards my apathy which has recently been chomping at my brain.
But surprisingly in light of that, here's one interesting observation of my roommate Peter Jackson that came to my mind nearly a year to the day after it was made:
Whenever China begins to feel the heat and come under international scrutiny, there always seems to be some sort of disaster (terrorist attack, landslide) that blows through, completely taking everyone's focus off of the mistakes being made by China.
I find this especially interesting with respect to the recent Burmese cyclone and the earthquake in China. It just fits too will, especially since the media has been swamped with accounts and images of heartrending outpouring of aid and support by the Chinese people for the victims in Sichuan. Across the way, however a harsh and oppresive regime is actually blocking international aid for its people. So in the end, China looks pretty good. Coupled with the proximity of Sichuan to Tibet, I find it just a little bit creepy.
Here among Oakland's scientific community it's apparent there's a little bit of a different perspective on the situation. The other day I was making my bi-hourly coffee run when I passed by one of the PI's offices which had this poem printed out and taped onto the door. Read it. It made me question my own biases and once again be baffled by a complex world in which there are no clear cut solutions.
But surprisingly in light of that, here's one interesting observation of my roommate Peter Jackson that came to my mind nearly a year to the day after it was made:
Whenever China begins to feel the heat and come under international scrutiny, there always seems to be some sort of disaster (terrorist attack, landslide) that blows through, completely taking everyone's focus off of the mistakes being made by China.
I find this especially interesting with respect to the recent Burmese cyclone and the earthquake in China. It just fits too will, especially since the media has been swamped with accounts and images of heartrending outpouring of aid and support by the Chinese people for the victims in Sichuan. Across the way, however a harsh and oppresive regime is actually blocking international aid for its people. So in the end, China looks pretty good. Coupled with the proximity of Sichuan to Tibet, I find it just a little bit creepy.
Here among Oakland's scientific community it's apparent there's a little bit of a different perspective on the situation. The other day I was making my bi-hourly coffee run when I passed by one of the PI's offices which had this poem printed out and taped onto the door. Read it. It made me question my own biases and once again be baffled by a complex world in which there are no clear cut solutions.
4.21.2008
4.17.2008
Shake the Grass
Senior design is coming up, and I'm excited about the possibilities for our iDEA (Incubator Designed for Emerging Areas) in the future. Hopefully, my incredible teammates will be able to take it to Haiti and install it in the Albert Schweitzer hospital this summer. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, and frankly I'm amazed we were able to get to the point we're at. I knew we could do it as a team, but when I pushed everyone to get on board with the project in the fall I had no idea (no pun intended) how far they'd be able to get. I really didn't expect to be thinking about shipping something down so soon.
The design project isn't the only thing taking up time, though. I've been working on growing those yummy neuron donuts for Henry Zeringue, and taking care of all the rest of my classes, working on Engineers Without Borders stuff, all the while preparing to go to Africa for two months. With my decision not to apply to medical school this year, things are slightly less stressful, but the work still feels like it takes up nearly every second of night and day. If I didn't have Bailey around in every project and in every class, I'm frankly not sure how I could manage it.
I stumbled on to this poem. It's by Ezra Pound. I don't know anything about Mr. Pound other than that my grandmother likes his poetry, and Gregory liked his poetry for about a week.
And the days are not full enoughWhy does this poem resonate with me so strongly? Now, when every moment of my day seems filled with something I love, with work that is meaningful, which could impact the world in a very real, concrete way? Why does it still feel as though some fear is holding me back? Why has the work gradually become empty?
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass.
If the world were filled with people who not only knew what the right thing to do was, but were brave enough to do it, I think amazing things could happen. I'll try to live that out, but it's got to be Gratiae Dei, because of myself I have no strength.
4.16.2008
Leaving Behind a To Do List
This summer, I'll be embarking on an experience which should prove to be pretty life changing. I'm excited about it for a number of reasons and I think I'll go into them later. For now, I think I'll be posting on home though.
Emma is going to be in Pittsburgh this summer. As I will be away, I've decided to compile a list for her to keep her busy, and hopefully as much as possible out of the Bioengineering Lab (aka the B62-3 Dungeon). While I have no clue if many of the things on this list will interest her as much as they interest me, I figured I'd put them out there just for the heck of it.
1. Get a bike. If you want one for free, you can get them from freeride. It's a bike co-op located in point breeze, near my house. You can get a donated bike in fairly good condition just by volunteering some hours working in the shop. It's great because you learn some bike maintenance skills along the way. Of course, if you don't want to do that, there is always the option of paying in cash. But who wants to do that? You can find it here:
View Larger Map
2. Do some exploring. Pittsburgh's not bad in the summer, and there is a lot to do outside of Oakland. While on your way back from Freeride, stop in at the East End Food Co-op and pick up a bike map. This will really get you a lot of places, if you're feeling brave. They're also available in the Iron City Bike shop on South Bouquet.
If you can make it down to Regent Square, where I call home, (it's just down Forbes Ave) you'll find a lot of great stuff to do. I've highlighted a few favorites on this map:
View Larger Map
With the bike trails, Lawerenceville and the South Side are pretty accessible too, so I'd recommend getting out there although I don't have as much of an idea of what to do.
3. See some movies. On Wednesdays and Sundays at dusk, free movies are shown on Flagstaff Hill. Rarely are they very good, but if you get a good group to go with you it can be fun just to make fun of and enjoy the atmosphere. If you're into some more artful movies, Pittsburgh Filmmakers shows movies (at a low student rate of $5). There's a place on Melwood Ave., one downtown and one on Regent Square.
4. The Three Rivers Arts Festival. It's fun thing to do downtown during the summer. I won't really be here for most of it this year.
5. Get out of the city. There are a lot of parks and places to go camping. Try the Laurel Highlands (~1 hr away by car). You can rent canoes or a sailboat on Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park to the north. McConnell's Mill is close to Lake Arthur and is a pretty place to look around. There is also Ohiopyle, and Fallingwater in the other direction.
You can do all the typical stuff (zoos, museums, etc.) and they are fun, but I wanted to give some different ideas of what to do.
Now I wish I was going to be here this summer...
Not really. ;)
Emma is going to be in Pittsburgh this summer. As I will be away, I've decided to compile a list for her to keep her busy, and hopefully as much as possible out of the Bioengineering Lab (aka the B62-3 Dungeon). While I have no clue if many of the things on this list will interest her as much as they interest me, I figured I'd put them out there just for the heck of it.
1. Get a bike. If you want one for free, you can get them from freeride. It's a bike co-op located in point breeze, near my house. You can get a donated bike in fairly good condition just by volunteering some hours working in the shop. It's great because you learn some bike maintenance skills along the way. Of course, if you don't want to do that, there is always the option of paying in cash. But who wants to do that? You can find it here:
View Larger Map
2. Do some exploring. Pittsburgh's not bad in the summer, and there is a lot to do outside of Oakland. While on your way back from Freeride, stop in at the East End Food Co-op and pick up a bike map. This will really get you a lot of places, if you're feeling brave. They're also available in the Iron City Bike shop on South Bouquet.
If you can make it down to Regent Square, where I call home, (it's just down Forbes Ave) you'll find a lot of great stuff to do. I've highlighted a few favorites on this map:
View Larger Map
With the bike trails, Lawerenceville and the South Side are pretty accessible too, so I'd recommend getting out there although I don't have as much of an idea of what to do.
3. See some movies. On Wednesdays and Sundays at dusk, free movies are shown on Flagstaff Hill. Rarely are they very good, but if you get a good group to go with you it can be fun just to make fun of and enjoy the atmosphere. If you're into some more artful movies, Pittsburgh Filmmakers shows movies (at a low student rate of $5). There's a place on Melwood Ave., one downtown and one on Regent Square.
4. The Three Rivers Arts Festival. It's fun thing to do downtown during the summer. I won't really be here for most of it this year.
5. Get out of the city. There are a lot of parks and places to go camping. Try the Laurel Highlands (~1 hr away by car). You can rent canoes or a sailboat on Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park to the north. McConnell's Mill is close to Lake Arthur and is a pretty place to look around. There is also Ohiopyle, and Fallingwater in the other direction.
You can do all the typical stuff (zoos, museums, etc.) and they are fun, but I wanted to give some different ideas of what to do.
Now I wish I was going to be here this summer...
Not really. ;)
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