Happy holidays to all of our friends and family.
2014 was an active year for the Aeby’s. The stars seemed to all align, pointing Tod and Greta towards their current journey, seeking new experiences in the Middle East.
2014 was an active year for the Aeby’s. The stars seemed to all align, pointing Tod and Greta towards their current journey, seeking new experiences in the Middle East.
Kagen spent 2013 working as an emergency medical technician in California and it is through that job that he found his passion… medicine! He returned home in December 2013 and has enrolled at the University of Hawaii to finish up his undergraduate degree in biology. He hopes to go on to medical school and is interested in becoming an emergency room doctor. He left Hawaii several years ago a typical, unfocused teenager. He has returned as a motivated and determined young man. Tod and Greta are delighted and impressed by his ambition. As an added bonus, the timing of his return was perfect, with Tod and Greta needing someone to take care of the house and animals while they are gone. Kagen is also continuing his love of volleyball, playing in various leagues and tournaments around town. His volleyball skills have become quite impressive.
Briana and Jeff are an ole, married couple, residing in Rochester, NY. The latest addition to their family is a cute little kitten named “Raisin”. No, no offspring from the union as yet. Briana left Hawaii with a Master degree in elementary education in her pocket and considerable experience from teaching at a private school, here in Hawaii. Unfortunately, obtaining a teaching position in Rochester is difficult, so she has been substitute teaching to gain more experience and get her foot in the door. She has also joined a tap dancing class in Rochester and is staying in great shape, tapping away. Briana really enjoyed the summer in Rochester with all the abundant fresh fruit (don’t get that in Hawaii!) and the fall with the brilliant colors. Now, a very cold winter has set in, but she is tolerating the frigid temperatures with a good attitude! Jeff is an officer in the navy and is teaching classes at the University of Rochester. He is also pursuing his Master degree in engineering. No lack of ambition in that young man!! He has great RHP! (For those non-behavioral ecologists reading this letter, RHP is resource holding potential)
In March, Tod spent three weeks as a visiting professor at Chubu Hospital in Okinawa, teaching medical students and ob/gyn residents. Of course, Greta wouldn’t let Tod go on an adventure without her, so she headed out that way for a week as well. They even went diving and took a look at the coral reefs in that part of the world. In April, Tod traveled to Chicago to receive an award from the American College of Ob/Gyn. Well deserved after all of the work he has done for the college over the past 26 years. He’s been in Qatar since early November, where he has accepted a position on a team charged with opening the Sidra Medical and Research Center, a new women’s and children’s hospital in Doha. The employees and staff represent over 48 different nations, and he is having a wonderful time learning about so many new cultures and ways to practice medicine. A growing experience for sure.
Greta continues her work in coral disease research and trying to raise awareness about the plight of the coral reefs. In June, she traveled to the Asia-Pacific coral reef symposium, in Taiwan, where she presented her research and helped teach other scientists about the investigation of coral disease. In July, she returned to Palmyra Atoll where her team finished up several research projects related to a disease outbreak. She is excited about living in Qatar for a year and will be helping to train scientists in other regions in coral disease investigations. She already has plans to travel to India and the United Arab Emirates! New oceans to explore!!
Tod and Greta’s big trip for the year was an amazing 3-week excursion to South Africa and Uganda. They started in Johannesburg and traveled down the coast to Cape Town. They visited small fishing towns, tasted great wine and went on safari at Krueger National Park. They also visited several animal orphanages, where they met wonderful people, selflessly dedicated to helping out injured and abandoned wildlife. The courage, dedication to their cause, and hard work of these men and women was impressive and inspirational. Tod and Greta then traveled up into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to trek through the rain forest for a visit with the endangered mountain gorillas. To see these animals up close in their natural habitat was truly a blessed experience. Uganda has done a pretty good job of balancing the needs of an endangered animal with the needs of the humans within the immediate vicinity. If only the U.S would put in that kind of effort to protect their coral reef ecosystems!
2015 is sure to bring interesting adventures to Tod and Greta as they experience life in a Muslim country. Please consider following our journey on this web site, under “The Doctors Aeby’s Blog”
http://www.aebys.us
We hope 2015 will be a happy and productive year for all!
Greta and Tod
Tod and Greta’s big trip for the year was an amazing 3-week excursion to South Africa and Uganda. They started in Johannesburg and traveled down the coast to Cape Town. They visited small fishing towns, tasted great wine and went on safari at Krueger National Park. They also visited several animal orphanages, where they met wonderful people, selflessly dedicated to helping out injured and abandoned wildlife. The courage, dedication to their cause, and hard work of these men and women was impressive and inspirational. Tod and Greta then traveled up into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to trek through the rain forest for a visit with the endangered mountain gorillas. To see these animals up close in their natural habitat was truly a blessed experience. Uganda has done a pretty good job of balancing the needs of an endangered animal with the needs of the humans within the immediate vicinity. If only the U.S would put in that kind of effort to protect their coral reef ecosystems!
2015 is sure to bring interesting adventures to Tod and Greta as they experience life in a Muslim country. Please consider following our journey on this web site, under “The Doctors Aeby’s Blog”
http://www.aebys.us
We hope 2015 will be a happy and productive year for all!
Greta and Tod