Catching up...sorry guys!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Today for my culture class we went back to Amboseli NP to visit a Maasai tourist manyatta. It was neat comparing thhis experience with the tourist manyatta to the experience we had at the "real" Maasai boma we visited in the beginning of the semester. Side note: I can't believe I've almost been here a whole month...CRAZY!!!! We were welcomed with song and dance, shown around in their village (or manyatta if you so choose to use), told about the traditional Maasai life, learned about different natural remedes (NEAT), shown how they traditionally made fire, given a tour of their houses (pretty big), and then herded into a market like lost sheep. It was fun, but you could definitely see the impact tourism had on this boma. They hadn't moved in 15 years (Maasai are normally known as nomadic), there were lots of men (at the other boma the men were out tending to the cattle and shoats), the houses were really big (relatively speaking), and lots of other things. Basically today was our day to be tourist...and we totally played the part. Afterwards we game drove to a lodge in the park and had probabaly the best meal I've ever had in my life (sorry mom). Then we went for a dip in the pool and ended the day with a game drive back home. All-in-all a good day...except for the 5 assignments that are due before we leave for Tsavo looming over my head. Oh yeah! Since we're entering the rainy season Kili is starting to get more snow on her:)

Does anyone want to hear a funny story? You might have had to have been here to fully appreciate, but here goes... So I am learning Kiswahili. I am not good at Kiswahili. I always mix up my words and phrases. So Hapana asante means "No thank you" and Kwaheri mean "Good-bye". I know...not even close. But today when we were leaving the park I was yelling to say good-bye to the Mamas (who are constantly puching their good on you so you say "Hapana asante") and instead I ended up yelling "HAPANA ASANTE!" So hopefully I don't look too rude:/

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

So today we had wildlife ecology alllllllll day. We were split into groups of 5 and sent out with a guide to Kuku group ranch to assess the terrain. Our guide's name was Samuel and he was pretty cool. He could glance at the spot where we were taking our survey and tell us how many different specious of grasses, herbacious, and woody species there were in like 5 seconds! He tried to teach me, but well...you know. Anyway (this part gets excitin g so pay close attention) we were walking along to our next survey spot- picking up different animal poop, smelling different roots, taking in the sights- when we saw a massive termite mound. We stopped to take a picture (seriously, who woudn't want a pic of a 4 foot tall termite mound?) when we spotted a TORTOISE!!!!! Needless to say, I was stoked! Reptiles= awesome. Turtles/tortoises= the ULTIMATE!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Today was a really eye-opening field lecture! We went around the Kimana, Kuku, and Brikani Group Ranches to see the state of availability of natural resources. I'm here to say that the situation is sad. Our first stop was just outside our camp and we were asked to look around and observe what was happening to the land. When you're in the cushioned environment of KBC you often forget how dismally bare everything is outside. The locals must honestly hate us at times when they're walking their cattle and shoats around to find food and the only greenery is inside our camp. The second site we went to was a river...or what was once a river. Due to lack of organic resources and minerals, massive soil erosion, and the diverting of the normal flow of water, the river is dying...literally. We also learned about all of these water wars that have taken place nearby. When the government is shooting people from helicopters you know it's bad. SFS has received a grant to try and rehabilitate different water sources throughout the Kimana group ranch, however, they can't do anything without local community involvement.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

7 hours of class...woohoo:(

Oliotoktitok...yeah!

February 21
Today was our day off! Woohoo! We started it off with a 2 hour nature walk...OUTSIDE OF THE FENCE!!!!!!! We saw zebra and giraffes. It was really cool not seeing them from inside a car. When we got back we got our Maasai spears and swords that a local made for us. They are all different and it was fun to see our professor throw them. We are going to learn how to throw them sometime this week. Around 11:30 we left for Oliotokitok. We've never been to Oliotokitok on their market day, so it was really different then before. Isobel and I got lots of passion fruit and mangos. We got six mangos for 20 shillings! That's a deal...and they actually taste good. Walking around and seeing the different stands, while being chased by the Mamas, was fun too. There were stands with hand-woven baskets, tons of beautiful fabrics, and other stuff too. I love going into market!

February 20
So today Economic Policy was actually a little more my speed. We separated into groups of 4, drove to a small village outside of Kimana, were dropped off with our translaters (Solomon was my grop's translater), and were picked up 4 hours later. Our goal for this project was to talk to as many people as we possibly could about the problems they face being farmers. We talked to about 11 farmers (it's kind of a far walk in between farms). The most common problems were wildlife, costs, market, labor, and water. I thought since the short rains did not come this year that water would be more of a problem, but I was wrong. Across the board wildlife was the main problem. These farmers hate elephants, zebra, antelope, and hippos. I can't say that I blame them. It was really sad to visit these farms and see the damage that the animals had caused just a few hours ago. It was good for us to be able to go out first hand and see this. In the class you feel bad for these animals, but in the field I felt bad for the farmers. I also realized that this was not a black-and-white- argument like I did before. Do you punish the people for killing wildlife for trespassing, when these crops are all they have? Or do you kill the wildlife even though this land was once where they grazed? Tricky...

Once upon a goat slaughter...

February 19, 2009

Today after class we had a goat-slaughtering in the woods. Once again I felt like I was watching a scene from gladiator as my classmates gathered around with huge smiles on their faces and twinkles in their eyes as they got ready to take videos and pictures of a cute goat breathing its last breath. I was expecting them to start foaming at the mouth and break out into a riot when our teacher told us to wait for our fellow classmates to join up with the rest of the group. I tried to look at it as a cultural experience, but at the very last minute, when they were tying it down so it could not escape and approaching it with a sharp knife with the sun glinting off of it, I decided that I could not handle seeing a poor, defenseless goat die. I did come back afterwards to examine the four-chambered stomach, as that was part of the lecture. Some may think I am a weenie, but I still think I’m pretty ok.

February 18, 2009

Today we went on another trip to Amboseli National Park. On the way over my professor told an excellent story about how he was once in a supermarket in Idaho (he went to Idaho for college) buying a bag of M&Ms, his favorite candy, when he noticed a little girl who was crying hysterically and pointing at him. He went up to mother and asked her if everything was ok and she said that her daughter had never seen a man with his skin color before and was scared. He then began to explain to the little girl why his skin color was different from her skin color. He asked her if her mother had a garden and she said “Yes.” He then asked her which flowers in that garden are her favorite colors. She responded, “The red, yellow, and pink flowers.” He then explained to her that God is a gardener like her mother and that we are his flowers…we’re all different colors.

While we were waiting to get clearance to enter the park, I saw a lizard! He was all different colors and kind of metallic. Not everyone in my car was quite as excited as I was, but they just don’t know how cool reptiles really are:)

Once we got into the park, we split off into 5 groups and headed to different sectors of the park to begin our project for my Wildlife Management class. For the project we went out for about 4 hours to take a sample survey of all of the large mammals (well any mammal…dik-dik and up) within 500 meters on both sides of the road…so basically I got to count really cool mammals ALL DAY! My group was by Lake Amboseli but since the rainy season hasn’t begun, it was bone dry. We did however have a few smaller swamps that were populated with all sorts of animals that had come to get their daily drink and graze on…so many zebra, wildebeest, and gazelles.

When we were heading back to meet the rest of the group for lunch we drove through this abandoned large. It was really eerie! Windows were broken, weeds were growing everywhere, and monkeys and baboons were running around. One of the girls in my car starting humming the theme song to Jurassic Park as we were driving through the lodge. No joke…if I had seen a T-Rex run by and snatched up a goat, I would not have been surprised.

After lunch we had a lecture on a hill facing Mt. Kili. I couldn’t believe I was actually having class with Mt. Kili behind my professor. We even had a little visitor during lecture. A trouble-making vervet monkey came up to one of my classmates and wrestled her for her Tupperware that still had scraps in it. Fortunately my classmate won and got to keep her Tupperware for further expeditions.

We finished the day by doing a couple more hours of game driving…without counting :) As my group was staring at a couple of hippos just chillin’ in a swamp (with the little bird friends on their backs), I looked over to my side of the car and saw...A BLACK MAMBA!!!!!

When we were about to leave the park we were passing a swamp by the front gate of Amboseli and noticed a lioness making her way to get a drink. You would not believe how fast the other animals split as she sauntered down to the watering hole. It was hilarious to see all of the wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, gazelles…giving her a wide berth of about 200m. We, the animals included, were all waiting to see what she would do. Then someone in my car noticed the lame cow laying on the ground…apparently the lioness noticed too. The cow started to struggle to get up as she made her way towards it and the lioness sprang into action. She made her way to the cow in a few quick leaps and pounced on its rear. I felt like I was watching a scene from gladiator because all of the people in my car were muttering under their breath, “Get it!” “Grab it by the throat!” “Kill the cow!” Meanwhile, I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh! I don’t know if I can handle this. I know it happens, but that poor cow.” Well the lioness sat there for a little bit and then walked away. I don’t know why she walked away…maybe she was waiting for the rest of her pride, maybe she didn’t like the crowd that was watching, or maybe she knew it was so weak she could wait. In the end, only the driver and I weren’t completely bummed that the lioness hadn’t ripped the poor cow to shreds.

The internet has decided to be my friend:)

February 17, 2009
After class a few of the students decided to go into Kimana town. It’s always nice to get out of the compound every now and then. Isobel and Catherine, two girls from my group, and I ventured into the crowded market and braved the ever-insistent Mamas to find 4 perfectly ripe mangos. They were delicious!!!!!! Tomorrow we go to Amboseli National Park for our first large mammal count so I hopefully I’ll have lots of fun stories!

February 16, 2009
Today was our second rainy day! Yay! I decided to go for a walk around the running trail while it was still drizzling and saw some vervet monkeys. They were so cute until they started throwing berries at me…thank goodness it wasn’t their poop. Also I saw my first AFRICAN TOAD!!!!!!! I was starting to think I wouldn’t see any reptiles or amphibians while I was here, but he just hopped my way :)

February 15, 2009
Today was our second non-program day!!!!!!! We started the day off going to church for a little over 3 hours. It was a great experience. We got there and everybody was singing and dancing. The sermon was spoken in Kiswahili, but one of our staff, he is a member of the church, translated for us. The lecture focused on looking past people’s differences and accepting them for who they are. At about 12:30 we left for Oliotokitok to go to the VCT clinic. The VCT clinic offers free testing, education, and medicine for those who have contracted AIDS. We were privileged to hear the life stories of the men and women who started the support group. We also met the woman who founded VCT. She was a little 80-year-old nun from Pennsylvania who had been living in Kenya since the 1970s. At the end of our visit, they showed us to their shop where they make different crafts to help raise money to buy food for their family.

February 14, 2009
Well today was pretty much the best Valentine’s day ever! We woke up this morning and had a bird watching class. I got to see an up close and personal view of my favorite bird the Hadada Ibis. Most people actually hate this bird because it has a very annoying call (HHHHAAAAAHHHHAAAAAHHHHAAAAA). I, however, think this bird is hilarious! Sometimes we’ll just be sitting outside having class and the next thing you know these birds are bursting into laughter…I like to think one of them just told a funny joke.

After class we packed some lunches and headed towards Rombo, a teeny tiny town, for our community service project. From there we took a road, I think we were actually driving in a dried up riverbed, to this school way out in the middle of nowhere. When we got there the Mamas and the children welcomed us with singing and dancing. Our group decided to teach the kids the Hokey Pokey (they all pointed and laughed) while the doctors set up different stations: diagnosis, prescriptions, baby weighing, de-worming, vitamin dispersal. Then my group split up and went to different stations. I was at the prescription area. My job consisted of filling a bag with whatever the doctor told me to fill it with…pretty simple.

I hope that my Kiswahili gets better so I can communicate with the children more:)

Hakunamatata

February 13, 2009

SAFARI! SAFARI! SAFARI! (I hope you are all chanting as you are reading this) Today was our first….you guessed it- SAFARI! We went to Amboseli National Park after classes in order to start a few of our assignments. Amboseli National Park is about 300 square km (very small) and is owned by the Maasai Tribe. Along with 4 other students and my professor, Dr. Okello, we split from the group and enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon spotting lions, elephants, hippos, gazelles (both kinds: Thomson and Grant), hyaenas, zebra… IT WAS AWESOME! Some fun facts! The “Circle of Life” is not always a beautiful sight. We spotted some vultures going to town on a wildebeest carcass. Did you know that vultures retrieve their favorite parts of their dead by shoving their heads up their dead’s behind parts and yanking the innards out? An elephant’s udders are between the front legs…like nipples. Hyaenas will come up behind a wildebeest or a Cape Buffalo and snatch its tail off. Sometimes when you’re driving around you will notice something missing from the backside of one of these animals…if it’s the tail, my bet is the hyaena took off with it. Lots of surprises, lots of laughs, lots of sunburn (not me), lots of nature, lots of fun!

February 12, 2009

Yesterday, we had a fun-filled day of school, school, and more school. We started off the day with finishing the riveting lecture about Kenyan tribes. Contrary to popular belief, not every single Kenyan is a born phenomenon in athletics. Actually the Nandi and the Kalenjin are responsible for Kenyan’s fame in running. They all look pretty fast to me though. We also had a pretty intense volleyball tournament. My team actually ended up losing, but I did manage to get the ball over the net a few times…I even scored a point once! It was also my day to be MOD (Mwanafunzi of the day). Mwanafunzi means student in Kiswahil…so I was student of the day! My duties consisted of rotating the solar panels throughout the day, ringing the bell before classes or any other important activity (like food), and performing RAP. Each MOD is responsible for coming up with at least one RAP while they are here. The first one is light-hearted and gets people to loosen up as we continue to get to know one another. The second RAP will be a presentation relating to the objectives of the program…but this isn’t until later on in the semester. For my light-hearted RAP, I introduced people to ENERGIZERS! For those of you who do not know what energizers are, you are definitely missing out. You have not lived, if you have not let your guard down and participated in either “The Stupid Dance,” “The Camel Dance,” “Star Trekking,” or “500 Miles.” I thought “The Stupid Dance” was the way to go! I was really happy because everyone participated and seem to really have a good time going through all of the wacky moves and running around looking…well you know…STUPIDJ. I ended the evening with one of my favorite quotes, “Don’t look before you leap, it ruins the surprise!” I thought it went along with the theme pretty well.

Two countries for the price of one!

So yesterday was our first non-program day! We started off by sleeping in until 7:15 and then hopped in the Land Cruisers to Oliotokitok. We hiked through a huge cornfield and down into a gorge between the Kenya and Tanzania border. I actually ate lunch on the Tanzanian side of the border:) Then we explored down the river for about an hour before going back to town to shop. My banda mate and I ended up getting a phone so we could chat with our families every now and then. Apparently any incoming calls are free (even if from out of the country). The fabrics in town were beautiful! Isobel, Ange, and I also ended up going into the fruit market to buy some mangos, passion fruit, and apricots. It's the season for mangos! Then it began to pour. Since the short rainy season was pretty non-existant, I hope the long rainy season, which is right around the corner, happens. We all got in the cars and headed back to Kimana to play soccer with the secondary school down the road. Even though it was raining, we rode with the windows down. It was so nice not to have dust flying up in your face! When we got back to campus we all put on our game faces and walked down to Kimana Secondary School. It is a boarding school for both boys and girls. We played soccer...and we lost...they were even going easy on us. When I came out to take a break I ended up talking to a group of girls about school, family, and what we want to be when we grow up. They wanted to be lawyers, family physicians, radio broadcasters, tour guides, broadcast journalists, teachers, scientists... I can't wait to go back and hangout with them. This one girl Ester is a hoot!

Today we had our Wildlife Ecology class in the field. We were up on top of this little mountain. The view of Mt. Kili was amazing. During class 3 little boys decided to come up and see the wazungi (white people). One of them came up and started playing with my watch because I was making reflections on the rocks whenever I moved my hand. Then we came back and had 2 more classes. I ran 6 miles to finish off the day. Oh yeah! We got water heaters installed! They only work when we have electricity...so 4 hours a day we have hot water.

Friday is our first safari day! I am really excited. We go to Amboseli National Park so I should see a few elephants:) Then we have our first community service day on Saturday and another Non-Program Day on Sunday! Also the duka opens on Friday...so we get CANDY (I sound like the kids in the village).

Friday I should have some exciting stories!

NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!

Well not much has been going on except for school, school, school. My day basically goes get up, go on nature walk, eat break fast, have class for 3 hours, eat lunch, have a break (where I read endless journal articles), have class for 2 more hours, run, eat and do more homework. Needless to say, I am so excited about our day off tomorrow!

Yesterday was our first day out in the field! We drove about 30 miles to Olosoito, a town just outside of Kimana (well kinda a town), where we hiked up a plateau and had our economic policy class. It was really neat! Our professor pointed out all of the water sources in the Amboseli Ecosystem and different landmarks (e.g. the Chyulu Hills). Competition between humans and wildlife over land and water resources is a huge problem here.

Today we had two Wildlife Ecology (each 1.5 hours). My professor walked into the classroom carrying a huge yellow bag which turned out to be holding different types of poop for us to identify. Lion poop is quite hairy! We had our first Kenya culture class after lunch. It really enjoyed it. We started learning about all of the different ethnic groups and their different cultures.

Tomorrow we enjoy our first day off! We are going to a gorge near the town of Oloitokitok to go on a hike and enjoy a fabulous picnic lunch. Later we are going into town. Hopefully I can get a phone and give my parents a quick call. Then we are going back to play soccer and volleyball with the kids from the secondary school down the street. It should be a fun day!

Once upon a run...

February 6, 2008

Today I went on a nature walk with the group. We basically spent our time matching poop to the correct animal. Did you know that zebra poop is kidney-shaped? Antelope poop is round with a light elongation at one end. Antelope poop has tons of termite heads inside. We also saw zebra and more elephant tracks.

I ran 6 miles today all under 8 minute pace…YAY! On the first run (I did 4) with Frances we ran into quite a few goats on the wrong side of the fence. We even helped one get its head loose from the fence. And no...he did not say thank you...he didn't even looke back. Then as we strated to run again I saw this huge fuzzy object clearing the fence. At first I thought it was a goat, but then I thought, "Cybil goats can't jump that high!" I was right....it was a BABOON! It jumped into the compound right in front of us! He was HUGE and sort of scary-looking. I was a little spooked to keep running by myself, probably due to the fact that the movie Congo scared the living daylights out of me.

Now I’ve got lots of reading:/

February 7, 2009

Nothing too exciting happened today...just more assigned readings. Tomorrow we go on our first field excursion. I'm super excited! I'll have more fun stories then:)

Sheep + goat = shoats

This morning we woke up at 6:00 to go on a nature walk with one of my professors. On the walk we saw lots of birds, a bush baby, baboons, monkeys, and elephant tracks! He showed us how to identify birds using our handy bird guide booklet.

I had 3 classes today: environmental policy, wildlife management, and kiswahili. They were very interesting. However, I have tons of articles to read (and none of them are small).

This afternoon we went to a Maasai village to learn about their history. It was really neat! The women sang and danced for us. We had to return the favor with a few Americans songs. They also showed us their houses and let us ask questions. The inside of their houses is a lot bigger than it looks. After the tour they opened up shop and let us buy some of their jewelry.

Unfortunately their seems to be a bug going around camp that sneaks up from behind and attacks you without any notice. 10 people so far have taken sick. We just learned that it is spreading in the village too. Cross your fingers that I have good luck on my side.

If you scroll down I've posted some pics of a giraffe and a group of zebra that we passed on the way to base camp.

Greetings from Kenya!

Jambo! (you can also spell it like this)

Well I finally made it to my final destination! It took about 6 hours of roads filled with potholes the size of elephants (a bit dramatic) but we made it into base camp around 4:30 pm yesterday. On the way we saw giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and gazelles. It was pretty neat.

When we got here the whole staff was outside waiting for us. They were so nice to have a snack of fresh vegetables and sugar cookies waiting for us. Since we hadn't eaten since 5:30 am it was very much appreciated.

I moved into my banda with 3 other girls- Catherine, Valerie, and Anna. They all seem really nice. We have an awesome view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from both our banda and the showers (this helps take the edge off the freezing cold water).

Today we had orientation. Afterwards, we drove into town for an hour for market. Every Tuesday is market day. I probably said the phrases "Hapana asanti (No thank you)" and "Sina pesa (I have no money)" thousands of times today. Saturday we go to Oloitolitok for their market day. It is a town on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. This means I'll be up close and personal with Mt. Kili...YAY!

Tomorrow we have our first Swahili and Wildlife Management classes. I'm really excited!

I don't know when I'll be able to up load pictures because the internet is extremely slow here. I'll be trying my hardest!

London!

I was lucky enough to have a layover in London, so I went exploring with a girl from my group. I guess it wasn't so much exploring but rather racing from site to site while lugging around all of our stuff. We got to see Big Ben, London Bridge, the River Thames, and we walked across the Millennium Bridge. It must have been quite the funny scene to see two girls fighting the wind and snow to cross the bridge with heavy bags. I'll have to come back at a later date to do some exploring that actually counts.

Next stop: KENYA!