Hey guys! So I’ll be trying to update little bit by little bit as the week goes on. So here it goes…
March 23
(Duh-na-na-na-na-na today is your birthday. Da-na-na-na-na-na well it’s my birthday too yeah!)
Yay! Today is my 21st birthday and it was all party (PG partying that is). So early this morning I walked into the chumba and found a little birthday present waiting for me in my mailbox. My friend Isobel had bought 3 blackberry yogurt lollipops and some orange cookies for my birthday. Before we packed up the cars and headed to Nairobi, I ran back to my room to get my chapstick and found my splashguard! A splashguard fits in your Nalgene quite nicely and prevents excessive splashing. I thought I had forgotten to pack it and was sad that every time I took a drink in the car and I ended up completely drenched myself. We left to head towards our Nairobi Park Site which, as you can guess, borders Nairobi National Park. On the way there, we saw lots of animals: giraffes, wildebeest, impala, gazelles, and who can forget zebra (punda mlia). When we got to Nairobi we made a very exciting stop…TUSKY’S!!!!!! Tusky’s is this really sweet “everything” store. My mouth dropped when I walked inside…it’s like I had never been in a store before. There was cereal, chips (referred to as crisps here), ICE CREAM, popcorn, fruits, veges, shampoo…you name it they petty much had it. I basically loaded up on ice cream and walked away with a huge smile on my face.
The NPS site is really cool and different from KBC (we have an outdoor shower!!!!!!). It is a little more on the woodsy and a bit smaller. When we got there a few of us noticed this tree that when you break it drips a milky white substance that is really fun to fling on to other people’s dark clothing because it stands out really well. We probably spent a good 15 minutes flinging this sap back and forth at each other. We later found out that if that sap gets in your eyes you will become blind. Lesson to self: things that would be harmless in America are often very harmful in Africa. After we were given a Risk Management lesson on the dangers that “lurk” around NPS (this is where we learned about our lapse in judgment) we went on a tour of the campsite and then on a little hike outside of the fence. At NPS we are allowed outside of the camp to run on the 2-mile running loop (very hilly) and play on the soccer field as long as we have a buddy or 2. When you get to the top of the hill, where the soccer field is, you have the best view of the Ngong Hills. If you’ve ever read, or seen, Out of Africa then you know the Ngong Hills…they’re mentioned in the very first sentence (or second). After the tour, we unpacked our bags and then I went for a little run with Val around the 2 mile loop…we saw so Thomson’s gazelle.
March 24
This morning I went on a nature walk with one of my professors and a small group of students. I couldn’t believe how cold it was outside. I could see my breath! After the walk, we had a full day of classes. My favorite had to have been fire management for my Wildlife Ecology class. My professor took the class outside and we practiced burning a bit of the campsite. I got to even start a little fire with the drip torch…it was my birthday present from my professor. That night we celebrated my birthday with a cake since we couldn’t do it yesterday. It was AMAZING! It was vanilla/lemon with chocolate and vanilla icing. Then I worked on some papers due the next day...a great well to celebrate turning 21:)
March 25
Today was our first non-program day in Nairobi! It was so much fun! Wee spent the day in Karen. Karen is a suburb of Nairobi where Karen Blixon’s book Out of Africa takes place. It looks a lot different from what it looked like when she was managing her coffee farm. We started off the day going to the David Sheldrick Elephant and Black Rhino Orphanage. The David Sheldrick Orphanage takes in abandoned elephants and black rhinos and cares for them as they grow. When the elephants are old enough, they release them in Tsavo West National Park. It was really cute to watch them “booking” it down the hill to where their bottles and keepers were waiting for them. They played in the mud and splashed water everywhere. It was so cute. The second group of elephants was a little older. When they ran down the hill, one of the bigger ones ran up to right where me and a few other students were standing and trumpeted really loudly. She was so excited about getting her bottle. After the big boys and girls made their way back to Nairobi NP to browse the little black rhino came out to play…he was TINY! He reminded me of a puppy that had just gotten a bath and was excitedly running around dodging its owner with the towel. He was rolling around, jumping up and down, and running back and forth. At one time he ran at a dead sprint and covered me and the guy’s legs next to me with mud (the guy next to me was the worse off than me).
After the elephant orphanage we made our way over to the Giraffe Sanctuary. The Giraffe Sanctuary is home to about 5 or 6 Rothschilds giraffes. It was fun to feed and get kisses from them. When they kissed you it felt like sandpaper rubbing, or a kitty-cat licking, your face.
We ended the day at Kazuri bead factory. Kazuri employs lots of single moms to help them earn a living in order to support their families. The beads are beautiful! I honestly couldn’t believe that such beautiful beads had been molded and painted by hand.
March 26
Today we went to Nairobi NP where we had a lecture by the game warden before going on a game drive. The lecture was very interesting and very different from what we had been hearing. I like being able to hear the farmers’ side of the story and then being able to compare it to the side of KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service). On our game drive I saw a black-backed jackal for the first time. They look like small dogs. Other than that, we pretty much just saw the usual animals; however, elephants are not allowed in Nairobi NP because it is too small. Also the wildebeest population has drastically decreased to due human population expansion from Nairobi. It was weird not seeing oodles upon oodles of wildebeest.
To finish the night off on a good night we brought ourselves back to 5th grade and played multiple vigorous rounds of “Ghost in the Graveyard.” It was so much fun! So one person goes and hides and then everybody goes out to find them. The first person who spots the “ghost” shouts “Ghost in the graveyard” and everybody takes off running back to home base.
March 23
(Duh-na-na-na-na-na today is your birthday. Da-na-na-na-na-na well it’s my birthday too yeah!)
Yay! Today is my 21st birthday and it was all party (PG partying that is). So early this morning I walked into the chumba and found a little birthday present waiting for me in my mailbox. My friend Isobel had bought 3 blackberry yogurt lollipops and some orange cookies for my birthday. Before we packed up the cars and headed to Nairobi, I ran back to my room to get my chapstick and found my splashguard! A splashguard fits in your Nalgene quite nicely and prevents excessive splashing. I thought I had forgotten to pack it and was sad that every time I took a drink in the car and I ended up completely drenched myself. We left to head towards our Nairobi Park Site which, as you can guess, borders Nairobi National Park. On the way there, we saw lots of animals: giraffes, wildebeest, impala, gazelles, and who can forget zebra (punda mlia). When we got to Nairobi we made a very exciting stop…TUSKY’S!!!!!! Tusky’s is this really sweet “everything” store. My mouth dropped when I walked inside…it’s like I had never been in a store before. There was cereal, chips (referred to as crisps here), ICE CREAM, popcorn, fruits, veges, shampoo…you name it they petty much had it. I basically loaded up on ice cream and walked away with a huge smile on my face.
The NPS site is really cool and different from KBC (we have an outdoor shower!!!!!!). It is a little more on the woodsy and a bit smaller. When we got there a few of us noticed this tree that when you break it drips a milky white substance that is really fun to fling on to other people’s dark clothing because it stands out really well. We probably spent a good 15 minutes flinging this sap back and forth at each other. We later found out that if that sap gets in your eyes you will become blind. Lesson to self: things that would be harmless in America are often very harmful in Africa. After we were given a Risk Management lesson on the dangers that “lurk” around NPS (this is where we learned about our lapse in judgment) we went on a tour of the campsite and then on a little hike outside of the fence. At NPS we are allowed outside of the camp to run on the 2-mile running loop (very hilly) and play on the soccer field as long as we have a buddy or 2. When you get to the top of the hill, where the soccer field is, you have the best view of the Ngong Hills. If you’ve ever read, or seen, Out of Africa then you know the Ngong Hills…they’re mentioned in the very first sentence (or second). After the tour, we unpacked our bags and then I went for a little run with Val around the 2 mile loop…we saw so Thomson’s gazelle.
March 24
This morning I went on a nature walk with one of my professors and a small group of students. I couldn’t believe how cold it was outside. I could see my breath! After the walk, we had a full day of classes. My favorite had to have been fire management for my Wildlife Ecology class. My professor took the class outside and we practiced burning a bit of the campsite. I got to even start a little fire with the drip torch…it was my birthday present from my professor. That night we celebrated my birthday with a cake since we couldn’t do it yesterday. It was AMAZING! It was vanilla/lemon with chocolate and vanilla icing. Then I worked on some papers due the next day...a great well to celebrate turning 21:)
March 25
Today was our first non-program day in Nairobi! It was so much fun! Wee spent the day in Karen. Karen is a suburb of Nairobi where Karen Blixon’s book Out of Africa takes place. It looks a lot different from what it looked like when she was managing her coffee farm. We started off the day going to the David Sheldrick Elephant and Black Rhino Orphanage. The David Sheldrick Orphanage takes in abandoned elephants and black rhinos and cares for them as they grow. When the elephants are old enough, they release them in Tsavo West National Park. It was really cute to watch them “booking” it down the hill to where their bottles and keepers were waiting for them. They played in the mud and splashed water everywhere. It was so cute. The second group of elephants was a little older. When they ran down the hill, one of the bigger ones ran up to right where me and a few other students were standing and trumpeted really loudly. She was so excited about getting her bottle. After the big boys and girls made their way back to Nairobi NP to browse the little black rhino came out to play…he was TINY! He reminded me of a puppy that had just gotten a bath and was excitedly running around dodging its owner with the towel. He was rolling around, jumping up and down, and running back and forth. At one time he ran at a dead sprint and covered me and the guy’s legs next to me with mud (the guy next to me was the worse off than me).
After the elephant orphanage we made our way over to the Giraffe Sanctuary. The Giraffe Sanctuary is home to about 5 or 6 Rothschilds giraffes. It was fun to feed and get kisses from them. When they kissed you it felt like sandpaper rubbing, or a kitty-cat licking, your face.
We ended the day at Kazuri bead factory. Kazuri employs lots of single moms to help them earn a living in order to support their families. The beads are beautiful! I honestly couldn’t believe that such beautiful beads had been molded and painted by hand.
March 26
Today we went to Nairobi NP where we had a lecture by the game warden before going on a game drive. The lecture was very interesting and very different from what we had been hearing. I like being able to hear the farmers’ side of the story and then being able to compare it to the side of KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service). On our game drive I saw a black-backed jackal for the first time. They look like small dogs. Other than that, we pretty much just saw the usual animals; however, elephants are not allowed in Nairobi NP because it is too small. Also the wildebeest population has drastically decreased to due human population expansion from Nairobi. It was weird not seeing oodles upon oodles of wildebeest.
March 27
This morning we had a really neat travelling lecture. I went to a live quarry which was pretty interesting. Apparently you can set a quarry anywhere you want, without government permission, as long as it’s on your land. That afternoon we went had community service at a local primary school right by the camp that one of the NPS askari’s, Abraham’s, kids goes to. It was really fun. We sang songs…this seems to be a pretty normal “welcome strangers” in Kenya. Afterwards we did the Hokey Pokey and played Duck Duck Goose, but we tweaked it a bit a played Twiga (giraffe) Twiga (giraffe) samba (lion). I had a great time! Then we walked back to camp and played a soccer for a little while. I love going up to the soccer field because you can see the Ngong Hills really well.
This morning we had a really neat travelling lecture. I went to a live quarry which was pretty interesting. Apparently you can set a quarry anywhere you want, without government permission, as long as it’s on your land. That afternoon we went had community service at a local primary school right by the camp that one of the NPS askari’s, Abraham’s, kids goes to. It was really fun. We sang songs…this seems to be a pretty normal “welcome strangers” in Kenya. Afterwards we did the Hokey Pokey and played Duck Duck Goose, but we tweaked it a bit a played Twiga (giraffe) Twiga (giraffe) samba (lion). I had a great time! Then we walked back to camp and played a soccer for a little while. I love going up to the soccer field because you can see the Ngong Hills really well.
March 28
Today all of our classes were cancelled so we had another NON-PROGRAM DAY!!!!!! I mean they would have been really cool because they were all visiting lectures, but I’m not one to complain when I get an extra day off. So (pause) we started off the morning going to Kitengala Glass. Kitengala glass is this really cool place that you would never expect to find in Kenya. I kind of has an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. Not only did they have a really funky set-up, but they had all sorts of different animals walking around (tortoises, guinea foul, Egyptian geese). I swear they had a pig that was 4xs the size of me. As you drive up there are all these really neat sculptures (giraffes, funny faces, wildebeest, cars, African continents, Kenya) that line the drive up to the front of the area. There was this really fun suspension bridge across this gorge that had really pretty glass beads on the sides. It was a really weird sensation as you walked across because it felt like you were standing still while everything around you was moving. After we got a “tour” of the area we got to do a little shopping. I picked up a few fun, funky-shaped glass beads in different colors. I was amazed that the price for 4 beads came to 80 shillings ($1). To finish the day they did a glass-blowing demonstration where they made a really pretty platter. As we were walking out all of these dogs and puppies came out of nowhere and started playing with us:)
Today all of our classes were cancelled so we had another NON-PROGRAM DAY!!!!!! I mean they would have been really cool because they were all visiting lectures, but I’m not one to complain when I get an extra day off. So (pause) we started off the morning going to Kitengala Glass. Kitengala glass is this really cool place that you would never expect to find in Kenya. I kind of has an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. Not only did they have a really funky set-up, but they had all sorts of different animals walking around (tortoises, guinea foul, Egyptian geese). I swear they had a pig that was 4xs the size of me. As you drive up there are all these really neat sculptures (giraffes, funny faces, wildebeest, cars, African continents, Kenya) that line the drive up to the front of the area. There was this really fun suspension bridge across this gorge that had really pretty glass beads on the sides. It was a really weird sensation as you walked across because it felt like you were standing still while everything around you was moving. After we got a “tour” of the area we got to do a little shopping. I picked up a few fun, funky-shaped glass beads in different colors. I was amazed that the price for 4 beads came to 80 shillings ($1). To finish the day they did a glass-blowing demonstration where they made a really pretty platter. As we were walking out all of these dogs and puppies came out of nowhere and started playing with us:)
To finish the night off on a good night we brought ourselves back to 5th grade and played multiple vigorous rounds of “Ghost in the Graveyard.” It was so much fun! So one person goes and hides and then everybody goes out to find them. The first person who spots the “ghost” shouts “Ghost in the graveyard” and everybody takes off running back to home base.
Hmm... blinding sap... Interesting defense technique by that tree. hahaha.
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