Pretty much the past week!

SO MANY UPDATES TO DO I’M SORRY.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

On this day we went out to a farm in the morning and sort of learned how to make terracing on hillsides, and why they are beneficial to the environment (they prevent run-off, and run-off is bad). Mostly though, we played limbo because our main tools were two poles attached by a string. So there’s that.

In the afternoon we went to the primary school down the street and played some games with the kids (they were supposed to be educational and maybe help them with their English), and then played fun games like Duck, Duck, Goose and Red Rover (which they call Land Rover… ha). Anyway, this was the day that I learned the term “mzungu” which literally, I think, means “foreigner” but really it means white person. The kids use it without reserve when referring to us.

Friday, July 27, 2012

This day we went to Manyara Ranch, which is a protected area near the national park, but people (I think only Maasai) are allowed to graze their cattle in the area. So, of course, it was our job to count cattle and wildlife and figure out their effects on each other. We saw lots and lots of cattle. And a few zebra. And some more cattle. All day long.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

So I was feeling pretty gross this morning (I’d been kind of up and down the past few days), so Molly (the student affairs manager) offered to take Katherine and I to the clinic (Katherine had a throat infection). First we went to part of a traveling lecture, which included looking through a community forest and visiting a curio shop and talking about how both can help wildlife in the area. But let’s be honest, visiting a clinic in Africa is more interesting.

So before the last stop (which was apparently about hunting and might have made me sad anyway), Molly, Katherine, and I split off from the group and drove to the clinic. Now, to keep everyone from panicking, the clinic is run by a guy from California named Dr. Frank and it’s really high tech and not in a shack. His story is actually really neat: For his 50^th birthday, the doctor and his wife came to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, during which he suffered altitude sickness and needed to be treated here. He realized how… not great the medical centers are here, and decided to start his own. And he totally did. The great thing is that he charges mzungu (mostly tourists) a little more for services and is then able to charge the locals (and SFS students, ha) a lot less (like, the equivalent of a couple US dollars). He even had a tour driver offer to poison all his tours so the center gets more money hahaha.

So anyway, talked to the doctor and did some tests and found out that I don’t have malaria but I did have a bacterial infection in my gut, so Dr. Frank gave me some antibiotics and also some anti-nausea meds and sent me on my way. The good news was that the antibiotics did their work by the end of the next day and food is delicious again. The bad news was that I took the anti-nausea pill at around 4:30 in the afternoon and slept until 8:00 Sunday morning. But I feel so much better now! (Katherine is all better too.)

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Today was a non-program day, and instead of doing the planned event, the Sick Couple and a few other people decided to sleep in and just hang around camp in the morning. Around noon we drove to the town of Mtu wa Mbu (literally: River of Mosquitoes. Mmm.) and ate lunch at this American-style pizza place that I might have mentioned before but I forget. Then we walked down the street to Masaai Market, which I think has less to do with the Maasai than with attracting tourists but that’s okay. We walked around there and looked in all the booths with the pushy salesmen; at one point Ashley had the most epic bargaining session with one of them and got him really close to the price she wanted on something. The other salesmen were trying to get the rest of our attentions but I was like “No, I haven’t watched TV in two weeks and this is very entertaining.” (On that note, I’m very sad that I’m missing the Olympics.)

I only bought one thing at the market, and it’s a set of salt and pepper shakers made out of cow bone that look kind of like giraffe feet/legs. They don’t sound that cute, but they are, I promise.

There are also these cute little skink-like lizards that live in the cracks of the concrete in the cities and I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to catch one. Just connecting back to the herpetology class I took at the beginning of the summer. :)

At the end of the trip, we stopped back at the curio shop we went to the previous day and did some real shopping. They sell certified Tanzanite there. Tanzanite is a semi-precious gemstone that is this really gorgeous dark blue/purple color and is only found in one small part of Tanzania, hence the name. The stone is not exactly ethically mined right now, but the owner of this store is honest about it and is one of the few who is genuinely working to get young boys out of the mines and convince them to go back to school, so he’s not the worst person to buy from. Anyway, I bought a ring with a teeny tiny (but good quality) stone and it’s so pretty and I love it. :D

Monday, July 30, 2012

So I woke up really tired, likely due to all the drugs working their way through my system (I took another dose of antibiotics, anti-nausea, and anti-giardia meds just in case before bed, plus the regular malaria prevention), and I was in a little bit of a daze all day.

In the morning, we went back into the rural areas of Rhotia to conduct interviews about how the people use the natural plant and animal life around them. It was… not so successful, because I’m not sure the people really understood what we wanted to know (keep in mind, these concepts had to go through the translator and back). I think it has to do with the fact that the idea of ownership is really important here (which makes conservation of “public” areas kind of confusing and hard for the locals… hence why we are here). Anyway, the fact that we didn’t get a lot of straight answers and that I was sleepy just didn’t make a productive morning.

In the afternoon, we had a guest lecturer come talk about lions and pride dynamics. Which was really interesting, but I was also really sleepy still. I pretty much went to bed right after dinner…

Today!

… because we went to NGORONGORO CRATER! Which is actually not a crater, but a caldera from a large volcano exploding a long time ago. I guess more people can picture the shape when you say “crater” though. Anyway.

WE SAW SO MANY ANIMALS IT WAS AMAZING. Once again, it’s not even close to good enough to just describe it, so you must wait for pictures but eeee.

We saw: zebra, elephant, wildebeest, gazelle, LIONS, HYENAS, AFRICAN CROWNED CRANES, kori bustards, ostriches, HIPPOS, many other birds, jackals, warthogs, and… a… CHEETAH. SHE SORT OF HUNTED/JUST KIND OF RAN BUT IT WAS SO COOL. AHH. Anyway. The crater is beautiful and amazing and I’m sad that we don’t get to go back. But someday I will have to, because it’s supposed to be one of the best places in East Africa to see Black Rhinos and we didn’t. But yes. So amazing.

Tomorrow is basically a work day for a project, and we’re also planting some tree saplings so I’ll probably wait another couple days to update again. Thanks for continuing to read, and I’m really excited to share pictures once I’m home!

Cheetah = Duma
Ostrich = Mbuni

Hi all,

Just checking in to let everyone know I’m still alive, but I have had a minor bacterial infection in my gut and the anti-nausea meds knocked me flat so I’ve been sleeping during most of my free time the last couple days. (Plus they haven’t been that interesting anyway.) I’m almost back to feeling 100% now, and tomorrow we’re going to Ngorongoro Crater National Park, which is half the reason I wanted to come to Africa, so look forward to an exciting update after that!

Two more small things

Yesterday I learned from one of the Session I students (Ashley) about the "Small Five" animals. This is in relation to the Big Five which are the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, and elephant. Previously they were popular because they were the most dangerous/rewarding to hunt, but now they're popular because of the tourism value. Which is good. Anyway, the Small Five are ant lion, leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver, rhinoceros beetle, and elephant shrew. I got a real kick out of that. :)

Another interesting thing I realized the other day was the almost complete lack of dairy products here. I talked to one of the teachers (who is from Kenya) and he told me that milk is used in cooking but not really drank, yogurt is more for the upper class, and cheese is basically not a thing. I miss milk.

The past 4 days!

I have a few exciting days to update about!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

On this day, I climbed a mountain. A small one. This was our first non-program day, which is basically a day to relax or go on a non-academic trip. We headed out to the slightly big town of Karatu after sleeping in all the way until 7:30. We drove uphill past coffee plantations and arrived at the entrance to our hike. They gave us walking sticks, which turned out to be very helpful since the ground was really sandy and slippery in places. We hiked the trail, which ranged from flat to pretty much climbing, admiring the elephant poo along the way. I’m not really sure how the elephants manage to walk these slopes, but I guess they manage somehow. I know the forest we were in wasn’t a rainforest, but if you want to imagine the look of a rainforest, minus most of the water, that’s kind of what it looked like.

We passed a very pretty little waterfall, and soon arrived at the caves. Again, I’m not sure how the elephants (and buffalo, and other large herbivores) manage to get up the very steep, very slippery hill, but somehow they do. At the top is this giant mass of orange-ish clay, with the “caves” set into them, intermingled with other colors that are actually minerals; black is phosphorus, brown is iron, white is calcium. The animals come to lick/eat small amounts of the clay in March and April to supplement their diets. The coolest thing about the clay was the hundreds of smooth grooves dug into them: elephant tucks. It was pretty awesome. On our way back to the start, we stopped at the top of the previous waterfall for another great view of the forest. I’m so sorry you have to wait for pictures.

After the elephant caves, we headed into Karatu to do some exploring/shopping. It’s still a little weird to be such a stark minority… people stared. But we had one pair of kids, trying to sell us (me and Katherine) bracelets, ask us where we were from. The conversation went like this:

Them: Where are you from?
Us: America.
Them: Ohh, ObamaLand! Which do you come from: New York or California?
Us: [laughing] Neither, Ohio/West Virigina.
Them: Oh. [Not sure they knew what those were.]

And then they started speaking to us in Spanish. Weird.

I didn’t buy anything in Karatu, but we did go to an SFS-approved restaurant called Happy Days, which serves semi-American style food and plays American Top 40 music. It was cute. Katherine and I shared a small pizza (even though I ate pretty much the whole thing) and hung out with some of the Session I kids. They’re so comfortable with each other after almost 6 weeks together, so they’re pretty funny.

We then headed back to camp and more-or-less called it a day.

Monday, July 23, 2012

On this day, we went into some neighborhoods around Rhotia (the village we’re closest to) and interviewed residents about their land use and their feelings about wild animals and plants and the climate. Pretty much everyone said they’ve had a decrease in production due to less rainfall in the past five years. Not saying it’s climate change but… maybe. They also have a lot of problems with elephants coming in and eating their crops, so they scare them off with fire or loud noises, or they call the game rangers to shoot into the sky and scare them off. They aren’t allowed to kill the elephants, which is good, but I think they wish they could. :(

The rest of the day we had class about bushmeat and why it’s really terrible.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

On this day, I wrote a 5 page research paper about 2 days of data. It was weird and fast and I didn’t love it. But I think they end product was pretty good.

TODAY!

Today we went to Tarangire National Park, and it looks like Africa in the movies. Grasslands with acacia and baobab trees everywhere! And SO MANY ANIMALS. Here is what we say: Lots and lots of elephants, zebra, wildebeest, Cape buffalo, dik-dik, many birds!, GIRAFFE UP CLOSE IT WAS AMAZING, ostrich!!, warthog, LIONS (girls only, and they were sleeping in the shade), and lots of baby animals! It was wonderful. I’ve decided that I need to come back to Africa on my own time someday and just go birding. Pictures you should look up: Lilac-breasted roller and superb starling. Very pretty birds, and there are so many more. Anyway, this is another one of those days I just can’t describe without pictures I’M SORRY.

I did buy another souvenir at the park/Safari Lodge today: I got a tiny baobab tree made out of banana leaves. :)

Tomorrow we are doing a field exercise about soil (woo) and then going to the primary school in Rhotia to play “educational” games with the kids. Should be fun!

Elephant = Tembo

Baobab fruit = Mbuyu 

On Safari at Lake Manyara National Park

After my many trips through The Wilds and at Animal Kingdom in Disney World, I didn’t immediately appreciate that I was on a legitimate African safari yesterday. (To the credit of the other places, they really did a pretty good job of recreating it.) But once I finally realized what was happening… well, it was amazing. It’s actually really hard to describe. So I’ll just tell you what I saw.

Lots and lots and lots of baboons. LOTS. Lots and lots of vervet and Sike’s monkeys. Zebra (lots). Wildebeest (lots). GIRAFFES, but only from afar. A few warthogs (one with only 3 legs…), impala, gazelle, hippos, LOTS of birds (but not everyone cares; I do, of course), a dik-dik, and ELEPHANTS. There were elephants within just a few feet of our trucks. It was amazing.

I’m honestly not really sure how to write about the time in the park, especially without pictures… It’s just so much better to see it. Sorry. :(

Anyway, we weren’t just going out for fun; we had to take notes on animal counts, species associations (if two or more species are hanging out together), and habitat. Which, apparently, we are going to use to write a research paper that’s due on Tuesday. AHH. I remember having like, 6 months to work on research papers, ahhhh it might be stressful.

So today after the safari we visited an orphanage that SFS has been supporting for a while, and we basically just played with the kids. Let me reiterate how much these African children love cameras. They made me fret over mine so much: there was a certain pair of boys who would take it, and as soon as I looked away, they’d be on the other side of the yard taking pictures. The camera is fine, and they actually got some pretty interesting pictures. But anyway, we painted their rooms with animals and flowers and stuff, I’m filthy because we played/drew pictures in the sand, and it was really fun. :)

I guess the only other thing to mention right now is that I already have souvenirs! I bought a bracelet with the colors of the Tanzanian flag… Actually, I asked one of the African students about their flag today, and what the colors mean: green for the plants, yellow of the minerals, black for the people, and blue for the water. Simple enough. And I also bought a painting of giraffes at the orphanage, and a sticker that says “I <3 Giraffes.” Hee.

Safari = Journey

Two things.

So I have two things to mention; one I forgot from yesterday and something I found out about this morning.

Yesterday, after our group was done looking at poop and were waiting by the trucks for the other groups, some Maasai children (boys, probably none older than 12 and most around probably around 7 and some maybe only 5) came over to investigate us.  First of all, they are adorable. If you Google pictures of Maasai (or Maasai warrors, which I'm pretty sure they're not, they herd cattle), they kids just looked like miniature versions of the adults.

So at first they were kind of shy, but once they warmed up to us, we started taking their pictures. And they loved it. One of the staff told us how kids here love digital cameras because they can see their picture right away, and it's very true. We took a group picture with most of the kids, and then I showed a few of them the picture. They were laughing and pointing at the screen, so I asked one of the African students what they were saying, and apparently they were saying "I'm here!" So I asked them to find me, and they totally did. It was so so cute.

And then, a couple of the bulls started fighting off in the distance, and these kids, these like 4-foot-and-change tall kids, go sprinting toward these 600-pound fighting animals, and actually get them to stop fighting. It was then I realized that I know nothing about bravery haha.

The second item of interest begins last night, when we thought we heard the dogs in the nearby houses going nuts, and I jokingly asked if there we lions around. No, just hyenas. This morning, we were told that's what the barking was. Yikes.

Today, I probably stepped in wildebeest poop. But I’ll return to that in a minute.

We have started our official classes now, the lectures of which take place in the morning. We’ve had two classes each morning, with sometimes a pretty lengthy break in between. So far we’ve learned about vegetation sampling, wildlife management, interviewing skills (a very basic intro), and wildlife interpretation.

After lunch, we head into the field for some exercises, which so far are completely amazing. Even though the first one was about grass and the second one was about poop.

So, class is basically sitting and taking notes, and I’m sure everyone wants to hear about the field stuff anyway. Both days we went to an area outside of Manyara Lake National Park. One the first day, we walked transect lines and looked at the main grass species on the grassland (there were mostly two, and rarely a third). But more importantly, we saw wildebeest and zebra and gazelle!! Wildebeest are HUGE though. Way bigger than the cows here, and probably a little bigger than “American” cows. The area were visited is a place where the Maasai graze their cattle, so that’s how I could make the comparison. The cows here are nice too, they have more colors than we do (grey and black and white and brown and tan and spotted and speckled and all combinations of the above).

We walked (maybe a kilometer? more?) from our spot in the grassland to Lake Manyara, which had lots of lesser flamingos and smelled like bird poop. It’s a very big lake though, and it’s salt water so the animals can’t actually drink it but I guess it helps the grasses grow or something.

Fun Fact: I LOVE being able to use the metric system here.

Anyway, we didn't get very close to the animals that day, but it’s a start. Today we went back to basically the same area, but started out at the lake and walked away. We learned to identify the poo of cattle, wildebeest, zebra/donkey (they look almost exactly alike), the two types of gazelle, giraffe (yay!), and goat. Then we walked three kilometers with a Maasai guide, who helped us identify the dung (that was the technical word). It was really interesting because my group’s guide didn't speak a word of English (although he picked up “cow” and “goat”) so we learned the Maasai words for the animals, and pretty much relied out gestures and our extremely limited Swahili to get by. He was able to identify a lot more than poop, too; he showed us the prints of cattle, zebra, and wildebeest in the dried riverbed (there was no water other than the lake, so I’m actually not sure where the animals drink) and even found the smallest little bird’s nest. He saw the tiny bird fly off, and about two seconds later he found the nest on the ground, which was made out of feather and three tiny little eggs in it. It was amazing. (By the way, pictures will be uploaded after I get home and put into their respective posts, also forcing you to read all the entries again.) He also identified bones of a baby cow and of a gazelle.

On our way home, we stopped at a market that apparently only happens every once in a while. Markets and villages have been really interesting so far, but it’s definitely odd to stand out so much and it’s… well, frustrating to want to look at something (especially jewelry) and then be expected to buy it, and then be harassed if you don’t. I supposed it’s something to expect and just get over. We’re going to be prepped soon for our visit to the larger village this Sunday on our non-program day.

In other news, the food here is wonderful and I haven’t had any… gastrointestinal distress that we were warned about. I've been sleeping really well, mostly because I’ve been pleasantly exhausted, and all the people here (students, staff, and teachers) are so friendly and outgoing (my kind of people). I've become particularly good friends with a girl named Katherine from West Virginia… she and I tend to always wander off on our own (like how we are sitting in the locked library by ourselves after finding a way in), or eat together, or ride in the trucks together, or laugh so hard that it hurts (“They shouldn't let us outside.” –Katherine). She’s awesome. :)

Tomorrow we go to our first national park (Lake Manyara, but actually in the boundaries this time) and I’ve been told it’s very likely we’ll see giraffes and so I’m mentally preparing myself to not FREAK OUT. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Ndege (n-day-gey) = Bird
Ndizi (n-dee-zee) = Banana
*Pretty much the only words, other than greetings and such, that we know really, really well.

I'm Here!

Jambo from Moyo Hill!


Yes, I’ve arrived safely in Tanzania after two solid days of airports and plane flights. The camp and weather are beautiful, and the people are wonderful. However, most of us are suffering from serious jetlag and simple exhaustion, so we haven’t done much. So first, I’ll tell you about my fast 11 hours in London, England, the first place I’ve ever been outside of the United States.

We landed in London at 9:00AM after a six hour flight from New York City (and running on about two hours of sleep). Fun Fact: Biggest plane I’ve ever been on. We exchanged our money for Muggle money (or British pounds) and put our carry-on baggage in a storage area before heading downtown via the Underground (or as they call it, the Tube).

We got off the train at King’s Cross and went upstairs, the reason for which is obvious if you know anything about me. (A quick note: pictures are going to be very limited here because of the general internet slowness. Therefore, please visualize me at Platform 9 ¾ pretending to push a trolley through the wall.)

We then left the station (London looks just like you’d imagine; everything is kind of old and cute and British) and walked around, ate lunch at a natural-food restaurant that I had never heard of, but apparently has a location in NYC as well, and stopped at the British Museum. The museum has rooms upon rooms of artifacts from multiple ancient time periods, but I was particularly excited about seeing the Rosetta Stone.

We quickly made our way toward the Thames to see Big Ben and Parliament, and the London Eye through some trees. By the way, “we” is referring to myself and my three new friends, Katherine, Anna, and Frances; all very nice girls in the program. Then we had to get back on the Tube and head back to the airport to check-in for our eight hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya.

After a (relatively) short layover in Kenya, we boarded our last flight for a month. (Fun Fact: smallest plane I’ve ever been on. Propellers.) We landed in Tanzania, got our visa, got our luggage (all of mine safe and accounted for), and headed into Arusha for some quick something and quicker acclimation to the culture.

In Arusha, between getting harassed into buying “touristy” things, we ate dinner. The most noteworthy thing about the city are the seemingly lawless roads. Our drivers are amazing, but it’s still unnerving to watch as cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, carts, people, children, and dogs all move quickly and in nearly all directions on the roads. There are very few signs and no street lights. And I thought driving on campus was bad.

We then drove to Moyo Hill, our campus, and settled in. The meals have been very good and not too
“exotic” yet, although I assume (and hope) we’ll get to try more new things as time goes by. Today was orientation, where we talked more about the culture and academics, and did a small walk around the camp and by the small village of Rhotia. The weather, as I mentioned earlier, is great. The morning was cloudy and pretty cool (low 50’s). In the middle of the day, the sun was very hot but the breeze was always really cool. Right now (about 5:30PM) it is probably in the upper 60’s and sunny. It’s also very dry and dusty.

We are living in little buildings called bandas. They have two bunk beds, some built-in desks, and a bathroom. The bathroom is interesting due to the fact that the shower is just a shower head poking out of the wall. It's like a whole room-shower. Interesting. My banda is Tembo, or elephant! The others are Simba, Chui, Kifaru, and Nyati (or lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo).

Oh I forgot to mention, we have four African students in the class, a first for the program; two from Tanzania and two from Kenya. These boys are very nice, and very patient in trying to teach us some Swahili (with some success, actually). The problem is that we learn a word, then discuss it in English, and then forget the word and have to ask what it is again. Like I said, they're patient.

I think that’s the main news for now; the real action starts tomorrow. :)

Jambo = Hello/What’s up?
Moyo = Heart

Fun fact: In the next four days, I will have quadrupled the number of countries to which I've visited. That is, I've never been outside of the United State (although I've been close enough to accidentally use a Canadian cell phone tower). Sunday I will be in London, England, and Monday I will be in Kenya and Tanzania. Yikes.

As far as packing goes, I can say it was a relative success. Extraordinarily stressful (which is probably because my stress level was already extra high from the craziest week of work ever beforehand, and stress expressed in the above Fun Fact) but successful.

I managed to get everything into one large piece of luggage, a carry on, and a backpack. Many of the classmates I've been talking with on Facebook are using at least two full-sized bags, so of course I feel a little superior. That being said, THANKS MOM for helping get everything to fit!

Of course, I forgot to take the first "Before" picture of everything spread out across my bed (but it was), so here are some intermediate before and after pictures.

The backpack that will joining me in London, as well as on all the planes. It's full of the fun stuff! (There's already a pillow in there.) Fun Fact: That gray... Wait, since I'm going to London and I allowed to spell it grey? I used to get in trouble in English class for that. I like their spelling better for that word. Anyway. Fun Fact: That grey fabric on top of the backpack? Underwear with zippered pockets. Awww yeah.

All my clothes, a towel, and we added the sheets once we noticed them on the other side of the room. And my awesome hat! As you'll see in the following pictures, vacuum bags are AMAZING.

The goal. Already in there in my sleeping pad and a ream of printer paper (the absolute worst things to pack), plus some random items.

My carry on bag, which I forgot to photograph un-packed. In there in a towel, a change of clothes (As a matter of fact, I think you can see some more of my underwear in this picture. Wonderful.), my textbooks, my laptop and charger, a sleeping bag (in a vacuum bag), and some other small stuff.

It fits! We stuffed all the little open spaces with the rest of the little stuff to the left. It's 45 pounds. But I can lift it long enough to get it into a truck, which I think is the worst I'll have to do with it.

I'm going to try to update again in New York City on Saturday, and hopefully from London (with pictures!) on Sunday. After that, it may be a few days but I'll be in AFRICA YAY.

In closing, I hope Africa makes me feel like this movie/show/soundtrack always has; it's probably the first thing that ever made me consider Africa and therefore the reason I am going.

I leave in five days??

FIVE DAYS?!

Pictures of my adventures in packing soon!