Tomorrow we leave for expedition number two. This time we will be camping in Serengeti National Park for four nights. The group who went to Serengeti during the first half of the semester told us a lot of great things about the trip. We are getting close to the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle through Serengeti, so our stay should be pretty cool. Around one million wildebeest migrate each year. The other group said they would see dark hills in the distance, only to realize that were actually looking at thousands of wildebeest moving together.
One day of expedition will be spent visiting Ngorongoro Crater. The Crater is the remains of a volcano that erupted and then collapsed in on itself about two or three million years ago. When looking down into it it looks like a giant bowl. Its so big that it has couple lakes inside, and is a home to hundreds of wild animals. All the Tanzania students said it was their favorite part of their stay here, so it should be pretty cool.
So we leave early tomorrow morning, and we will return on Sunday. I'll have plenty of pictures and updates when I return.
I don't have much other new news. Everything in Tanz is still really great. I like the professors a lot. Our wildlife ecology professor is a woman from Oklahoma. She is a primatologist, which I was very excited to hear! She has been in and out of Africa working in different countries for years now. For a while she worked with Jane Goodall studying chimps!! Jane Goodall is pretty famous for her chimp work, so I thought it was really cool when she told us about that. Her name is Dr. Wallis and I'm hoping to do my Directed Research project with her next month. Her DR is on baboons, and because monkeys have always been my favorite I realllly really hope I will get to work on that project with her. It would be really cool to spend a month in Africa researching baboons. Once the research is complete we will write up a paper about our findings. Its always possible that the SFS papers could be published, so that would be extra exciting.
I'll write again next sunday or monday to let everyone know about the trip! Hope all is well at home/abroad. TTYS.
xoxo
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The last Kenya pictures with a couple from Tanz.
Two male Thomson's gazelle. Kenya.
Really cool action shot that I can't take credit for unfortunately. Kenya.
Juvenile lion in Tsavo National Park that Olivia took a picture of. Kenya.Chelsea Gover you may need to take a deep breath before you look at this next picture...
We have a pet kitten in Tanzania. The Tanzanian students found her about a week before they left for Kenya. Now we take care of her. She is so tiny and sweet. She fit inside my palm easily.
Olympics day in Kenya before we left. Kenya.
This is the view from the observation point a few minutes away from our campsite in Tanzania. Its a little lower on the hill then camp is. You can see Lake Manyara in the distance.Saturday, March 20, 2010
Tanzania!
So I made it to Tanzania! Yesterday we left camp around 8am, and drove from our Kenya camp site all the way here. We crossed the boarder around 11am, after waiting for paperwork to be filled out for a little while. After crossing we didn't stop again until 4pm, but when we did stop it was a great, great place to be. We saw our first grocery store in a month and a half, and a couple of really nice sandwhich and chocolate shops. Being in Africa, this was a very big deal. We all had a blast walking through the grocery store buying snacks. It was very exciting. I also had an amazing sandwich and cold juice box. Delicious. I really can't wait for real food once I'm home again! But yesterday was a very nice break from the usual food here, and everyone really enjoyed it.
After our eating stop we continued on for about another two hours to get to camp. By the time we got here it was almost 8, so it was pretty dark. Our camp is up on a hill, so we were all looking forward to getting up this morning to see the view. The entire drive was pretty long, but it didn't feel long at all. We slept a lot, and when we were awake the scenery was amazing. Tanzania is SO different from Kenya. I wasn't expecting it to be such a change. The towns we drove through were much more developed, and we saw a bunch of real builidings, resorts, and big houses. We are in tourist country here which is why everything is so nice. In Kenya, all the stores were made of metal and wood scraps, but here they are actually pretty nice. The landscape is much different too. While we were driving through towns it looked very tropical. There are a lot of palm trees and giant flowers everywhere. Its soo so cool. I love it. Our camp feels like a tropical resort. Our chumba here is completely open with only a roof made out of hay. We don't have cabins anymore though. Instead we have tents. Olivia and I are together in a tent. When we got here we just stood in front of the tent with our jaws dropped because it is SO small, and we never thought we would fit everything in, but after 'unpacking' we figured out how to make it work out. 'Unpacking' really only consisted of finding a good place for our suitcases and putting the important things on top, because we have no drawers or shelves or anything! We thought it was going to be terrible, but its actually fine. We have a small hay roof over our tent as well so we don't have to worry about rain. Our tent is just big enough for both of our beds with our suitcases at the end of our beds, and about three feet of space in between us. It's cozy. Three of the four sides are almost completely screened, so its like sleeping outside. The breeze is so nice and waking up this morning was amazingggg. I love it.
Today we just had a site tour and talked about basic orientation stuff. We went into town after lunch to exchange money for Tanzanian currency. One US Dollar is equal to about 1300 Tanzania Shillings. Today at a store in town I got two juice boxes and two candy bars for 3000 shillings, so that tells you how inexpensive everything really is. On the way back to camp we stopped at an observation point on the hill about five minutes from camp. We could see out very far, and there is a huge lake. Its so pretty. I took a bunch of pictures, and I will put one of the view up when I load them on here.
I loved Kenya, but I think I like Tanzania a little more already. We have no view of Kili from here unfortunately because we are in so many hills, but everything here is really beautiful. I love the palm trees and flowers, and there are less thorns on the ground and less dirt everywhere. Its really nice.
Before we left Kenya yesterday we did have a Tanzania vs. Kenya olympics on Thursday. It was a lot of fun, but it got a litttttle over competetive at times. I played volleyball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee, and did a relay race while carrying a cup of tea. It was like field day or something back in middle school....but it was fun. In the end we never even figured out who the winners were, although I think it might have been them. But it was definitely close. The last night in Kenya was sad, but after sharing camp with strangers for two nights we were ready to go and get to Tanz. And now that we are here, we love it! Also, after meeting the other group of kids I love my group even more. Everyone in my group gets along and are friends. We really don't have any cliques or weird relationships at all. The other group was very high schoolish and you could see the segregated groups. There is not one person here that I wouldn't feel comfortable hanging out with, and I think that is a lot of why this trip has been so great!
So I have't done much here in Tanz yet, so I don't have much to say, but I really love it! The pictures should be up soon! I'll let everyone know how its going again soon. Hope all's well at home! TTYS!
After our eating stop we continued on for about another two hours to get to camp. By the time we got here it was almost 8, so it was pretty dark. Our camp is up on a hill, so we were all looking forward to getting up this morning to see the view. The entire drive was pretty long, but it didn't feel long at all. We slept a lot, and when we were awake the scenery was amazing. Tanzania is SO different from Kenya. I wasn't expecting it to be such a change. The towns we drove through were much more developed, and we saw a bunch of real builidings, resorts, and big houses. We are in tourist country here which is why everything is so nice. In Kenya, all the stores were made of metal and wood scraps, but here they are actually pretty nice. The landscape is much different too. While we were driving through towns it looked very tropical. There are a lot of palm trees and giant flowers everywhere. Its soo so cool. I love it. Our camp feels like a tropical resort. Our chumba here is completely open with only a roof made out of hay. We don't have cabins anymore though. Instead we have tents. Olivia and I are together in a tent. When we got here we just stood in front of the tent with our jaws dropped because it is SO small, and we never thought we would fit everything in, but after 'unpacking' we figured out how to make it work out. 'Unpacking' really only consisted of finding a good place for our suitcases and putting the important things on top, because we have no drawers or shelves or anything! We thought it was going to be terrible, but its actually fine. We have a small hay roof over our tent as well so we don't have to worry about rain. Our tent is just big enough for both of our beds with our suitcases at the end of our beds, and about three feet of space in between us. It's cozy. Three of the four sides are almost completely screened, so its like sleeping outside. The breeze is so nice and waking up this morning was amazingggg. I love it.
Today we just had a site tour and talked about basic orientation stuff. We went into town after lunch to exchange money for Tanzanian currency. One US Dollar is equal to about 1300 Tanzania Shillings. Today at a store in town I got two juice boxes and two candy bars for 3000 shillings, so that tells you how inexpensive everything really is. On the way back to camp we stopped at an observation point on the hill about five minutes from camp. We could see out very far, and there is a huge lake. Its so pretty. I took a bunch of pictures, and I will put one of the view up when I load them on here.
I loved Kenya, but I think I like Tanzania a little more already. We have no view of Kili from here unfortunately because we are in so many hills, but everything here is really beautiful. I love the palm trees and flowers, and there are less thorns on the ground and less dirt everywhere. Its really nice.
Before we left Kenya yesterday we did have a Tanzania vs. Kenya olympics on Thursday. It was a lot of fun, but it got a litttttle over competetive at times. I played volleyball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee, and did a relay race while carrying a cup of tea. It was like field day or something back in middle school....but it was fun. In the end we never even figured out who the winners were, although I think it might have been them. But it was definitely close. The last night in Kenya was sad, but after sharing camp with strangers for two nights we were ready to go and get to Tanz. And now that we are here, we love it! Also, after meeting the other group of kids I love my group even more. Everyone in my group gets along and are friends. We really don't have any cliques or weird relationships at all. The other group was very high schoolish and you could see the segregated groups. There is not one person here that I wouldn't feel comfortable hanging out with, and I think that is a lot of why this trip has been so great!
So I have't done much here in Tanz yet, so I don't have much to say, but I really love it! The pictures should be up soon! I'll let everyone know how its going again soon. Hope all's well at home! TTYS!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
March 18th
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! Love you : )
So tomorrow I'm off to Tanzania. I've heard a lot of great things about the camp there. I'll try to let everyone know about it in the next couple days once I'm there. Hope all is well at home! TTYS!
So tomorrow I'm off to Tanzania. I've heard a lot of great things about the camp there. I'll try to let everyone know about it in the next couple days once I'm there. Hope all is well at home! TTYS!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Tsavo Continued
Sorry about the sloppiness of my last post! I was in a bit of a rush. So more about the camping trip...
We left Saturday the 6th, early in the morning for Tsavo. The first place we stopped in the park once we got there was at a section of the "Shetani Lava Flows". We walked around on sharp, dark black rocks that were made from solidified lava. The lava flows are considered young because the eruption was only around one hundred years ago. The rocks looked really cool because random trees and bushes were growing out of the black rocks. The bright green on top of the black landscape was really pretty. The rocks were also very strange because they sounded like glass if you stepped on the them or dropped them on the ground.
Our next stop was at Mzima Springs. We had to fight off monkeys to eat our food in peace, but I obviously had a field day with that. They were so cute. We didn't feed them because people really are not supposed to do that. They were fun to watch though. After we ate we walked along the river and saw some hippos and crocadiles. They were all huge. It was pretty intimidating. The springs were a nice environment change, and I was pretty excited about the crocs! From Mzima Springs we drove the rest of the way to camp and set everything up before dinner. I shared a tent with three girls, Chelsea, Amanda and Jordan. The girls all had huge four person tents, and the boys had tiny three person tents. It was very funny seeing them all set up next to each other. The boys didn't look too thrilled, to say the least.
Night one was the night of the huge thunderstorm I wrote in the post below this one. In the morning we left for the Chyulu hills around 7:30. The drive was basically a mini rollercoaster ride, because it was a lot of serious off roading to get to the hills. The last picture two posts below is of the hills. They were gorgeous. On the way home from Chyulu we stopped in town before we returned to camp and everyone got to buy some candy and food and ice cream. I bought a chapati, which is basically like a thick, warm tortilla, and are my favvvvorite things to eat here. They are delicious, and Aurther is going to teach me how to make them before I leave Kenya : )
Night two was again rainy but with a smaller thunderstorm. We were not as flooded as the first time, but still got pretty wet. The second full day started with a class from 7:30-9:00. In the afternoon we had a guest lecture talk to us about the park, and later on we had group presentations about what we have learned in all of our classes so far about the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem. It was basically an academic day.
Day three we woke up and had a game drive from 7:00-12:00. We were separated into groups and given different regions of the park to drive through, and every group recorded the animals they saw and what kinds of habitats they were in. Later on we completed a lab based on all the data collected which examined habitat preference for specific animal species. The afternoon of the count we hiked up another big hill in the park and had lunch up there. It was again very scenic and so pretty. The rest of the afternoon was spent out on game drive. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, and I slept verrry well that night.
On day four we went to a Rhinoceros sanctuary. The sanctuary is a fenced off area of Tsavo that monitors and protects Black Rhinos because they are so highly endangered. The sanctuary covers about 90 square kilometers, and provides a home for 65-70 Black Rhinos. While at the sactuary we didnt see any of them, but later on we went to a lodge that had a great observation deck. We saw three of the rhinos with binoculars. What made the sightings even better was that we were poolside and enjoying a couple drinks each. It was a relaxing, and greatly appreciated afternoon : ) We have only had the chance to spend time at different lodges to eat and relax a couple times, so whenever we get to go it is a lot of fun. After the lodge we headed back to camp for our fifth and last night.
When we woke up on Thursday we had breakfast and packed up. We were on the way back to KBC by 8:30. We got back around 12, and after lunch we finished up the volleyball tourney that has been playing out for the past couple weeks. The only game left was the final. My team was one of the two finalists, and we won 2 games to 1, so we are the new KBC volleyball champions. The tourney was a lot of fun, but it was mostly just to practice for the olympics that will be here next week....
Next thursday, all of the students who are in Tanzania now will be here in Kenya for the day with us. We are holding a Kenya vs. Tanzania olympics. At the moment I am signed up for volleyball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee. Some of the other events include a watermelon seed spitting contest, a mosquito net tucking contest, a spear throwing contest, and a bunch of others. I'm really looking forward it. We ordered jerseys and everything, so its going to be pretty serious!! After the olympics on thursday our time in Kenya is up!! On friday we travel down to Tanzania for the rest of the semester. I can't believe it's already time to swap. I'm sad to leave Kenya, but I'm excited to get to Tanzania, and I'm glad I get to stay with all the friends I have here. Everyone has gotten so close, and the entire group gets along.
So the next few days I will need to study a good amount, but hopefully I have an update again before the trip to Tanzania. If not, I'll let everyone know how it is once I get there! TTYS! Hope all is well at home : )
xoxo,
Jen
We left Saturday the 6th, early in the morning for Tsavo. The first place we stopped in the park once we got there was at a section of the "Shetani Lava Flows". We walked around on sharp, dark black rocks that were made from solidified lava. The lava flows are considered young because the eruption was only around one hundred years ago. The rocks looked really cool because random trees and bushes were growing out of the black rocks. The bright green on top of the black landscape was really pretty. The rocks were also very strange because they sounded like glass if you stepped on the them or dropped them on the ground.
Our next stop was at Mzima Springs. We had to fight off monkeys to eat our food in peace, but I obviously had a field day with that. They were so cute. We didn't feed them because people really are not supposed to do that. They were fun to watch though. After we ate we walked along the river and saw some hippos and crocadiles. They were all huge. It was pretty intimidating. The springs were a nice environment change, and I was pretty excited about the crocs! From Mzima Springs we drove the rest of the way to camp and set everything up before dinner. I shared a tent with three girls, Chelsea, Amanda and Jordan. The girls all had huge four person tents, and the boys had tiny three person tents. It was very funny seeing them all set up next to each other. The boys didn't look too thrilled, to say the least.
Night one was the night of the huge thunderstorm I wrote in the post below this one. In the morning we left for the Chyulu hills around 7:30. The drive was basically a mini rollercoaster ride, because it was a lot of serious off roading to get to the hills. The last picture two posts below is of the hills. They were gorgeous. On the way home from Chyulu we stopped in town before we returned to camp and everyone got to buy some candy and food and ice cream. I bought a chapati, which is basically like a thick, warm tortilla, and are my favvvvorite things to eat here. They are delicious, and Aurther is going to teach me how to make them before I leave Kenya : )
Night two was again rainy but with a smaller thunderstorm. We were not as flooded as the first time, but still got pretty wet. The second full day started with a class from 7:30-9:00. In the afternoon we had a guest lecture talk to us about the park, and later on we had group presentations about what we have learned in all of our classes so far about the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem. It was basically an academic day.
Day three we woke up and had a game drive from 7:00-12:00. We were separated into groups and given different regions of the park to drive through, and every group recorded the animals they saw and what kinds of habitats they were in. Later on we completed a lab based on all the data collected which examined habitat preference for specific animal species. The afternoon of the count we hiked up another big hill in the park and had lunch up there. It was again very scenic and so pretty. The rest of the afternoon was spent out on game drive. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, and I slept verrry well that night.
On day four we went to a Rhinoceros sanctuary. The sanctuary is a fenced off area of Tsavo that monitors and protects Black Rhinos because they are so highly endangered. The sanctuary covers about 90 square kilometers, and provides a home for 65-70 Black Rhinos. While at the sactuary we didnt see any of them, but later on we went to a lodge that had a great observation deck. We saw three of the rhinos with binoculars. What made the sightings even better was that we were poolside and enjoying a couple drinks each. It was a relaxing, and greatly appreciated afternoon : ) We have only had the chance to spend time at different lodges to eat and relax a couple times, so whenever we get to go it is a lot of fun. After the lodge we headed back to camp for our fifth and last night.
When we woke up on Thursday we had breakfast and packed up. We were on the way back to KBC by 8:30. We got back around 12, and after lunch we finished up the volleyball tourney that has been playing out for the past couple weeks. The only game left was the final. My team was one of the two finalists, and we won 2 games to 1, so we are the new KBC volleyball champions. The tourney was a lot of fun, but it was mostly just to practice for the olympics that will be here next week....
Next thursday, all of the students who are in Tanzania now will be here in Kenya for the day with us. We are holding a Kenya vs. Tanzania olympics. At the moment I am signed up for volleyball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee. Some of the other events include a watermelon seed spitting contest, a mosquito net tucking contest, a spear throwing contest, and a bunch of others. I'm really looking forward it. We ordered jerseys and everything, so its going to be pretty serious!! After the olympics on thursday our time in Kenya is up!! On friday we travel down to Tanzania for the rest of the semester. I can't believe it's already time to swap. I'm sad to leave Kenya, but I'm excited to get to Tanzania, and I'm glad I get to stay with all the friends I have here. Everyone has gotten so close, and the entire group gets along.
So the next few days I will need to study a good amount, but hopefully I have an update again before the trip to Tanzania. If not, I'll let everyone know how it is once I get there! TTYS! Hope all is well at home : )
xoxo,
Jen
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tsavo Expedition
So I survived the five nights at Tsavo National Park. The expedition was very, very fun, but it was also definitely a challenge at times. We left early on Saturday morning and the drive was only about two and half hours long, but we took a few stops on the way, so we got to camp in the afternoon. We set up camp and all of our tents and once we were all settled we went for a game drive. The park was very different from Amboseli, and the parts we drove through the first day had dense vegetation, so we didn't see many animals where we were. We only had time to drive around for a couple hours, and then we went back to camp for dinner. The cook, Aurther, can do some crazy/unbelievable/amazing things in the kitchen, and made really great food during the trip. They brought a portable gas stove to cook with, but one night we had a birthday, and he figured out how to make a cake by steaming it since there was no oven. It was really cool, and impressive. After dinner every night we had a camp fire and we would all get to relax and hang out which was also pretty fun. The first night we saw a GIANT scorpion. There is a picture of it in the post below this one. It was scary. Luckily no one got stung or anything; he was just spotted on camp. The first night we also had a leopard in camp! The guards saw him before he got past the perimeter of camp, and they didn't tell any of us because they didn't want us to spook him, but they told us the next day, and it was pretty cool/kinda scary to hear about. But our guards were out every night all night so we all felt safe.
The first night we also had a thunderstorm. And when I say thunderstorm, I mean torrential, violent rain, and thunder that sounded like snapping static electricity instead of rolling grumbles. It was kinda scary, especially because we were in little pitched tents! Everyone ended up getting a little flooded and wet, but by the next afternoon it was so hot again everything got the chance to dry out. March to May is the 'wet season' in Africa, so we will probably start to see some rain every now and then, but it still shouldn't be too much. It has rained a couple times, but it never lasts long, and it stays pretty warm, so its actually a nice break from the heat sometimes.
So I really liked the camp fires at night, and the game drives during the days. On the first full day we had a day trip to the Chyulu Hills. It was amazingly beautiful. The hills were huge, and sooo green. We hiked to the top of one. It was a good little workout. All of the hills are at least a mile high, so we were dealing with some elevation changes too. The last picture in the post below is of the hills. Once we got to the top we had lunch and a field lecture about the area, and could see for miles and miles. It was crazy.
I'm running out of internet time so I will try to continue this post tomorrow. The trip overall was A LOT of fun, but I was definitely glad to get back to a shower today, and to be in a real bed tonight. I'll fill everyone in on more soon!! Thanks for reading : ) TTYS!
The first night we also had a thunderstorm. And when I say thunderstorm, I mean torrential, violent rain, and thunder that sounded like snapping static electricity instead of rolling grumbles. It was kinda scary, especially because we were in little pitched tents! Everyone ended up getting a little flooded and wet, but by the next afternoon it was so hot again everything got the chance to dry out. March to May is the 'wet season' in Africa, so we will probably start to see some rain every now and then, but it still shouldn't be too much. It has rained a couple times, but it never lasts long, and it stays pretty warm, so its actually a nice break from the heat sometimes.
So I really liked the camp fires at night, and the game drives during the days. On the first full day we had a day trip to the Chyulu Hills. It was amazingly beautiful. The hills were huge, and sooo green. We hiked to the top of one. It was a good little workout. All of the hills are at least a mile high, so we were dealing with some elevation changes too. The last picture in the post below is of the hills. Once we got to the top we had lunch and a field lecture about the area, and could see for miles and miles. It was crazy.
I'm running out of internet time so I will try to continue this post tomorrow. The trip overall was A LOT of fun, but I was definitely glad to get back to a shower today, and to be in a real bed tonight. I'll fill everyone in on more soon!! Thanks for reading : ) TTYS!
Tsavo Pictures
Scariest thing I have ever seen. This scorpion was HUGE. We saw him on the first night. The first thing I said was, "thats not real", the second thing I said was, "are you sure its not a lobster?" Most scorpions we see here are 1.5 to 2 inches long, but this guy was around 6. 
This is everyone after a travel lecture we had the first day of expedition, on the way to Tsavo.
A giant millipede at camp one night. We saw few of these guys. Kinda gross, but harmless.
An elephant that got a little aggressive when we were too close. He got a little angry, but never completely charged us.
At the top of one of the hills we hiked up. Daniel is to the left, he is a professor and lives here with us, and Aurther, on the right, is the cook. They are both very funny.
A couple of the lions we saw in Tsavo!
A view of the Chyulu Hills. It was a hard hike, but it was definitely worth it. The view was amazing.Friday, March 5, 2010
Kenya Update!
Sorry I've been MIA for a while...things here have been really busy. I've had a few papers and a couple labs due this past week. Everything is still going great!
Last week on our day off we went to a travelling health clinic. The clinic is free for anyone who goes, and we all went to help out the doctors and volunteers with whatever we could. It was mostly parents bringing their children into the clinic for check ups or for meds. I was put at the Vitamin A station with a couple of my friends. My job was to use a needle to open up a plastic pill, and then squeeze vitamin A drops in the mouths of 6-11 month olds. I felt like I was some kind of doctor giving vitamins to babies, even though I wasn't really doing much at all. The first baby I gave drops to was very calm, but she was about the only one. After her, every other little one would cry and scream when their mothers opened their mouths and I leaned over them to give them the drops. It was sad when they cried, but I knew they needed the vitamins, so it wasn't too bad. After vitamin A I moved to the diagnosis table with one of the doctors who explained the symptoms of every patient to me. They all spoke swahili, but the doctor translated for me so that I would know what was going on. It was hard, again, to see the condition of some of the people there, both adults and children, but at the same time I was glad to see them being treated. All the medication and vitamins they were getting was free, which was also really great.
Every time I go out to do service or to hang out with the locals I think that I've really seen how difficult life can be here. BUT, it wasn't until yesterday that I really did see how hard things can get. Two days ago we went to a support group meeting for people who are living with HIV or aids. The people told us their stories. They told us how they found out they had HIV, what other members of their families have the disease, and the number of family members they have lost to the disease. It was unbelievable how strong they all were, and how they had overcome their fear. The support group, they all said, saved them. Once they found the group and met other people they could relate to it made dealing with HIV easier. Many of them explained that once they contracted the disease they would be excluded and harassed by others. The support group created hope for all the members, and it was again amazing how positive the people stayed.
I have always known that I live a blessed live, but I never knew how lucky I am, we all are, until I arrived here, and saw the reality of other peoples' lives. Don't forget how much we all have!
Well after that trip everyone was a little shocked, but the support group leaders made us feel very welcome, because they said that when they are associated with visitors like us it makes them proud, and it lets other people in the area see there is no reason they can't be treated just like everyone else. Luckily, awareness is rising, and people are being educated more in general, and more about the disease as well.
SO after the clinic we were able to go into town for some time to look around and shop. It was a fun afternoon. We were only out for a little while, and then we came home to work on some school stuff and relax for the night. I was sitting on my computer last night...about to write this blog post...when someone ran in and yelled...PYTHONNNNN LETS GOOO!!! ....which is why my blog entry didn't happen last night...
SO, our teacher Daniel had seen the python near the gate, so he ran to the Chumba (main building) where most of us were. He knew that a lot of us would be interested in seeing a real python, which I was. About 10 or 15 of us got up and followed Daniel to walk out to the gate. By the time we got there, there were 4 ascaris with flashlights looking through the tall grass for it. They knew it had to be in a general area, because they had been watching the spots where it could have left the tall grass, and hadn't come out yet. So we all spent about 10 minutes looking, and then one of the boys found it. We all got to see it, and it was really cool. It was a little nerve racking because we were in tall grass, so before it was spotted I was always hoping I didn't end up stepping on it or something. I was also nervous because I thought a lot of the boys had false confidences going on. They all wanted to find it, and because there were 4 ascaris with machetes looking, they thought they were completely safe, but it was still a wild python, and they should have been a little less confident then they were. Luckily everything worked out fine, and it really was a pretty controlled scene, somthing would have really needed to go wrong for anything bad to happen. But don't worry dad, I stayed smart and didn't try anything crazy/stupid : ) That is the second live snake I have seen so far. It was pretty cool because it was bigggg. I was excited I got to see it.
For the past week we have had a volleyball tournament going (Mel). My team won in the semi finals today, so we will be moving on to the finals soon. It's a lot of fun.
My most exciting news for today though, is that tomorrow expedition starts! We are leaving at 7:30 in the morning for Tsavo National Park. The park is about two and a half hours away, and we will be camping there for 5 nights! Our camp site is not blocked off or surrounded at all, so we will have armed guards patrolling the site at all times. If we want to get up and go to the bathroom at night, we have to alert a guard so that they can escort us. Last semester they had elephants in the site hanging out by the bathrooms, so no one could use them for a couple hours. They haven't had lions enter the campsite in a few years, but it has happened before. We get to have camp fires every night, and travel through the park visiting different sites each day. The park takes up close to 20,000 square kilometers, so there is plenty to see. We had another safety and awareness lecture today so that we know what to look and listen for, both during the day and night. The men who come with us to guard our camp have all grown up here, and they know how to protect us, so no one should worry! Plus I'm always very safe. I'm so excited to go. This is like the best week of Kenya! I'm sure I will come back with lots of pictures next week : )
I'll let you know how it all goes when I'm back next Thursday. For now I have lots of packing to help with. Hope all is well! Love and miss everyone!!! TTYS!!
: )
Last week on our day off we went to a travelling health clinic. The clinic is free for anyone who goes, and we all went to help out the doctors and volunteers with whatever we could. It was mostly parents bringing their children into the clinic for check ups or for meds. I was put at the Vitamin A station with a couple of my friends. My job was to use a needle to open up a plastic pill, and then squeeze vitamin A drops in the mouths of 6-11 month olds. I felt like I was some kind of doctor giving vitamins to babies, even though I wasn't really doing much at all. The first baby I gave drops to was very calm, but she was about the only one. After her, every other little one would cry and scream when their mothers opened their mouths and I leaned over them to give them the drops. It was sad when they cried, but I knew they needed the vitamins, so it wasn't too bad. After vitamin A I moved to the diagnosis table with one of the doctors who explained the symptoms of every patient to me. They all spoke swahili, but the doctor translated for me so that I would know what was going on. It was hard, again, to see the condition of some of the people there, both adults and children, but at the same time I was glad to see them being treated. All the medication and vitamins they were getting was free, which was also really great.
Every time I go out to do service or to hang out with the locals I think that I've really seen how difficult life can be here. BUT, it wasn't until yesterday that I really did see how hard things can get. Two days ago we went to a support group meeting for people who are living with HIV or aids. The people told us their stories. They told us how they found out they had HIV, what other members of their families have the disease, and the number of family members they have lost to the disease. It was unbelievable how strong they all were, and how they had overcome their fear. The support group, they all said, saved them. Once they found the group and met other people they could relate to it made dealing with HIV easier. Many of them explained that once they contracted the disease they would be excluded and harassed by others. The support group created hope for all the members, and it was again amazing how positive the people stayed.
I have always known that I live a blessed live, but I never knew how lucky I am, we all are, until I arrived here, and saw the reality of other peoples' lives. Don't forget how much we all have!
Well after that trip everyone was a little shocked, but the support group leaders made us feel very welcome, because they said that when they are associated with visitors like us it makes them proud, and it lets other people in the area see there is no reason they can't be treated just like everyone else. Luckily, awareness is rising, and people are being educated more in general, and more about the disease as well.
SO after the clinic we were able to go into town for some time to look around and shop. It was a fun afternoon. We were only out for a little while, and then we came home to work on some school stuff and relax for the night. I was sitting on my computer last night...about to write this blog post...when someone ran in and yelled...PYTHONNNNN LETS GOOO!!! ....which is why my blog entry didn't happen last night...
SO, our teacher Daniel had seen the python near the gate, so he ran to the Chumba (main building) where most of us were. He knew that a lot of us would be interested in seeing a real python, which I was. About 10 or 15 of us got up and followed Daniel to walk out to the gate. By the time we got there, there were 4 ascaris with flashlights looking through the tall grass for it. They knew it had to be in a general area, because they had been watching the spots where it could have left the tall grass, and hadn't come out yet. So we all spent about 10 minutes looking, and then one of the boys found it. We all got to see it, and it was really cool. It was a little nerve racking because we were in tall grass, so before it was spotted I was always hoping I didn't end up stepping on it or something. I was also nervous because I thought a lot of the boys had false confidences going on. They all wanted to find it, and because there were 4 ascaris with machetes looking, they thought they were completely safe, but it was still a wild python, and they should have been a little less confident then they were. Luckily everything worked out fine, and it really was a pretty controlled scene, somthing would have really needed to go wrong for anything bad to happen. But don't worry dad, I stayed smart and didn't try anything crazy/stupid : ) That is the second live snake I have seen so far. It was pretty cool because it was bigggg. I was excited I got to see it.
For the past week we have had a volleyball tournament going (Mel). My team won in the semi finals today, so we will be moving on to the finals soon. It's a lot of fun.
My most exciting news for today though, is that tomorrow expedition starts! We are leaving at 7:30 in the morning for Tsavo National Park. The park is about two and a half hours away, and we will be camping there for 5 nights! Our camp site is not blocked off or surrounded at all, so we will have armed guards patrolling the site at all times. If we want to get up and go to the bathroom at night, we have to alert a guard so that they can escort us. Last semester they had elephants in the site hanging out by the bathrooms, so no one could use them for a couple hours. They haven't had lions enter the campsite in a few years, but it has happened before. We get to have camp fires every night, and travel through the park visiting different sites each day. The park takes up close to 20,000 square kilometers, so there is plenty to see. We had another safety and awareness lecture today so that we know what to look and listen for, both during the day and night. The men who come with us to guard our camp have all grown up here, and they know how to protect us, so no one should worry! Plus I'm always very safe. I'm so excited to go. This is like the best week of Kenya! I'm sure I will come back with lots of pictures next week : )
I'll let you know how it all goes when I'm back next Thursday. For now I have lots of packing to help with. Hope all is well! Love and miss everyone!!! TTYS!!
: )
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