Day 21

Day 21

Today was another non-program day, our day to sleep in. And it is Sunday. So they gave us the option of going with some staff to church services, a Lutheran or a Catholic one. I gave up sleeping in to go to church. Only one other person went with me, and she is not even Catholic. But the Church was so cool. It is really well maintained. The children sing and dance to the music, and they incorporated some traditional dance moves that made it really interesting. The service was two and a half hours. It usually is not that long, but one of their sisters was leaving and a new one was coming, so they said good bye to them. It was awesome to see. The service was all in Swahili, so I did not understand it at all, but still is was great. Next time some other people want to come with us.

After that we could go to the bar Happy Days or to the Kudu Lodge in Karatu. I went to the lodge and had chicken for lunch. It was great. After I sat at the pool and read, so it was a great day. When we got back to camp, I watched The Devil Wears Prada with a group of friends while we did homework.

Some people drank a little too much, so M’Lis, our supervisor/coordinator was not happy, but they were funny to watch.

And we are not doing anything interesting for the next few days, but going to the Ngorongoro Crater on Friday, so I will say more then. And our internet does not enjoy working well, so it will be a bit before more pictures.

Kwa heri

Kylie

Days 15 and 16

Day 15 and 16

Yesterday was a great day. We got to go to Tarangire National Park. We drove for an hour and a half to get there. Once we got there, we had to do this project that involved counting animals. There were herd of up to 200 wildebeest and zebra, and large groups of impala, elephants, baboons, giraffes, and elands. Trying to count them all was fun.

We had lunch at the lodge in the park. It was so very nice. It overlooked the river so you could see many animals, and I got to have a cheeseburger for lunch. But the best part was the bathrooms. They had liquid hand soap!

After lunch we got to drive around for a bit. I even got to see half a lioness! (She was walking through tall grass so you could only see her top half.) We then go to see where our director works. He is running a project tracking the lions in the park, so we got to see the collars and other devices they use, as well as their base camp. It looks like a lot of fun to work there.

 The half of the lioness

 The wildebeast that almost trampled our stuff.

There is a full grown elephant in front of this baobob tree.

We then drove back and today we had four hours of class, and then the whole afternoon and evening to work on our papers.

But now 3 out of the 4 of us in the banda have a cold, so that sucks.

Kylie

Days 12-14

Days 12 and 13

These past two days were not very interesting. We had classes and then time to work on the three essays due later this week.

Last night we watched Sherlock Holmes. Someone had brought it over. It was nice to get a piece of home.

But we did get cake today, and tomorrow is our day off so expect something exciting.

Day 14

Today was our second day off. We had to get up and extra half an hour early, but then we went bike riding. We rode near Lake Manyara. As we rode through the fields, there were herds of wildebeest and Thompson’s gazelles running in front of us. We also got to see thousands of flamingos on the lake. After that, we went to a place where they carve wood, then to a place where they create paintings. Only half of us went on the bike ride, the other half wanted to see in or “work on their papers,” but they probable just slept in too.

Once the rest of the people joined us, we went shopping. I spent about $100 worth of shillings today, but I got a lot. We also then went to a pizza place. I got the plain pizza, but because it took so long, they put chicken on there for me.

Then I came back to camp, read a little, and work on the papers. But the power is enjoying going out. It will be off for hours, then a few seconds. It is pretty entertaining actually. Except the internet is connected to the power, so that’s been out for a while too.

Kylie

Day 11

Day 11

I just got back from being in the field for 4 hours. We went to the same area we were two days ago, also instead of looking at poop we looked at plants. We were supposed to do 100 plots, but after 3 hours they said 40 was fine. But then we had to walk back to the trucks. That was a long walk through grassland.

But along the way we did see some Thompson’s gazelles and a herd of wildebeest almost trampled our things.

Kylie

Day 10

Day 10

Today we got to learn some more Swahili, but we are moving so fast it is nearly impossible to keep up. I am lucky that I have a Zulu background.

We had a guest lecture this morning, so we all sat on the ground outside. It was great, except that I got bitten my two mosquitoes. The lecture was Iraqw and our teacher is Maasi, which is interesting because those two cultures do not get alone very well.

We had time this afternoon to work on the three essays that are due next week. I have one done and one started, which is more than some people…

There is no dairy here, and now I desperatly want cheese.

Kylie

Day 9

Day 9

Today we had classes in the morning, but then we had a field lecture in the afternoon. This consisted of going to the community land near Lake Manyara. When we got there, we were told that we could walk to the lake for 10 minutes. So we all started walking. 15 minutes later we were not even near the lake yet. This lake dries up greatly in the dry season, which is we are at the end of right now. As we were walking out, the land got smushy and we would sink a little. It is a salt lake, so all our shoes smell salty.

After we turned around and trekked back to the trucks, we started with the project. It consisted of plotting out a 4x4 meter square in the ground. Then we had to see what feces were in the area. We then moves 60 meters away and did this again. Each group of 5 had a Maasi guide. They helped us identify the droppings. We were in the sun for hours. While everyone else was happy with their tan lines, I was happy to not have burned.

And I found out that the village we visited yesterday, Karatu, was on the Amazing Race last season.

Kylie

Day 8

Day 8

Today was our first non-program day, meaning that there were no classes. To start off the day, we went to Elephant Cave. It is a hike through a forest to an iron deposit, where elephants come to get minerals for their diet. It was really steep at some points, almost a 45 degree climb. The trail we used is also used by animals, so now I know how to identify elephant, buffalo, and baboon poop. That was fun to try and avoid along the path. There also was a beautiful waterfall. After the hike we got to eat lunch out of our Tupperware. It contained a peanut butter sandwich, my favorite, so along with the chocolate pancakes for breakfast, today had great food.

                After that, we went to Karatu. I bought 40,000 shillings worth of things, about 35 dollars. I got cloth, a necklace, and a bowl. You have to barter for the goods, if you take the first price they offer, you will be laughed at. And if you are insistent, you can get some good deals.

                Then, we went to a bar called Happy Days. It is pretty American, and our 30 people were the only ones there. Only four people decided not to drink. I not have a cool Coca-Cola bottle to add to my collection.

                We got back and then most people took a nap. Today was a great day, but now we have class again tomorrow.

Kylie