I arrived in Senegal at 1:30 in the morning on Friday. After passing through customs I found Nelly outside waiting for me. We walked to the cab that was waiting for us but there were four men their trying to take my bags and shv9e them in the taxi before Nelly had settled on a price with the taxi driver. As in Kenya you bargain for everything in Senegal and because you are white everything is always more expensive. Nelly did a good job though she speaks French and Wolof well. If you can speak Wolof they normally give you a good price. We took the taxi back to the house she was staying at and dropped of my luggage and then headed out to the club where the rest of her friends form America where. It was their last night in Senegal so they where all out together for one last celebration. We danced the little remaining portion of the night away – Senegalese dancing is much like that of Kenya so I picked it up pretty quickly.
The next morning I woke up and took a bucket shower – there isn’t really any running water in the house. It only works at night- sometimes. I then meet the family and we ate breakfast – Nescafe and a baguette with butter. After breakfast we had to head out to the research center where Nelly’s program was based out of. I hung around and practiced some French while Nelly had a meeting and then the whole group of students sat around and ate lunch together. I ordered fried fish and when the plate came there where literally two fried fish (the whole body including head and tail) with some French fries. Mom and dad you will be proud of me I ate the fish without a second thought – everything except for the head and the bones! After Lunch we headed over to the Market on a little bus of sorts painted all the colors of the rainbow in true Senegalese fashion. The market was much larger than any market I had been to in Kenya. We wandered around and bought a few gifts for the families we are staying with. The market guys are just as crazy as those in Kenya if not worse. Nelly and I had some great bargaining skills though, Nelly would often try to bargain and if the vendor thought the price was to low then they would just ask if they could have me instead. Luckily she didn’t sell me off for a couple of scarves.
After the market we arrived home and had dinner. In 7th grade my French teacher had been to Senegal and she taught us how to eat couscous out of the communal dinner bowl – never did I think I would actually use these skills. At dinner they spread out a cloth on the floor and placed a bowl in the center with couscous some sauce and a little bit of meat and potatoes. We all sat on the floor or stools and used spoon to eat out of the bowl. It was pretty awesome. After we hung around and chatted.
My French is surprisingly good I understand a lot and am able to communicate pretty well. I feel comfortable staying in the house when Nelly leaves- except of course the first time she leaves the weirdest thing happens. All of a sudden I heard a crash and a cry- a kitten who can hardly walk fell from the roof. So here I am in this house with the mama and the papa and Nelly is out with the kids and there is this baby kitten meowing bloody murder because it jest fell off the roof and into the house. In Senegal you don’t really have pets nor do to you take care of them. I walked over to the kitten picked it up and the mama was just staring at me. I looked at her and said a baby cat what do I do with it in French. She looked at me and laughed a little. She told me to put it on the roof again but I said it would fall again. She told me that I can put it in a box and its mother will find it our walk on the roof and put it in the terrace next door where there are walls so that it won’t fall again. Right now I have the kitten in my lap wrapped in a bandana so it can’t scratch me and I am waiting for Nelly to come back to help me climb up on the roof. I tried but it is very difficult to climb with a squirming kitten in your hand.
`After lunch today we plan on heading back to the market for some last minute shopping. Tomorrow we are going to a baptism with Nelly’s other host family and then heading out to the country side where there isn’t any internet – however there is the beach and I can’t wait to see the ocean.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
One Last Post from Kenya
Sorry it has taken so long to post but the internet has been out for a long time.
Hello all!
Not very much has gone on here in Kenya for the past week and a half – at least not in camp. For three days we did data analysis and spent seven more writing up our final research papers which totaled just under 90 pages long. Currently we are creating a power point presentation that we will present to the community on Sunday. During the time that we worked on our papers we did have a day off to get out of camp and relax. I chose to return the orphanage in Loktokitok and visit with the children there one more time. As the rainy season progresses it gets colder and colder here (cold meaning somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees). Loktokitok is at a pretty high elevation because it is in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro just north of the border with Tanzania. When we arrived it was “too cold” to play outside so we were warmly welcomed into the living room of the house. Of course we bought some goodies with us – a box of 120 crayons and some drawing paper (thanks mom!). After some introductions to each of the children- names and where they came from and how they are doing in school -we broke out the crayons and paper and craft time ensued. Right now the children are on vacation so many had gone to their guardian’s houses where they help on their farms or herding their cattle, although some remained at the orphanage. During their semesters (three per year) they have a very rigorous academic schedule so very rarely do they actually get to sit down and just draw for fun. At first they all stared at their papers clueless on what to draw if they could draw anything. With some encouragement they began to color and soon pages and pages where covered with pictures of cups, tables, rainy days, and bomas just to name a few. After a two hour long drawing session we decided to eat lunch. We know funds are tight there so we had brought with us some peanut butter sandwiches, cheesy potato chips and sweets. Combined with some bananas and hot coco from the orphanage we had a feast. Most of the children there had never had peanut butter before and none of them had had potato chips, especially cheesy potato ships. At first the children just stared at the potato chips and I was surprised they didn’t get more excited. Then the woman who runs the orphanage told us that they had never had them before and encouraged them try. Soon half the bowl was gone. After our feast the sun had come out and we went outside to play soccer with the new soccer ball we had brought with us. I learned how to play some game with a tennis ball-the name of which I can’t remember. Eventually we had to go but not before we traded pictures with them and left our address to write letters.
I have also made some changes to my travel schedule. Originally I was planning on spending two months backpacking through Europe with my roommate Nelly, however, Nelly had decided to stay in Senegal where she is living with a host family and I have been invited to go as well. So I will be heading off to Senegal on May 7th to live with Nelly and her host family until the end of May. All of those years of French will finally come in handy! So I will have more African adventures to write about granted that I will have access to internet. I am told that to get internet access I must “hop on a vegetable cart and travel 45 minutes into town” wither this is true or not we will all find out.
Hello all!
Not very much has gone on here in Kenya for the past week and a half – at least not in camp. For three days we did data analysis and spent seven more writing up our final research papers which totaled just under 90 pages long. Currently we are creating a power point presentation that we will present to the community on Sunday. During the time that we worked on our papers we did have a day off to get out of camp and relax. I chose to return the orphanage in Loktokitok and visit with the children there one more time. As the rainy season progresses it gets colder and colder here (cold meaning somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees). Loktokitok is at a pretty high elevation because it is in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro just north of the border with Tanzania. When we arrived it was “too cold” to play outside so we were warmly welcomed into the living room of the house. Of course we bought some goodies with us – a box of 120 crayons and some drawing paper (thanks mom!). After some introductions to each of the children- names and where they came from and how they are doing in school -we broke out the crayons and paper and craft time ensued. Right now the children are on vacation so many had gone to their guardian’s houses where they help on their farms or herding their cattle, although some remained at the orphanage. During their semesters (three per year) they have a very rigorous academic schedule so very rarely do they actually get to sit down and just draw for fun. At first they all stared at their papers clueless on what to draw if they could draw anything. With some encouragement they began to color and soon pages and pages where covered with pictures of cups, tables, rainy days, and bomas just to name a few. After a two hour long drawing session we decided to eat lunch. We know funds are tight there so we had brought with us some peanut butter sandwiches, cheesy potato chips and sweets. Combined with some bananas and hot coco from the orphanage we had a feast. Most of the children there had never had peanut butter before and none of them had had potato chips, especially cheesy potato ships. At first the children just stared at the potato chips and I was surprised they didn’t get more excited. Then the woman who runs the orphanage told us that they had never had them before and encouraged them try. Soon half the bowl was gone. After our feast the sun had come out and we went outside to play soccer with the new soccer ball we had brought with us. I learned how to play some game with a tennis ball-the name of which I can’t remember. Eventually we had to go but not before we traded pictures with them and left our address to write letters.
I have also made some changes to my travel schedule. Originally I was planning on spending two months backpacking through Europe with my roommate Nelly, however, Nelly had decided to stay in Senegal where she is living with a host family and I have been invited to go as well. So I will be heading off to Senegal on May 7th to live with Nelly and her host family until the end of May. All of those years of French will finally come in handy! So I will have more African adventures to write about granted that I will have access to internet. I am told that to get internet access I must “hop on a vegetable cart and travel 45 minutes into town” wither this is true or not we will all find out.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
DR photos
Walking through a waste land
data collection
sun bleached bones
Feirce
On the rangelands
The view as I brush my teeth in the am
Amboseli Lakebed
The cutest puppy in Kenya. Most dogs ignore you but this puppy wouldn;t stop following us around. I had to stop and pet it so it would stop nipping at my ankles.
Our research team
A data sheet. read carefully
In a incomplete boma
getting my foot bandaged after stepping on a thorn
Today is my birthday and we have been doing data analysis since 8 am – it is now 10:16pm. I did get a wonderful cake and thank you very much for everyone who sent me cards and e-mails and facebook messages. Field work is over and we are all exhausted. We walked 150km in 9 days through lands that could be identified as deserts. One day we would be mapping almost 40 bomas and the next we would be walking through wastelands. On one occasion we walked 20 km and saw only 6 animals – 4 giraffe and 2 gerenuk. That day we saw more dead livestock than living creatures. On our fifth day I stepped on an acacia thorn and it went straight through my shoe and about an inch into my foot. You forget that here everything has thorns, you must be cautious not to step on any sticks, grab any trees, and always clear the ground before you sit for lunch. The worst part about that incident was that we still had to walk 28 more km that day and acacia thorns release a poison that makes you feel like you have a bruise. It was painful to walk on for a couple days but it has healed. I previously told the story about seeing the cheetah, but we had many more encounters with this animal. Everyone in our group ended up seeing a cheetah during our field work, sometime a little close than they would have liked. The most intense encounter happened on day 4. A group was watching a cheetah from the distance and slowly approaching to get a GPS point. They stayed to long and the cheetah began to get angry. At first it began to walk away but as the group began to approach it stopped where it was standing it turned around and began to walk towards them. It then began to jog and as it got within 30 m it broke out into a full out sprint. The KWS guard, who had is gun cocked and ready and fired a shot towards its feet. This slowed it down and it stopped approaching at 15m. The entire time the group of students was walking backwards and keeping eye contact with the cheetah. The cheetah turned around and walked away, but it was a close call, not really for the students but for the cheetah. The KWS guard said that if I had gotten 5 m closer he would have had to shoot it. When we heard the story we were all terrified to think that we could have been the cause of the death of a cheetah. They are on the endangered species list and a rare species to see in Africa. Normally cheetahs will not behave so aggressively but we believe that it was guarding its cubs since it seemed to be highly protective over a certain area. It was lucky that nothing else happened during the rest of our field work. We saw some interesting species that were not believed to be living in the area anymore. The last Lesser Kudu to be seen in the group ranches was seen in the 1990’s and we saw three on three different occasions. We also experienced some true African rain. We have all learned the importance of water, especially from our experiences during our research. It rained and rained and rained. It was raining so hard that we could not see and the roads where so muddy that we almost got stuck several times and actually did get stuck once and where forced to get out of the car and push it out of the mud. When we got back to camp we arrived on a scene of mayhem. It actually looked like a rugby game. Students were covered head to toe in mud running around smearing it on each other and tackling each other. Immediately I joined with a few others from our group in celebration of the true beginning of the rainy season. It was an amazing experience. Two days after the rain we began to see the effects of this rain on the landscape as slowly little green sprouts of grass where appearing from earth and the landscape began to change colors and look alive again. On the last day we drove through the lands that we had seen in the first few days of research and the landscape has begun its transformation- it was raining when we went through and we knew there was hope for those that were struggling through this drought. Let’s just keep hoping that it keeps raining.
Still on the topic of water. When DR ended we had a day off to do a community service project. We raised 52,000 KS doing an auction among students. Items include shampoo, banda cleaning, laundry, breakfast in bed ect. With this money we bought a huge water tank (it was at least 8 feet tall) and set up a rain water collection system on a church in Kimana town. It was day of celebration – the church member where their helping out and we cooked a huge feast. We even had a DJ with a microphone run on a generator. The children from all around came and sang and danced while we worked outside digging holes, making cement, hammering, and sawing wood. At the end the church members gave us a great thanks; they talked about how useful this collection system would be. Clean water is a huge issue here, during the dry season you see people collecting water out of puddles on the side of the road. We hope that this will help reduce the spread of waterborne diseases by supplying the church members with clean water.
Right now we are in the middle of intensive data analysis and then we will begin writing our papers. The next two weeks are going to fly by.
Today is my birthday and we have been doing data analysis since 8 am – it is now 10:16pm. I did get a wonderful cake and thank you very much for everyone who sent me cards and e-mails and facebook messages. Field work is over and we are all exhausted. We walked 150km in 9 days through lands that could be identified as deserts. One day we would be mapping almost 40 bomas and the next we would be walking through wastelands. On one occasion we walked 20 km and saw only 6 animals – 4 giraffe and 2 gerenuk. That day we saw more dead livestock than living creatures. On our fifth day I stepped on an acacia thorn and it went straight through my shoe and about an inch into my foot. You forget that here everything has thorns, you must be cautious not to step on any sticks, grab any trees, and always clear the ground before you sit for lunch. The worst part about that incident was that we still had to walk 28 more km that day and acacia thorns release a poison that makes you feel like you have a bruise. It was painful to walk on for a couple days but it has healed. I previously told the story about seeing the cheetah, but we had many more encounters with this animal. Everyone in our group ended up seeing a cheetah during our field work, sometime a little close than they would have liked. The most intense encounter happened on day 4. A group was watching a cheetah from the distance and slowly approaching to get a GPS point. They stayed to long and the cheetah began to get angry. At first it began to walk away but as the group began to approach it stopped where it was standing it turned around and began to walk towards them. It then began to jog and as it got within 30 m it broke out into a full out sprint. The KWS guard, who had is gun cocked and ready and fired a shot towards its feet. This slowed it down and it stopped approaching at 15m. The entire time the group of students was walking backwards and keeping eye contact with the cheetah. The cheetah turned around and walked away, but it was a close call, not really for the students but for the cheetah. The KWS guard said that if I had gotten 5 m closer he would have had to shoot it. When we heard the story we were all terrified to think that we could have been the cause of the death of a cheetah. They are on the endangered species list and a rare species to see in Africa. Normally cheetahs will not behave so aggressively but we believe that it was guarding its cubs since it seemed to be highly protective over a certain area. It was lucky that nothing else happened during the rest of our field work. We saw some interesting species that were not believed to be living in the area anymore. The last Lesser Kudu to be seen in the group ranches was seen in the 1990’s and we saw three on three different occasions. We also experienced some true African rain. We have all learned the importance of water, especially from our experiences during our research. It rained and rained and rained. It was raining so hard that we could not see and the roads where so muddy that we almost got stuck several times and actually did get stuck once and where forced to get out of the car and push it out of the mud. When we got back to camp we arrived on a scene of mayhem. It actually looked like a rugby game. Students were covered head to toe in mud running around smearing it on each other and tackling each other. Immediately I joined with a few others from our group in celebration of the true beginning of the rainy season. It was an amazing experience. Two days after the rain we began to see the effects of this rain on the landscape as slowly little green sprouts of grass where appearing from earth and the landscape began to change colors and look alive again. On the last day we drove through the lands that we had seen in the first few days of research and the landscape has begun its transformation- it was raining when we went through and we knew there was hope for those that were struggling through this drought. Let’s just keep hoping that it keeps raining.
Still on the topic of water. When DR ended we had a day off to do a community service project. We raised 52,000 KS doing an auction among students. Items include shampoo, banda cleaning, laundry, breakfast in bed ect. With this money we bought a huge water tank (it was at least 8 feet tall) and set up a rain water collection system on a church in Kimana town. It was day of celebration – the church member where their helping out and we cooked a huge feast. We even had a DJ with a microphone run on a generator. The children from all around came and sang and danced while we worked outside digging holes, making cement, hammering, and sawing wood. At the end the church members gave us a great thanks; they talked about how useful this collection system would be. Clean water is a huge issue here, during the dry season you see people collecting water out of puddles on the side of the road. We hope that this will help reduce the spread of waterborne diseases by supplying the church members with clean water.
Right now we are in the middle of intensive data analysis and then we will begin writing our papers. The next two weeks are going to fly by.
HAPPY EARTHDAY!!!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Our classes have officially finished! However, we do not have a break; we have begun our DR (directed research). We are divided up into groups and conduct research for our professors. I am working with our wildlife management professor, who is a little crazy. The research we are conducting is about the dispersal areas around Amboseli National Park (ANP). The park is 392 square km which is not a lot of space for the large volume of wildlife it supports. The areas surrounding the park are group ranches. Group ranches are communal holdings of Maasai land. Individuals move freely throughout them but are governed by a set of rules so that no one person may take resources from another. There are also privet holdings of land. ANP has no fence so the wildlife disperses freely into these group ranches. The issue is that the Maasai settlements are increasing around the parks edge (the Maasai are actually allowed into the park to water their livestock since the only water sources in the area located within the park. We are looking at how much space these buildings take up and their orientation to see if they are blocking migration corridors. We go out into the field and map roads, bomas, intuitions, agriculture, and livestock. We also mark all wildlife and their distance from these structures. How we do this by using GPS.
On our first day we were all really excited to get going, but we have no idea what we were doing. We were driving along in the land cruiser with our professor to be dropped off somewhere in the middle of one of the group ranches. All of a sudden we saw a herd of elephants. Upon noticing them our professor swerved off the road and began driving towards the elephants. All of the students in the back were yelling about soil compaction and the effects of off road driving on vegetation, not to mention animal harassment. As we neared the elephants the professor stopped the car and said ok get out we need a GPS point as close to them as possible to get their location. We all looked at him dumb founded. We are not allowed to leave our fence because of the threat of elephants, and here our professor was telling us to walk towards a herd of 11 elephants. It was then that we realized why we have armed Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) guards. (Every group that goes out into the bush has one armed KWS office, one local guide and two to three students). We all clamored out of the car slightly confused and turned on our GPS units and began walking towards the elephants. Occasionally we would turn back to look at our professor who would wave his had to notion that we should go a little further. About 60-65 km from the herd we stopped. The group of elephants really didn’t seem to take much notice of us; we took our points, stared in awe and wonder, and hurried back to our vehicle. We all thought what a wonderful first DR experience. This is such a wonderful way to start DR, but things had not even begun to start.
We began driving down the road and yet again the car swerved off the road. Our professor yelled at us to go mark a Tompson’s gazelle and a giraffe. I went to the giraffe with two others while two more students went for the gazelle. As they were approaching the gazelle they noticed something in the grass and stopped. Identifying it as an animal they believed it to be a lion. When the animal noticed them it got spooked and began to run away. It was a cheetah! Out very first cheetah! One of the guides attracted our attention and we saw the cheetah run away into the bushes. The movement of its body was surprisingly haunting. The slinking movement made it seem like a dark and ghastly creature as it slid into the distance.
After the cheetah and elephant experience we were dropped off and actually began our work. This first day we walked 22km, the second 15km, the third (today) 25km, and expect to do the same tomorrow. Not only are the distances long (1.6 km to a mile) but there is no rain, no cloud cover and little vegetation cover. We spend from 8:30 am to around 3 or 4 outside in hot African sun trekking through open shrub and grassland. It is exhausting, I will be in bed by 9:30 (we also wake up at 5:30 am each morning) but it is awesome! We are truly getting a feel for what these arid rangelands are like and you can’t beat seeing the animals on foot. Today a group saw a cheetah with two cubs.
Besides seeing wildlife we are also seeing some people. Most of Kenya is experiencing a drought but the region we are doing our research in is extremely dry. Most of the bomas have been abandoned as people move to water areas. There is no green vegetation in many of the areas. It is not uncommon to see a dead zebra or livestock while walking. The unoccupied bomas have cow carcasses lying outside. The eerie stillness of these bomas is disturbing. Belonging were left behind, cups, shoes, and clothing are left laying on the ground, in the door ways of their huts, or stuck in the acacia fences . Of the few bomas that were occupied everyone was preparing to leave. AT one boma least 6 cowhides where being stretched and body parts of livestock there littered around the outside, mostly skulls with horns and a little remaining piece of their skin on the forehead and the bottom half of their legs with skin and hair still attached. We saw one child whose legs where so thin that they could barely support his body weight as we wandered around with only a tee shirt on. An elder women at one boma asked us why we were plotting her boma for the purposes of wildlife when she and her family where starving to death. She asked where is the government why aren’t they plotting her bomas so that they can come and bring her family food and water. For this we had no answer. We felt helpless to help them. We knew we had water and food in our packs, but not enough to give to everyone even in one boma. And if we gave it to one boma the others would soon hear about it and then what would we do. I still am trying to think of a way to help them but we are powerless to do so. Kenya makes enough food to feed all of its people but the Kenyan government sold most of it to Sudan. So people in Kenya are starving to death so that the government could make more money- but that money does not go towards helping these people. They are applying for relief from external agencies to help those that are in need, when really they had the food and sold it. The situation is really getting desperate and the only current solution is rain. Rain would revive the rangelands to support the livestock which are the lifeline of these people.
We all are really beginning to see how wealthy and privileged we are not only from the experiences above but some talking without guides and guards as we walk all day. Joseph has been working for KWS for 20 years, since he was 18 years old. What he makes in one whole year of work I pay for one month’s rent on my apartment in Amherst. He told me that he wants to come to America so that he can make money to improve his family’s live. It is odd to hear the American dream still spoken about by so many people here, when many of us have left America in search of something different as if we are dissatisfied with it.
On our first day we were all really excited to get going, but we have no idea what we were doing. We were driving along in the land cruiser with our professor to be dropped off somewhere in the middle of one of the group ranches. All of a sudden we saw a herd of elephants. Upon noticing them our professor swerved off the road and began driving towards the elephants. All of the students in the back were yelling about soil compaction and the effects of off road driving on vegetation, not to mention animal harassment. As we neared the elephants the professor stopped the car and said ok get out we need a GPS point as close to them as possible to get their location. We all looked at him dumb founded. We are not allowed to leave our fence because of the threat of elephants, and here our professor was telling us to walk towards a herd of 11 elephants. It was then that we realized why we have armed Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) guards. (Every group that goes out into the bush has one armed KWS office, one local guide and two to three students). We all clamored out of the car slightly confused and turned on our GPS units and began walking towards the elephants. Occasionally we would turn back to look at our professor who would wave his had to notion that we should go a little further. About 60-65 km from the herd we stopped. The group of elephants really didn’t seem to take much notice of us; we took our points, stared in awe and wonder, and hurried back to our vehicle. We all thought what a wonderful first DR experience. This is such a wonderful way to start DR, but things had not even begun to start.
We began driving down the road and yet again the car swerved off the road. Our professor yelled at us to go mark a Tompson’s gazelle and a giraffe. I went to the giraffe with two others while two more students went for the gazelle. As they were approaching the gazelle they noticed something in the grass and stopped. Identifying it as an animal they believed it to be a lion. When the animal noticed them it got spooked and began to run away. It was a cheetah! Out very first cheetah! One of the guides attracted our attention and we saw the cheetah run away into the bushes. The movement of its body was surprisingly haunting. The slinking movement made it seem like a dark and ghastly creature as it slid into the distance.
After the cheetah and elephant experience we were dropped off and actually began our work. This first day we walked 22km, the second 15km, the third (today) 25km, and expect to do the same tomorrow. Not only are the distances long (1.6 km to a mile) but there is no rain, no cloud cover and little vegetation cover. We spend from 8:30 am to around 3 or 4 outside in hot African sun trekking through open shrub and grassland. It is exhausting, I will be in bed by 9:30 (we also wake up at 5:30 am each morning) but it is awesome! We are truly getting a feel for what these arid rangelands are like and you can’t beat seeing the animals on foot. Today a group saw a cheetah with two cubs.
Besides seeing wildlife we are also seeing some people. Most of Kenya is experiencing a drought but the region we are doing our research in is extremely dry. Most of the bomas have been abandoned as people move to water areas. There is no green vegetation in many of the areas. It is not uncommon to see a dead zebra or livestock while walking. The unoccupied bomas have cow carcasses lying outside. The eerie stillness of these bomas is disturbing. Belonging were left behind, cups, shoes, and clothing are left laying on the ground, in the door ways of their huts, or stuck in the acacia fences . Of the few bomas that were occupied everyone was preparing to leave. AT one boma least 6 cowhides where being stretched and body parts of livestock there littered around the outside, mostly skulls with horns and a little remaining piece of their skin on the forehead and the bottom half of their legs with skin and hair still attached. We saw one child whose legs where so thin that they could barely support his body weight as we wandered around with only a tee shirt on. An elder women at one boma asked us why we were plotting her boma for the purposes of wildlife when she and her family where starving to death. She asked where is the government why aren’t they plotting her bomas so that they can come and bring her family food and water. For this we had no answer. We felt helpless to help them. We knew we had water and food in our packs, but not enough to give to everyone even in one boma. And if we gave it to one boma the others would soon hear about it and then what would we do. I still am trying to think of a way to help them but we are powerless to do so. Kenya makes enough food to feed all of its people but the Kenyan government sold most of it to Sudan. So people in Kenya are starving to death so that the government could make more money- but that money does not go towards helping these people. They are applying for relief from external agencies to help those that are in need, when really they had the food and sold it. The situation is really getting desperate and the only current solution is rain. Rain would revive the rangelands to support the livestock which are the lifeline of these people.
We all are really beginning to see how wealthy and privileged we are not only from the experiences above but some talking without guides and guards as we walk all day. Joseph has been working for KWS for 20 years, since he was 18 years old. What he makes in one whole year of work I pay for one month’s rent on my apartment in Amherst. He told me that he wants to come to America so that he can make money to improve his family’s live. It is odd to hear the American dream still spoken about by so many people here, when many of us have left America in search of something different as if we are dissatisfied with it.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
More Photos
This is not proper wildlife management, however, it was fun. 
The soccer stars at sunset
Does this really need any explanation. SIMBA!
Lake Nakuru
The view of the gorge towards Tanzania
Inside the gorge
Lake Nakuru at sunset with a line of buffalo along the shore
White Rhino
Husdon River School Style - Lake Nakuru and Me
The soccer stars at sunset
Does this really need any explanation. SIMBA!
Lake Nakuru
The view of the gorge towards Tanzania
Inside the gorge
Lake Nakuru at sunset with a line of buffalo along the shore
White Rhino
Husdon River School Style - Lake Nakuru and Me
I accidently downloaded this one twice and I dont know how to delete it
View of the rift vally from its eastern edge
A very muddy baby black rhino
Baby elephant with its keeper
Can you guess what this is?
View of the rift vally from its eastern edge
A very muddy baby black rhino
Baby elephant with its keeper
Can you guess what this is?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
NPS and Lake Nakuru
In the past two weeks we have been up to a lot. I could probably write about 20 pages if I described everything so I will just tell you the highlights. I know this may not be very interesting to you but one of the most exciting parts of our trip was going to Tusky’s – a grocery store equitant to a super Wal-Mart in size and products but without all the negative politics. Up until this point in our trip we were only eating Kenyan food products and available snacks consisted mostly of chips and crackers. Highlights of the store included much needed deodorant for all, Ritz cheese crackers, Betty Crocker frosting, apples and much more. There was even a Maasai man dressed in full traditional robes pushing a shopping cart – an example of the adaptive nature of Maasai culture. After the stop at the store we went to our new camp site (the national park site or NPS). It was very exciting to be in a new place, especially since at this site we are allowed out of our electric fence. There is a two mile running route, however we can’t run in the early morning or evening due to the presence of carnivores. One night at around 7 during dinner we heard the calls of a desperate cow, the next day we learnt that two cows were killed just outside our camp by lions. We didn’t ever see any lions while at NPS but we did hear them growling and grunting at night. Even more exciting than our outside running route was the communal soccer field just up the hill. We were allowed there until dark and every evening we played with all of the local children from the area as we watched the sun set behind the Ngong Hills. The last evening we where there we bought a bunch of sodas and a new soccer ball (they told us their last ball popped) and sat and watched the sun set while drinking sodas after a very intense game of soccer.
Although we were close to Nairobi we weren’t allowed to go into the city. We did however have some exciting excursions to the suburbs. Most notably we went to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Where we got to see what they are doing to rehabilitate orphaned elephants (Most of their mothers are killed by poachers) back into the wild. We watched them play and a few came up and tried to play with us. They were only a few years old and some were already bigger than we were. The most exciting part of this visit was the three month old black rhino that they brought to show us. It really liked to have mud rubbed on its skin so it would role in the mud and then rub up against your legs. I got attacked several times and left with my legs covered in mud but that really didn’t matter because I think that baby rhinos are the cutest baby animals ever. They also had a blind rhino at the sanctuary which would let you rub its sides and touch its horn. Rhino skin is amazingly hard and tough and feels like solid wood when you knock on it. Later in the day we visited a giraffe center for individuals who can no longer survive in the wild. If you put a piece of food in between your lips a giraffe with come and lick it out – a giraffe kiss. Their tongues are extremely long and very rough. We also went to the Kazuri bead factory which provides employment for single mothers. They are all hand painted beads made from clay that is excavated at in the foothills of Mount Kenya.
The next day we had classes but as usual our classes reach far beyond the classroom. We were trained in how to use controlled burning as a management tool. After a lecture we walked outside and used drip torches to burn a certain area in out camp. It was fun but also terrifying since we are experiencing a drought and everything is so dry that it catches so quickly. We had “fire truck” with us to make sure nothing got out of hand.
We also walked over to a local primary school house to play with the children and donate school uniforms, books, pens, and sweets. They were very shy compared to the other schools we have been to. They sang us songs and we attempted to sing them some but they always sound so much better than us. We played duck suck goose except modified to twiga twiga simba (Giraffe giraffe lion) and some other games.
After spending a week at our NPS site we headed through Nairobi to Lake Nakuru National Park which is located in the rift valley. We drove along the rim of the rift valley for a long time before we decided into the valley. It was actually cold on the top, an odd sensation since we have been in the hot rangelands for so long. Along the way we stopped at Lord Delamears (an infamous rest stop) where they actually had hot dogs and burgers and smoothies. I know this information may not seem very exciting to you but this rest stop will never be forgotten (Goat meat is really not that appetizing – it tends to smell and taste like wet dog.) We arrived at Lake Nakuru National Park a wet and green environment. We stayed in a little enclosure in the center of the park that was built by the Youth Hostels of Kenya. It was a bunch of rounded structures with green roofs connected by open tiled hallways -A welcomed change from our cabins. From this location we could see and hear the edge of the lake where hundreds of pelicans and flamingoes were feeding. In the grasses just outside the fence where waterbuck, zebra and gazelles, and within our camp were baboons and vervet monkeys. We went on a couple of game drives and the most exciting thing that we saw where both white and black rhinos! Game driving around the lake was always enjoyable because it was not quite so hot and it smelled like the ocean. It even rained one day and we were standing in the hatches with goose bumps as we watched a white rhino and its offspring grazing by the lake. We spent April fool’s day in Lake Nakuru and in the morning one of the students came running through the site yelling that lions made a kill a KM from our camp and we were going to go see. Since it was April fool’s day we all thought that it was a joke but eventually we decided to get in the vehicles and go check things out feeling lucky that we would get to go on an AM game drive. We had woken up early the previous morning and climbed into the car in the dark to see if we could see any carnivores before they hid for the day. All of us where in our PJ’s some still had tooth brushes and well it wasn’t an April fool’s joke. Two lionesses where sitting beside the carcass of a waterbuck and we watched them begin to eat. It was spectacular – a great start to another wonderful day in Kenya.
While at Lake Nakuru we took a day to venture to Hells Gate national park which is home to KenGen a geothermal power plant. We toured the power plant and learned not only how geothermal works but all the methods the company has undergone to reduce their effect on wildlife and the environment since they are located in the national park. After the tour we went on a hike through a gorge. It was similar to the slot canyons in the western states, but the colors of the rocks were yellow and gray. Apparently it was the canyon where parts of tomb raider were filmed. We hiked through it going down waterfalls since it had rained earlier in the day. There were also sections where steaming hot water was falling down the sides of the canyon providing us with a warm shower – something else that we don’t have here in Kenya. When exiting the canyon we climbed up a steep slope covered in red dirt and at the top you turned around and could see the canyon continuing all the way down towards Tanzania. It was a breath taking view of interesting geological formations covered with green trees in a sky just beginning to glow orange as the sun started to set.
After the hike in the gorge we thought that nothing could beat it but on our day off we had the option of going on a hike with one of our local guards or going to an ostrich farm. I and four other girls decided to forgo Ostrich riding and burgers (a wise decision) to hike with Abraham. We set of from camp in the morning with packed lunch, liters of water, and I got stick carrying a large first aid kit because our advisor was worried about out safety. Once we left camp Abraham took us down to the edge of the river. We walked along the river in the shade of Acacia trees and shrubs looking for crocodiles and hippos. We didn’t see any but we did encounter numerous giraffe, zebra, and impala. We even saw a dung beetle rolling a dung ball. We sat down and ate lunch in the shade of an enormous acacia tree. As we walked back Abraham showed us a cattle dip – where they dip their cattle in a mixture of water and some chemical that removes ticks. Abraham asked me how I dip my cattle; unfortunately I had to tell him that I don’t have any cattle. He seemed a little disappointed.
Our trip was amazing but it feels good to be back in Kimana. Apparently we had some visitors when we were gone. Elephants knocked down some of our fence and were hanging around by our chumba. I have some last papers to write and then our classes are over and research beings. Hopefully I will be able to post some photos soon. Happy Spring everyone!
Although we were close to Nairobi we weren’t allowed to go into the city. We did however have some exciting excursions to the suburbs. Most notably we went to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Where we got to see what they are doing to rehabilitate orphaned elephants (Most of their mothers are killed by poachers) back into the wild. We watched them play and a few came up and tried to play with us. They were only a few years old and some were already bigger than we were. The most exciting part of this visit was the three month old black rhino that they brought to show us. It really liked to have mud rubbed on its skin so it would role in the mud and then rub up against your legs. I got attacked several times and left with my legs covered in mud but that really didn’t matter because I think that baby rhinos are the cutest baby animals ever. They also had a blind rhino at the sanctuary which would let you rub its sides and touch its horn. Rhino skin is amazingly hard and tough and feels like solid wood when you knock on it. Later in the day we visited a giraffe center for individuals who can no longer survive in the wild. If you put a piece of food in between your lips a giraffe with come and lick it out – a giraffe kiss. Their tongues are extremely long and very rough. We also went to the Kazuri bead factory which provides employment for single mothers. They are all hand painted beads made from clay that is excavated at in the foothills of Mount Kenya.
The next day we had classes but as usual our classes reach far beyond the classroom. We were trained in how to use controlled burning as a management tool. After a lecture we walked outside and used drip torches to burn a certain area in out camp. It was fun but also terrifying since we are experiencing a drought and everything is so dry that it catches so quickly. We had “fire truck” with us to make sure nothing got out of hand.
We also walked over to a local primary school house to play with the children and donate school uniforms, books, pens, and sweets. They were very shy compared to the other schools we have been to. They sang us songs and we attempted to sing them some but they always sound so much better than us. We played duck suck goose except modified to twiga twiga simba (Giraffe giraffe lion) and some other games.
After spending a week at our NPS site we headed through Nairobi to Lake Nakuru National Park which is located in the rift valley. We drove along the rim of the rift valley for a long time before we decided into the valley. It was actually cold on the top, an odd sensation since we have been in the hot rangelands for so long. Along the way we stopped at Lord Delamears (an infamous rest stop) where they actually had hot dogs and burgers and smoothies. I know this information may not seem very exciting to you but this rest stop will never be forgotten (Goat meat is really not that appetizing – it tends to smell and taste like wet dog.) We arrived at Lake Nakuru National Park a wet and green environment. We stayed in a little enclosure in the center of the park that was built by the Youth Hostels of Kenya. It was a bunch of rounded structures with green roofs connected by open tiled hallways -A welcomed change from our cabins. From this location we could see and hear the edge of the lake where hundreds of pelicans and flamingoes were feeding. In the grasses just outside the fence where waterbuck, zebra and gazelles, and within our camp were baboons and vervet monkeys. We went on a couple of game drives and the most exciting thing that we saw where both white and black rhinos! Game driving around the lake was always enjoyable because it was not quite so hot and it smelled like the ocean. It even rained one day and we were standing in the hatches with goose bumps as we watched a white rhino and its offspring grazing by the lake. We spent April fool’s day in Lake Nakuru and in the morning one of the students came running through the site yelling that lions made a kill a KM from our camp and we were going to go see. Since it was April fool’s day we all thought that it was a joke but eventually we decided to get in the vehicles and go check things out feeling lucky that we would get to go on an AM game drive. We had woken up early the previous morning and climbed into the car in the dark to see if we could see any carnivores before they hid for the day. All of us where in our PJ’s some still had tooth brushes and well it wasn’t an April fool’s joke. Two lionesses where sitting beside the carcass of a waterbuck and we watched them begin to eat. It was spectacular – a great start to another wonderful day in Kenya.
While at Lake Nakuru we took a day to venture to Hells Gate national park which is home to KenGen a geothermal power plant. We toured the power plant and learned not only how geothermal works but all the methods the company has undergone to reduce their effect on wildlife and the environment since they are located in the national park. After the tour we went on a hike through a gorge. It was similar to the slot canyons in the western states, but the colors of the rocks were yellow and gray. Apparently it was the canyon where parts of tomb raider were filmed. We hiked through it going down waterfalls since it had rained earlier in the day. There were also sections where steaming hot water was falling down the sides of the canyon providing us with a warm shower – something else that we don’t have here in Kenya. When exiting the canyon we climbed up a steep slope covered in red dirt and at the top you turned around and could see the canyon continuing all the way down towards Tanzania. It was a breath taking view of interesting geological formations covered with green trees in a sky just beginning to glow orange as the sun started to set.
After the hike in the gorge we thought that nothing could beat it but on our day off we had the option of going on a hike with one of our local guards or going to an ostrich farm. I and four other girls decided to forgo Ostrich riding and burgers (a wise decision) to hike with Abraham. We set of from camp in the morning with packed lunch, liters of water, and I got stick carrying a large first aid kit because our advisor was worried about out safety. Once we left camp Abraham took us down to the edge of the river. We walked along the river in the shade of Acacia trees and shrubs looking for crocodiles and hippos. We didn’t see any but we did encounter numerous giraffe, zebra, and impala. We even saw a dung beetle rolling a dung ball. We sat down and ate lunch in the shade of an enormous acacia tree. As we walked back Abraham showed us a cattle dip – where they dip their cattle in a mixture of water and some chemical that removes ticks. Abraham asked me how I dip my cattle; unfortunately I had to tell him that I don’t have any cattle. He seemed a little disappointed.
Our trip was amazing but it feels good to be back in Kimana. Apparently we had some visitors when we were gone. Elephants knocked down some of our fence and were hanging around by our chumba. I have some last papers to write and then our classes are over and research beings. Hopefully I will be able to post some photos soon. Happy Spring everyone!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
I know it sounds like being here in Kenya is non-stop adventures, but I am actually doing school work. We just had a serious bout of papers due (four to be exact) and we just finished finals which are 45% of our grades (four of those as well). Now we are about to go to our other site NPS which is located near Nairobi National Park. We will be there for a week and a half and then we are going on another expedition to some of the national parks in the area. We won’t have internet for the next two weeks but I promise to tell of my adventures when I return.
Since we have been swamped with work we haven’t done too much in the past week and a half. For one of our assignments we went out and interviewed farmers in the Loktokitok district about human wildlife conflict (HWC). We were split into groups of four and herded into the landcrusiers. One by one the cruisers stopped along the road and our professor would call out a group number. Those students got out of the vehicle and the professor introduced them to their local guide and then got back in the vehicle and moved on to the next cite. We were dropped off along a side road and introduced to our guide, Edmund, a 20 year old who just graduated from high school and is hoping to attend university within the next few years. Our group, with the aid of Edmund, walked around and asked farmers if we could interview them. All in all we interviewed six farmers, all of who said that elephants destroy about 30 % to 50% of their crops. It was exciting to get out in the field and actually talk to the local people to see their real views on issues. We are presented all this information in class but it really doesn't being to sink in until a farmer shows you the elephant tracks alongside his field, and the maize that was eaten by zebra. We have all come to Kenya as animal lovers and advocates of conservation, yet this experience has shows us how much a nuisance the animals we came to protect are to the people that live here. We are learning that there is a lot more to conservation than originally assumed. The night before our exams I went to bed at 12:00pm. I was having trouble falling asleep because I could hear famers yelling and shouting and dogs barking and howling at elephants that where attacking their fields. I was lying in bed trying to get sleep so that I could pass an examination while these farmers where trying to defend the crops that are their families source of food and income. The experiences here are truly showing us how privileged we are to be in university, not to mention putting things in perspective.
Before our exams we had a community service day. We drove to a local school and built them benches and soccer goals. Since there where 32 of us there were more hands than hammers. Most of our time was spent just playing the children- a mzungu recess. When we arrived this boy came and grabbed my hand and showed me the school rooms and told me what grade he was in and where he lived. Children are easier to talk to than adults here since all of them learn English in school. We played with balls made out of socks stuffed with plastic bags and bamboo sticks. We raced and played the Maasai version of ring around the rosy. They were also huge fans of piggy back rides and piggy back ride races. You would pick up one kid and run around with them on your back and finally convince them to get off only to have another one jump on your back. By the end of the day my legs where so soar it felt like I spent the whole day at the gym doing resistance squats. It also took me 20 minutes to brush all the knots out of my hair. The Maasai shave their heads, even the women and children, so when anyone has long hair, especially long blonde hair they love to touch and play with it. We were so exhausted on the way home that everyone fell asleep in the car, which is not an easy feat since the roads are ridiculously bumpy. One you fall asleep you look like one of those bobble heads that can be attached to the dashboard of your car.
They day after our community service was the last day one of our staff members was going to be with us, Marius. He got a higher paying the job for the government and couldn’t give up the opportunity since he has children that need to go to school. Only primary education is free in Kenyan, secondary school must be paid for and university is very difficult for most to attend from this area. As in any official Kenyan celebration we slaughtered a goat and roasted it in the fire pit. We also played volleyball, which is surprisingly popular in Kenya. At the end of the night we had a “concert” send off where some of the guys played guitar and plates with spoons. Marius gave is a goodbye speech. For a closing remark he told us that “mountains are the only things that never meet.” I thought it was a good saying and that I should share it with you.
Hope everyone is doing well and I will write of my adventures when I return
Since we have been swamped with work we haven’t done too much in the past week and a half. For one of our assignments we went out and interviewed farmers in the Loktokitok district about human wildlife conflict (HWC). We were split into groups of four and herded into the landcrusiers. One by one the cruisers stopped along the road and our professor would call out a group number. Those students got out of the vehicle and the professor introduced them to their local guide and then got back in the vehicle and moved on to the next cite. We were dropped off along a side road and introduced to our guide, Edmund, a 20 year old who just graduated from high school and is hoping to attend university within the next few years. Our group, with the aid of Edmund, walked around and asked farmers if we could interview them. All in all we interviewed six farmers, all of who said that elephants destroy about 30 % to 50% of their crops. It was exciting to get out in the field and actually talk to the local people to see their real views on issues. We are presented all this information in class but it really doesn't being to sink in until a farmer shows you the elephant tracks alongside his field, and the maize that was eaten by zebra. We have all come to Kenya as animal lovers and advocates of conservation, yet this experience has shows us how much a nuisance the animals we came to protect are to the people that live here. We are learning that there is a lot more to conservation than originally assumed. The night before our exams I went to bed at 12:00pm. I was having trouble falling asleep because I could hear famers yelling and shouting and dogs barking and howling at elephants that where attacking their fields. I was lying in bed trying to get sleep so that I could pass an examination while these farmers where trying to defend the crops that are their families source of food and income. The experiences here are truly showing us how privileged we are to be in university, not to mention putting things in perspective.
Before our exams we had a community service day. We drove to a local school and built them benches and soccer goals. Since there where 32 of us there were more hands than hammers. Most of our time was spent just playing the children- a mzungu recess. When we arrived this boy came and grabbed my hand and showed me the school rooms and told me what grade he was in and where he lived. Children are easier to talk to than adults here since all of them learn English in school. We played with balls made out of socks stuffed with plastic bags and bamboo sticks. We raced and played the Maasai version of ring around the rosy. They were also huge fans of piggy back rides and piggy back ride races. You would pick up one kid and run around with them on your back and finally convince them to get off only to have another one jump on your back. By the end of the day my legs where so soar it felt like I spent the whole day at the gym doing resistance squats. It also took me 20 minutes to brush all the knots out of my hair. The Maasai shave their heads, even the women and children, so when anyone has long hair, especially long blonde hair they love to touch and play with it. We were so exhausted on the way home that everyone fell asleep in the car, which is not an easy feat since the roads are ridiculously bumpy. One you fall asleep you look like one of those bobble heads that can be attached to the dashboard of your car.
They day after our community service was the last day one of our staff members was going to be with us, Marius. He got a higher paying the job for the government and couldn’t give up the opportunity since he has children that need to go to school. Only primary education is free in Kenyan, secondary school must be paid for and university is very difficult for most to attend from this area. As in any official Kenyan celebration we slaughtered a goat and roasted it in the fire pit. We also played volleyball, which is surprisingly popular in Kenya. At the end of the night we had a “concert” send off where some of the guys played guitar and plates with spoons. Marius gave is a goodbye speech. For a closing remark he told us that “mountains are the only things that never meet.” I thought it was a good saying and that I should share it with you.
Hope everyone is doing well and I will write of my adventures when I return
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