Jambo,
It has been quite a week since the last time I was able to
write. Things got crazy busy here and I
have been working on assignments every open second of the day! If we are not in the field or not sleeping, I
have been working on papers and scientific posters and worksheets! Tonight is the first night that I have been
able to relax without anything else due in the near future!
Other than just the assignments that we have had going on
lately, we have had some great experiences, not only with the field exercises
and lectures, but once again interacting with the locals and getting to go on
amazing hikes and explore new towns. In
the past week, we have had several field exercises where we get to go out into
the community and the field and do random experiments and other data
collection. The first exercise that we
did like this was to estimate the amount of damage that elephants and humans
have on woody vegetation. We literally
got dropped into the middle of nowhere and had to stake out plots in a total of
a kilometer! We worked together,
recording the damage that we saw, what the damage was from, and what species it
occurred on. It was so cool to be in the
middle of nowhere, and there were tons of wild animals right by us, including
zebras and gazelles and even a few giraffes.
Everyone here knows how much I love giraffes and they are always sure to
point them out to me. Another exercise
that we did was to examine the vegetation and the amount of cover that it could
provide for animals and to prevent soil erosion. We had three different techniques to do so,
and being in groups once again, we traveled 2 kilometers, measuring random
plots along the way. For all of these
exercises, we have local guides from Kimana that assist us in the data collection. They are amazing at the amount of knowledge
they have. You can point to any plant or animal and they can tell you the
common name, the scientific name, and the Maasai name. It’s so great to be able to talk to them
about where they went to school and why they chose to come to Kimana for
whatever career they have. The final
field exercise that we completed was for Environmental Policy. We once again got to venture out in the
middle of nowhere and conduct interviews with the farmers in that area. I love talking to people and I really can’t
think of a better way to really understand the human-wildlife conflict in the
area. All of the farmers were so happy
to talk to us and we learned so much about their conflict issues, what they do
to prevent damage from wildlife, and their opinions of the government
organization that controls the wildlife.
We interviewed 9 different farmers, and it’s so crazy because a farm
literally next door to another farm can have completely different answers. At one farm, the farmer said he had no
wildlife conflict at all, whereas his next door neighbor had daily interaction
with wildlife and had damage to crops from the wildlife. It’s amazing how much the answers can vary in
such a small area.
Unfortunately, I finally got sick here for the first time in
the last week. Everyone here caught a
really bad cold, but when mine started to hit my lungs, I figured it was time
to get it checked out. I returned to the
clinic where we gave blood earlier this semester, where I saw some amazing
doctors and was given some medicine to improve how I was feeling. Going to the clinic took FOREVER though! We left camp at 8 am and did not return until
3 in the afternoon. It is a free clinic
to all people, so a lot of the locals take advantage of this amazing
resource. I got to meet a lot of unique
individuals there, including a woman that had lived in California for three
years and wanted to talk to us about it!
It was a very long day of sitting in the sun, but it was good to get
piece of mind.
Another night, we had the option of attending a goat roast
at the fire pit in the main part of our camp. Goat roasts are extremely popular
with the staff, and they decided it would be valuable for the students to
experience also. A goat was purchased in
the market, and we were able to watch it be killed. We watched in the woods, and it was so much
more gruesome than what I expected. I
couldn’t even watch the entire thing.
After the goat was dead, we were able to go through and see how it
worked! We skinned it and looked at its
stomach because it has a similar digestive system to the other ungulates in
this area. It was really disgusting, but
also fascinating to see in person and get my hands on. So much better than reading about it in a
textbook. Then the staff put the goat
on sticks and roasted it over the fire pit.
It was amazing! The Maasai employees of our camp would cut pieces off
and hand them to students. I felt like a
baby bird. It was so good though and
nice to see where our food was coming from for once. The whole roast was a great experience, but
there were definitely parts I could have gone without seeing!
The best part of the last week was our day off on
Saturday. We packed our lunches in the
morning, loaded up the cars, and started driving to a town about 30 minutes
away to visit their market. Before that
though, we had the opportunity to go on an amazing hike. We literally drove 30 minutes from the desert
like climate of Kilimanjaro Bush Camp, and as we approached Mt. Kilimanjaro,
the climate and vegetation made a 100% switch compared to what we were used
to. There were huge green trees, long
green grass, bushes without thorns, flourishing agriculture, and moisture in
the air. It literally felt like I was in
a completely different country, and I couldn’t believe we were so close to our
camp.
When we started the hike, we were
at the top of a hill and started to climb down it toward a corn field with an
AMAZING view of Kili. I had no idea
where we were headed, but I was so happy to be surrounded by so much green
stuff! We started to climb down a
steeper trail, descending into something that looked like a gorge. It was very dense and we could not see where
we were going at all. At the bottom,
though, we popped out right by a huge waterfall and a giant river curving down
through a canyon. It was so unexpected
and that made it that much more gorgeous than it already was. It reminded me of the paradise that Timon and
Pumba lived in during the Lion King!
There were huge boulders and lots of places for us to explore. My friends here are my kind of people because
we immediately started following the river, jumping over narrow parts, rock
climbing up steep edges, and jumping from rock to rock until we couldn’t go any
farther. I felt like I was 5 years old
again going hiking with my parents and sister up in the mountains, jumping over
streams and climbing rocks when they weren’t looking. It was so pretty and a perfect
temperature. I couldn’t believe how
gorgeous it was and how happy I was to just sit there and look around. We had lunch at the base of the waterfall,
and then had to pack up and head back into town to meet the other group of
students.
When we got to town, we went to the VCT, a local aids
testing center, clinic, and counseling service for HIV positive members of the
community. We all gathered in a room
with one of the nurses that worked there and 4 women that were all HIV
positive. The clinic is very small and
only made up of 3 small buildings. They
have recently lost their funding and their resources for the local community
have decreased immensely. It was sad to
hear about everything they had to cut out because of the lack of money. However, the one thing that has been
sustained is the support group, which meets once a week to allow these men and
women to talk to others in the same situation.
The four women that we met were some of the most amazing people I have
ever met. They were so calm about the
entire thing. They each went down the
line and told us their story, like when they found out they had AIDS, who else
in their family has been affected by it, and how they carry on with their daily
lives despite how terrible it can be.
These women were SO strong. I
always picture people with terrible diseases like this one to be feeling sorry
for themselves, complaining about how hard everything is, and how they don’t
know how to cope. But not these
women. They have all continued to work
and support their families, taking every day as it comes and dealing with it if
necessary. Some of the women even had
children that were infected, and to hear them talk about their kids and how it
has changed their lives was incredible to hear.
I have never been so shocked by the strength of the women and how they
didn’t let AIDS kick them to the ground.
Sometimes, I feel like we think our miniscule problems are the end of
the world. Then I see women like this
and it makes me want to hold my tongue.
After we heard all of their stories, they showed us around the other
buildings and invited us to their beading shop.
All of the women make jewelry and bowls and wood carvings and more to
help provide a source of income for their families. We all bought tons of stuff and hopefully
helped these women and their families a little bit.
When we finished at the AIDS clinic, we had a short amount
of time to head into downtown Loitoktok to their Saturday market. There were a lot of the same items, but some
new bags and other things that were really colorful and will make great
gifts. I was shocked when I saw all the
same Maasai mamas at this market!
Apparently they travel to all the local markets to make the most
money. The best part of this market was
a local grocery store where they had ice cream and cold drinks! It’s the first cold things we have had since
we got here, and you can imagine how quickly we devoured the ice cream. It was great and a nice change from the
Kimana market.
As if all of these things weren’t enough, we had one more
amazing experience to wrap up the best day off ever! We got invited to a Maasai wedding in our
neighbor’s boma! We got to get all
dressed up in skirts and jewelry we have purchased and arrived at the boma to
join in the festivities. The weddings in
Maasai culture could not be more different than the United States. There is no official ceremony, but the day
instead revolves around the bride and groom entering the boma together as one,
dancing of all age groups, and some sort of meat slaughter. When we got there, tons of traditional
dancing was going on, and the bride and groom were outside of the fence getting
pictures taken. They invited us to dance
with all of them, and for the first time, I felt like the Maasai enjoyed our
presence and were happy that we were there and interacting in their culture. It was so fun and we danced for a long period
of time with the mamas and the warriors.
We also gave a gift to the bride and groom, so our student affairs
manager presented it to them and they both thanked all of us one by one. It was so cool to be a part of such a
significant celebration in this culture and I was thankful that they invited us
willingly as neighbors. The best part of
the whole wedding happened at the end.
We were all loading up the cars and I told my friend that I really
wanted a picture with one of the warriors.
We got one of their attentions and he came over and posed with me. But right as we were about to take the
picture, a few other warriors saw what was happening and ran over to be in the
picture. The best part? One of these
warriors was the groom!!! All of my
classmates were piled in the cars, and there I was with a group of Maasai
warriors! It was seriously the funniest
experience ever and I couldn’t believe my luck.
Everyone loves the warriors, so I was so lucky to get this picture,
especially with the groom. I will never
forget that picture and the warriors coming running to be in it with me.
Tomorrow we are leaving at 5 am to travel to Lake Nakuru for
our expedition! We are camping right in
the middle of the national park in tents!!! I am so excited to be right in the
middle of the wildlife and to have an amazing camping experience. The drive takes around 10 hours, but luckily
we make stops at curio shops and grocery stores to break up the drive. We even get to drive through Nairobi, which
will be great to finally see the downtown area!
Expedition and all the activities that we get to embark on have the
potential to be the greatest experience of the entire semester. I am so excited and counting down until we
get there! I will write again in a week
after our return to KBC!!!
I hope everyone has had an amazing week and I look forward
to hearing from you soon. My e-mail is mam5810@psu.edu if you ever want to get in
contact with me!
Thanks again for reading and wish me luck on expedition!
Love,
Mollie Ann
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