Heri ya Pasaka! (Happy Easter!),
I hope everyone has had an amazing holiday filled with
happiness and friends and family. I am
so behind on my blog due to our camping trip and something going on everyday
around here, but I am doing my best to catch up! Thanks again for reading!
The next day in Tanzania, we had another early morning because we were heading back to Mto wa Mbu to have more lectures and do another exercise. The first exercise that we were completing that day was a birding exercise where we had to find and identify birds in the middle of a rice field! One of the groups got to stay on the nice and wide dirt path to look for birds, but I was assigned to the group on the narrow path barely wide enough for one foot and rice fields with foot deep water on both sides! It was quite a balancing feat for over an hour and half with 15 other students in the middle of this tiny path, looking through binoculars and trying to look in books to see the kind of birds we were seeing. Somehow, none of us fell in at all and it was a pretty great challenge that we overcame that day.
As soon as we were finished with this exercise, we once again found a nice green grassy spot, set up our crazy creek chairs, and had a lecture on the bush meat industry in Tanzania and the challenges that come from both poaching and the fact that Tanzania legally allows hunting of wildlife animals if you have a permit. I was so fascinated because Kenya does not allow hunting at all, so it was a whole new issue to learn about specific to this area. Kioko gave this lecture to us and it was really cool to start a completely new project. The only issue that I had during this lecture is that there was a group of around 5 kids climbing the tree right over my head! They were so distracting and whispering the entire time and I was so scared since they were right over my head! It was funny at the same time because I would look up to make sure it was all still ok and they would be staring straight back down at me and we would all start laughing. It was definitely a distraction that I didn’t need during this lecture, but at least it kept me entertained!
When we finally got back, we all went straight to work on our baboon papers to try and get them done by the due date and do really well on them! After about 2 hours straight of working on them, I really needed a break from the silly baboons that I don’t really like in the first place, so me and a few friends walked down to a local t-shirt shack that has lots of clever Tanzania shirts and some purses and sandals! It’s around a 25 minute walk, so it was a really great break and before coming back straight to camp, we stopped to have a nice cold orange Fanta downtown before having to go back to work. We always sit on this tiny bench outside of the duka (shop) and people watch the cars going by and talk about camp and Tanzania and what we think of everything. I think sitting on that bench is one of my favorite parts of this area because it’s relaxing to sit with friends, feel like a local, and just feel like we are finally at home in Tanzania. We had to be back to camp by six, so we headed back and finished our papers up the rest of the night to get them turned in on time before heading for some well-deserved sleep!
The next day was our first and only trip to the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most world renowned conservation areas. The crater is home to some of the highest concentrations of mega fauna in the world and is sometimes even considered the 7th wonder of the world. Needless to say, I was so excited to go that I could barely contain it any longer. I had my stuff in the car before most people were even done eating breakfast, and I got an amazing car with a really great group of girls and Christian, our WM professor who I heard is really good luck when it comes to spotting animals!
The drive to the crater is about an hour and a half total,
including the stop at the gate. We stopped
there to pay to go in, and then continued the scary one lane road drive to the
top of the crater with amazing views into what was to come down below. At the top of the ridge of the crater, we had
a lecture with a warden that is in charge of the conservation area. The lecture that this man gave was amazing
and really showcased what an amazing conservation area this is and how
successful it has been in the past several decades. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is
completely self-funded from tourist fees, tour company fees, and lodge fees
that must be paid to be in the area. They
have banned farming completely from the crater, but still allow livestock to
graze so that the people that have always lived in this area still have a place
to live! They have even moved some of
the Maasai people out of the crater, guaranteeing them housing, farming money,
food, hospitals, and schools, as long as they leave the area to help with the
high population using the resources. It
was amazing to see how differently this park was run compared to others we had
been to and I was definitely impressed as we walked out of that lecture.
We loaded the cars back up, got our worksheet out that we would be completed and started our descent into the crater. The drive down is insane, super steep, and needs four wheel drive to be done safely! The drive reminded me of a drive I had done once with my parents in Utah and I definitely found myself holding my breath at certain twists and turns along the way. When we finally reached the bottom, I just knew this was going to be an amazing day. Right off the bat, our professor directed our car away from all of the other cars so we would be able to see different things. And boy did it pay off immediately. Only two minutes from the bottom of the drive, we saw a group of 5 adult hyenas sleeping in a water hole really close to the road. Then, just on the other side of the road was two little hyenas and their mom in a different water hole! I couldn’t believe how close they were to us, especially because I had not seen a hyena that closely until that point! Our professors decided that he was going to be a fortune teller and decide what animals we would see throughout the day and when and the next thing he called was a Serval cat.
As we kept driving, I was literally amazing at the number of animals that we found in the park. There was not one second that I could not see some sort of animal really close to the car. This included lots of Thomson’s gazelles, grant’s gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, and elephants. I have never been in a park with that many animals the entire time and I couldn’t stop looking around on all sides! I almost made myself dizzy in the process not wanting to miss anything that was going on!
Just when I was about to take a break and get out of the sun, someone in my car suddenly saw a Serval cat, just like Christian had told us! They are really hard to see because of their small size and the tall grass, so we were so luck y to see one! It quickly moved away from our car unfortunately, but we all got some great pictures as it moved toward the thicker and taller grasses. I was so happy to see a new animal that we haven’t yet and was sure hoping to see a cheetah since we hadn’t seen any of those either.
Unfortunately, Christian’s next prediction was a herd of Simba, and once again, he was right! We saw a male lion and a few females passed out on the edge of a water bank only a few feet from where the road weaved around! They were very sleepy and not moving anytime soon, so we decided as a group that it was definitely time for some lunch.
Lunch at the crater is taken by the hippo pool, where there are a few hippos in the distance and some insane birds that will take your lunch right out of your hands! We had to eat our lunch in the car with the hatches and windows closed, but fortunately for us, one girl in our group forgot that rule and walked outside with an apple in her hand. In only a few seconds, a giant bird with a 5 foot wingspan swooped down and stole the apple she had been eating. I was laughing so hard, but she didn’t find it as funny as I did. After we finished eating, we took some picture by the hippo pool and the zebra around it and left quick to have more time in the crater looking for cheetahs.
The first animal we found this time was another simba, once again what Christian had suggested, and it walked right by another car filled with our students! It was one of the bigger lions I had seen, and right after that, we found another entire pride of lions hiding in thick long grass away from the road. We couldn’t even figure out a total number of lions because of their intense hiding spots! Suddenly, as we were watching these lions, a huge rainstorm came over the top of the crater and we started to feel rain. We drove around it, trying to avoid the storm and its weird movements! But finally, it caught up with us and we had to close the hatches and curl up inside the car together. It always feels so small when the hatches are closed compared to the free feeling that you get being half out of the car as you fly through the park. I was not very happy about the rain though because the big cats hate the rain and always find places to hide to avoid it. It rained for around 40 minutes, and when it finally stopped, we didn’t have a lot of time left in the crater. I was starting to realize that once again I was not going to see a cheetah, but I couldn’t really complain after all of the other animals we had seen.
We opened the hatches for a little bit longer and once again
came across a pair of lions and some baby zebra running after their moms. It really was a great day, and as we
approached the road that headed out of the crater, I was exhausted and content
with what an amazing day it turned out to be.
The bumpy roads always put me to sleep, and before I knew it, I was passed
out like a baby in my seat.
When I finally woke up, I had a huge surprise waiting for me right in front of my face. As I slowly opened my eyes, realizing we had stopped again at the gate, there was a huge female baboon sitting the driver’s seat of my car!!! It took me a second to realize what it was, especially because my driver had gone to check us out of the park and the rest of the people in my car were asleep also. Finally, my instincts kicked in, and I started screaming and yelling and waving my arms to scare the baboon! At first it just seemed surprised that I was saying anything and then when my hands got really close to it, it realized that I was serious! I almost punched the monkey in the face before it decided to retreat and attempt to get into another car and steal their food and whatever it could get its hands on! I was so shocked that the baboon was right there, but was pretty proud of my quick response of courage instead of fear like I thought would happen. I think that I pretty much saved my entire car with my bare hands hahaha! It was a hilarious way to end an amazing day filled with incredible animals and I feel asleep happy with everything that had happened!
The next day was filled with more lectures, but a very pleasant surprise waiting for us after suffering through the lecture. The place that we were going for the lecture this time was almost two hours away, so I thankfully took a great nap on the way there after waking up early for cook crew. Our first stop was a visitor’s center for a Wildlife Management Area that is attempting to have more tourists come visit and bring in more money. The entire point of the day was to learn about WMA’s, their purpose, and what they do with the money they raise. We were only at the center for a few minutes and then had to continue on to the lecture with the committee in charge of this Burunge WMA. We had a question answer session with this group of people like we had done in Kilimamoja and I enjoyed asking questions about their real objectives. The point of a WMA is to conserve nature and the animals that live there, but unfortunately this group had forgotten that little detail, and instead was just trying to exploit the land to make more money for themselves. Around 50% of the money earned went back to the community for schools and health centers, but the other half goes to the pay checks of the people working on the committee. Almost none of the money goes toward conservation, so it was sad to see something that could be such a position as a negative impact on the environment instead.
When we had finished with this lecture, we went to a local basket shop that the local people run as another way to bring in money from tourists traveling in the area. The baskets are made out of palm leaves and every single one is completely different than the others! Some of these huge baskets are under $5, so my group of students managed to wipe out a huge portion of their stock and we were all so proud of the purchases we had made.
When we were done with all of this, our professors told us that we would be going to a nearby lodge to have our lunches and a drink if we wanted! We had no idea that we were going to do this, and I was so excited to relax with my friends. The lodge was so gorgeous, and walking down a boardwalk, I discovered the pool and an amazing overlook of the entire savannah and Lake Manyara National Park! I found a pool chair, an orange Fanta, and my chapatti and I could not be happier. Another one of my friends joined me and we just sat, listened to music, and talked about traveling after the program. Not that anything lately had been really stressful in Tanzania, but it was great to have nothing else to worry about and just enjoy being in Africa with an amazing view that reminded me a lot of Kenya! We enjoyed every minute before having to leave and taking an amazing nap on the entire trip home! That night, in continuation with the relaxation, we all cuddled up together in the gazebo and watched O Brother, Where Art Thou? It was a great night to end a great day and I went to sleep very peacefully.
Somehow, before I even realized it, it was another non-program day!!! We had lots of options of things to do, and I decided to take advantage of all of them and was so happy that I did so. The first stop on the list was a visit to a local clinic started by an American husband and wife. This clinic was absolutely amazing!!! I cannot even put into words what an incredible resource it is to have in this area. The buildings are gorgeous and very modern, they have their own lab for blood and other testing, they have lots of modern machines for ultrasounds and other things, and in addition to that, they are building an entire new hospital so that they are able to accommodate patients that need to be there overnight! It was amazing and we even had the opportunity to meet the people who started the clinic. It turns out, they had come to climb Kilimanjaro in the past, and the husband got very ill on the mountain and almost did not survive. He was so thankful for the doctors, that he decided, as a doctor himself, that he could do a lot more for the people in this area than he could for people in California! Frank and his wife sold everything they had and picked up and moved to Tanzania! He worked under a doctor in Arusha to learn general medicine for this area and then opened a clinic in Karatu! He does amazing fundraising all over the United States and I definitely left a donation! After all, only $0.60 allows a local citizen to be seen and treated by a doctor, so it felt great to be able to contribute. If anyone is interested the name of the clinic is FAME in Karatu, TZ if you want to learn more! I was so happy that I chose to visit the clinic and meet these incredible people that literally have become my role models after everything they have done for this community.
The rest of the day was dedicated to shopping and the best American food that I have had in Africa yet! We headed down the escarpment to Mto wa Mbu to go shopping at this big touristy town. We were encouraged to stay in small groups because that way we are less overwhelming and can get better prices for things than if we were in a really large group! I stuck with my friend Ally the entire day and we had a blast together! We wandered all over town looking for Maasai blankets, fabrics, sandals, scarves, paintings, and whatever else we could find! It was like a giant scavenger hunt looking for the things we wanted, but we found a local Tanzanian guy named Paolo that helped us with everything that wanted! He literally knew everyone in town and could help us find anything we wanted for the cheapest price! It was so fun, and when I was done, I bought a necklace from him to thank him for all of his help. It was just about lunch time, and there is this amazing pizza shop in Mto wa Mbu that is around a 25 minute walk down the road. The walk is actually really pretty and it wasn’t too hot that day so the walk was really enjoyable! We finally got to the pizza shop and surprisingly there were no other students there. We got two cokes and split a margarita pizza. It was really fast to come out, even though they made it from complete scratch, but it was AMAZING!!! They had awesome cheese, lots of spices on top, fresh tomatoes, and a crust that rivals a lot of my favorites in the United States. Ally and I finished it easily and were so happy with our choice! It was so good and then walk back to town was definitely a good thing after stuffing ourselves with the entire thing!
When we got back to town, we had a little more time, so I bought some other really cool things before having to lead the cars back up! I almost fell asleep in the cars again on the drive back! We took another walk into Rhotia when we got back so that I could pick some things up from the tailor and I was so happy with how everything turned out. It was a great day and I was so happy with everything that I bought that day!
The next day, it was time to get serious for exams and final assignments. In fact, by that Sunday, we would be completely done with our four classes and from there on, we would only have our directed research project to complete the rest of the semester. In the morning, we woke up and had a giant group discussion on all of the topics that we had covered since we got to Tanzania! It was really fun to work in groups and present what we had learned and it was a great review before starting to study for exams. As soon as we were done with presentations, our professors told us what we really needed to focus on for the exam that would be on Sunday! It was great because they really focused the topics and told us every single thing that would be important! I wasn’t as worried about these exams as I was in Kenya. After the review session, we finally got to find out what out Directed Research projects were going to be! We had no idea what the topics were at all, so each professor presented what they would be doing research on and what we would be doing as our project. We all had to listen closely and turn in our preferences so that we could work on the project that was most interesting to us. I definitely wanted a project in WM or WE, but I decided that any would be ok since I am in Africa doing research. How can any project be bad in those circumstances!?!
After our classes and reviews and everything in the morning, we had lots of time to study and work on papers that were due that day. After finally finishing a paper for EP, Chelsea and I decided to take a really long walk around the long loop around camp. The path is probably around 2 or 3 miles and filled with tons of huge hills up and down. We were on a very relaxing walk, so it took us about an hour and a half to do, but it was great conversation with one of my best friends in gorgeous weather with amazing views. We were gone for a long time, but I was so happy and peaceful when I returned that I had no regrets. We even watched Peter Pan when we got back until dinner so that our brains could have a nice break before our huge study day the next day.
That night, we had a huge camp fire outside of the kitchen, and it started as only a few of us sitting around and talking. Someone turned on music and of course, I got up and started dancing like a freak around the fire pit! Before I knew it, around 15 other people had joined and we were making up ridiculous dances around the fire to songs from 1960 all the way until songs from before we came to Africa! It was so fun and we were all laughing so hard and getting an amazing workout in the process. I of course showed off my dance moves that I had been saving since Maasai Prom and we all had a great time haha!
The next day was an ALL DAY study day, which I always get overwhelmed with! I woke up early, started studying before everyone was up so that I could focus, and then took a nice break for breakfast and a movie break! I kept studying all day, sitting in the library with a few friends and typing up all of my notes that I had taken while in Tanzania. After lunch, I walked down to the tailor to pick up my hoodie that I had made and had a soda with a few friends to have a mental break. The rest of the day, I locked myself in my banda and studied non-stop! I felt really prepared and was happy to get a nice dinner break after studying!
Then, to make the day amazing, Jenna and Sipaya from Kenya showed up in Tanzania to bring our huge car that we needed to take on expedition with us!!! None of us knew that Jenna was coming and we all screamed when we saw her in the front seat of the car!!!! I was so excited and then we found out she was coming on our entire expedition with us! I don’t think any of us could contain our excitement when we heard the news! It was a great surprise and it made me look forward to expedition even more!!!
Finally the day was here: Exam Day. The exam this time in Tanzania was one big exam that counted for 20% of our grade in all three classes!!! Each class had one question with several parts, and we had 2 hours to finish the exam. The questions were really tough and I took to the last minute to finish all parts of every question! It was somewhat stressful, but as I walked out, I felt very confident with my answers and couldn’t contain my excitement that we were done with classes!!!
The rest of the day was filled with packing, cleaning, and learning all the rules of our next expedition since we would be leaving the next day bright and early!!! I somehow was packed really early, which never happens if anyone knows me, and I got to watch another movie with some friends and relax now that classes were DONE!!! I could barely sleep that night in anticipation of camping in the middle of the Serengeti for the next five days!!!
Stay tuned to hear all about our amazing trip to Serengeti and all of the amazing things that we saw within feet of our cars while we were there! Thanks again for reading all of this!
I love and miss you all!!!
Mollie Ann
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