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Mambo!
Remember how you probably already subscribed to a blog, and this is a totally different one?
Turns out that was a 10-day free trial (I thought it was free) so we're here now (actually confirmed totally free).
If you're on a smartphone, I would recommend turning it horizontally to make this post easier to read.
Anyways, to the part you're actually here for:
First, the mountain was out this morning, so here's my first look at Mt. Kilimanjaro in its full glory:
The first few days in Kenya have been very pleasant! The weather has been 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit, everyone I've met has been incredibly kind, and I've honestly seen more animals then I thought I would at this point (and we haven't even gone out into the field yet). The food has also been very good. Generally, we've had crepes, eggs, and toast for breakfast (although today we had corn... Iowa spoiled me because I was so excited and then I bit into it and it was like I took a bite out of a cob I just picked from the cornfield. I have no idea why it was so hard). For lunch, we've been having pasta, rice, some kind of bean/lentil, and a veggie. Dinner is very similar to lunch. We've had watermelon with each meal, and pineapple for a few of them. There's also meat options, but I don't pay attention to those.
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| Our safari vehicles and a gas station sign |
Speaking of meat options... on Friday we will be watching a goat be slaughtered and then we will dissect it to look at the four compartments of a ruminant's stomach. Then I think they're going to cook the goat for dinner. I know that goat killing isn't for everyone, but I want the full experience so I'm going to it and I'll also be eating a piece of the goat (just one little slice) if I can get past the brain barrier. I will admit I'm quite scared that the goat will scream. When I worked at Old MacDonalds those babies screamed if you looked at them wrong so I can't imagine how vocal it'll be.
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| The end of the walking trail, looking back towards campus |
Anyways, getting past the goat murder. Today (Wednesday the 29th) we had out first full day of classes. Yesterday we just had some orientation and then most of the students played volleyball. Today, we started with Swahili (habari means how are you, njema means good. That's all I remember) then we moved into introduction to the teachers and the structure of courses. Then, Jennifer introduced endangered species conservation. After lunch, Karinge talked to us about the human dimensions of endangered species. It was apretty long day (its also only 4pm). After Karinge's lecture, we saw a baboon though! He was just lurking on the other side of the grass.
Other animals I have seen include Vervets (the monkeys), dik-diks (the little deer looking thing), a lizard (no idea what species), bush babies (not pictured, but they look like sugar gliders), a giraffe (it was grazing a couple hundred feet from the road as we were leaving Nairobi on Monday!), some bush bucks (mama and her baby<3), Guinea fowl, and a bunch of other birds who's names I don't know (although this guy other guy in my class, Gavin, is crazy good at identifying birds. I'll point to a bird 400 feet away barely visible in the trees and say "what's that" and he knows. I don't know how he does it. Also, I saw this CRAZY huge snail (2 days in a row!). It doesn't look big in the photo, but it's the size of my fist.
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| Mama bush buck |
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| Baby bush buck |
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| Giant snail |
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| A vervet family |
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| Mama and her baby |
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| Guinea fowl and dik-diks (on the right) |
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| Our bandas (ft Gavin walking) |
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| A little marsh along the walking trail |
