I have spent the last seven days of my life analyzing data and writing a 20-30 page paper on “The Effects of Land Use Changes on Food Security and Nutrition in the Ambosei Ecosystem, Kenya”.  Needless to say, I have lost a few brain cells so I apologize if this blog post is incomprehensible.  There are 28 of us here all writing similar lengthy reports on various topics, and we have all at some point had to resist the urge to throw our computers across the room. A typical day consists of waking up at 8 am, writing until lunch, writing some more, taking a break to run circles around the camp, and then writing again. The good news is that I have finally finished a rough draft, so hopefully all I have to do is make a few revisions and I am DONE! Though the process is strenuous, there are some rewards.  When analyzing data I cross tabulated survey responses on the respondents’ location and food security and found that those living on the slopes of Kilimanjaro were less likely to be food secure than those living in the Kuku or Kimana areas. This was strange, because the Kilimanjaro area is known to have much more fertile soils. I asked myself what was different about the Kilimanjaro region that would have this effect, and remembered that this was the only location which relied primarily on rain-fed agriculture as opposed to irrigation. So, I decided to cross-tabulate the data on rain-fed vs. irrigated farming and food security and found that those who used irrigation were much more likely to be food secure! After this whole process I was super happy because it made me feel way smarter than I actually am. So, I may not be living up to my faced paced adrenaline filled typical lifestyle, but I am HIKING KILIMANJARO IN TEN DAYS so I am hoping I will more than make up for it then!  We have only 3 days to finalize our reports and 2 days to formulate and present a community presentation, and then our academic work is done! Oh, and don’t worry, I will have a copy of my research paper with me at all times so you can all read the riveting tale of food security and nutrition in southern Kenya.

Location: Kimana, Kenya

Location: Amboseli, Kenya

So yet again I have been super busy and not writing in my blog before I pass out every night. We have just started doing fieldwork for our directed research projects! I am in the group who is studying environmental policy, so I spend my days walking from farm to farm asking people 68 questions (literally) about their lives. We are studying the land use changes in the area and the effects they have on all different aspects of life. There are nine of us in the group and we all picked a different focus area from sustainability of agriculture to waste management to human wildlife conflict. I decided that I might as well try and connect my directed research to my actual major, so I am studying the effects of land use on health and nutrition.  This should be interesting, as I haven’t actually taken a nursing or nutrition course yet (hopefully google comes through for me). The interview process involves long hours in the hot Kenyan sun (8am-4pm), an abundance of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and talking to the always interesting and welcoming local people. The first two days we went to the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, where the agriculture tends to be pretty good due to naturally high soil quality. I didn’t really know how the first interview was going to go, but I jumped right in and didn’t make any major mistakes. Luckily we split into smaller groups of two or three people, and each of these groups have a local guide who speaks English, Swahili, and a variety of other tribal languages. The landscape for some reason reminded me of Switzerland- It must have been the cornfields and sunflowers and giant mountain in the background. Everyone we tried to interview was more than willing to talk to us, which was surprising as I’m sure if we tried to do this in America would we not only not be offered a seat inside the house but would also be chased off the premises with a shotgun.  The third day we went to the town of Kimana, which is a more arid climate, and talked to the farmers there. It was this day that I received my second marriage proposal of the trip from one of the Maasai farmers we interviewed. I decided to let the man keep his self-esteem so I made up a boyfriend. His name was Ross.

We also interviewed a man who was 80 years old. When he told me how old he was I nearly dropped my clipboard because the life expectancy here is about 40. I also shouted in excitement (not recommended interview conduct) when he said that he eats all different kinds of food, because it meant I could potentially say that good nutrition makes it more likely that you will literally live be twice as old as the entire population of Kenya.

                The next day we went back to Kimana and I met my favorite interviewee so far. His name was Peter and he talked to us for over an hour. He was not one who suffered from lack of words, and once I tried to move on to the next question and he shook a stick at me and said “now let me finish!” I think I may have actually laughed out loud, which an interviewer probably shouldn’t do either. He also had a lot of things to say about American politics, which led to a lot of nodding and smiling on my part because it is safe to say that most Kenyans know more about American politics than I do.

                After two days in Kimana we moved on to interviewing people in Kuku group ranch, where the farmland is communal. We drove through the bushland, over the river and through the acacia woodlands  for an hour until we got to our destination. It was obvious from most of the interviews that mzungu (white people) did not venture into this area as often as they did in the other two locations. The first day about 10 children braided my hair while I interviewed their father, and they then followed us to our next stop and proceeded to cram themselves into the tiny house where we were doing our next interview.  Unfortunately the next day was the day that my stomach decided that 2 � months in East Africa was too much to cooperate with. I am pretty sure that I was not fully conscious while conducting the majority of the interviews, and when we were finally done I laid down under an Acacia tree and waited for the car to come. Around this time a couple of Maasai decided to wander through the bushland and then stopped to stare at the mzungu lying on the ground and clutching her stomach like she was about to give birth. My partner told me later that they kept asking our guide how tall I was for some reason, and also what kind of crops we grew in America. Luckily tomorrow we have a well-deserved day off when we will all go to a lodge and eat cake and sit by a pool!

Location: Amboseli, Kenya

                A few days ago we had a second homestay here in Kenya.  This was a great experience because this time we would actually be staying with some Maasai mamas who live in bomas made out of mud and cow dung. The first thing we did when we arrived and met our mama was, to no surprise, make chai. This time, however, the cooking hut was considerably smaller. The entire structure was about the height of my shoulders and with me, my classmate Anna, and our Mama all in there was just enough room. The chickens, however, did not realize this and kept trying to join the party. When this happened, our mama would chase them out with her cooking spoon which resulted in a temporary chaos and a lot of flapping wings. Our Mama spoke no English and only a few words of Swahili, which made communication very limited (unless one of her 27 children was in the vicinity to translate). Anna and I decided that instead of spending the day in silence, we would just sing to pass the time. This turned into all of us singing the same tune over and over, but each time incorporating one of the few words we all understood. Chai was one of these words, and thus the chai song was sung during every activity for the rest of the day.

 After we had our fill, it was time to go collect water from the stream which was about �-1/2 mile away. This was accomplished by taking large plastic cans, attaching a leather strap to both sides, and then putting the strap around your head. This was easy enough on the way there when the containers were empty, but was somewhat difficult after they were filled with multiple gallons of water. We ran into two other SFS students on the way there, and my friend Emma (stagger stepped and out of breath) said in a strained voice “Just wait till they’re full!” For some reason, I found this process oddly enjoyable.

When we got back it was time to start cooking our lunch of ugali and cabbage. The water was boiled on a small stove heated by sticks. Our mama wanted to make sure that both Anna and I got the full cultural experience, so every time she did something (even as simple as putting another stick in the fire or stirring the cabbage) she did it, then I did it, then Anna did it. She was also fascinated by our cameras, and every time we did these tasks she would yell “piga picture!” I have over a hundred pictures from the day.

After enjoying our lunch, we went to collect firewood. Mama handed us each a machete and the same leather straps we used to carry the water. We walked into the woods and started hacking of branches, somewhat unsuccessfully in mine and Anna’s case. The thing about woody species here is that everything has thorns. Everything. When you finally could pick up a stick without getting stabbed, you had to scrape off all the thorns with your machete. As it took both Anna and I twice as long to do this as it took our mama, she eventually just told us to go stand in the shade. When enough firewood was collected we bundled it together with the leather straps and carried it back the same way we carried the water.

When we got back our mama then taught us how to make the beaded bracelets that all the Maasai women wear. The beads are TINY, so one small bracelet took us almost 30 min to make. I actually tried hard to make a pattern out of mine, but when one of the kids went to put it on my hand half the beads fell off. I guess she felt bad, so she put some back on for me. She got tired of the pattern though, so now half the bracelet is half blue, white, black, and red, and the other half looks like the rainbow. Which admittedly kind of makes it cooler.

Since the Maasai practice polygamy, there were several other mamas of the same husband living nearby. Some other SFS students were with these mamas, so we all got together and played with the kids. All of the kids really wanted to braid our hair, which resulted in all of us having various forms of interesting hairstyles. After that we played a lot of games that were similar to ones played by children in America, including Simba Simba Twiga (or Lion Lion Giraffe), which is the Kenyan version of Duck Duck Goose. It was really cool to spend the day like this and get a better understanding of what the lives of the local people are like here.

Location: Kimana, Kenya

Just got back from our second expedition of the semester in Lake Nakuru National Park! This was a lot different from the Serengeti the park is much smaller and has a lot of marshes and forests instead of grasslands. SFS also decided that instead of tents, we would be staying in what my friend Emma called the “Orphan Annie Room” which was a circular room containing 18 bunk beds which meant the majority of our group slept under one roof.

                The ride there was 10 hours long, but wasn’t bad because it became what one can only describe as “The Food Tour of Kenya”. Our first major stop was just outside of Nairobi at a supermarket called Tuskies. We all pretty much went hog wild when we got in there, because it was just like a Walmart which meant they had ICE CREAM and CHOCOLATE! Everyone bought about a month’s supply of food and then proceeded to the outside of the store to eat it in about 20min flat. After that we drove another few hours then stopped at a gas station which had several nearby caf�s and mini marts. Here you could buy milkshakes, iced coffee, and yogurt, none of which any of us were able to consume since we left the US in January. These stops were successful in putting us all in food comas, which meant that the 10 hour drive actually went by fairly quickly. 

                When we arrived at the Lake Nakuru park entrance, we were greeted by the sight of a herd of zebras and some vervet monkeys in the parking lot. We had only a 15 min drive from the gate to our campsite, as opposed to the 2-3 hour one in the Serengeti. Before we got out of the cars we were warned that we would likely be sharing our campsite with baboons. If they got too close, we were allowed to try and chase them away. After we all unloaded our stuff and had explored the campsite, a group of baboons was discovered inside the fence. My friend Arjun and I had fun running after them and were usually successful in eradicating the campsite of primates (until they decided it was safe to come back). One morning, however, some members of our group awoke to the sound of their door opening and saw a baboon reach in and grab their trashcan (trashcans are like Tastycakes to them) and then take off running through the camp. The guard saw the culprit and began to chase him away. The only problem was the kitchen building was in between the baboon and freedom. This did not remain a problem for long as the baboon quickly leaped into a tree (albeit leaving the goods behind) and then jumped onto the roof in order to make his escape.

                Unfortunately just because we are not at our usual site does not mean we get out of class. The first day was spent in 6 hours of agony as we all tried to pay attention but were really thinking about all the cool wildlife we were about to see.  It was on this day that I saw my first Rhino! The coolest thing about these animals is not their horns but their mouths, which look like giant vacuum nozzles. We also got to see a TON of lion cubs lying right next to the road! It was also really cool to smell the marsh, which reminded a lot of us east-coasterners of home, and really made me want to go to the beach.

                On the last day we went on a game drive and then made an afternoon trip to one of the park’s lodges, where we all engorged ourselves yet again (two words: DESSERT. BAR.) They even had whipped cream! We then sat by the pool for a few hours and I had a nice chat with one of the hotel employees, who assured me that the pool was free of both fish and hippos, and who also asked if we had lions and elephants in America.  If only!

Location: Nakuru, Kenya

Hello from Kenya! Its been a few days since we left Tanzania for our second location. It was kind of sad to leave all our professors and the other staff in Tanzania, but the professors here in Kenya are very nice so far. The camp here in Kimana is much larger than the one in Rhotia was, and even has its own volleyball and soccer fields. There is also a lot more resident wildlife here. The baboons hang out all over campus, sometimes even sitting on the front porches of our bandas. This gets interesting when you are running around campus, because baboons are usually not afraid of white women, which means that a nice jog often turns into a game of chicken with a baboon. Luckily the baboons have decided that I am scary enough to avoid, so thus far I am an undefeated champion of baboon chicken. We also have to keep an eye out for black mambas which have been sighted but fortunately no one has ever gotten bit (although I secretly hope I get to see one up close :)).

We also have class in the same place that we eat our meals, which gets kind of distracting when you have an 11 AM class and you can smell the kitchen staff cooking lunch! We will be starting our directed research in a few short weeks, so today we went on a traveling lecture to learn about some of the things we may be researching. The wildlife ecology research is going to be assessing the water quality and quantity in the region and how this affects the local people (and will ultimately effect wildlife conservation). This was good news because it kind of sort of a little bit has something to do with my major! Although we have only been in Kenya for three days, we are leaving for a five day expedition in Lake Necuru tomorrow. Its crazy how fast this semester is going!

Location: Kimana, Kenya

Ok I am finally sitting down and telling you all about the camping trip to the Serengeti! It was an interesting trip from the start as the car I was in broke down about two miles from our camp. This meant that I spent the ride from Rhotia to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater in the front seat of another car, sandwiched between my Ecology professor and the Student Affairs Manager. We stopped at the gate of Ngorongoro and then were luckily able to borrow a car and switched around yet again. My friends and I were sitting in the car waiting for one of the professors to get us a permit when we saw a male baboon approach. The male baboons in Ngorongoro are known to be fearless of tourists, and we had already seen several jumping onto the hoods of cars. We only had a second to be concerned  before the baboon charged at the open window on the driver’s side of the car. My friend Megan tried to roll up the window but wasn’t fast enough, so her face was right next to the window when the baboon leaped up and grabbed the half-closed window and stuck his head in the car. Baboons, by the way, do not look quite so harmlessly amusing when they are 2 feet away (they have crazy sharp teeth and nails).Our reactions were varying and hilarious. Megan jumped back, Emma (who was sitting in the seat on the opposite side of the car of where the baboon was clinging) tried to make a run for it but couldn’t unlock the door, I was sitting there deciding whether to push the baboon out or get out of the car, and the two girls in the back seat started yelling for help. Megan opened her door and was about to make her escape when our driver wandered over and scared the baboon away. Needless to say, we were laughing about this the rest of the day. 

We drove a total of 10.5 hours to our campsite, bumping along the dirt roads through the vast grasslands of the Serengeti. A running joke among the students is avoiding the species association charts that our Wildlife Management Professor makes us do. On these charts we have to count every mammal we see, write down the habitat, if there is a kill, if there is water, etc. The night before we left he asked for volunteers to do the chart, and assured us that we would not really be seeing a lot of wildlife on the way in so it should not be that difficult. Unbeknownst to him, the yearly wildebeest migration was currently making its way through the Serengeti, right along the road we were traveling on. This poor girl who volunteered ended up counting thousands and thousands of wildebeests! When we got there we set up our tents and then had dinner around the campfire.

Every morning we got up at 6am to do a morning game drive, and would then eat, have a lecture, and then do an evening game drive. During the drives we did some activities which got us to practice observing a specific population. This was fun because it meant that we were allowed to name the animals according to a selected theme. I named the elephant population after ski resorts, and my favorites I named Okemo and Killington :). We also saw a few leopards on the evening game drives, who were sitting in the trees not noticing the swarms of tourist cars around them. On our very last game drive, only 10 minuets before we got back to camp, we saw a cheetah! They are almost impossible to see because they blend in with the tall grasses, which come up to their heads.  

We were all sitting around the campfire on our last night in the Serengeti when we heard a low grunting noise. It was so close and so loud that it might as well have been in my ear. We all looked up, unsure of what to do, when our guard Burah (who is usually relaxed and funny) started yelling Tents! Tents! Tents! I’m pretty sure this is one of about 20 words he can speak in English, so we knew it was serious. At varying speeds we all made our way to our tents- some went for the run and dive method, and unsurprisingly to most of you I was one of the people who sat there and thought “can’t I stay and watch?” It turns out a male and female lion had found their way onto the campsite and were making their way by some of the staff members’ tents. Burah and the hired TANAPA guard hopped into one of the Land Rovers and started chasing it away while everyone stuck their heads outside their tents and watched. After about 10 minutes we were allowed to come back out, but were told to not to wander too far. Oh, and if there was a gunshot nothing was dead, it was just used to scare away the lion. Luckily we heard no such gunshot and the rest of the night was uneventful. Overall a great camping trip!

Location: Serengeti, Tanzania

While we are here doing research, SFS wants us to become integrated into the local culture. In order to accomplish this, they decided we would each spend a day with a local family. Ok so confession. I am an awkward person.  In English. How awkward was I going to be in Swahili, where I can only say a few words? (not that this isn’t my typical strategy anyway). The good news was when I saw the list, I found out I was going to be with a woman called Mama Happy. This had to be a good sign. I was paired up with another girl Laura, and we set of on a backwoods excursion in one of the land rovers to get to Mama Happy’s house. When we got there I was surprised by how nice the inside of Mama’s house was. There was a large (relatively) living room with two couches, and the walls were covered in calendars and pictures.  We immediately proceeded to make chai in the cooking hut, which was across the yard and almost as big as the house was. We were able to make conversation (with the help of two phrase books) and help heat up the milk for the chai over a small charcoal stove. And by that I mean three pieces of charcoal in a pot with a grate over it. After chai, we helped Mama sweep her yard with handheld brooms made of some kind of plant fiber. This was kind of fun, because it felt like we were just playing in the dirt! We were also introduced to the two dogs running around, named Peggy and Mack. Peggy even knew how to come and shake, which we found really surprising as we were told that dogs were not pets here.  They were also trained to guard, because whenever Mama Happy said something which I could only guess meant look, the dogs would bolt to the front of the house, jumping over plants and dirt piles on the way. After that we started to make lunch, which was cabbage and ugali. I got a crash course in cooking when I was told to stir the ugali, which when heated becomes the consistency of quicksand. An added challenge was that the pot containing the ugali was as big as the stove itself, and there were several moments when our lunch almost ended up on the dirt floor. Mama Happy had a few good cooking secrets though, because the cabbage was surprisingly delicious. We then ate some sugar cane in the backyard while her son Calvin ran around playing with sticks. He also loved to take pictures, and I somehow ended up with about 50 pictures from that day, ranging from me and the family to a banana peel. Mama Happy then decided that she wanted to braid my hair in cornrows. I don’t think the poor woman knew what she was getting into. I have A LOT of hair, and she insisted on braiding every last inch of it. When the two hour process was done, I stood up and said “Now I look like a Tanzanian!” which made her laugh. It was defiantly nice to get to spend a day living like the locals do!

Location: Rhotia, Tanzania

Some of us got up early to hike and watch the sunrise, so Im taking this opportunity to upload a few pics while a lot of people are still sleeping and not using the internet! Muahaha 🙂

Location: Karatu, Tanzania