Author Archives: tll5109

THON WEEKEND

As I write this entry, THON weekend 2012 is starting back at my second home, PSU.  I send my love and thoughts to the families, committees, and dancers!  Stay strong and THON on FTK, everyone.  Wish I could be there.

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PSU, I know you have given the Four Diamond families so much throughout the year, and this weekend is the culmination of all of that.  Congrats!
Visit THON.org to see what all the fuss is about.
Special shout out to all of my friends who are dancing, especially my fellow Croquet enthusiasts, John Bauer and Robbie Mitchell!

Location: Kenya, Africa

Life Lately

So, the other day we walked to a neighboring secondary boarding school.  The kids (about 10-22 years old) live there.  I met Kelvin, Nicholas, Joseph, and lots of other kids.  They were so welcoming, funny, and kind-hearted.  Two of them were even fighting over me for my hand in marriage.  One even offered me 5 cows!

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We have field lectures sometimes, and the views are always stunning.  Here is one from the other day.
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Yesterday, we all went to donate blood at the local free clinic.  There blood bank refrigerator literally had 3 near-empty bags of blood in it, and they treat so many locals…all for free.  So they really appreciated it, and the doctors were so great!  I got another marriage proposal though from one of the guys drawing blood…
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Today is Valentine’s Day! So we are going to a local primary school to teach a lesson and then play games with the kids (4-16 years old).  We have workbooks and markers and things like that to give them too…
I have some observations, swahili assignments due, so I should get to work!  

Location: Mbirikani, Kenya

My Birthday

A couple of days ago we visited a Maasai tribe boma.  We danced with the Maasai mamas and got to go into their homes.  Then they sold us some of their carvings jewelry, and wraps, all of which were beautiful.  Once I get back to the states, I can upload a video of their song and dance they performed to welcome us.

I turned 21 years old yesterday.  And even though I was thousands of miles from my family, I still had the most amazing birthday I could have asked for.

I went for a run at 6am, did some laundry and then came in for breakfast at 7:30.  After breakfast, we had a field lecture about how to make detailed observations of plants and animals.  Then we prepped for our trip to Amboseli National Park.
The ride in the land cruiser was about 35 minutes on a tarmac road and then about 45 minutes on a dirt road to get to the gate.  Then we opened up the hatches, stood on our seats, and held our breath.
Almost immediately we started seeing amazing things.  A giraffe, thompson’s gazelles, ostriches, elephants, cape buffalo, hippos, fish eagle, secretary bird, warthogs, crowned cranes, superb starlings, grant’s gazelles, hyenas, black backed jackals, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. 
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On the way out of the park, I decided to sit back down in my seat due a bit of heat exhaustion.  But when I heard the word ‘lion’ I stood back up and had the most amazing experience of my life to date.  They were decently far away, but nevertheless, we saw a pride of lions, 5 adult females for sure, and the males probably weren’t far away.  They were walking to get some water, and they were just so powerful looking.  It was incredible.

Location: Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Settling In

Lessons from yesterday:

Run from buffalo (or climb a tree – but not an acacia tree)
Don’t break eye contact with a cheetah or lion
Run to a tree if an elephant charges
Don’t mess with the plants, they are all sorts of nasty.
Baby black mambas are more dangerous than the adults.
Puff-adders are slow, and spitting cobras are sneaky.
Drink ridiculous amounts of water
Re-apply sunscreen at least 4 times a day
Kenyan children are so beautiful and their laughs are so contagious.  They also love making faces and if you tap their shoulder when they aren’t looking.  
Masai Mamas are very aggressive jewelry sellers.  They’ll follow you to your car.
Kimana with some school kids
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View of Mt. Kilimanjaro from KBC (Kilimanjaro base camp)
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Location: KBC, Kenya

London!

We had a layover in London today, so a few of the girls from the group and I decided to take the train into Westminster to do some sightseeing.  I may be exhausted now, but it was so worth it!

I had the feeling being very American, but everyone seemed very helpful.  Crossing the street was probably the strangest thing, because the cars came from the opposite way that I’m used to.  Had a couple tense moments!
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Location: London, U.K.

A day of ‘See you Laters’

Today is the day I leave for Africa.  I refuse to say goodbye, since goodbyes imply permanence.  All situations are temporary.

Excitement is an understatement.  Let’s get this adventure on the road!
My aunt Paige gave me this giraffe that she dubbed ‘Jojo’ so him and I are waiting in the Cleveland airport now.
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My apologies for the picture being sideways!  I’ll try to fix that later…
Anywho, I’m just watching the planes land and take-off until my flight leaves.

Location: Erie, Pennsylvania

Still Getting Ready…

I feel as though there isn’t a time I can remember that I have not been preparing for this trip.  Since the end of finals week, which was December 14th for me, I have spent a little time each day getting ready.  Some call that OCD, but it’s made packing and preparing much less stressful. Packing.JPG

My least favorite part has probably been the vaccines.  Yellow fever gave me…wait for it…a horrible fever.  103-104 at times, but thankfully I had my boyfriend at the time to dote on me 🙂
The typhoid vaccine is not much better.  I chose the pill-form so there are a total of 4 pills that I take every other day.  Today, after taking the 3rd pill, has proven to have the worst side-effects to date.  Not fun times.
I’ll be poppin’ malaria pills like tic-tacs once I get to Kenya, so I hope those don’t have any nasty side effects.
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Preparing for a trip like this takes a lot more thought and planning than most.  I’ll have limited access to internet, and very limited access to any modern conveniences.  That part I’m actually looking forward to!  Getting away from society for a while is going to be nice.  The program I’m going through, SFS, has an intense schedule, but every activity sounds exciting to me!  From field lectures to safaris to volunteering, I’m beyond excited.  From Lake Erie to Central Africa.
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Being a world traveler is something that I would really like to be.  I hope that this trip is going to be the kick in the pants that I need to start my big girl life.  Since I was little I haven’t been like ‘most girls.’  Trust me, I realize that 99% of girls say, “I’m not like most girls!”  But, trust me, I was really different.  From doing math problems on the board at recess in first grade, to spending afternoons saving earthworms from drying out on sidewalks after a rainstorm. 
Special thanks to my friends for always being there for me!
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From my rearview to my windshield.  It’s good to look back, as long as you continue to move forward!
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So, unlike most abroad experiences, mine is going to be spent in a ‘banda’ in the middle of no where.  And I couldn’t be happier about that.

Location: Erie, Pennsylvania

Packing!

As I look out the window at a foot of snow, I can’t help but to get more and more excited for my trip to Africa.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Erie’s lake effect snow storms (we recently experienced thunder snow) but my body doesn’t tolerate cold as well as I would like it to!

Packing is FUN! At least for me, since all these new gadgets and things I’m buying, I have always wanted…but never had a good reason to buy!  Being an adventure junkie, you can imagine how anxious I am to get started on this trip to Kenya and Tanzania.
I recently had shoulder surgery, so I’m going through the rehab process (again).  I can’t help but to ramble on and on about my adventure to my physical therapists, bless their hearts.
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This is my 12 year old puppy, Travis.  He’s bugging me to pay attention to him as I sit here, so I figured I would share!  This brings me to a valid point though.  Someone once told me never to say, “I miss you.”  Only, “I look forward to seeing you again!”  So, to my family and friends, I look forward to seeing you again very much.  I wish I could share this experience with you all.
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Location: Erie, Pennsylvania

As I Prepare…

This was me when I found out that this trip was becoming a reality…I hope someone out there can appreciate my SNL reference.
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As I get everything in place to leave for my new home, I wanted to take a second to set some goals for this blogging experience.  I have never done anything like this before, so, bear with me!

First of all, I want to use this blog to keep my friends and family up to date on what I’m doing.  As you can imagine, having their little girl flown off to Africa must be a little unnerving to my parents.  It’s been my dream ever since I first discovered the television remote and landed on Animal Planet.  All the shows showing the sights and sounds of Kenya and Tanzania (where I am going) really captured my heart.

Secondly, I would like to use this blog to try and share my experiences as best as possible.  I am extremely fortunate to get to go on this adventure, so I would like to give back as much as I can.  By trying to make connections and discoveries, I would like this blog to serve as a second-hand adventure to those who may never have the opportunity to visit.

Lastly, I would like to use this blog to reflect on my own experiences in Africa.  Taking the time to write down what I am learning will be very beneficial to me in learning lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  I have almost two months until I leave, and I already have ants in my pants I’m so excited! 

I know the culture I’m going into is going to be very different than what I am used to, but I have always had an open mind.  If Buddy the Elf can adapt to NYC from the North Pole, I can adapt too.
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I will post later once I start the fiasco of packing.  I also plan on using many more pictures and videos once I get a camera (Christmas presents!!).  

Location: State College, PA 16801