So I have finally had my African safari experience!! How amazing to see the large animals and colorful birds on the beautiful landscape. The backdrop of the Eastern Arc Mountains made for beautiful photographs and 3 enjoyable days in the outdoors. Riding on the top of the Safari Truck is so awesome and makes the whole experience so memorable (and so do the people you share it with!! J) and authentic. The highlight of the trip was racing through the landscape with the wind blaring in my face  to find a lion pride who was feasting on a wildebeest. Who would have thought I would ever see that in person. Maybe I will post a picture of it when I return to the states. It is so frustrating that I cannot share these awesome photos! Anyway it was a well deserved trip for all after our week of hard work.

I also had my own little experience apart from the group because when we were doing work in the village the week before I got nipped by a local dog…and didn’t get arabies shot before coming here. Therefore, I have spent a good amount of time in the last few days on bumpy Tanzanian roads in transit to the hospital to get it checked and to a dispensary to get the shots. I have already gotten 2 of the three and am taking antibiotics to prevent an infection. It is not a very bad wound at all and luckily the dog’s teeth did not puncture my pant leg, so the chance of me getting rabies in the first place was very low and we do not think the dog was even infected. I will have to say it has definitely been a different experience and the hospitals here are VERY different than what is in America. They don’t even have band-aids. Seeing the conditions that they operate their facility in has made me appreciate what I have and has encouraged me to be more understanding of their way of life. Even though I wouldn’t have expected to get bit or am glad that it happened, it definitely was eye opening. The medicine here is also very inexpensive, but has to be because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to afford it.

This week starts our final projects and the long haul to the end. Only 2 weeks left!

Location: Mang'ula, Tanzania