Monthly Archives: April 2012

Directed Research Continues, My Genius Moment

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

Oops! Catching Up With Events

I had just realized that it’s the third week of school and I haven’t written anything on my blog so far. Oops. Well in my defense, I barely had time to sleep let alone write a blog; however, since a long break is coming up I decided to actually start catching up. So, I’ll start at the beginning with my arrival in Japan and orientation week.

Location: Chiba, Japan

Carnival of Venice

Venice!

Back in February, my roommates and I decided to spend a day in Venice for its annual Carnival. It usually starts 40 days before Easter and ends on Fat Tuesday (the Day before Fat Wednesday). Masks have always been the central feature of the Venetian Carnival. We went to the San Marco square where the majority of the celebration was going on. People dressed up in the craziest masks and full on costumes. I even saw a person dressed as Jack Sparrow, which made me laugh. Of course, no matter what time of the year you are in Venice you must shop for Venetian glass! I got a pretty pair of purple glass earrings, but they have all kinds of things. You can buy glass old-fashioned perfume bottles, shot glasses, jewelry, and picture frames, among others. Also, Venice is the first place you usually think of when you hear of Gondolas. I fulfilled one of the many items on my bucket list by going on a Gondola ride. It was VERYY cold when we went, especially because this winter was the coldest winter Italy has faced in 25 years. But, it was still perfect. It was 25 euro for about 30 minutes. It was so worth it, especially because it was nighttime and we could see the light shining off of the water. If you get a chance, definitely do it. We went with a tour group so we could only spend the day there. However, If I had more time I definitely would have gone back during the semester. It is a really cute town and a good place to walk around and appreciate its quaintness.

Location: Venice, Italy

Rome e Pisa!

I was so excited to travel around to other countries that I did not spend much time traveling around Italy. However, I did see Pisa, Rome, and Venice.

Pisa:

Pisa is very tourist-y, but definitely somewhere you should go if you are spending a decent amount of time in Italy. You obviously have to get the classic tourist picture “holding up” the Leaning Tower. However, what they say about Pisa is true. You could see the important part of Pisa and be ready to leave in about 3 hours. I also recommend getting Pizza there, as I had one of the best Pizzas in Pisa.

Rome:

I describe Rome as the New York and Florence as the Boston. Rome is obviously a lot bigger, so it understandably dirtier and harder to get around. We weren’t used to taking metros around the city, but in Rome it is a must. We saw the Basilica, Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. The Coliseum is worth taking the time out to see. The line is usually very long, but if you have a Roma Pass you can skip the line! The Roma Pass is 25 euro and you can get free public transportation for 3 days, free admission to a few certain attractions (including the Coliseum), and you can skip lines. So it may definitely be worth it to you, depending on what your plans are. The Pantheon is cool too, especially if you are into architecture. The Basilica was one of my favorite things in Rome. After seeing traveling to so many different European cities, it is fair to say that I have seen MANY churches. The Basilica is one of the biggest and most impressive. We climbed all the way up to get the view of Rome. It was unreal. I don’t have any good pictures of the inside of the church, because it was so big and dim that my little camera couldn’t handle it very well.

Overall, I liked Rome as far as visiting goes. But, I am glad I chose Florence because I like the small city vibe it has.

Location: Rome, Italy

Final Stretch, Sort of

I really want to blog about my trip earlier this month, but I’m bogged down by my final essay for school here!

My paper is for my class on castles and it’s about concentric defense–i.e. two walls around a castle or town. I wish I could visit some of them, but most are in Wales. The Tower of London was made into a concentric castle by King Edward I, though; I saw that one! The picture below is of Harlech Castle.

It’s been more quiet than usual in my apartment complex. I guess everyone is studying or has gone home. It’s been raining sporadically here (Rule #1: Never leave without a raincoat) but we got a gorgeous double rainbow out of it last night at least.

I keep looking at the weather reports for Sorrento, Italy, and it’s supposed to be sunny and in the 70s! The forecast for Paris, France, is not so optimistic. But I’m very excited for both trips! Now, just to get this castles paper out of the way…

Location: Galway, Ireland

Bali Adventure! Part 2

Next on my list of things to do in Bali was the white water rafting trip and visit to an elephant park. We arrived at the launch site on the Ayung River where we geared up and set of down the river. This package trip is one of the most popular things to do in Bali, seeing pictures of celebrities such as Johnny Knoxville and Jean-Claude Van Dam have participated in this trip before. After a long hike down the gorge we watched our guides have a quick prayer before we were informed of certain paddling techniques and commands. ‘Boom Boom’ meant pull in your paddle and hold on while ‘Big Boom Boom’ meant get in the fetal position and hold on for dear life. The rafting trip took approximately two hours but seemed to fly by as we saw some of the most unique and awesome cliffs in the world. The canyon that the Ayung had carved created a valley that looked like something out of Jurassic Park with vines over a hundred feet long hanging from cliffs and birds of all size and color flying about. This made things sort of dangerous because I was caught gawking at the sights instead of paying attention the rapids at some times. It seemed like every turn held a new amazing waterfall or cliff formation. One area had carvings which depicted a Balinese Romeo and Juliet-type story. At the end of the jaw-dropping raft ride we got out and climbed about a half hour to a Balinese buffet lunch, which I hit pretty hard, of course.

Ready to raft with Rachel!

Rock Wall Carvings with Liat and Soua

The Gang

After a fantastic lunch we were driven to the elephant park where we got to ride an elephant, feed and take pictures with elephants, and watch an elephant talent show (This park is where Johnny Knoxville was painted by an elephant). Riding an elephant was something I would have never thought I would do in my life, but here I was riding a 5 ton animal. This day was one of the most memorable days of the trip.

Ridin’ and Elephant

Big animals, big appitite

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Bali Adventure! Part 1

G’day Mates,

The thought of leaving Australia so soon was a bit difficult, but knowing that we would be visiting a new and exciting place simply occupied my mind. The first study break had arrived and 10 other American’s and I were headed to the Indonesian island of Bali. I really had no Idea to think of Bali before leaving because I had never been to any foreign country other Australia where cultural differences weren’t so shocking anymore. Right before landing, we fill out our customs cards which included a little disclaimer that read “WARNING death penalty for drug traffickers under Indonesian Law”. I thought this was a little harsh, but I hadn’t slept at all the night before and just took it as a cultural difference. Our group was received by our driver and we were taken in a van to the hotel. I quickly found out that Balinese drivers are crazy. Our van barely stayed on the correct side of the road and everyone was weaving in and out of traffic on their mopeds. As we caroused through the streets of Bali, I got a brief look at the architecture and people. People were carrying huge baskets on their heads, kids were playing in doorways and stray dogs lazily watched the traffic go by. Almost every building we passed contained a shrine that was adorned with flowers and garments.

A community with statues of Hindu Gods

Stone carving shop with Hindu God statues

Our hotel, the Mentari Senur, was a little tropical paradise with a pool and a small restaurant. We were greeted with orange juice as we checked in and were asked to walk around and swim if we wished while the rooms were being prepared. The last place I would have thought to get air conditioning was on a vacation to a third world country but I wasn’t complaining. After some quick breakfast, a few of us went down to the beach and checked out some local shops. Exchange rates were fun because for the shortest time in my life, I became a millionaire. Each American Dollar was roughly worth 8,800 RP (Rupiah). I realized we stuck out like a sore thumb right after we stepped out of the hotel because we were instantly hounded to enter shops and buy things. I had to say no to most people but I bought some knockoff Oakly’s for $4 dollars and got to see the fabled black sand beaches. After a nap and dinner, it was time to call it a day.

5 minute walk to the beach

Statue in hotel lobby

Hotel Courtyard

Location: Bali, Indonesia

North Island Exploration

Warning: Any apparent misspellings are due to me typing in New Zealand English on my Microsoft word.

The second week of my Easter Break has been spent traveling around the North Island. Two of my flat mates and I hit 5 cities in 10 days. So of course I have to break the North Island down city by city.

Auckland

Thursday the 12^th we took a flight out of Christchurch to Auckland. It only took an hour and cost about $60 NZD. It was pretty expensive to stay in Auckland but we managed to find some pretty decent logging with YHA. YHA hostels are all over the country and always have really great reviews. I would suggest getting a membership if you plan on coming here and backpacking. It’ll save you a lot of money.

We only spent a day in Auckland but the city was immaculate. It reminded me of New York, bustling and full of people. First we headed to The Sky Tower. It was built as a tourist attraction and stands at 328 meters. You can go up to two different levels to look down on the city and you can also either pay to walk around the perimeter (on the outside of course) or jump off its highest accessible point (192 meters up.) We decided to just go up and look down on the city. It was very pretty and very quiet.

From there we decided to take a journey to the Auckland Museum. It ended up being much farther away than we expected so we got to see a lot of the city being lost. We got a good look at Auckland University and we stopped in a park with the most eclectic looking trees and a huge water fountain. We hung out/ slept there for a while and got to see a group of people dressed up doing a scavenger hunt. The best costume was of course Pikachu.

Once we got to the museum we spent a few hours checking it out. Needless to say it had to be one of the oddest museums I have ever been in. Every floor and every section had a different theme so it was hard to see a thread or a central idea going through all of it. Mostly it just seemed like a complete mess. There were heaps of cool artefacts but there were few explanations for them so usually I had no idea what they were. There were a lot of Māori artefacts and stuff from wars. Including a Japanese plane which they never explained where it came from. The weirdest thing of them all had to be the stuffed elephant in the childrens section. It was creepy and I jut could not bring myself to photograph it.

The following day we took a bus to Hamilton.

Hamilton

When you first get off the bus in Hamilton the city feels really drab. I said to my friends that it felt as if it were dying even though we had been told that it had the best shopping in all of New Zealand. Unable to find this shopping district we decided to head to the local zoo after dropping off our things.

The Hamilton Zoo was rather extensive and had plenty of exhibits. Most of these sorts of places you can get into with a student discount so it’s advantageous to carry around your student id. My favourite animal is the giraffe so naturally most of my pictures and attention was spent on them but there were plenty of other interesting animals to see like chimps, baby rhinos and oddly enough piglets (on sale for $50).

My friend also got chased by a particularly territorial duck who would poke is beak through the fence to try to bite her shoes. Of course we may have teased it a bit and kept walking by over and over again to get its attention but it made for a good laugh and funny photos.

The following day we were determined to find this shopping district. So after a bit of wondering and asking around we found a questionably white washed Narnia-esk side lane that led into a French Quarter feeling patio surrounded by shops. It immediately held a feeling of elegance with its concrete horse caped water fountain, hanging gardens and wrought iron tables. We knew we had finally found it. Every shop window displayed the products of elegant boutiques and trendy cafés. It was a place where even a paperback book would run you $30. Through the lane and back out into the open on the other side lead way to a many others stores, eateries and a mall full of people.

We managed to spend the whole day shopping before catching the 7pm bus to Rotorua, the spa capital of New Zealand.

Rotorua

Be forewarned that due to the plethora of natural hot springs in Rotorua, that have high sulphur content, the entire city smells like rotting eggs.

But don’t be deterred because eventually the smell becomes tolerable and the place is quite wonderful. There are plenty of sulphur spas within walking distance of city centre and a lovely museum. There are also plenty of places for backpackers to stay. My mates and I decided to stay at CRANK; an oddly constructed accommodation that mirrors a warehouse and has a rock climbing wall in part of the building. They also get their customers great deals with local attractions including “Hells Gate”.

The first day there we were attracted to a Wild Life Refuge that boasted the ability to allow tourist to “pat the lion cubs.” The brochure showcased a young girl holding a lion cub in her arms so of course in pure excitement we got their as soon as possible only to discover we were literally only allowed to pat them through chicken wire cages with a plethora of other people around. Though it is still pretty cool to say we were able to touch lions it was not nearly as interactive as we had hoped but they were super cute.

The rest of the refuge was still quite charming despite the first upset. It was more of a nature walk that was set up so strategically that it made me feel like we were discovering some of the animals in the wild. And toward the end it turned into a petting zoo style with goats, sheep and mini horses that children (and I) loved.

Day two was explore the town day. We hunted for the beach and any interesting shops just to stumble upon a life size chess set in a park. After the current game finished we played a few games the reigning park champion and only beat him once. The pieces came up to the middle of my thigh, were solid wood and King was heavy enough to warrant dragging it across the board. It felt like Wizards Chess from Harry Potter even though the pierces didn’t move on their own.

The following and last day in Rotorua was spent at the thermal spa “Hells Gate”. We got a great deal through CRANK (a tour, mud spa and sulphur spa for $60) and I had a pretty good time. Hells Gate is a large plot of land that is the thinnest layer of crust in all of New Zealand. Thus allowing the magma to heat the water table above it hot enough in some places that it could kill a man if he fell in. It was incredibility fascinating to learn about how it was discovered and what the products that came from the land were used for then and now. Maori used the different pools for everything from healing to throwing their enemies bodies into for disposal. Since each pool is fuelled by a different water source they all have different sulphur content and temperatures. The muds there are also rich in all sorts of minerals that they package and sell. They have a unique mineral content that opens the pours and removes oils with ease and can even level out skin tone and increase circulation.

After the tour we were finally able to indulge in the magic of the mud bath (but only for 20 minutes since extensive exposure can remove too high levels of vital fluids from opened pours.) Everyone is reduced to a 5 year old boy smearing mud all over their bodies and throwing it at each other.

After were removed from the mud we had to take a mandatory cold shower to close the pours and remove mud before the sulphur spa. It was less then enjoyable and we did it quickly. The last spa section was a sulphur tub that mimicked a hot tub but smelled like eggs. Once you get in the water makes your skin tingle and is supposed to decrease muscle pain and make you relax. To be honest it was quite fantastic.

Napier

The Art Deco Capital of the world.

This place has a classic 1930s feel that you just cannot miss. The buildings, statues and cars all flash back to that definitive period and possess such a friendly atmosphere.

We spent most of our time here wondering around the lovely town, popping in and out of boutiques, resale shops and book stores. It’s one of the best places to go to buy unique gifts for friends.

It is also right on the water, so it was nice to be able to go down and get some sand between my toes and feel the ocean breeze.

Though we didn’t do much else there it was one of my favourite places on the trip.

Wellington

The great capital of New Zealand.

Though it does not have the hustle and bustle of Auckland it is still a rather busy place to be.

There is constant movement and always people on the streets, which I love.

We had a lazy first day (since we got there in the afternoon) there and hung around the YHA, did a little walking around and site seeing. This town is filled with all sorts of random sculptures and art depicting everything from rugby to just a giant ball of wire hanging in the air.

The following day we headed down to the Parliament building to do a tour. The most striking building is called The Bee Hive for obvious reasons.

Oddly enough there are two other buildings attached to the Bee Hive that look nothing like each other. And by the way, the Bee Hive is not even the Parliament Building. It is just used for organization dinners and things of that sort. But the building next to it is the Parliament Building and the building next to that is the Parliament Library. It was weird for me to see such inconsistency and living so close to Washington DC where there is a clear theme running through all of the architecture. It really felt like they just developed the buildings in different time periods and went with the popular design of the decade and didn’t think about them blending together. Then just plopped them in the middle of the city on top of a hill. They just look…random.

But despite this the tour was rather nice. Sadly they did not allow you to take pictures so just take my word for it that it was a pretty cool tour and I actually learned things about the NZ government. Like the fact that they dissolved their upper house in 1950. Now the room where it meetings were held for the upper house is used for formal occasions.

From there we headed to the cable car. The car will take you up the side of a hill so you can get to the gardens and so you can look out over Wellington. Different ones can take you all over the city and some people use it like we use the Metro in DC. The view was really spectacular.

The last thing we did was go to the national museum, Tepapa. It is a huge museum that covers everything from contemporary art to women’s revolution in New Zealand. (Which reminds me that on my tour of Parliament I learn that NZ was the first country to give women the right to vote) I was personally partial to the entire contemporary art floor and spent most of my time there. And I got a cool picture of an exhibit before I saw a sign that told us not to take pictures. But I really like it so I’ll post it anyway.

Though it was a lot to undetake in just 10 days I had such a good time on the North Island. I’m really looking forward to some more adventures.

Until then, cheers.

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

More Pics!

On the bank of Lake Nakuru, Leopard in Lake Nakuru, and holding a puppy at a Maasai boma

Location: Amboseli, Kenya

Directed Research Begins!

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!