Boy how time flies!

I have just finished my third and final exam and now I’m sitting under the shade of an Acacia tree while my friend Becca does her laundry to the sounds of some Beyonce tunes. The sun is shining, I can see the very top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance, there’s a beautiful breeze, the birds are chirping, and everyone’s in a great mood because all the studying we’ve been doing for the past few days has paid off! We’re all done with academic work for this half of the semester! 

It’s weird…I feel like we just got here. I’m not ready to leave Kenya, I feel so at home here. When we got back from our camping expedition in Lake Nakuru, we all said “we’re home!” and then laughed at the unexpected fact that this really has become our home away from home. We’re going to Tanzania on the 19^th, and I know it will be great. It will be more new, more unknown, more “I’ll get used to it,” but it will also be another adventure, and another opportunity to meet great people and see new things. Tanzania is going to be really different. Firstly, the SFS facilities there are brand new and much less rustic than the ones here, so that will be weird. Also, the area where we will be (Rotia/Karatu) is very touristy (we’ll be right near Lake Manyara National Park…close enough to see the lake from our compound!) unlike Kimana which is pretty far removed from tourist traps, even with Amboseli so close by. Also also, almost no one in Tanzania speaks a good amount of English. In Kenya, English is the official language and English medium schools are commonplace, so my conversational Swahili gets me through most situations…but in Tanzania we’ll all have to use Swahili a lot more. Everyone tells me I’m really good at Swahili (not to toot my own proverbial horn, but I am damn good at it) I think it’s just because I’m good at picking up languages quickly. Hopefully my Swahili will improve even more in Tanzania because I’ll be forced to use it more. One thing I know for sure: our departure will be a teary one! I'm gonna miss the staff here SO much!

There are still a couple of things left to do before we leave. Later today we’re going back to the primary school to paint a mural for them and play some more games. Tomorrow the mamas from nearby Bomas are coming to sell us beads and show us how to make our own jewelry, and then we are having a feast! The head cook, Arthur, told us to give him recipes for anything we wanted to make and he went and got the ingredients. So tomorrow after we bead with the Mamas, we get to cook our own food. I’m making fried rice with sakura sauce! (For my family members…sakura sauce is “white sauce” :D) My friend Sidra (Dad! Sidra’s Dad is from Pakistan! We talk a lot about the food and Bollywood movies and stuff :D) is making falafel and black bean burgers, which I’m really excited for. My friend Patrick is making brownies, Karianne is making fried plantains, and lots of other people are making lots of other things…it’s gonna be awesome. We’re going to have to use the kitchen in shifts because so much stuff is being made.

So I’m gonna get off the computer now and enjoy one of my last afternoons in Kenya! Love you all!

Quick retroactive blog about Nakuru!

 I realized I didn’t blog at all about Nakuru, even though I posted some pictures. So basically, expedition in Nakuru was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had! Firstly, I had the BEST tent mates ever. My tent consisted of Becca, Sidra, Patrick, Sarah, and myself (since there are only 2 boys here there aren’t enough tents for them to have their own, so the boys chose who they wanted in their respective tents and our permission was asked). We all became much closer during expedition (we even brushed our teeth together at night because being in utter darkness in the middle of a National Park is kinda scary haha) we called ourselves the “tent team” and took some family photos at one of the overlooks in the park. It was amazing camping in the middle of the park because pretty much every morning and evening was spent doing game drives and collecting data and since the park is so small we got to know it really, really well. Dr. Shem has actually been working in some form with Nakuru for over 20 years…so he’s pretty much an expert and gave us the rundown of everything that’s ever happened there. Every night we had RAP around the campfire and learned tons of fun songs and games. It was great not having my computer at all…I got a ton of reading done because I didn’t feel the need to be on the internet. Everyone was in a super good mood the whole time because we had no assignments or work to do until we got back. (one thing I’ve noticed here…having assignments/projects/exams makes everyone bitchy, until it’s over and then we’re all fine again) The weather there was also a really nice change. Here in the Amboseli area it’s so hot and dry that I feel like I shrivel up every time I go out in the sun. In Nakuru, though, it was beautiful. It was freezing early in the morning, got really nice by the late morning, and rained almost every afternoon. Normally I’m not a fan of rain…but it’s such a rarity here that it really lifts everyone’s spirits. What else can I say about the Nakuru expedition? Oh yeah…I went five days without showering. And on the last day we went to a tourist lodge for a few hours to hang out by the pool, stuff our faces at the buffet, and get drinks. I bought a frozen mango daiquiri! My first legal drink! Well…legal here is 18, but regardless, I bought my first “I’m 21 now!” drink. And now you can laugh at me…because it had way too much alcohol in it and I am a super light-weight so Becca drank half of it. Uhhhhh I think that’s everything.

Lake Nakuru Expedition Pictures

A group of yellow-billed pelicans

Lake Nakuru!

A family of White Rhinos! (kifaru)

Another shot of Lake Nakuru...with Flamingos. There were hundreds! The lake is a really important spot on their migration route.

I really love the colors in this one! More white rhinos grazing on the edge of the lake. The sand is so white because the water in the lake is full of alkaline sediments and is very salty. Like many of Africa's water sources, it is also drying up, which is why so much of the saline sands are exposed. Because Lake Nakuru is in the middle of the Great Rift Valley, and is one of the lowest points in the valley, it acts as a catchment for the entire Nakuru-area watershed. This means that every possible pollutant imaginable is in this lake due to runoff. They actually had to introduce an exotic species of fish that could withstand the alkalinity of the water so that the piscivorous birds would have something to eat.

Lion cubs!!!!!!!! They were SO close to our car! Hiding from the sun in some Tarconanthus bush. We watched them for the longest time...they seemed so curious about us.

Papa lion! So beautiful. (simba)

An African Buffalo. There are SO many in this park. I loved this guy...he is very, very old...you can tell by his decrepit horns. (nyati)

A Defossa Waterbuck! These guys are so cute. I love their heart-shaped noses and their super furry necks. My friends and I renamed them Mwasi Waterbuck because they are our favorite teacher's favorite animal.

A Rothschild Giraffe (twiga)

Mama and baby white rhino :) Look at how long her horn is!

Another picture of mama rhino

A view of the lake from Baboon Cliff

"KENYA!"

It didn't show up too well in this one unfortunately, but there was this beautiful rainbow arching over the lake after a rainstorm.

Another view of the rainbow...the colors in this one are great! The sun was coming through the clouds behind us and it made the grassland look like gold.

Sorry this one's a bit blurry :( We drove by right after this guy had scared off a leopard to steal his kill (that's why it's up in a tree, an unusual place for a lion) a juvenile buffalo.

Eating the buffalo...

...and dropping the buffalo. Such a cool moment.

'notha Giraffe :)

A beautiful Leopard lounging in the tree canopy.

Sunset on the lake! Sorry it was just pictures again! Tomorrow I'll blog about it and add some pictures of our camp and some shots of me and my tent-mates!

pole sana!

Hi everyone! I apologize for yet another long absence! This is seriously the first free time I have had all week...we had some pretty huge assignments to do. So now that I'm back, I'll let you know that that I'm leaving! Tomorrow we leave at 6am sharp for expedition at Lake Nakuru National Park! We're gonna be camping in the park for 5 days!!!! I'm super excited. Anyways, that's all for now...I gotta be up at 4:30am. I'll have TONS of pictures and stories when I get back!