Homeward Bound

            And my time here in Tanzania has come to an end– for now! It’s our last day at Moyo Hill and it’s been very bittersweet. We had a program debrief with all of the staff members this morning – professors, student manager, kitchen crew, night guards, drivers, etc. It was a really nice (and emotional!) way to look back on the experience in all its academic, field work, and cultural aspects. I’m so sad to be leaving, but at the same time I can’t wait to go home. Culture shock is already starting to set in, and I’m beginning to slowly transition myself into getting a grip on working for the rest of the summer.

            Even so, this whole month has gone by in a flash. And I know people always say that about the incredible trips they go on, and this one is no exception. We were so immersed in field work and cultural experiences that time just vanished. It’s hard to believe that by this time tomorrow, I’ll already be at the Kilimanjaro airport waiting to fly back to Amsterdam and then, finally, JFK. I’m ready to go, but I know I’ll be missing the great friendships I’ve made, even in such a short period of time.

            But as I said before, this trip has gone above and beyond my wildest expectations. Going into it, I’m sure many of you had asked me what I would be doing here. And to tell you the truth – I had no idea. I knew I was going to be learning about wildlife management. But in all honesty, what did that even mean? Now, when you ask me that question again, you’ll be much more satisfied with my answer, that’s for sure. The techniques the professors taught us to use in the field are ones we’ll keep with us for years as aspiring environmental conservationists! Everything we’ve learned has made us better students and better thinkers – wildlife management is now at the forefront of my academic interests!

            As I start to pack up my bags, the feeling I felt when I was leaving Kenya the summer before my senior year of high school (when I was a young 17 year old!) is very similar. I’ve enjoyed my time immensely in my second home in Africa (Brooklyn is first, but does Cornell count as a third?). I have no regrets at all during the trip – every experience in the field, every bit of knowledge of species ecology, cultural values, and human-wildlife conflicts have been sopped up and stored in my mind forever. But most importantly, without fail, Africa continues to floor me with its unconditional warmth and welcome – which is not what Africa is always known for back in the United States. It’s truly become a place where I feel I’ve been able to appreciate life more than ever before and see the world in a vastly different light.

            Thanks again to everyone who read about my adventures! I really enjoyed sharing photos and stories along the way. Have a wonderful rest of the summer – see you soon in Brooklyn, North Haven, or Ithaca! Love you all.

Last group photo!

And we're back!

            What a way to end a birthday! We’re back from the Serengeti, which was everything we had hoped for and more. It was nothing short of amazing and although it’s sad to leave, what we’ve seen has definitely lived up to expectations.

            After 564 pictures in 4 days, I’d say I had a lot to edit when I got back to camp. But after going through it all, my memory has been refreshed on everything we did. Our schedule consisted of two exercises a day: bird watching in the morning and carnivore searching in the afternoon. For three days we got up at 6:00 am and went out to count species of birds we saw for 4 hours and then we would head back to the camp site for a rest and lunch. After lunch, we would complete the carnivore exercise, which was essentially driving around to observe carnivores and their activities at different times in the afternoon. Although there was that academic side, most of it was really just enjoying the wildlife and taking pictures (which none of us were complaining about!).

            I can proudly say that after this trip to Africa, I’ve finally completed seeing the “Big Five” – lions, leopards, buffalo, elephants, and rhinoceros. In the Serengeti, we saw more leopards than we expected to! And although it’s not on the Big Five list, we saw a handful of cheetahs as well! None of them were close enough to take clear pictures, but we were able to see them on multiple occasions through our binoculars. No crazy-National-Geographic-cheetah-running photos, but still so cool!

            One of the most memorable moments we witnessed was a stand-off between an elephant herd and a lion pride. The lion pride (about 15 lions) was sitting under some trees for shade. As we took pictures, we really didn’t notice the herd of elephants (about 15 as well) coming towards the same area the lions were resting in. They were walking so slowly and quietly that all of our attention was initially just on the lions. But the lions, unlike us, were paying attention to the elephant herd, and as they came closer, the lions began to get up and move away from the trees they had been sitting under. But the elephants kept coming closer to the lions and eventually trumpeted at them, scattering the lions in front of our car and across the road to the other trees. Both the elephants and lions were extremely vocal – growling and thundering at each other. Luckily, I was able to record the entire exchange! So the next time you see me, I have the video evidence!

            We packed up early this morning and are back at camp for the next 2 days until we leave. We have a free day tomorrow for shopping, hiking, and relaxing. And on Sunday we close with a group dinner and closing discussion about the program. It’s unreal to think that I’ve been here for a month already. But I am ready to go home! I’ll save the sappy stuff for my last post, but until then here are some of the pictures from the expedition! Check Facebook at some point later today for some more!

At a pit stop on the way to the Serengeti

Saw this little guy just hanging out!

Storks sleeping on an early morning bird watching drive

Leopard!

Not a bad view from our campsite!

Best picture of a lion all trip came on our last day - not zoomed it at all!

Off to the Serengeti!

            And the academics are done! I took the final exam this morning and have been relaxing and playing volleyball for the rest of the afternoon. It’s been such a great time so far that the academic portion of this program really didn't seem like academics at all. But I guess that's how you know you’re doing something you truly love to do!

            And tomorrow (bright and early - 6:00 am!) we head off to the Serengeti for five days! Although we’ll be doing some activities and note taking, most of it will be game drives in the early morning hours where we’ll be viewing more birds, carnivores, and mammals. We’ll be in tents with four people to a tent. The camp site also has toilets, showers, a dining area and a small kitchen. Everyone here is super antsy and ready to go, including me! I’m all packed and can’t wait! As I said before – no internet. But the day we return to camp here at Moyo Hill (June 28^th – my birthday!), I’ll be able to share photos and stories again. You'll all just have to wait in suspense for a few days!

            To end this blog post, I just wanted to thank everyone who has been checking in with the blog up to this point. Whether it’s just been a few times or everyday (ahem… MOM!), I’m so happy that you have gotten to see snip-its of what I've been seeing, and, more importantly, that I've had the ability to share all of it with you. The stories, the pictures, the entire experience – it really isn't worth anything unless I get to share it with the people I care about and love so much. So thank you to all of you for being there for me even when I’m all the way over here. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Goat Roast! (Warning - one slightly graphic picture!)

            Well, I lied about being blog-less, but this couldn’t wait! If you’ve been on facebook, you would have seen this already – it wouldn’t be a proper trip to Africa without witnessing a goat slaughter. I had forgotten that we were having a goat roast today as a study break and to sort of celebrate almost being done with work for the program. But, of course, you can’t have a goat roast without a goat.

            All I can say, it that it only took 5 seconds from start to finish – which I was happily surprised about (for my own and the goat’s sake). And I have a new found appreciation for butchery. It’s most definitely an art form that I am now fascinated by. Also, I can now appreciate the human body much more – seeing everything that works inside a (previously) living organism just shows how incredibly engineered the human body is.

            Back to studying – but this was definitely an experience to write down. Hopefully this isn’t too gory for anyone! But it’s part of the culture here and you know what they say – when in Rome… (or Tanzania, in this case…)

Wildlife Management Association

            Today was long but still fun and eventful! We drove a long way to conduct an interview with the WMA (Wildlife Management Association) in Burunge – about 2 hours. It was interesting to hear about what they were doing to help the local communities regain control of their natural resources. Although I just took a class about community based resource management this past semester, it was really refreshing to hear and observe it happening in person. The wildlife incentive for the community is to bring in tourism. The more wildlife that sticks around, the more the tourist attractions in the community (lodges, tours, safaris, etc.) can benefit. With more tourism, there are much higher levels of income for the community and its members. What the WMA does is take the money that they gain from tourism and give it back to the communities so they can use it for whatever needs they may have – construction, food sources, water, etc.

            The committee we interviewed told us that out of the seven villages involved with the WMA, six of them are happy and still working well with the committee. The one village that declined to continue working with them did so because they wanted to try and collect tourism income for their own village instead of sharing the profits with the six other villages. But for the most part, the other villages are very pleased with the system. The WMA provides education opportunities about wildlife, relationship trust between the people and the committee, and most importantly, employment. All of the work that goes towards tourism in the villages is done by local community members. Whether it’s building roads, new hotels, or more buildings, community workers are the ones to construct them.

            After the interview, we headed to this small basket-weaving shop down the road where village women make baskets with reeds. It was a cute little place – the whole group probably bought half of what was in there! The elder women were also very nice. They let us take pictures of them weaving and proudly showed off their work – and enjoyed seeing themselves in the pictures, too!

            When everyone had bought their baskets, we went into Mto Wa Mbu again to relax a little before heading back to camp. We went to this place called Pizza Point, where they actually make really good pizzas! The owner was also so nice. He makes all the pizzas himself and does so in a tiny kitchen on display in the front where we ordered. For being away from pizza so long, it was delicious!

            The next few days are going to be a bit blog-less. We are handing in our last paper tonight and then the only work that remains is the final exam, which is on Sunday. We have a study period tomorrow and Saturday to prepare for it, so we’re not really able to leave the camp grounds or do much else other than study. But after we take the test, we’ll be heading to the Serengeti! So excited! Obviously, there’s no internet there. So I’ll write one more post after the exam and before we leave on Monday.

Hanging outside the office!

The view from the WMA area

Making friends :) 

Watching skilled hands basket weave

Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area

           Our professor didn't lie! We saw BOTH lions and rhinos! It was truly an amazing area to explore. There isn't too much to write about – the pictures really say it all. Enjoy!

Casually hanging out with some baboons at the entrance

Inside the crater!

Rhinos!

Another zebra picture!

Hippo caught in the act!

LION! She didn't turn around to face us, but she was eating something the pride had just killed.

A trail of wildebeests

Not much today... but plenty more tomorrow!

           Not much happened around camp today except lectures and working on papers, but tomorrow is going to be amazing! We’re going to the Ngorongoro Crater – another national conservation area. And according to one of our professors, we have a 100% chance of seeing lions and an 80% chance of seeing a rhino! If he’s right (which he usually is based on past promises of elephants and bird sightings), then it’s going to be a great trip. So plenty of pictures to come tomorrow evening – until then, cross your fingers for some lions and rhinos!