Where the Wild Things Are (Africa, Obviously): Is this really MY life?!

Wow. That is all that can come to my mind as I try to think of how to impress on you all the amazing experiences I have had the last three days in few enough words that this blog won’t turn into a book.

For instance – first day of class we passed around poop to identify the species. As well as huge acacia branches which are covered in 2 inch thorns. Then we learned about how the Maasai tribe has to kill a lion in order to become a Warrior! But then it got better…

On Saturday we had our first non – program day (we only have one day a week with no classes) and we went on a hike up to an elephant cave! This was a really unique experience because the elephants travel the same path we did – but during the night. So along the way you could see and touch the trees that the elephants would rub their tusks on every night. The elephants travel to these mud caves to eat the dirt there because it is full of calcium and iron. The cave is right next to this amazing waterfall as well.

After that we went into town again and got to experience the local food market. It was all in these long rows of mud structures covered by thin straw roofs and you felt like you were in a maze going through it. I have never seen so many fruits and veggies that I couldn’t name in my whole life.

That afternoon I painted on the street outside of our camp. It was very interesting to see the locals react to the painting. Many of them didn’t know what it was our thought I was trying to sell it. One older man even tried to sell me his land as I was sitting there. After this I didn’t think things could really be any more awesome until…

SAFARI. We went to Lake Manyara National Park in the afternoon and I don’t even know how to describe the feeling of it. It is purely something that has to be experienced to be understood. When we got out of the tank at the visitor center there was a Sykes monkey right in the tree next to me. Not but ten minutes later a forest elephant was by the trees by the road. I think at this point I went into complete denial that I was actually experiencing these things. It was a great day in the park: we saw 4 Waterbuck, 2 Giraffe, heard of Zebra, 3 Warthogs, 4 Water Buffalo, Impala, Gazelle, 3 Dikdiks, heard of Hippos, 1 African Fish Eagle, a million Baboons, too many Vervet monkeys, Mongooses, Hamerkops, Egyptian Geese, Wildebeest, tons of Hornbills and many many more ELEPHANTS! Our guide, Kioko (also ecology teacher), is amazing. He drives at 40 mph and then will just slam on the brakes and point something out that I can only see if I study the area for 10 minutes with my binoculars. I don’t know how he does it…

And I know you are all thinking – what about the lions!? Those will come later when we camp in the Serengeti for 5 days! (as well as Leopards – hopefully!)

The part I liked best was we were traveling down this road and a large Bull elephant, a female and an infant elephant were literally 10 feet away from our tank (mom- don’t freak out). We could have reached out and touched them at one point. I was scared that the male might charge us, but they were surprisingly rather docile. It was just an incredible experience.

I went away from the day in a huge state of culture shock. This being the first time I have felt this. It wasn’t a bad feeling just more of a constant “how can this actually be my life??” thought process.

And then today we got to go BACK! Our specific assignment was to go “babooning”. This word makes me laugh. But we study a troop of baboons for 2 and a half hours and now we have to write a report on it! But it was another beautiful day in the park – I got to see a baby dikdik, which made my heart melt, as well as ostrich, flamingoes, cranes, owl, more elephants and a giraffe ran right in front of the tank!

Even though there is so much excitement as soon as we get back from these out of world experiences we have to get right to studying because the teachers assign us so much homework.

Alright I need to make myself stop because I could spend all day writing about this and it is already past midnight here.

One last note – I bought a huge Maasai Spear and if you don’t know what one looks like – look it up. Now.

Lala salama! (goodnight)