There is something strange about taking final exams under a thatched roof gazebo – in a fence – in the middle of Africa. I spend the entire past week studying under a yellow acacia tree with my laptop as baboons walked by and horn bills perched on the branches next to me. Occasionally a giant spider or millipede would crawl on me and make me jump about a foot in the air. Also, I am now an expert at screwing ticks out of my skin. My favorite place to sit is next to the spring where I can watch Maasai mamas fill up their giant water jugs and gently balance them on their heads as they walk back into the dusty savannah. People walk for miles and miles to get water from this spring. “Water” I continually write in my essays and proposals, “how do you get water to people in this desiccated land while educating them about how to conserve it?” The streams are drying up, the dry season is too long, and the water is getting increasingly polluted. The best part about taking long tedious tests in Africa is being able to look up to Mt. Kilimanjaro for advice.
One day I was reading an article about building a highway across the Serengeti when I felt a drop of liquid on my head. My first thought was that a bird pooped on me again, but after another couple seconds I felt another and another. We all slowly looked up at each other, and then lifted our heads toward the sky. Dark clouds!! Rain!! The rains had come!! I could hear the soft sound of rain in the distance and within a few minutes a sheet of water came sweeping across the savannah, soaking everything. I have never been so emotional about seeing rain before and all of us immediately started laughing and running around in circles with our mouths wide open and our arms in the air. After a few more minutes thunder started echoing across the sky. I felt like Simba had just returned to pride rock in The Lion King. The rain pulled the dust out of the air and made everything smell so fresh. As I soaked myself in the rain every part of me could feel all the life that the water was bringing and it rejuvenated me in an extraordinary way.
As the rains came, so did the animals. Elephants have been breaking into our camp every night and the snakes are emerging from the dry grasses. A black mamba was killed several nights ago on my trail to the bathroom. Cobras and pythons have also been found in various places!
I’m glad I got to experience part of the rainy season before I moved to Tanzania. I can see why people base their lives off the rains and talk about it constantly. At the end of the week I got through exams (with the help of Mt. Kilimanjaro) and prepared to make the 10-hour drive across the border to my new home in Tanzania.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The man-eating lions of Tsavo National Park
Camping in Africa is the ultimate adventure. This past week I went to sleep to the howl of hyenas and checked for elephant herds before I went to the bathroom (usually a guard escorted me with an AK-47). Every morning I would wake up and ask the Maasai how many lions came into camp the night before because their growls woke me up again. At night mysterious eyes would appear in the distance and then circle around our campfire. It doesn’t take much to make your imagination go crazy…
Camping for a week in an extremely remote area with 45 people is quite an ordeal. Our “herd” consisted of 28 American students, 4 professors, Daniel the naturalist, numerous Maasai askaris, cooks, mechanics, drivers, Kenya Wildlife Service guards etc. along with a weeks worth of food and water. I’m sure we looked like a traveling circus as we drove for 4 hours across the bumpy dirt roads. Most of the way the majority of us were all hanging out of the sunroofs and windows to get a better look at the red cliffs and lava flows that make up the beautiful landscape of Tsavo.
Tsavo is the largest game park in Kenya and is known for its man-eating lions with no manes. At the beginning of the 20th century over a hundred railroad workers mysteriously disappeared and their skeletons were later found in a lion’s den. Tsavo also has one of the most successful black rhino sanctuaries in Africa where 72 rhinos of all ages are heavily protected and monitored. We spent an entire day with the people that ran the sanctuary and learned everything about the extent Kenya has gone to in order to protect this endangered species.
Since the game park is so big and densely vegetated it is somewhat difficult to find animals, but we were extremely lucky. Throughout our stay we did an extensive study on different species habitat preference and were able to see all of the “big five” animals (which are the 5 most desired animals to see in Africa). They consist of leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, and lions. The leopard was a beautiful young female that was delicately resting on branch 15 feet up from the ground. After every game drive I was completely caked in dust to the point where you could no longer tell the color of my clothes and I looked like I had white circles around my eyes when I took off my sunglasses. Even my teeth were covered in dirt.
Being in Kenya again is like experiencing a continual deja vu. Memories that have been stuck in my mind for years and have had such an influence on me are changing and being recreated throughout everyday. The more I spend time in Kenya the more I realize how much I love having such wild daily routines in what really is “the mighty jungle”.
Camping for a week in an extremely remote area with 45 people is quite an ordeal. Our “herd” consisted of 28 American students, 4 professors, Daniel the naturalist, numerous Maasai askaris, cooks, mechanics, drivers, Kenya Wildlife Service guards etc. along with a weeks worth of food and water. I’m sure we looked like a traveling circus as we drove for 4 hours across the bumpy dirt roads. Most of the way the majority of us were all hanging out of the sunroofs and windows to get a better look at the red cliffs and lava flows that make up the beautiful landscape of Tsavo.
Tsavo is the largest game park in Kenya and is known for its man-eating lions with no manes. At the beginning of the 20th century over a hundred railroad workers mysteriously disappeared and their skeletons were later found in a lion’s den. Tsavo also has one of the most successful black rhino sanctuaries in Africa where 72 rhinos of all ages are heavily protected and monitored. We spent an entire day with the people that ran the sanctuary and learned everything about the extent Kenya has gone to in order to protect this endangered species.
Since the game park is so big and densely vegetated it is somewhat difficult to find animals, but we were extremely lucky. Throughout our stay we did an extensive study on different species habitat preference and were able to see all of the “big five” animals (which are the 5 most desired animals to see in Africa). They consist of leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, and lions. The leopard was a beautiful young female that was delicately resting on branch 15 feet up from the ground. After every game drive I was completely caked in dust to the point where you could no longer tell the color of my clothes and I looked like I had white circles around my eyes when I took off my sunglasses. Even my teeth were covered in dirt.
Being in Kenya again is like experiencing a continual deja vu. Memories that have been stuck in my mind for years and have had such an influence on me are changing and being recreated throughout everyday. The more I spend time in Kenya the more I realize how much I love having such wild daily routines in what really is “the mighty jungle”.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
How many languages does it take to have a church service?
Last Saturday a Maasai friend of mine named Daniel invited me to go to the local church of Kimana. Considering that my previous experience with religion at West Nairobi Missionary School was the opposite of ideal, I was quite hesitant to go near anything that had to do with evangelical Christians. “But there will be lots of singing and dancing!” he told me. Singing and dancing with Kenyans? How could I resist.
As we drove up I noticed that the church was nothing more than a tiny, plain cement building, but was clearly bursting with energy and music. I immediately noticed that the music was not the typical hallelujah either – it was up beat Kenyan music with a 90’s pop beat in the background along with a keyboard that sounded like an African instrument. As I walked in (already smiling and swaying to the music) I noticed that all the Maasai women were at the front, the men were in the middle and all the children were standing in the back. Everyone had their hands in the air and were swinging their hips and bobbing their heads. Africans are incredible dancers!! Their fluid motions make westerners look like chickens when we dance. Different women traded off at the microphone and sang a variety of songs, all which had incredible beats and made it impossible to not dance.
Eventually a young pastor dressed in a mismatching worn out suit got up in front of the church and started to speak in Swahili. He practically yelled into the microphone, which then blasted out of the speaker that was right next to him. It was completely unnecessary for the tiny room, but made me fully alert. Daniel got up with another microphone and started translating everything he said into English (just as loudly). Sometimes the pastor switched over to English for part of a sentence and Daniel would translate that part of the sentence into Swahili. Occasionally they would go between English or Maasai or Swahili or Maasai. It was extremely confusing, but quite entertaining to watch the two men bounce languages off each other while speaking as fast as possible. There wasn’t a split second of silence for the next hour. I had a hard time following the sermon but it had something to do with the difference between wisdom and knowledge and what it takes to be a wise man (all the Maasai women continually nodded their heads in approval).
After the sermon all the kids got up and did an unbelievable choreographed dance to the same up-beat music. Kids as young as three years old were already incredible at moving their hips and shoulders and bobbing their heads. I could have watched them dance all day it was so entertaining. Afterwards a group of adults squeezed into the front of the room and sang a song while dancing.
I was actually very disappointed when I looked down at my watch and realized that three hours had already gone by and that I had to go head back for lunch. The service was certainly not going to be over anytime soon. It was slightly bizarre to see native Maasai people practicing Christianity but I was amazed at the cheerfulness and energy that radiated throughout the church. People obviously loved being together and singing and dancing and it was impossible to leave in a bad mood.
As we drove up I noticed that the church was nothing more than a tiny, plain cement building, but was clearly bursting with energy and music. I immediately noticed that the music was not the typical hallelujah either – it was up beat Kenyan music with a 90’s pop beat in the background along with a keyboard that sounded like an African instrument. As I walked in (already smiling and swaying to the music) I noticed that all the Maasai women were at the front, the men were in the middle and all the children were standing in the back. Everyone had their hands in the air and were swinging their hips and bobbing their heads. Africans are incredible dancers!! Their fluid motions make westerners look like chickens when we dance. Different women traded off at the microphone and sang a variety of songs, all which had incredible beats and made it impossible to not dance.
Eventually a young pastor dressed in a mismatching worn out suit got up in front of the church and started to speak in Swahili. He practically yelled into the microphone, which then blasted out of the speaker that was right next to him. It was completely unnecessary for the tiny room, but made me fully alert. Daniel got up with another microphone and started translating everything he said into English (just as loudly). Sometimes the pastor switched over to English for part of a sentence and Daniel would translate that part of the sentence into Swahili. Occasionally they would go between English or Maasai or Swahili or Maasai. It was extremely confusing, but quite entertaining to watch the two men bounce languages off each other while speaking as fast as possible. There wasn’t a split second of silence for the next hour. I had a hard time following the sermon but it had something to do with the difference between wisdom and knowledge and what it takes to be a wise man (all the Maasai women continually nodded their heads in approval).
After the sermon all the kids got up and did an unbelievable choreographed dance to the same up-beat music. Kids as young as three years old were already incredible at moving their hips and shoulders and bobbing their heads. I could have watched them dance all day it was so entertaining. Afterwards a group of adults squeezed into the front of the room and sang a song while dancing.
I was actually very disappointed when I looked down at my watch and realized that three hours had already gone by and that I had to go head back for lunch. The service was certainly not going to be over anytime soon. It was slightly bizarre to see native Maasai people practicing Christianity but I was amazed at the cheerfulness and energy that radiated throughout the church. People obviously loved being together and singing and dancing and it was impossible to leave in a bad mood.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Elephants don't like chili peppers
2010 is an incredible time to be in Kenya because the 47 year-old constitution was recently replaced with a new constitution that has potential to generate extraordinary changes for Kenya. Innovation is waiting at the Kenya’s doorstep, but everyone seems a little skeptical to see if power will actually be dispersed and if the new policies will really benefit the people. The first four weeks here I spent the majority of my time in classes, trying to take in as much information as possible about the new political system in Kenya, the ecology of the semi-arid ecosystem surrounding me, religious influences, the wildlife, and most of all, the problems that need to be addressed that encompass all of these things.
Now that I have a decent understanding of my surroundings I have started to conduct small research projects with my professors that involve environmental preservation in the area. I have become extremely interested in the change in land use practices – which is mostly a shift from a pastoral livelihood to agriculture - and the sustainability predicaments that come along with trying to farm on such desiccated land. About a decade ago the Kenyan government decided that pastoralism was primitive and needed to be replaced with more “efficient” livelihoods such as beef industry and agriculture. There was obviously no thought put into this change because it has created an environmental disaster in the area.
I was recently able to go out with a translator to dozens of Maasai villages and interview families about the problems they were having with their livelihoods. Most of the people I talked to had to travel three hours by foot for all of their domestic water! Furthermore, many people are in the process of trying to grow corn and tomatoes in gardens or fields around their houses and are doing everything possible to get enough water. People who have installed pipes or wells are only allowed to have 1 hour of water everyday, which is seriously limiting the amount they can grow. Also, the farming practices are seriously degrading the soil to the point where it can no longer be used after 2 years. On several other occasions I went and interviewed farmers about the human wildlife conflicts they are having on their farms. Almost everyone said that elephants had destroyed their crops at least once and that the Kenya Wildlife Service was failing to help them or compensate them for their loses. In defense of the elephants, all the farms are right where they migrate and feed each year. There have been several efforts to build fences around the crops that have proven to be useless because elephants are too strong and extremely smart.
After condensing the information collected, we write up reports and work with the Kenya Wildlife Service to figure out ways to manage the elephants so that their migration patterns are not disrupted, while making sure that farms are not destroyed. We recently proposed giving farmers chili pepper seeds to grow around their crops because chilies seem to be one thing that elephants won’t go near. As for water, we are currently looking at ways to replace dirt furrows with cement channels to reduce infiltration as water gets to the farms. Our professors have two million Kenya shillings from a variety grants to do this over a five year time period. In my opinion people should be educated about all the negative impacts of agricultural farming and be shown that there are other land use practices that are better for the environment (and more prosperous). It seems like it would be so much more beneficial to research and implement new livelihoods that work instead of fixing the never-ending problems from agriculture.
Now that I have a decent understanding of my surroundings I have started to conduct small research projects with my professors that involve environmental preservation in the area. I have become extremely interested in the change in land use practices – which is mostly a shift from a pastoral livelihood to agriculture - and the sustainability predicaments that come along with trying to farm on such desiccated land. About a decade ago the Kenyan government decided that pastoralism was primitive and needed to be replaced with more “efficient” livelihoods such as beef industry and agriculture. There was obviously no thought put into this change because it has created an environmental disaster in the area.
I was recently able to go out with a translator to dozens of Maasai villages and interview families about the problems they were having with their livelihoods. Most of the people I talked to had to travel three hours by foot for all of their domestic water! Furthermore, many people are in the process of trying to grow corn and tomatoes in gardens or fields around their houses and are doing everything possible to get enough water. People who have installed pipes or wells are only allowed to have 1 hour of water everyday, which is seriously limiting the amount they can grow. Also, the farming practices are seriously degrading the soil to the point where it can no longer be used after 2 years. On several other occasions I went and interviewed farmers about the human wildlife conflicts they are having on their farms. Almost everyone said that elephants had destroyed their crops at least once and that the Kenya Wildlife Service was failing to help them or compensate them for their loses. In defense of the elephants, all the farms are right where they migrate and feed each year. There have been several efforts to build fences around the crops that have proven to be useless because elephants are too strong and extremely smart.
After condensing the information collected, we write up reports and work with the Kenya Wildlife Service to figure out ways to manage the elephants so that their migration patterns are not disrupted, while making sure that farms are not destroyed. We recently proposed giving farmers chili pepper seeds to grow around their crops because chilies seem to be one thing that elephants won’t go near. As for water, we are currently looking at ways to replace dirt furrows with cement channels to reduce infiltration as water gets to the farms. Our professors have two million Kenya shillings from a variety grants to do this over a five year time period. In my opinion people should be educated about all the negative impacts of agricultural farming and be shown that there are other land use practices that are better for the environment (and more prosperous). It seems like it would be so much more beneficial to research and implement new livelihoods that work instead of fixing the never-ending problems from agriculture.
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