Karibu Kimana, Kenya!

You wake up bundled in a flannel lined sleeping bag.  The refreshing AM breeze holding the morning dew blows through the burlap of your banda’s window. You slip on your smartwools and prepare for your “best-way-to-start-the-day” run.  Within the next 10 minutes you spot a family of Vervet monkeys with their newborn , are shaded momentarily by the dense crown cover of Africa’s beautiful Acacia trees , make out both the sun  and the moon, and notice the summit of Kilimanjaro  peeking through the majestic clouds.  After a cold yet revitalizing rinse, you lay in the nearest hammock, flipping through your most recent photographs…carefully juxtaposing the sunrise of Tanzania to that of Kenya’s.  After finishing your 3^rd cup of Rooibos tea, discussion of the Bantu tribe alongside the analysis of the devolution within Kenya’s new constitution begins in policy class.  The entire time, more and more of Kilimanjaro is visible from the window of the chumba.  Have you ever been totally & completely content just to be? Solely to exist? I have never been so gratified by the simplicities of our world.  Kilimanjaro Bush Camp (KBC) will be my home now until mid-December and I couldn’t be more excited.  This is my actual home and I am living with Zarah again!  This is my “street”  or line of bandas/tents.  We’re next to the guys and two of them sleep talk, it’s so completely frightening.  I honestly get more afraid when I hear them speak than when I hear baboons screaming on my roof.   This is the temporary fence  that was put up after an elephant trampled through our campsite two nights ago.  HOW COOL! This is my classroom .  Kind of like the scilib, right? I already found my favorite makeshift cubicle 🙂   Sometime monkeys will get into the roof . Coolest distraction EVER.  Although I am pretty much obsessed with KBC, saying goodbye to our Tanzanian family was absolutely horrible 🙁 It was like saying goodbye to your parents when you’re 6 years old but x 20 people.  Nevertheless, our new family is AWESOME.  I already have two African handshakes made up with two of the staff members on my soccer team (“The Instigators”).  The campsite is so spacious.  On the running trail you are running through the forest, literally.  I have seen a baboon and bush babies (please google, they are adorable) every time I’ve run so far.  With new places come new adjustments.  1. There are only 5 “toilets” on our entire student/staff campsite. 2. There is only one filtered water tap (my Sigg water bottle is now my “toothbrushing” water bottle) 3. The showers feel like ice water and they’re outdoors so when the wind blows…most intense goosebumps of my life.  BUT the water comes down STRAIGHT from the snow on the top of Kilimanjaro…AND when I am showering I can see the summit of Kilimanjaro…so even beginning to complain seems humorous. 4. There is no electricity until 7:00 PM.  Luckily we have these solar panels  that give us limited electricity during the day for our assignments.  5.  Momma Judy, our cook, makes macaroni & CHEESE…yes cheese.  And she uses garlic!  Our new site manager, Molly, is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.  She went to University of Hawaii, worked in dolphin care, was a firefighter, lived in Texes while doing cheetah research, backpacked throughout Alaska, and has now been living in East Africa for the past two years.  Today she took us to visit our Maasai neighbors.  It was so exciting because it wasn’t a “cultural boma” aka it wasn’t staged for tourism purposes.  It was an authentic Maasai home and we were so lucky to be welcomed into it.  They greeted us with a beautiful traditional dance . I take showers with Kilimanjaro water and dance with Maasai women .  Sometimes when I stop and think about the life I am living right now I just laugh. It is so surreal.  We met the working mommas  and their newest daughter.  Watching the Maasai make their jewelry  was amazing.  Bracelets #19 and 20 today, wahoo!   How could I say no to them !  We have our first field lecture tomorrow morning.  We have to hike for 1 1/2 hours to our lecture site…never have I ever hiked with my backpack and pencil case to class…I love it.  We’re watching the Lion King for the first time EVER, since being in Africa, tonight. The level of excitement throughout this camp is not okay. I decide on my research topic (30-50 page paper, ah!) soon so I will definitely let you know when I do. Gotta run, happy Friday and someone dress up like simba for me for Halloween!!

☮ Hannah

This entry was posted on Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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