Life Lessons Learned in the Serengeti

I just got back from an amazing camping excursion in Serengeti National Park (SNP), Tz. Our days were filled with traveling lectures, game drives and relaxing in the wilderness of Africa. My experience in Serengeti has taught me a lot of life lessons, some I already knew and others were brought to a new perspective.

Life: It’s a bumpy road and you always need a good support system.

The roads into and inside of SNP were the bumpiest I’ve ever encountered. Our bodies were constant being jostled around and it left us feeling sore and stiff the next day. Also, I wish I had brought a decent sports bra. It was much-needed!

In life, few things are truly within your control. You cope with what comes your way. At times, it gets to hard and this is exactly the time that you lean of the supportive people in your life.

Someone Always Has Your Back

Our campsite was literally in the middle of SNP. At night, it was not uncommon for hyena, buffalo and lion to walk through camp but I was never afraid or uncomfortable because we had the best protection ever: Askari (guard) Bura. Bura is the funniest man I have ever met and his carefree personality is contagious. This is not to say that he doesn’t take his job seriously. He always joked about “hyena bash bash” but one night in the Serengeti, he actually hit a hyena that he felt was a danger to the unsuspecting sleepers. He is courageous and caring. No better combination.

Sometimes, you may feel like it’s you against the world but there is always someone who has your back, even if you don’t know they’re there.

Don’t Let Anyone Ruin Your Good Time; Find a Redeeming Quality They May Have

The drive to Serengeti took about six hours and I was stuck in a car with a girl I cannot stand. I was also with her three more times during the trip. There is just something about her voice…but I didn’t let that ruin my experience. I coped with her tendencies and actually enjoyed some of the funny things she said.

I can’t imagine the life I would have if I let all the bad moments and annoying people get to me. You have to find the best in every situation; otherwise you’ll end up miserable!

Sometimes You Have to Give in to Your Inner Child and Throw Your Hands in the Air

Game drives have become my favorite part of being in Africa. We go to the national parks, pop the tops off the trucks and stand on our seats. It’s the best feeling to be driving fast, with your hands in the air and feel the wind brush over your skin.

Sometimes we take for granted the things we did when we were kids. Stick you hand out the window and ride the wind. It’s still just as cool as it was when you were 7.

Sometimes, You Feel Like a Superhero

One day, we were driving so fast in our trucks that we were able to lean forward with our arms outstretched. Each of us decided what superhero we were going to be. I was “The Animal Avenger”, the poacher ass kicker.

As silly as my experience was, I do feel like I can be a superhero someday. I came to Africa to learn about wildlife and the management practice that conservation entails. I will be able to apply the skills and knowledge I’ve gathered to better the world for both people and animals.

Commit Everything to Memory

You should take a second out of your day, your week, your month, to just think about what you’ve done and how it has affected you. Tanzania has provided me with the most unique experiences ever. There hasn’t been a single thing that isn’t worth remembering. Tomorrow, I will be switching to the Kenya camp. I’m excited for new scenery and more treasured moments.

You are no longer a tourist, this is your home now

I am starting to feel less like a tourist and more like someone who belongs to the culture of Tanzania. Lately, our group has really been immersing ourselves in to the local lifestyle. We have gone to both a cultural Iraqw and Masaai boma, learned how to fight with sticks from one of our Masaai staff members, bartered more at the market places, volunteered at the orphanage and spent time with the teenagers at the secondary school. These aren’t experiences that a normal foreigner seeks out and I am so glad that these opportunities have been presented to me.

By spending time with the locals here, I have had the opportunity to compare the Masaai and Iraqw culture to that of the US. People aren’t materialistic here. They work hard for the essentials, make what they don’t have and are happy just to be alive. I was told by a friend who previously spent time here, “Nothing in the US will be good enough for you when you get back.” How could that be? We have everything in the US: cars, money, mansions, free schooling, hospitals. I’ve only been here for 3 weeks but I’m slowly starting to see that statement to be true. The US is too processed. There is little sense of togetherness. When was the last time you walked down the street and had a child run up to you for a hug? Or have been greeted by every person you passed? That doesn’t often happen in the US.  Many advert their eyes and turn away from those that need help most.

The best experience I’ve had so far was going to the local orphanage. About 30 children resided there, ranging in age from 1-9 years old. Their parents have all passed away from HIV/AIDS. Thankfully, the children of the orphanage are HIV free but over one million Tanzanians aren’t as lucky. Of those affected, 140.000 are children and only about 8% are receiving treatment. The children of that orphanage don’t know the reality they will grow up in but they do know that you’re there to play ball with them, or to push them on the swing. For our community service project, we bought paint and painted their rooms. It was  fun for us but something that really needed to be done for them. I also contributed by paying ~$25 for a painting that I could have bought for $3 in the market place. I asked how the money will be spent and they told me the money I donated would feed a lot of the children for over a month!

Another eye opener was the Diego Day Secondary School. This school is for those children who have families that can afford to send them past primary school. In a society where manpower comes from family members, not people you hire, it is a hard decision to put money towards a future goal that may cause you to struggle in the present.

Since I have been here, I have let go of what values I thought I had, opened my mind and heart to new experiences and really let myself be in Africa. I hope that other people have the chance to come to the awareness that I have. Become a member of the country you’re in, not just a tourist. It’s nice to know that I really do have a home away from home.

Jetlagged but Alive!

Jambo (Hello in Swahili)! =)

I’m finally at the base camp at Moyo Hill in Rhotia, Tanzania! The trip was amazing and rough all in one but how can I complain?! I’m in Africa!!

So far, I’ve learned:

1) I cannot sleep on planes

2) London is very rainy

3) How to sleep on a tile floor in an airport (and like it)

4) I can go about 72 hours on 12 hours of sleep

5) No one is happier than an African child at the sight of an SFS student

6) I suck at Swahili…..for now =)

The views have been breath taking. On our way to camp this morning, my favorite driver, Charles, drove off the road so quickly that I thought I was going to die! With his amazing trained eyes, he spotted giraffes in the distance and allowed time for us to take pictures while the rest of the convoy moved on. He also pointed out camps, government buildings and local tribes along the way. One such village contained one man, his 10 wives and all of his children!

Even though the animals and the landscape has been quite the sight, it’s the people here that have completely caught me off guard. Everyone is so friendly, always willing to talk (even when I don’t understand) or share a smile. The children are the real jewels here. They know how to work hard in the fields or manage the livestock but they are still the happiest people I have ever met. The young ones will run to you with open arms, begging to be picked up or to hold your hand. Specifically, I met a little girl named Katarina. I picked her up and proceeded to tickled her. When I stopped, she startled to tickle me back. Later that day, I passed by again and she ran so fast to get to me, calling out my name, and tickled me right away. It is amazing the joy they find in such a simple embrace with a stranger! If only it were so easy to make the rest of the world so happy.

Getting antsy for Africa

I can’t believe I will be leaving for Kenya in about 2 weeks! This is going to be my first experience outside of the US and I am immersing myself into a culture that is so unlike my own. I don’t think that I’ll have too hard of an adjustment to the lifestyle, although I am going to miss facebook 😉 My experiences at Purdue have given me a broad perspective on the diversity of the world and I’m eager to put these skills into play.

So am I prepared to go? No! I have so many supplies that I need to get before I depart and I really only have until the 24th to do so. I will be spending some time in NJ before I leave and I am running around with a check list like a mad woman! I just finished getting all of my vaccines (don’t wait until the last second like me) and I still need get some Africa appropriate clothes. I didn’t realized how much I would have to buy before going, or that I would have to cram it all into 2 suitcases AND make it under 50 lbs each. Good thing I function well under pressure. 🙂

Overall, I am so excited to start a new chapter in my life and I think Africa is an amazing place to do so.

I miss Africa

So camping in the middle of the Serengeti (complete with being able to see giraffes, buffalos, etc. just strolling past our campsite) was amazing, but since I haven’t had any time to write because of packing and getting my last assignments in, I’ll just say that you HAVE to visit the Serengeti at least once in your life. While there, sit out at night, look at the stars, and listen to the lions and hyenas. Next, visit an African orphanage, the Maasai Market in Mto wa Mbu, and the Shirt Shack (while you’re at the Shack act like you have lobster claws and chase the little kids around that live in the huts around the area). Priceless.

P.S. Sorry this is kind of long.

Well I’m home!… after the best month of my life. I miss Africa sooo much. It’s more the fact that I miss the students, the staff, the environment, the wildlife, the people. I miss waking up to an African sunrise and then watching the sun set while driving back to camp in the Land Cruisers. Although I have to admit the sunset over Lake Michigan tonight did give the African ones a run for their money, it just wasn’t the same. I miss the kids running up to us shaking our hands and laughing when we pick them up and throw them in the air. I miss the good times I had with the staff and students, how close we got and how by the end of the program we were all wishing we had longer with each other because we felt like family. I miss the view we had of Lake Manyara everyday driving down the road heading into Mto wa Mbu. I miss the red dirt and feeling like I could just sleep on the ground without getting any dirtier than I already was, and I miss not having a care in the world about the dirt because I knew that there were more important things than being clean. Except when you have 3 layers of dirt completely covering your face from standing out of the hatches while driving 45 mph down a dirt road into the Serengeti. That took some serious cleaning. If that sounded disgusting trust me it definitely was. But it was also probably one of the funniest moments of the trip too. I miss sleeping in a tent. I miss waking up and hearing scratching sounds on the side of my tent, which always turned out to be my friend coming to make sure I was awake when we had morning cook crew due to the fact that I couldn’t wake up to my own watch alarm. I actually do miss Thomson’s Gazelles, no matter how much we hated them after counting literally hundreds for our animal count assignments. I miss watching the staff act like they were still kids, which was a pretty common sight and definitely provided a lot of comedy during the month. I miss the staff’s accents too and the Swahili they taught us, then having the campsite owner come by and being so surprised by how much we knew. I miss sneaking into the kitchen to steal milk that our Cook had boiling in a pot on the kitchen stove at 11 pm just to make a cup of chai, instead of finishing assignments that were due in an hour. I miss trying desperately to figure out what the people were saying to each other in Swahili, then realizing I would never know. Then also realizing Swahili was the coolest language in the world and I didn’t care if I knew what they were saying, I just wanted to sit and listen to everyone speak it. I miss the culture. I miss the little close knit bomas. I miss the laid back old-American lifestyle. I miss studying outside and being outside every moment of every day. I miss the no hurries in Africa, the no worries in Africa.

I miss a lot, but I would rather miss it than never have experienced it.

When I got back to the States, it felt so wrong not saying jambo (a.k.a. hi) to everyone I saw, but then I realized that it wasn’t really acceptable and you’d more or less get weird looks around here. I just had to accept that. I was also a little freaked out about the water pressure in the shower, not gonna lie. Coming back I was scared that I wouldn’t like it here anymore, but I realized that’s not true. It’s just the fact that I’ve experienced how amazing life can be in other places when you go and learn about culture and study what you love among friends who become family and a foreign place that becomes home.

I still love the United States, being here with my family, and going to school at Purdue.

On the other hand though,

I miss Africa.

But I’ll go back.

Coming up: the Serengeti!

(Wednesday):

Time to play What Interesting Stuff Happened Today! Well let’s see, first thing in the morning about 6:30am we headed out to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Crater to see some amazing wildlife. Along the way we got to stand out in the freezing cold listening to Kissui lecture us about something we all weren’t sure of because the only thing we could hear was the wind. While at Ngorongoro we saw 2 cheetahs attempt to chase a baby wildebeest, they didn’t succeed but getting to see cheetahs run was the best. Next we had 2 huge lions walk right past our land cruiser, then go and mate in the bush. Hearing them roar was pretty cool. While stopped at a bathroom we had Vervet Monkeys raid our land cruiser (while we were in it) and take a bag of bread, then go and eat it while watching us. On the way out of Ngorongoro we had our land cruiser stall on a steep hill next to a huge drop off that went straight down into the Crater, and our driver proceeded to slowly back up while the car fishtailed and the brakes grinded and pretty much everyone in our car thought we were doomed but we made it eventually thanks to our skillful driver who was pretty much laughing at us the whole time because we were freaking out. Sorry for the run-on sentence. Lastly we went to Happy Days pub to end the day. WOW!

Today (Thursday) we had a field exercise where we walked through a village and questioned the people about wildlife-human conflicts, and how they felt about wildlife conservation. It was pretty interesting to see perspectives and how they related to what we are studying here. Some people answered that they support wildlife because it helps with tourism and gives people jobs, but others said they wouldn’t support it unless we found a way to stop it from destroying crops and killing cattle. One boma even had a goat who had been attacked by a hyena earlier in the day, and we told him we hoped his goat got better soon but then he told us if we came back later in the day we could eat goat meat with him so I’m guessing that goat was going to have bad luck the rest of the day too!

Tomorrow we’re heading to the Serengeti to do some hardcore camping and game drives/field lectures, just loaded the truck up! Also tonight I am MOD of the day which is the equivalent to student of the day, so I get to do Reflection, Announcements, and Presentation today after dinner, should be fun… be back in 5 days!

Watching The Lion King… in Africa!

Sorry this one might be short but trust me if I could write a chapter book about everything I’ve done and experienced so far, I would! I’ll make sure to catch up on everything after the final test is over…

Yep the final is coming up on Tuesday already! That means lots of studying here in the next few days (maybe). That also means that our trip to the Serengeti is coming up soon after that! Hopefully complete with lions and leopards. Tarangire National Park was amazing and while we were there one of our professors took us to the place where he was doing research on his Tarangire Lion Project. Future job sight!

Yesterday was our non-program day, and we spent the most part of it on a 2.5 hour long hike… which I would’ve felt good about myself after completing it if I hadn’t been right behind one of our ascaris (guards) who wore sandals THE WHOLE HIKE. He has talent.

We also went to a Maasai boma, which was similar to the Iraqw boma, but I think I liked the Maasai one better. Plus they showed us how to make fire from something you can find in a cow pasture… any guesses? 

Today the Maasai mamas that we met yesterday at the boma came to our camp and taught us how to make bracelets, earrings, etc. from beads. It was definitely a great experience to get to work with people from a real Maasai tribe, even though we couldn’t really communicate since we still kind of suck at speaking Swahili. Well we’re getting better at it… They did tell us that we looked like experts making the beadwork though!

Gonna go watch The Lion King right now…!

Its 11:30 pm and I just heard a hyena.

When I’m in my tent ready to go to sleep, I still feel like I should be hearing the noises of the city. But instead I hear the call of a hyena in the distance followed by all the neighborhood dogs going crazy barking at it. It’s pretty cool. And a lot better than hearing cars.

If I could go on safaris every day for the rest of my life I would. Thursday and Friday we spent time at Lake Manyara National Park. The main purpose that we go on safaris is to study the mammals: do large mammal counts, study/record behavior, and do identification. Recording all that data= getting to see giraffes, elephants, hippos, Cape buffalos, zebras, wildebeests, monkeys, you name it. No large cats yet unfortunately, but I hear we’ll see plenty in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. By the way I’m not sure if there’s supposed to be an ‘s’ after all those animal names but I’m just going to put one so I don’t have to look it up. Oh and I also learned what it’s really like to drive through the wilderness of Africa standing out the top of a land cruiser. Essential on this trip I think.

The best experiences of real Tanzanian culture over the past couple of days:

A goat roast with the SFS staff from Kenya and Tanzania. Like a legit roast by a fire and everything, with a perfect view of Tanzania.  It was great for pretty much everyone except goat.

Going to a church service in the city of Karatu. Luckily the priest knew English, so every once in a while he would stop and explain to us what was happening. I’m not sure if he explains the service to all his visitors if they don’t speak Swahili, or if he just did that for us because we all had a lost look on our faces. I’m gonna go with the first one. It was one of the most interesting church services and I’d definitely go back again. Afterwards, everyone that was there went outside to participate in some sort of auctioning of the gifts received during the service, and when that was done, all the native people were coming up to us and shaking our hands to welcome us. I think they like us!

Going  to an Iraqw village. They let us put on clothes and beads that they wear, participate in their tribal dances which were hilarious and fun at the same time, and try some of their maize that they cooked. The best part: watching Daniel and Charles (two guys from Kenya who are part of the SFS staff) do the dances. It was definitely worthy of some video taking.

3 classes tomorrow and the next day we’re off on a safari to Tarangire this time!

P.S. Did I mention I’m not a fan of scorpions and literally HUGE ants. Mosquito bite count: one…

Life in Africa

Finally arrived in Africa! Well on Monday night I did. It’s amazing here but that barely describes it. We had a classroom lecture today and I think all of our orientation is done; so now we get to learn about the good stuff. No more lectures on parasites and Malaria! Heading to Lake Manyara tomorrow to see some wildlife and have a field lecture, I’m pretty excited about that. It’s basically the real start of our ‘coursework’ now and I don’t think it can get much better than traveling to National Parks to learn about wildlife conservation and management while at the same time  seeing lions, elephants and everything else all in the same day.

There’s this trail that we can hike by our camp and I went on it today with a couple other people. We saw the coolest birds and I’m pretty sure I’m becoming a professional photographer! I mean maybe not professional, just good. But there really were some incredible looking birds. There are also some houses along the trail where the Iraqw and Maasai people live. They’re not really houses, actually more like huts with the thatched roof and all (like you see in pictures of Africa, that’s seriously what they look like if you were wondering), but I think I can just call them houses since the people do live in them. The kids here are SO cute, never thought I’d say that about kids! We walk down the trail and they all come running to us saying ‘jambo’ which means hello. They like to shake hands too. I’m not sure how much English they know but one little kid told us his name and was acting all nice  before he exclaimed, “Give me your money!” or something along those lines. We kind of just walked away from him… Anyways it was incredible seeing the way everyone lives around here. It’s so different. You know the pictures where you see African women carrying jars/buckets on their head? I saw that today. I had to go to the side of the trail to let a couple cow and goat herds go pass today too. I don’t think I would ever really see that walking down the streets of Indiana. Well I guess I could but it probably wouldn’t be a good situation for the owner of those cows.

Oh also, the showers have hot water. I’m actually a little upset about that. Mosquito bite count: ZERO!

Almost ready!

Hi I’m Savanna Niec and I’m a junior at Purdue University studying Wildlife. I’m heading to Tanzania, Africa through Purdue and with the School for Field Studies to be part of a Wildlife Management program. My plane flies out on Sunday, July 11^th and I’ll be in Africa for a month. While in Africa, I’ll be researching and studying the problems associated with human land use / wildlife conservation, and working to find a solution. To answer everybody’s question, yes I am very excited!

So to start off, from the way my living room looks right now I could probably get nominated to go on that show Hoarding: Buried Alive. Should I continue packing? No, I think I’m just going to write this and bake some brownies for my family. Packing everything on my list (basically enough stuff to get me through a month) into one suitcase that has to be less than 44lbs is the hardest thing and I probably should have done this a week ago but I think now that I’m leaving in like… 11 hours, I have a bit more motivation. Looking at my suitcase with clothes thrown around is a little intimidating, but then I see things like my 2 books: ‘Behavior Guide to African Mammals’ and ‘Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania’, the African skirt I had to get for when we go into the local communities or work with the Maasai, my awesome new safari hat, and of course my Malaria medication; and all of it makes me remember that in 4 days I’ll be in Africa.

I’ll be staying at a safari camp in Northern Tanzania, complete with 2 person tents and cold showers! I’m looking forward to that actually. Compared to how many times I’ll be able to travel to Africa, study the wildlife, interact with the Maasai, and live right in the middle of African culture, I think I can give up hot showers for a month.

Check back, I’ll try and keep this thing updated as often as I can!