[adam&hischeetahs]

This. Is. Serengeti.

I know I haven’t posted in a long time…I was out with an awful sunburn for a week and then finals happened…but after 5 days in the Serengeti I am back on my game and ready to type!

But first! On our drive to the Serengeti we had to travel through Ngorongoro Crater again…oh darn…did I even talk about this place? The 8th natural wonder of the world? Sorry ‘bout that…anyways…we stopped after the Crater at Oldupai (Olduvai..) Gorge, the place where the oldest human remains were found! Some guy started mispronouncing it (Olduvai) and the name has stuck..but it’s really called Oldupai! We got a great lecture there about anthropology and paleontology, and they had a mini museum with tons of bones from long extinct species!

Driving into the park was our first game drive…THROUGH THE GREAT MIGRATION. Thousands and thousands of wildebeest were on both sides of the road as far as the eye could see. The horizon was just a black line of wildebeest. Also making appearances were Thompson’s gazelles, Grant’s gazelles, and zebras…but nowhere near as many as the wildebeest. These crazy things were running all over the place, even across the road right in front of our car, and it was just awesome. 

We set up camp and had our first night around the fire afterwards. All through the night I could hear hyenas “hoooowoooop”ing around our camp. But I’ll get to the near death experiences later.

Monday (we left Sunday, sorry) we started the day at 6:30 with another game drive. There are SO many Impala in the woodlands of the Serengeti. Also commonly seen are giraffes (saw two fighting!), cape buffalo, warthogs, topi (only found in the Serengeti!), even some leopards, and tons of colorful birds. Breaking into the grasslands you can see lions, more leopards, cheetahs (rarely), topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra, jackals, bat-eared foxes, warthogs, cape buffalo, giraffes, both gazelles, and probably a lot more that I’m forgetting. After lunch we visited the Lion Research Center of the Serengeti and got a lecture from the two resident researchers about what they do there. They basically just drive around in a land rover through the Serengeti all day looking for lions and conducting random studies about behavior. I mean, not the coolest job or anything. We ended the day with another game drive (first leopard sighting!) and then headed to bed. 

Tuesday we had a birding exercise in the morning that was really great! It made everyone, even those who weren’t interested in birds, focus on them and really get to appreciate and identify them! The birds here are phenomenal and so colorful. We then got a lecture from one of the park wardens of the whole Serengeti about its history and management techniques. The lecture actually wasn’t that great…it was pretty broad and covered a lot that we already knew, BUT it was at the visitor’s center. Let me just tell you, the squirrels of America are nothing compared to what run around here. Rock hyraxes and dwarf mongooses EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE SO CUTE. Hyraxes are basically massive gopher guinea pig things that are just adorable. I had to attach a picture so you could see for yourselves. Afterwards we did yet another game drive, and I haven’t been mentioning lions because I have seen so many that I just consider them normal..but every game drive includes lions!!!! Dinner and bed happened after that. 

WEDNESDAY WAS THE BEST. The game drive in the morning started off with…you guessed it…A CHEETAH. We watched her for a half hour just walking through the grassland and she was so beautiful! Of course we saw tons more lions and a couple leopards and everything else too…but the cheetah was really great. For lunch…ahhhh. Lunch was conveniently at the Serena lodge…basically rated the best lodge in all of Africa. We had a delicious BUFFET of salad (there’s no lettuce ANYWERE here), cheeses galore (brie, camembert, gouda, garlic roulade…oh my god), fresh baked baguettes (for spreading the fantastic cheese on, naturally..), and LAMB and PORKCHOPS with delectable dipping sauces such as ORANGE GINGER GLAZE. And all unlimited. Also a dessert was included so I casually stuffed an apple pie in on top of my four heaping plate fulls of pre-dessert. And then we swam in a beautiful pool overlooking (sorta) the woodlands, and there was BREWED A.K.A. NOT INSTANT coffee!!!! It was all just so great. There were even real freaking toilets with DOORS for privacy!! Who would have thought! And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the game drive included FOUR leopards and TWO more cheetahs and the most GORGEOUS sunset I have ever seen in my life. Wednesday…you were pretty swell. Except….I almost died.

I have been neglecting to mention the near death experiences. Monday night as I was getting into my tent I looked up and my headlamp hit two hyenas about 20m from me. Like…right there. Like about to come eat me. Cowardice was the answer and I jumped in my tent. Tuesday there was a casual HERD OF CAPE BUFFALO 10m from the bathrooms that we had to stare down while waiting to relieve ourselves. Buffalo are aggressive and will charge without warning, so that was a really nice thing to think about while using the door-less restroom facilities. But then Wednesday…Wednesday a male lion decided to invade the camp. Which was actually terrifying if you could believe that. We were all sitting around the fire when we heard the territorial grunts of the lion…in the pitch darkness…and then the growl. Our guard Bura immediately just started yelling for everyone to run into their tents. It was a chaotic mad dash for safety. But with the help of the vehicle engines and lots of shouting the guards managed to scare them away and they didn’t come back!

The drive home Thursday was fairly uneventful, other than seeing two leopards not a minute after starting! We also got to drive through the migration again which was just fantastic. Overall the Serengeti was an unbelievable experience. I try to cover all the bases here but if you have any questions about anything or want me to talk about anything, send me a message on Facebook or email me at winegarden@wisc.edu! Talk to y’all soon!

Jina langu ni Adam. Mimi ni mwanafunzi wa Kiswahili hapa SFS katika Tanzania.

Well yes hello! Welcome to the third edition of this little online journal thing I’ve got going on. It really is hard to find time to write these but I’m doing my very bestest!

SO.  Major events. Well, Thursday was a non-program day, and some of us decided to go on a bike ride tour of Lake Manyara National Park. The idea was really great…it was…but little did we know, the people here have rumps of steel and actually don’t need bike cushions. So for 4 hours we rode on very bumpy roads and right through the expansive grasslands to the lake…on these horrid seats. The fun was still present though, as we biked past running gazelles, and approached a herd of stampeding wildebeest not 50 meters away. There was also a huge herd of zebra close to us! The trip ended with a stop at the hippo pool, and because the guides were trying to get us killed, we actually got pretty close to the hippos. Apparently they were not very dangerous because they were in the water. I don’t believe it for a second. Hippos are extremely fast and are responsible for many deaths in the nearby town each year because nobody expects them to be such deadly killers. Freakin’ insane. Anyways. We all lived, but literally bruised our tailbones black and blue. Probably not something I’ll be doing again.

Last Friday we went to Tarangire National Park! The place where everyone sees their first lion! Except us. Yep, no lions yet. On the bright (gray?) side, we saw over 300 elephants, and more than 100 impala! Also sighted: a group of giraffe, some warthogs, ostriches, lots of mongooses, dik diks, waterbuck, reedbuck, zebra, and lots of beautiful birds. The tourist lodge there was beautiful and it actually made me a bit uneasy with its striking contrast to the pastoralist lifestyles of the Maasai people not 5 kilometers away. There was a pool with a waterslide, two bars, giant guest rooms for spending the night, luxury couches and chairs, and a truly amazing view of the park where you could stand and watch elephants, giraffe, and impala far below.

Yesterday was the home stay at a local family’s house. We went in pairs and from 8 am to 4 pm did everything that the family told us to. We drank chai (chai means tea in Swahili…now don’t you all feel silly for saying chai tea..tea tea..teehee.), I got to hold the cattle stick that is only given to the man of the house and herded the cattle, then the man, whose name we never quite figured out, took us on a nature hike and we learned a ton about the complexities of their agricultural lifestyle, drought, the rain seasons, and soil erosion. There is also a plant here that makes you go blind if you get it in your eyes! :) Naturally then he waved it all over in the air recklessly.

When we returned we helped make lunch in the traditional fashion over the fire. Ugali (maize flour and water…that’s it), beef, and cabbage were on the menu. Oh, and about 20 bottles of oil. We ate until we were full, and then we ate some more, and then he poured more glasses of milk…and THEN after many “nimeshiba”s (i’m full), we finally finished. I was a bit confused by the rest of the day but we actually did nothing..they sat us down on stools in the shade and we talked to our man for 4 hours. It was a good experience though!

The academics here have been so insane. I never expected to be doing this much work. This week alone I had a Swahili exam on Sunday as well as a paper due that night, and I have a paper due tomorrow as well as another due Thursday. It’s ruthless! I suppose I’ll be a better person because of it, though, and hopefully Madison seems easier next fall.

Ok, well, ‘till next time y’all, thanks for reading!

Best dishes from my kitchen to yers,

Adam

Sunburn, baboons, and other not so super awesome things juxtaposed with actually awesome things.

Jambo katika Tanzania!

This has been quite the interesting week. I guess the weirdest part is that baboons have been all that’s on my mind for at least 5 days. I’m pretty sick of the little things. Funny how writing a pretty boring, pretty long paper about something can really skew your outlook on life.

FIRST of all, Saturday and Sunday I went on a two part safari-but-actually-educational-and-a-lot-of-work trip to LakeManyara National Park. There were many neat things like giraffes and zebra and jackals! But so many baboons. SO MANY. They run all over the road and are loud and dirty and their butts gross me out and of course I had to write a paper on specifically THEIR behavior. Also there were supposedly the only species of tree climbing lions the history of forever there…but they are elusive and I saw not their beauty.

Monday was lame.

Tuesday was the first day off of classes that I’ve had since my arrival! We went and visited and Iraqw boma, which is a traditional house. We learned about the traditions and customs, and saw a dance. Then we went into the nearby town Karatu and spent a day at the market. It was pretty crazy. People do not take no for an answer. Even when you say it in their language! Hapana!!! Hapana asante!!! Nope. Stubborn, they are. Also there were many, many live animals. Also also, there were many, many more dead animals being roasted for sale on a stick. And corn too! And sunburn. :(

Wednesday I finally had my first Swahili class! The instructor had been off getting married until Tuesday. She is absolutely fantastic. I can imagine that this is what the children of The Magic School Bus must have felt like under the direction of Ms. Frizzle. Every day is a new adventure! I have to remind myself that this is a college course, because when we’re singing the fruit song and jumping up and down it feels more like I’m back at Roosevelt Elementary. The best part, though, is when you get an answer right, the whole class has to reward you with praise!!! We rub our hands together and mumble “pasha pasha pasha pasha pasha…(warm warm warm warm warm…)” and then clapping and yelling say, “choma (heat)! tena (again)! tena (again)!” It’s super excellent. She is the most energetic, vibrant, happy woman in all of Africa! I forget I’m actually learning.

Yesterday we went back to Manyara to conduct a survey on the grassland. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wanted to do it again. Grass isn’t that interesting. But the day was saved by almost being stampeded by wildebeest. :) Hooray!

And now I’m back to today…where nothing has happened yet! I suppose this is where I call it quits. I wish you all the best from the bushland! Really, really missing cheeseburgers right now…

EDIT: Being without internet for 3 days I have now had a new experience…among writing TWO research papers…Adam Winegarden has consumed his first (and hopefully only) goat testicle. I watched the goat walk into the camp on its own free will, and 4 hours later I was eating it on a stick. Such is Africa!

Thanks for reading, yo!

Asante sana squash banana,

Adam

Hakuna Matata

Jambo!!!

I would just like to start out by saying that my life and The Lion King have never been more intertwined. Actually, this might peak while I am CAMPING in the SERENGETI for 4 DAYS in March. But I’m pulling a close second right now. This place is absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t imagine anywhere I’d rather be for the next 3 months. Everybody is so kind and welcoming. Walking through town, all of the shop owners and women in their vibrant fabrics are eager to raise a hand and shout, “jambo.” The children swarm to you and pose for the camera like they’ve been practicing their whole life. And SO much rice to eat. Rice rice rice rice. Also, watermelon, pineapple, and bananas for breakfast every morning. You may recall, “Asante sana, squash banana!” as Rafiki chants…it has been sung many times already. Asante sana simply means “thank you very much” so we say it a lot. Like I said, The Lion King and I are one and the same. 

The trip here was basically awful. And that’s a bit of a euphemism. Minneapolis to Chicago to New York to London to Nairobi to Kilimanjaro. So many layovers, long, sleepless flights, and a less than dreary movie selection, forcing me to watch an hour and a half of baseball and Brad Pitt. Have you ever accidentally sliced a bagel too thick, but then still tried to jam it into the toaster? Welcome to my 6 foot 2 life of trying to fit in airplane seats. You see where I’m coming from here. Also the plane from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro was nothing more than a cardboard toilet paper tube with propellers. Yes, propellers. Needless to say it was an hour of making peace with the prospect of dying. And we all only arrived with one bag..so after 3 days of no showering many of us needed to wait an extra day for our shampoo. But everything is ok now! I am here and life is good. Hakuna freakin’ Matata. 

I guess I’ll just talk about how the bathroom IS the shower and the “drain” in the middle is actually the worst thing. Showering is nice and fun because when I come out, I have a river to play in that runs all the way through my room! Additional struggles come from the g-dang mosquito netting. I swear, it’s a new battle every morning with this stuff. This is an evolving, fully functional undiscovered species that develops war tactics to ensnare me in different ways each day. It can be summed up as the bane of my whole existence. The best part is it doesn’t even always work. Awesome!

I promise I love it here though!!! It appears that this entry has become a word dump for my angst and complaining..I appreciate your listening. I am in shorts and a t-shirt with sandals on, it is 80 and wonderfully windy, and the birds just never get tired of singing. I haven’t seen lions or my precious first cheetah yet, but giraffes did make an appearance on the way into camp. I am nothing but excited for the experiences I will have here in Tanzania over the next 6 weeks. If anyone has specific questions or anything they’d like to talk to me about I am available at winegarden@wisc.edu! Thanks for reading, and I really just hope you have a most fantastic day. 

Karibu Tanzania!!!!!!

Contact Info!

As only one day remains before I board a jet (or 5) to my destiny, I would like to present the opportunity to be awesome and contact me while I am away!

For the first 1.5 months (Mid March) I will be in Tanzania:

SFS Center for Wildlife Management Studies

P.O. Box 304

Karatu, Tanzania

East Africa

After that I will be in Kenya:

Center for Wildlife Management Studies

P.O. Box 27743 (Nyayo Stadium)

00506 - Nairobi, Kenya

East Africa

Conveniently, I can also be reached through e-mail at winegarden@wisc.edu.

Please, please only send standard letters if choosing the prehistoric postal system! Any packages will be taxed highly and will be very expensive for me :( Maybe you could write me a note and detail what WOULD have been in the package. Pictures would also be great. Mayhaps of a neat looking box. Float your own boats, people. Look forward to hearing from you!! 

Asante (Thanks!),

Adam

Here’s to hoping the rabies vaccine has unexpected side effects that turn me into an animorph.