So here we are at KBC Kimana Bush Camp, Kenya! We left Rhotia, Tanzania Monday morning the 19th It was really sad leaving the staff because I feel as if I was just getting to know them and I wasn’t ready to pack up my stuff just yet (nor did I want to tackle the mess that has exploded out of my suitcase and into my banda). The drive to the Kenyan boarder took about 5 hours. At the boarder we met the other group coming from Kenya to Tanzania. After exchanging visas we bid goodbye to Whitney, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry (again) but it was really sad leaving Whitney, I just wanted to take her with me. We met Tara our new SAM (student affair manager) and Jenna, our intern. I was pretty skeptical of them at first but after a few days of being here I’ve come to love them and their laid back personalities. We exchanged money, got new pupil’s passes and started crossing the boarder (but of course before taking the casual one foot in Tanzania and one in Kenya picture first). The heat was really starting to get to me, as it is much more semiarid due to the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya and we lost the Tanzanian breeze and green vegetation.
These are our bandas, and with new bandas comes new roommates! My banda is the first one on the right. We are the twiga, the giraffe banda. There are 4 beds but I only have 3 roommates, Jen and Natalie. This time there are no bunkbeds but we still have mosquito nets which need to be tucked in at all times to prevent bugs, and snakes and furry creatures from entering our beds at night. Oh yeah and we already have a fuzzy friend living with us and I shall call him Herbert. No food is kept in the bandas because of Herbert, sound like summer camp all over again? Yeah. Speaking of the wildlife here, baboons raid this camp morning day and night. It’s fun to wake up to them screeching at one another atop our bandas, or running around climbing the gazebo during the day. Baboon observations occur 24/7 around here. We have a chumba, which is open on both sides and serves as our dining hall, classroom and a place to hang out. So, the chumba's in the center of camp and bathrooms are located on the left and right. Unlike Tanzania we have to share bathrooms and showers. There are 3 showers, and 3 toilets. The 1st shower has amazing water pressure and is supposed to be hot but I haven’t figured out the trick yet. Jen said she’d show me next time I decide to shower..soo in about 4 days??
Our 1st day here we went through a few introduction classes, our schedule and safety rules and regulations. Were not really having lectures here because we’re starting directed research in early April. After the staff introduced themselves we got to drive into Kimana. Kimana town is about an hour walks away but we are allowed to walk to town if we have free time, and there’s a place to stop and get ice cream. Don’t worry mom I’m getting my ice cream fix here. Oh and the food is amazing! Arthur is our head chef and is an exquisite cook. He’s a funny guy and I’m really attempting to learn how to cook this time.
After crossing the boarder we walked to a lodge to eat our packed lunches, and drove another 3 hours to KBC. The first thing you noticed is the size of Kimana Bush Camp. It is wayyyy bigger then Moyo Hill. The fence surrounding KBC is about a mile long that makes for a nice running trail, (which I haven’t been using at all, you hear that Miranda? We need to go to the gym when I return please!). And an outside track that is 2 ½ miles long.
These are our bandas, and with new bandas comes new roommates! My banda is the first one on the right. We are the twiga, the giraffe banda. There are 4 beds but I only have 3 roommates, Jen and Natalie. This time there are no bunkbeds but we still have mosquito nets which need to be tucked in at all times to prevent bugs, and snakes and furry creatures from entering our beds at night. Oh yeah and we already have a fuzzy friend living with us and I shall call him Herbert. No food is kept in the bandas because of Herbert, sound like summer camp all over again? Yeah. Speaking of the wildlife here, baboons raid this camp morning day and night. It’s fun to wake up to them screeching at one another atop our bandas, or running around climbing the gazebo during the day. Baboon observations occur 24/7 around here. We have a chumba, which is open on both sides and serves as our dining hall, classroom and a place to hang out. So, the chumba's in the center of camp and bathrooms are located on the left and right. Unlike Tanzania we have to share bathrooms and showers. There are 3 showers, and 3 toilets. The 1st shower has amazing water pressure and is supposed to be hot but I haven’t figured out the trick yet. Jen said she’d show me next time I decide to shower..soo in about 4 days??
Our 1st day here we went through a few introduction classes, our schedule and safety rules and regulations. Were not really having lectures here because we’re starting directed research in early April. After the staff introduced themselves we got to drive into Kimana. Kimana town is about an hour walks away but we are allowed to walk to town if we have free time, and there’s a place to stop and get ice cream. Don’t worry mom I’m getting my ice cream fix here. Oh and the food is amazing! Arthur is our head chef and is an exquisite cook. He’s a funny guy and I’m really attempting to learn how to cook this time. The mornings here are beautiful. Like I said in my last post you get to wake up and shower to a beautiful sunrise or sunset over Mt. Kilimanjaro. For our first traveling lecture the staff took us atop of one of the highest point in Kimana. We had an amazing 360-degree view of the region as well as Mt. Kilimanjaro. So one could say it was hard to pay attention instead of taking pictures. So far I’m loving it here and the nice change of scenery. Hard to believe I’ll be returning back to the states in a little over a month.
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| Traveling Lecture, view of Mt. Kilimanjaro |
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