February 3rd
OK, so i started writing this a few days ago when i actually got here, but there's tons of stuff and i'm failing at blogging. oh well.

Ha, good job momma. I'm here! FINALLY. sat next to a man from Nairobi who's name is Steve. He went to college for a few years in Pittsburgh. He was telling me all about Africa and differences in money and costs in the US, weird time zones due to different occupations and told me about all the places we were passing over. Made me try Kilamanjaro beer on the plane... it was pretty good. when we landed he gave me his card and a pin for the East African Union that he works for... made my first African contact, yay! haha
The five of us (who dubbed ourselves grp 3) landed at about 7pm last night and met up with charles and festo. We stayed in Arusha, about 45 min away from the airport. saw crazy night life and experienced CRAZY driving, on paved roads... thankfully. At the hotel Charles had to make negotiations in swahili at a hotel we had reservations at...but apparently that might not mean much here. Actually I have no idea what he was doing or saying cuz i understand about 4 words of the language.
BEDS! finally, and dinner...more negotiations, for the vegetarians... it's definitely a dad kinda place.... lots a meat and texas toast. It's cool tho cuz they still have coke and sprite and other soda in glass bottles, really big tall ones.
I fell asleep and woke up a few hrs later to the sound of bush babies...super weird freaky sounding creatures that sound like cats growling as tho they're about to fight, the cats, not the bush babies. so weird. Woke up at 6 and left for Havannahnature camp, about 2-3 hrs away. Most amazing drive ever! I thought Nairobi was awesome. Here It's so much more beautiful. It's so green, and mountainous, with Mt Mehru, and Kilamanjaro. Everything's so simple here, I absolutely love it. school children walking along the roads to school in their uniforms, women carrying buckets on their heads, farmers herding their goats and cows in the fields. completely free range during the day. still preeetty crazy driving. school children collecting buckets of water at the creek and taking it to their school. termite mounds all over the place. Everything you would picture seeing in Africa right along the main highway. giraffes, zebras, super close to the road. ELEPHANTS!!!! on the hillside and down in Lake Manyana Nat. Park from an lookout we stopped at. Two females with babies. Baboons crossing the road. Crazy, and yet such a normal site here.

So i learned about all the bad stuff to look out for and what can happen as far as sickness and such and lemme just say my africa buzz dropped pretty hard core. but it's ok, I'll be fine, and i'm still REALLY happy and excited and blessed to be here. I just really really really hope i don't encounter ANY snakes, at least up close, because i'm more afraid of them than any other thing here, like even lions. cuuuz apparently they don't have anti-venoms here, and there's really nothin they can do. I guess it should be semi comforting that no students have ever been bitten before, but still.

but anywhooo, I started classes today officially. yesterday i learned about all my professors. my Wildlife management professor, dr Kissui works for the lion research project that that Smithsonian articles about! super cool! And my wildlife eco. professor is from the US and has worked with chimps in africa for a really long time, worked for jane goodall, and then taught con bio in nigeria for a while and she seems pretty cool. Swahili is interesting, kinda challenging. there are a bagillion greetings and responses, but all te workers here will speak it with you and help you out so that's cool.

had my first encounter with tons of ppl trying to sell me things today. No matter how many times you say no thank you, they still are very persistent. even the really young kids make the money sign with their fingers. but the kids around the camp are really neat. when ur out walking or running on the path they run along with you or come up and talk to you. and NOT ask you for money.

It's definitely been an experience, and I'm lovin every minute of it, and appreciating it so much. I'm trying to interact with my professors and the ppl as much as possible. I also take moments to myself to just reflect and look out over the landscape and watch the different herders with their cattle and goats and ppl walking or riding their bikes along the road. were on a large hill so there's a place to look out pretty close to my tent and it's incredible.

I should be getting a phone tomorrow and about 5-8 minutes so that if i call or text someone i can give them a time to call me back and save my minutes. if you use skype to call my phone i guess it's pretty cheap too. so get skype! I'll write you a letter soon though. and try to send more emails. I might just post these on my blog cuz they're pretty much like journal entries.

I did cook crew today! woke up at 6am and made texas toast, with butter instead of oil, but still. The food here is sooo good. i thought i'd lose weight, but i totally don't see how that will happen. lots of meat and cooked veggies and potatoes and fresh fruit. dad would really like it here. Besides all the health ailments and dangerous creatures the people you encounter and the things you see are just so incredible. I realize i say that a lot. I really kinda wish i lived in a place where things are as simple and ppl are as friendly as they are here. here, you say hello to everyone you pass, and it just seems more welcoming and open. Things are also very hard at times tho and i've seen the effects of recent droughts that have taken their toll. in Nairobi there were so many cattle carcasses scattering the landscape due to the most recent dry spell.

well, for now i'm off to bed, to wake up to the sounds of cows and dogs and chickens and birds and a whole assortment of things tomorrow morning.
goodnight i love you, i miss you, i love getting your emails, and i'll write again soon.

loooove, Betsy