Jennifer in Africa

27 July 2006

Braids

While running around Babati we were on dirt roads and even with windows all rolled up you still get covered in dust. This has the effect of making my hair feel completely grimy and take two shampoos before the water runs clean. So I decided to do what many people here do and braid my hair so that 1) my little hairs won't get all tangled as we drive and 2)as it gets dirty you can't really tell. The ladies in the hair shop had a field day when I arrived with Mimi and Susan, they were so shocked to see a mzungu who wanted to braid her hair. They didn't do it quite like I had wanted, but se la vi. My hair is still today (Thursday) in the braids, although the little fine hairs have started pulling out and I should really take the braids out. I will tonight provided we have warm water and that I get a comb in town. I had a comb, but on Tuesday it fell off the sink and into the choo (which is a porcelain hole in the floor, hence how it could fall in there) so I was left with no comb for my wet hair (there was no way I was reaching into the choo to get it!).

25 July 2006

Babati

Hi all,
I ment to post the message below on Sunday, but when I got to the internet place it was closed. Now I'm at the Lake Manyara National Park HQ and using their internet and can post my two day old message :)

As you read below keep in mind that US$1 = Tsh 1240.
So there is internet here in Babati….one place…but this is the first day I’ve had the time to write (I'm writing on my computer, but will go to the internet place after I'm done). I arrived on Wednesday to return to the district head quarters, get more information and to pick our study villages. We set up residence at this guest house that wasn’t the best. It just had a dirty feel to it, there were bugs, hugh holes in the bug net, and the choo (bathroom) stank. Needless to say, we changed guest houses on Thursday and for Tsh 1000 more we have very few bugs, a nicer choo, and no smell (is is Tsh 6000 / night, and Mimi and I are sharing). On Thursday we went to two of the villages and set up plans to come back and start interviews and focus groups and of course … we got a puncture…but it was okay our driver knew exactly how to get the tire high enough to change it (it requires two jacks) and while we were talking to one of the village heads he got the puncture fixed. Susan and the rest of the team arrived Thursday as well and on Friday we started in the village of Orng’adida (which means lion mountain in their native tongue). Friday morning was the village head interview which I didn’t do b/c I went to our third village to set up our time to visit them. In the afternoon I went with most everyone else to Orng’adida (S 4 degrees 17’46.6” E 35 degrees 51’ 39.5”) to start household interviews. We paired off (we have varying levels of experience so part of what we are doing now is training). We had an odd number of people so I went with on person to two households. The first household had 18 people (a husband, two wives, and the rest were children). They make less than $50 a year (the are subsistence farmers). The second household was better off, only eight people, and while they too were farmers they have a wider diversity of crops and had some livestock (the first household only had one goat). On Saturday morning we returned to Orgn’adida for focus groups. I listened in on the village game scout group and heard stories of people killing a giraffe with a panga (a knife like a machete). We talked to them about hunting companies, the protected areas, and photographic safari companies in the area. We also talked about resident hunting (legal hunting with permits), and about poaching. Saturday afternoon we went to Sangaiwe (S 3 degrees 56’25.6” E 35 degrees 49’23.2”) and did the village head interview and two more focus groups. We were told Sundays are not good days to do interviews/focus groups, I think because they are church days, so today is sort of a break…our questionnaires are still works in progress so I’ve been working on them, but at least things aren’t quite so hectic.
On a side note….every morning I drink tea (that has been mixed with whole milk and lots of sugar, no choice that is how it comes) and eat chapati for about Tsh 500. For lunch and dinner I either have the choice of rice and beans for Tsh 700 or chips (fries) and egg (cooked together) for Tsh 800. If I ate meat I would have a few other options, but regardless of where we go to eat, the menu is the same. The options are some meat (chicken, beef, goat or fish) with ugali or rice, rice and beans, or chips and egg. I don’t mind rice and beans once a day, but I can’t do it twice a day (The chips and egg is really greasy and not the best so I can only do it once very other day or so). Luckily, I brought some peanut butter and jam from town and I’m going to search for some bread on my way back from posting this at the internet place and have PB & J for lunch. I am VERY excited about this. Today or tomorrow we are moving from Babati to Makuyuni, finishing up in Sangaiwe, and starting in the village of Minjingu.

19 July 2006

Porini (in the bush)

I'm off for two weeks in the bush...well in the villages...but that is essentially the bush. It is curretnly 3:45 am and I'm leaving at 7:30 am. I've been working on trying to get the surveys ready to go. I will be meeting with the district and then ward and then village heads and setting things up for the survey teams to move in and do their thing! Yea. Okay gota go, I'll check back with you all in two weeks!!!

16 July 2006

Now and Then

Here is a picture of the Serengeti in March, once the rains had come.














Here is a picture of the same area when I drove through it last week. No wonder the wildebeest migrate.

11 July 2006

Solo Game Drive

This morning at 6:15 I took myself on a game drive. It was quite fun to know I could go where I wanted to and stop whenI wanted and sit for as long as I wanted. I was hoping to see a cheetah (of course), but didn't see one. I did see lions, a leopard, elephants, giraffe, gazelle, a hippo, and zebra. The elephants were in the road and that made me nervous (they can overturn and crush a car), so I let one of the safari vehicles drive up to the elephant and get it to move, then I just followed behind. On Sunday night I got to assist with the monthly night transects they do here in the Serengeti for one of the research projects. I was the driver and there were two people in the back with spot lights counting all the animals they saw and recording down the distance from the starting point. It was really neat because we saw a leopard just strolling about 10 meters away from us (my first leopard sighting since 1999). Here are some pictures of my game drive. :)
The full moon setting....














Tembo....















Twiga....














Simba...

06 July 2006

Shida kwa gari yangu

Or...My Car troubles...

I'm at the internet place in Seronera (in Serengeti). They have wireless powered by solar panels...But the can't power the outlets (yea for computer batteries!).

So we made it to Serengeti yesterday obviously. We brought Craig (my advisor's) 20 year old son with us, but didn't know until yesterday am that he didn't have Craig's free passes to get into the NCA and Serengeti. Dennis and I were worried that we'd have some major problems getting Craig's son through the gates, but Dennis and I are good and we talked our way though both gates (Swahili skills, it is the only way we pulled it off without having to pay). The road leading into Serengeti is really corrugated and we were fish-tailing a lot so I wasn't driving fast and we a little worried about time. We have to get to the last gate by 6 PM and you aren't supposed to be driving after dark (and the last gate is about an hour from where we stay in Seronera). We got to the last gate at like 5:10 but then about 15 minutes later our tire punctures, just pops. We had enough time to stop and get out to see it go fully flat. We tried to jack up the car with two hydraulic jacks, but they weren't tall enough, so we were using rocks, and trying this and that and realized it wasn't going to work. We didn't have a radio and our cell phones didn't have reception so we flagged down a safari vehicle. The first guy said he didn't have a jack and couldn't help us and drove off, but I think he radioed to the other guys behind him because 3 vehicles then stopped. It was like the descended on us, one pulled in front, one alongside and one behind and the drivers all jumped out and started helping us. The drivers lifted up the car, slide the jack on a large rock under the car, jacked up the car, then used the other jack to jack up the tire axel (I think), but even lifting the car didn't lift the tire. They got our tire changed (only to find the spare tire was low and bald - in once place you can feel the metal b/c it is sticking out). Yikes. Oh, and one of the tourists was totally fascinated and saying how he was worried about our spare and yada yada while his daughter was taking pictures of us! Meanwhile some of the other tourists were also taking pictures. Lord! So we get going again, totally freaked about our spare and by now the tourist vehicles have left us in the dust and it is getting late so no other cars would be coming. We had to drive slow because we were so worried about popping another tire so we didn't reach Seronera until after dark. In the dark we got turned around trying to find the lion house, but we found it and made plans to get our puncture fixed at the garage in the morning (and we called Susan to get us some new tires). I stayed at Stephanie's house (which is nice, has cockroaches, but at least has a flushing toilet). In the am Stephanie, Emelian (her field assistant) and I went to get Dennis (or rather to have him follow us in the car to the garage). When Dennis got in our SF car to follow us it wouldn't start!! We were able to push it and get it to start, but turns out we need a new battery so that too is coming tomorrow (with our 5 new tires that will be larger (and thus better for these bad roads)). I tell ya, it has been quite the time, but I'm out of Arusha, away from the chaos, and in the middle of Serengeti so all is good! :)

05 July 2006

Serengeti - Grumeti - Maswa

Hi all,
I'm sending a quick note, hoping to get it out before our power goes off at 7am (due to power rationing). I'm heading out to Serengeti today with Dennis. I'll be staying in the grassland house with a friend (the lion house is full, which is where I stayed last time). Dennis and I are going to Grumeti on Friday (I went there in March) and I'm going to talk to them some more about my research and data collaboration. Then we will return to Serengeti and then head out to Maswa game reserve early next week. Maswa is also in both of our PhD study areas and we are going to go talk to the reserve manager. Maswa is well off the beaten path so it should be an interesting drive, but we bought a satellite phone yesterday (well SF bought it, we get to use it) so just in case we have a problem we have a means to contact someone. I hope everyone has a great next week, sorry that I won't be responding to anything in that time.

PS
Dennis? Who is Dennis you ask? Check his blog out at www.tzden.blogspot.com (I've given him a hard time about how close his blog address is to mine)

02 July 2006

Mtoto bila jina

Congratulations must go out to Esther and Allen whose daughter was born last Tuesday (June 27th). I didn't post right away because I was planning on stopping by and taking a picture this weekend. I did stop by, but forgot my camera. Baby and mom are both doing well other than they still don't have a name for her (hence the title of my post which translates to child without a name). I had the house to my self on Friday so I invited the four kids (Emmanuel, Ebenezer, Eric, and Hosianna) over for dinner, a movie, and a sleepover. I was not sure how strange this invitation might be, but when I went to pick them up Friday evening the kids were super excited and I think Esther was looking forward to the break, or at least only having to deal with the new baby and not four other kids. I cooked them spaghetti and bought cookies, soda, chips, and popcorn totally spoiling them while we watched Shrek. It was lots of fun! :)