Well, the program is over in two days :( I am in denial. I don't want it to end because it has been so incredible!
To catch you all up:
I turned in my directed research paper, and I just got it back today...don't worry, I passed DR. Two days ago we had to present our findings to the community, so we literally spent 7 hours giving presentations. Eighty three people came from the surrounding communities. They ranged from guides who helped us in the feild, to park officials, to our host families. Needless to say, the room was packed and I don't think we could have fit another person in there if we tried!! It was really cool that all those people came to hear about our research! It was the first ever presentation where I had a translator. Our translator was the giant of man. He was pretty close to 7 feet tall if not taller, and he was a very animated entertaining interpreter who was very helpful with the tricky topics like poaching. It was actually kind of fun having the translator because it gives you a second to breath while you are waiting for him to finish, and it prevents you from talking too fast! The community loved our presentations and then we had a lovely picnic outside afterwards. So despite the fact that it was incredibly long, it was a pretty cool experience.
Then yesterday, we went back to Ngorongoro Crater for a fun day. It was like the crater knew that we wouldn't be here for much longer because we saw everything we could have ever asked for times 100!! For starters, crater is in bloom so it was so beautiful! We all really wanted to see a male lion up close, because we have seen them but only from really far away. Then we got to see a male and a female lion mating from about 20 yards away. They were "in season" so they literally mate every 15 minutes for 7 days ;)
Then we parked the car on the road next to two male lions sleeping, and then one of them got up and came and laid down in the shade of our car!! I literally could have touched it! When you are so close to something so powerful, you body does not know what to do. Your instincts are to run away but also it is so cool that you don't want to. I gained a whole new appreciation for the majesticness (not a real word) for those creatures!
We also saw the largest group of hyenas I have ever seen. Normally we just see like 3 or so in a group but yesterday we saw a group of 30 or 40 hyenas. Half of them were pregnant, and they had just made a kill so they were snacking on some buffalo! So that was awesome.
Then we saw a huge flock (idk if its the right term) of ostriches just chilling out and dancing around. They are so large and weird looking! There were probably 30 of them as well.
Overall, it was just the best way to end the semester and I couldn't be more thrilled. Despite the fact that I am having an absolute blast here, I am excited to come home and see all of you guys too!
To catch you all up:
I turned in my directed research paper, and I just got it back today...don't worry, I passed DR. Two days ago we had to present our findings to the community, so we literally spent 7 hours giving presentations. Eighty three people came from the surrounding communities. They ranged from guides who helped us in the feild, to park officials, to our host families. Needless to say, the room was packed and I don't think we could have fit another person in there if we tried!! It was really cool that all those people came to hear about our research! It was the first ever presentation where I had a translator. Our translator was the giant of man. He was pretty close to 7 feet tall if not taller, and he was a very animated entertaining interpreter who was very helpful with the tricky topics like poaching. It was actually kind of fun having the translator because it gives you a second to breath while you are waiting for him to finish, and it prevents you from talking too fast! The community loved our presentations and then we had a lovely picnic outside afterwards. So despite the fact that it was incredibly long, it was a pretty cool experience.
Then yesterday, we went back to Ngorongoro Crater for a fun day. It was like the crater knew that we wouldn't be here for much longer because we saw everything we could have ever asked for times 100!! For starters, crater is in bloom so it was so beautiful! We all really wanted to see a male lion up close, because we have seen them but only from really far away. Then we got to see a male and a female lion mating from about 20 yards away. They were "in season" so they literally mate every 15 minutes for 7 days ;)
Then we parked the car on the road next to two male lions sleeping, and then one of them got up and came and laid down in the shade of our car!! I literally could have touched it! When you are so close to something so powerful, you body does not know what to do. Your instincts are to run away but also it is so cool that you don't want to. I gained a whole new appreciation for the majesticness (not a real word) for those creatures!
We also saw the largest group of hyenas I have ever seen. Normally we just see like 3 or so in a group but yesterday we saw a group of 30 or 40 hyenas. Half of them were pregnant, and they had just made a kill so they were snacking on some buffalo! So that was awesome.
Then we saw a huge flock (idk if its the right term) of ostriches just chilling out and dancing around. They are so large and weird looking! There were probably 30 of them as well.
Overall, it was just the best way to end the semester and I couldn't be more thrilled. Despite the fact that I am having an absolute blast here, I am excited to come home and see all of you guys too!
RSS Feed