Sara and Nadine at the Science center in Kibale
Whenever you stop near a market people swarm the car trying to sell you their fresh produce.
Justice's "friend" and I
Sunday, January 3, 2010
So I am in Kampala now, reading, spending time on the internet. Lots of time to kill. I came to Kampala a day early to make sure I had time to get some business done - ordering uniform shirts and t-shirts for the project. I never even thought to consider, hey, maybe Sunday would not be the best day to get things done! No businesses are open. Oh well. I thought I would upload some more pictures for you guys. See everyone in a few days.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Christmas and New Years, Uganda style
For our Christmas celebration we got some goat meat for the occasion and ended up having a small party on the 24th, just Elly, Felix, Justus, Moses and me. We killed a crate of beer and enjoyed some goat. The Lodge had me over for Christmas dinner. They had an extended family; 3 aunts, 1 uncle and 8 cousins. We ate a 4 course meal under the stars(not really, it was cloudy). The last time I saw the Semliki chimps was the 26th. We had followed them all morning off and on, resting in trees and grooming. We finally caught up with them again at 3 and came across a male sitting in an elephant trail. We scared him, he grunted, moved away a few feet and then reclined. I sat about 8 meters away and relaxed too as he crossed his legs, rolled over, scratched. We sat together for about a half an hour. A pretty good good-bye if you ask me, especially since we only saw chimps for 4 hours in December.
New Years was awesome! Caroline (Caro), the New researcher brought sparklers and the guys went nuts! At midnight we lit them and everyone ran around screaming and twirling their sparklers "lu-lu-lu-lu Happy New Year!". I have never seen so many grown-ups get so excited for New years. It is a big deal to alot of people over here I think.
Caro is from Austria and really nice. She has spent many months in the DRC habituating bonobos and although I only got to spend 1 day with her in the field I know she will do really well. Most importantly I think she is going to treat the guys with respect.
My last day in the field I explored a new area of the reserve. We hiked back towards the escarpment and then went off trail into a neighboring valley. Sandy bottomed stream bed, dense lush green vegetation we walked on top of, in the middle of a palm forest. Many kob and baboon came to say their farewells. Rainbow the next day to seal the deal.
Sara and I have nearly finished our topographical map of the reserve. We painted it and all that is left is the border of the reserve and signs pointing to the surrounding villages. I am really excited for the nature center to open, in about a week. She has collected poaching nets, skins, skulls, bones, feathers, so many books, markers, posters on conservation, maps. She is painting a huge tree in the corner and pointing out the benefits of the parts; roots, canopy, etc. She will set up mats and tables so kids can come and enjoy the space. Im so proud of her!
Right now I am in Kampala, stuffed from smoked beef in groundnut sauce, posho, and matooke. I said goodbye this morning. Last night the guys all surprised Caro and I with meat. They had secretly planned for some beef to be brought from Ntoroko. This means so much to me simply because I know how much these guys make, I pay their salaries, and I know it was expensive for them. They all gave speeches saying goodbye and welcoming Caro and we talked and laughed until 11. Kampala seems so strange after a few months in the bush. So many noises. Tomorrow I am ordering some T-shirts to be made for the project and heading the the airport. I will see you all soon!
New Years was awesome! Caroline (Caro), the New researcher brought sparklers and the guys went nuts! At midnight we lit them and everyone ran around screaming and twirling their sparklers "lu-lu-lu-lu Happy New Year!". I have never seen so many grown-ups get so excited for New years. It is a big deal to alot of people over here I think.
Caro is from Austria and really nice. She has spent many months in the DRC habituating bonobos and although I only got to spend 1 day with her in the field I know she will do really well. Most importantly I think she is going to treat the guys with respect.
My last day in the field I explored a new area of the reserve. We hiked back towards the escarpment and then went off trail into a neighboring valley. Sandy bottomed stream bed, dense lush green vegetation we walked on top of, in the middle of a palm forest. Many kob and baboon came to say their farewells. Rainbow the next day to seal the deal.
Sara and I have nearly finished our topographical map of the reserve. We painted it and all that is left is the border of the reserve and signs pointing to the surrounding villages. I am really excited for the nature center to open, in about a week. She has collected poaching nets, skins, skulls, bones, feathers, so many books, markers, posters on conservation, maps. She is painting a huge tree in the corner and pointing out the benefits of the parts; roots, canopy, etc. She will set up mats and tables so kids can come and enjoy the space. Im so proud of her!
Right now I am in Kampala, stuffed from smoked beef in groundnut sauce, posho, and matooke. I said goodbye this morning. Last night the guys all surprised Caro and I with meat. They had secretly planned for some beef to be brought from Ntoroko. This means so much to me simply because I know how much these guys make, I pay their salaries, and I know it was expensive for them. They all gave speeches saying goodbye and welcoming Caro and we talked and laughed until 11. Kampala seems so strange after a few months in the bush. So many noises. Tomorrow I am ordering some T-shirts to be made for the project and heading the the airport. I will see you all soon!
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