A Successful First Week at A Rocha Kenya

I am currently sitting atop the roof at Mwamba where meetings are often held because there is usually a steady breeze up here. Although it is not hot right now, the setting also has a nice view of the ocean, and is a good spot to work on the computer. According to everyone here, the weather has been very much atypical for this time of year. Usually, it is sweltering hot with very high humidity, but we have had slightly cooler days, not very high humidity, and a nice breeze off the ocean in the afternoons. I have even been wearing a sweater at night to keep the chill off. If the weather stays like this, I think I'll be very happy.

Unlike the weather, I do hope to get a little more variety in the coming weeks, although I do mostly enjoy the work I have been doing. I have mostly been working on the bird banding database, trying to clear up some bugs, make it a little more user-friendly, and figure out exactly what data has been entered. Anything to do with data is usually tedious, but I tend to find it very rewarding when all the data is entered, or when you have developed a nearly perfect database that will be used for many years to come. I am making slow headway because the data is a little bit scattered, with chunks having been left unentered, and my head is beginning to spin a little. I think I will try to break up my day a little bit more so I don't go crazy.

On Wednesday morning, instead of breaking up the day, we extended it by about 6 hours. We were out of bed by 2:00 am and out on the beach by about 2:30 setting up mist nets to catch shorebirds. It was actually really fun, everyone was in good spirits, and working in the dark was not as hard as I expected. We collected twelve birds, mostly greater and lesser sandplovers, which I was excited about because plovers are one of my favorite families of birds. Although I didn't get to band any, I did get to pull one out of the net. My job was to scribe (write out the banding data), because Colin wants me to learn more about it for entering data into the database, and I'm hoping for future banding opportunities.






On Thursday evening we went to do a crow count in Malindi. There are two types of crows here, the Indian house crow, and the pied crow. Pied crows are native species, while house crows are non-native and cause quite a lot of problems. According to the reports here at A Rocha, the house crows were being controlled by a poison called Starlicide up until about 6 years ago, and the population was down to about 30 crows in Malindi. The Kenyan government banned the importation of Starlicide, even though it is safe for use (we use it in the United States to control European starlings). At one site in Malindi (there are two), we counted almost 3000 house crows, and only 74 pied crows. The population explosion is obviously out of control, and I have not heard of any plans to begin controlling them again. Perhaps by continuing to count the crows and show a need for Starlicide, the Kenyan government will be more willing to allow importation.

I really enjoy the outside work, so I hope to get to do more of that. I also hope that I break out of my shell a little bit to explore the area and learn more about the Kenyan experience, rather than just the "volunteer at A Rocha" experience. I have had a number of suggestions from Benjo, one of the staff members here who came on in September (and already speaks Swahili!), and the other volunteers would be happy to go on an adventure with me to explore the area a bit more. For my first official outing, a group of us went out for traditional grilled meat last night at a place called the Coconut Car Wash Cafe, just down the road from Mwamba. Because our crow count went late, we didn't get to the cafe until about 8:30, where Benjo had already ordered the food. We ordered drinks and waited about an hour and a half. The food still not having arrived, we inquired and learned that our order had never been placed with the cooks! In the end, our food arrived at about 11:00pm when the place was being packed up for the evening, and we didn't arrive home until midnight. But it was fun!


 These monkey photos are for Addi!! Hope to get a better one, with my 200mm.

I think (and hope) that I will continually get more comfortable and confident with my surroundings so that I am able to explore more and really learn about Kenya. I am still getting over jet lag a little bit, and learning peoples' names here at Mwamba, but every day I am a little more comfortable with everything

Days 1 and 2 at A Rocha Kenya

My flights to Kenya went fairly smooth, there were a couple of delays, but I had sufficient layovers that it didn't make a difference in me arriving in Malindi on time. On my long flight to Istanbul I was lucky enough to be in a row with 3 seats but only one other person. Some others on the flight were even luckier in that it was just them! Maybe on my way home I'll get to lay down for part of the 10 hour flight. To Nairobi it was the same situation, and I sat next to a nice young woman who was also coming to Africa for the first time, she was on a mission trip. My flight to Malindi was half empty, and only about half got off at Malindi. I was hoping to see some cool stuff from the window (read: elephant herds) but unfortunately we were too high up. But, my first real view of Africa was quite nice. We passed over a number of dry river beds, and I wonder if that is normal this time of year or if it was due to the drought.

When I landed in Malindi I had expected to take a cab to Mwamba, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find Henry and Belinda, and their two children, Amy and Ivy, waiting for me. I think I would have been a little scared on the drive over had I been with a cab driver, because the road is quite dangerous, with walkers, bikers, motorbikes, matatus, cars, and buses going at high speeds. But Henry navigated the chaos with ease, even answering my questions about what kinds of trees we were driving by (Baobab trees!!), and we made it safely to Mwamba shortly before lunch time.

Upon arrival, I met Mathias, the cook, who was the only one here, for everyone else was out doing field work. I had a bit of time to unpack, and then had a delicious lunch. I am really looking forward to the food here, so far it has all been wonderful. It is not unlike what I was eating in Hawaii on the farm in fact, lots of rice and vegetables, with some sort of sauce. I'm a bit of a food addict, so I will hopefully post some photos of the food soon. I would prefer to send a taste to readers, but that technology has not yet been invented.

After lunch I had a full four hours for napping, and was awoken by Sykes Monkeys jumping from the trees onto the tin roof. It caused quite a racket, but it was a good reason to climb out of bed. At this point I met a couple more volunteers and staff members, and had a swim in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean! The water was aqua blue and very warm, even warmer than the water in Hawaii, and was quite clear.

 This photo does not do the beach justice, so I will do my best to get some much better photos in the near future.

 My bedroom, quite comfortable and very peaceful at night time.

My humble abode--although I am sure I will learn it is less humble than a lot of Kenyan's.

On Monday, my first day as a real volunteer, there was the meeting in the morning where the week was planned out. I didn't witness a whole lot of planning, per se, but it was a chance for everyone to get together and talk about anything necessary, as well as pray together. As most people reading this will probably know, I am not a practicing Christian, and often question the beliefs that stem from the Bible. However, I have a deep respect for the Christians here, in that they welcome people of all faiths (or lack of faith), and because they seem to constantly challenge their own faith in order to make it stronger. On Monday afternoon we had a Bible study session, in which we talked about John 16:16-24, and what prayer means to Christians. It was really a spirited discussion and people seemed comfortable voicing their own opinions. I think this is a place I will learn a lot about Christianity and perhaps will come to an understanding of it that works for me.

The long trip begins...

I am currently sitting in the Buffalo Niagara International Airport waiting for my flight, I might have gotten here a little bit earlier than necessary. There are still people at my gate waiting for the last flight to get going, and I've got about another hour and a half before boarding. I went to see Sam and Addi yesterday, after spending four hours at a dermatologists office for my grandpa's appointment. Normally my Dad would go, but Mom and Dad are in Florida right now, and normally it wouldn't take four hours. Grandpa started to get antsy after about an hour waiting. Oh well, I guess he can use a little excitement in his life!

As for me, I don't like waiting in airports very much. It's pretty boring, and it's not very comfortable, and there never seems to be any food that I want to eat. But, when there is wireless internet I'm much happier. Especially when its basically free (I took a short survey to get online here, about 30 seconds). I'll board at about 5:30, head to JFK in New York City, then board again at about 11:30, head to Istanbul, then from there to Nairobi. Once in Nairobi I'll get my visa, exchange my money, and head over to the domestic terminal. Then I'll wait for about 10 hours and get on board again for Malindi. From Malindi I'll take a cab to Watamu, where A Rocha Kenya is located.

I'm really excited but also really nervous. It's scary going to a new place, where most people are going to be awesome, but some want to screw you over, and you're not sure which is which. I've had lots of talks with people who have gone to Kenya, so I'm hoping that I am pretty well-prepared for this, and it will definitely be a learning experience. That's all for now, I'll try to write soon after getting to A Rocha!

Less than a week till departure...

I have to admit that I have been to some pretty cool places and done some pretty cool things. I traveled to Siberia for a month in 2006 where I helped to build a trail along Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world, holding 20% of the Earth's fresh water (see my journal here http://www.hws.edu/academics/biology/sliwinski.aspx). I went to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help gut houses that had been flooded and were coated in a layer of black mold and dead (and often live) cockroaches. I just spent five weeks in Hawaii, the first at a wildlife conference in beautiful Waikaloa Village, the remaining four on a small family farm near Hilo. I learned to milk goats and how to make cheese, and learned to appreciate the almost-constant rain.

For my Masters degree I did research in southwestern Saskatchewan, one of the most beautiful places I  ever had the privilege of experiencing. There I learned about all sorts of new species I never even imagined, and met some of the best, most honest and hardworking people I have ever known. I was up at 4:00 am to do bird surveys, and I was out in thunderstorms that threatened my very existence, and I ate prairie oysters. To say the least, the prairies changed me, and I will keep going back. But for now, there is a different brand of adventure at my doorstep. In 6 days, I board a plane for Kenya.

My decision to travel to Kenya was not an easy one, and I had the webpage for purchasing plane tickets up at least 3 times before clicking the "purchase" button. I have 3 friends from the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba that went to the same place I'll be going, so it comes highly recommended. I also have felt the need to travel the world, probably since high school. However, I don't know what kind of traveling I will enjoy most. Maybe I can be a solo traveler and really enjoy myself, or maybe I will discover that I might be happy with a traveling buddy. Perhaps I'll discover (although I hope not) that I really enjoy going to beautiful places, but want to stay in luxury. I am hoping that this trip will help solidify the kind of traveler I am. After all, it is for 3 months, three times longer than any other trip I've taken!

I will be stationed with an organization called A Rocha Kenya, near Watamu. This is a Christian organization that does "creation care", they basically do the type of hands-on conservation work and eco-tourism that I am interested in pursuing. I can't say truthfully that I am a practicing Christian, but I do agree with conservation and encouraging people to take care of the planet, whether it be because God created it, or because it is simply worth conserving for its own intrinsic value.

While in Kenya, I hope to see lots of new bird species, sea turtles, elephants, and new and colorful insects. I have not made any plans for a safari as of yet, but it is at the top of my list for exploring the options once I arrive. To travel to Kenya and not go on a safari would seem like a waste, so I will do my best to make it happen. As for now, I am making sure that I have all my paperwork in order, that I have all the medications I need, and getting my pile of luggage ready. I am excited and nervous, but mostly looking forward to this next adventure.