FINAL BLOG... oketay...

I am both a creating mind and an ethical mind. I'm a creating mind because I decided to stray from my big question at the end because I didn't want to talk about the importance of traveling abroad, I wanted to talk about my trip to Africa, how it changed me, and the dire situation of the elephants. I'm an ethical mind because I care about the world and the animals that live on the earth. I discussed the flash flood that destroyed the camp and research center and the drought that killed about 100-200 elephants and orphaned their babies.

I exhibited curiosity in my blog because even though I knew a lot about the elephants and Indianapolis Prize, I wanted to research and learn more about the problems of the elephants and the need for conservation.
I experimented with new ideas by posting a Swahili Word of the day even though some people were annoyed by the words each day they told me today.
I exhibited respect for other's view points because even though I don't agree with the viewpoint I will take the point into consideration. I think that learning new words and noticing patterns in the dialogue is important to learn about culture.

I learned that I am pretty independent and that I do not like to follow directions very much which is a bit of a problem in school. I was told to connect my Africa trip to the importance of traveling abroad; however, I found writing about traveling abroad to much less interesting than the things that Iain and Oria do and the need for conservation and care for the earth. I also decided that I like blogging and that my opinion has changed from hostile to accepted and maybe even liked. =D
Anyway... finally... for the last time...
Veni... Viddi...Vicci
Hakuna Matata=D

Elephant Orphahage part II

I figured that since I poster a whole long history of the orphanage about their founding and mission, I should probably describe my visit to see the baby elephants.

We were brought into the sanctuary by a permanent employee of the orphanage. They wear these bright green "outfits?" and they spend every single minute of the day with the babies. The employees alternate night shifts, but basically the men are the babies' adoptive mothers. Most of the babies were orphaned by the horrible drought last year, some are the tragic effect of ivory poaching, and a couple have fallen down wells and got stuck only to be abandoned by their mother. There were around thirty baby elephants and they live on the reserve in two groups, one of eighteen and the other of ten. There was one baby whose mother had died from dehydration and hyenas had chewed off some of his ears and tail. The stories are really sad, but the babies do not know any better because they are so young. We arrived at feeding time and I got to feed two babies two bottles of milk which is their dinner. They love to wrap their trunks around your arms and hands and also if you stick your hand in their mouth, they would suck on it. Its was kind of gross, but still cool all the same. They also love to be scratched and would ram all 100-200 lbs(for the older ones) into me if I stopped. It was one of the coolest experiences in my life.

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

These are the words form Monday and Today...=D

kifua: chest
nyamaza: be quiet
mtenda: doer
saumu: fasting

I have noticed that Swahili has a large amount of words that have two consonants next to each other at the begining... they're kind of hard to say.
Hakuna Matata=D

Elephant Orphanage History

The last day that we were in Kenya, my dad set up a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Here's a little bit of history on the orphanage.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a small flexible charity, established in memory of David Sheldrick, famous Naturalist and founder Warden of Kenya's giant Tsavo East National Park in which he served from 1948 until 1976.

Since its inception in 1977 the Trust has played an extremely significant and important role in Kenya's conservation effort. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick along with Six Trustees assisted by an Advisory Committee of practical Naturalists with a lifetime experience of African conditions oversee and direct the operations of the Trust.

Helping save the lives of orphaned Elephants and Rhinos who are ultimately released back into the wild is just some of the many wildlife commitments The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is involved in. The Trust runs seven full time Desnaring teams, two mobile Veterinary Units, and is active in a Community Outreach Program along with working with the communities in an educational capactiry locally, and through articles for the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, the Press and Radio Programs. The Trust has also provided advanced training in wildlife management for promising students.

The Trust continues to provide a blueprint for the welfare of animals in captivity and, in the case of elephants, illustrated the sophistication of their communication and their social needs. It has perpetuated vital field knowledge and experience that would otherwise have been lost, and made it available to all national parks in East Africa and many beyond.

The Trust provides continual support for The Kenyan Wildlife Service through our Desnaring efforts within the Tsavo Ecosystem and the Mobile Veterinary Units, but also through support of security fuel, and electrically fencing sensitive National Park boundaries, alleviating human wildlife conflict. The Trust supports indigenous tree nurseries, and water projects in both Tsavo National Park and in the bordering community areas.

This web site contains valuable information concerning Elephant & Rhino Conservation, elephant emotion, the orphans who have been raised by us, and much more.

'Saving wildlife and wilderness is the responsibility of all thinking people. Greed and personal gain must not be permitted to decimate, despoil and destroy the earth's irreplaceable treasure for its existence is essential to the human spirit and the well-being of the earth as a whole. All life has just one home - the earth - and we as the dominant species must take care of it.'

Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Hakuna Matata=D

Fishies!!!!!!!

This is totally random, but I have a ghost fishy! I have five fishies, but you can only see four. Gosh I'm sneaky=D

Hakuna Matata=D

Samburu People

I have decided that the people of Samburu deserve my attention too, not just the animals, so I have decided to educate all you lovely readers on the Samburu tribe.
Samburu is a word meaning butterfly, and these people demonstrate the name as well as a butterfly could itself. They love bright clothing, even the men, and you will see many pinks, blues, reds, and oranges worn. Also, these lovely people are the nicest people you will ever meet, even with the language barrier, and I think it has a lot to do with the isolation from urbanization. The Samburu people have not been poisoned by the greed, or other problems that highly urbanized areas have. The love visitors, take care of their family and friends like it is their only purpose in the world, and work so hard that I do not believe there is one fat Samburu villager out there. The live in circular villages surrounded by acacia thorn gates to protect them from wild animals and live in small adobe huts. Their livestock, goats, donkeys, and cattle, also live in the circular village with them because the animals are extremely important to their way of life. The Samburu people also love to sing, and I think they enjoyed dancing with us and singing with us because Erin and I were so thoroughly confused a lot of the time. Serenoy, our multi-lingual, talented, guide told us that the Samburu and Somalis are sworn enemies and many of the songs that we were struggling through were about how many Somalis they had killed (don't worry, they are actually a very peaceful people and the songs are quite ancient). Their diets consist mostly of meat, blood, and milk and for the guys who worked at Oria's camp, the change in diet and the addition of vegetables and fruit was quite confusing. To explain to you how great these people are I shall explain the one horrible day of the trip. About half way through, I caught a bug or something that knocked me literally off my feet. I had a 104 temperature and couldn't move without vomiting. The whole day the Samburu people sent down little homemade remedies, cleaned up my vomit, brought me drinks, and wetted washclothes to keep my temperature. The most amazing thing is that they did this without having to be asked. Oria told them that she would take care of me and Erin, but the consistently went out of their way to help me. I feel a kind of affection for these people and I think that is what you get when you spend a week in the bush, 100 miles away from the nearest populated town.
This only scratches the surface of the Samburu people, so if anyone has questions, just ask!

Hakuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORDS OF THE DAYS THAT I DIDN'T POST

I've had a really busy week so getting posts up was kind of forgotten. So here are the past week or so's words.

lakiwa: be met

wiwa: be owed

sokotana: curl

kete: small kind of cowrie

mdudu: insect

kunja: bend

ajirisha: hire for work

momonyoka: break off

sogelea: come nearer to

ngiri: wart-hog

akhera: afterlife

tumwa: be sent

bao: goal (in sports)

the next one wasn't very nice so I decided to omit it

isingizia: pretend

kigawakati: bisector

faransa: French

mkataba wa huduma: contract of service

kiboko: small zigzag silk embroidery

tekelea: be held spellbound (we would just call it "deer in the headlights")

jeuri: injustice

ona kiu: be thirsty

Well that is enough for today. By the way, I can't figure out why it is double-spaced.

Hakuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

Sorry, no interesting intro (heehee) today. I'm tired.

mate: saliva
mpururo: single file

I think I missed the days they were teaching the colors and pieces of clothing. =P
anyhoo
Hakuna Matata =D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

*heralding trumpets*
that's right, you guessed it. It's time for the SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY! Our two contestants for the lovely day of the 28th of April, 2010 year of our Lord are...

jaa: dunghill
vinginyika: writhe

what lovely words! We'll be back tomorrow with SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY!
Hakuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

ujusi: ritual impurity (what????)
sazo: leftovers

Hakuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

lemaa: defect
nguruma: growl

Hakuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

Today's words of the day are drumroll please...
wazimu: madness
zuilika: stoppable

Hankuna Matata=D

SWAHILI WORD OF THE DAY

Shekhe: Moslem elder
Ufito: stick

Hakuna Matata (no worries) =D

A Flood Wipes Out Oria's Camp and Iain's Research Facility Completely

I guess this really isn't a post about the benefits of traveling abroad, but if you stretch your imagination really really really far I guess you could say that traveling abroad has broadened my respect for other countries and their plights that are not publicized in the media. On March 4th, 12 days after my family arrived back in Indiana, Oria's camp, where we had been staying, and Iain's research facility were completely washed away by a flash flood. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but some of Iain's research could not be saved before the flood hit the facility. The camp was hit first by a 10ft high tsunami-like wave that crushed everything in reach and destroyed the entire camp. The guests got away by escaping in landrovers to high ground, but some of the Samburu warriors who are employed as cooks, guides, and guards had to climb to the tops of trees to avoid be swept away. Then the facility was radioed from the land rovers to warn them of the flooding, and while many of the computers and research was saved, there was not enough time to save it all. The British Royal army and airforce sent money, tents, and aide to rebuild the camp and research facility. Thankfully, Iain and Oria have decided to continue their amazing work despite the terrible blow the flood dealth and despite their age. These people never cease to amaze me in their determination to their cause and their love of elephants. By traveling abroad, I have learned to love the land and the people and the flood affected me and my family almost as much as the people who experienced it. Even though the affect it had was astronomically samller than the earthquake in Haiti, it is still a disaster and traveling to Kenya has made me realize what disasters do to the people it affects. Also a sadly ironic part of the story is that last year a drought hit Kenya killing over 100 elephants and orphaning many more. It is sad because so little water can do so much damage to the elephants, but also too much water can do a lot of damage too. Thankfully, the camp and facility are under construction and are soon to be completed=D. Thank goodness no one was hurt.
Hakuna Matata

Megan's Guide to International Travel

I have compiled all that I know about international travel into a simple guide for all you naive, though adventurous, people out there.
KENYA

1. First it is important to plan your flight in the morning; however, you should stay away from the 3:00 a.m. airport arrivals because the shops are closed, you are tired, and the airport workers are horribly cranky and will yell at you even if you are only 17.
2. In Detroit there is a train in the airport. It is okay if you ride the train but it is crucial that you do not take pictures in the airport because a burly security guard will run up and demand that you erase the pictures from your camera in his presence and then will leave with a nasty look. I'm a 17 year old, 5'4" tall girl. What do they think I'm going to do, blow up the place?
3. On international flights it is very important to be pushy when selecting your seats. The plane might not be full, thus leaving a whole open row for one to stretch out on instead of the cramped seats. If you do not claim your row early, someone else will be there to snatch up the row and you will be left to a ride filled with twisting and turning with no hope for comfort or sleep.
4. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I swear that European segways are faster than American segways. Also, the Europeans drive fast and do not care if they run you over so watch where you are going in an airport and watch for those drunk segway drivers.
5. If you end up in the wonderful city of Amsterdam home of wooden shoes, windmills, and tulips, you will agree that the airport could fit three of Indianapolis' airports inside of it. It is very big. It is also necessary to understand that you must be specific with what you are looking for to the Dutch people because their directions are kind of like *cue Dutch accent* "See that sign all the way on the other end of the terminal? Turn at that sign and follow the bend of the stores, then go up the stairs, and you will find the drug store." However it is important to understand that after three people and two hours of walking, we were fifty feet away from the drug store the first time but the words were in Dutch. Be specific and make sure that they understand what you are looking for.
6. The drug store mention reminds me that it is important to bring motion sickness medicine with you on your journey, even if you normally do not get motion sickness. Otherwise, your sister breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and drinks may land on your lap and all over her lap too. Now because I know how much you all like icing, the icing on the cake is that our gate was not ready for us and we had to wait on the plane for another hours with a load of nastiness on your clothes.
7. Finally you are able to get ready to board your plane to Kenya from Amsterdam. However, the Dutch are a little wacky so each gate has their own two lanes of security lanes: one with a x-ray belt and an ultrasound circly thing that you step into and one with a x-ray belt and a metal detecter thing you walk through. I would highly suggest that you progress through the lane with the metal detector because the ultrasound machine has a frisk-happy TSA officer.
8. If your destination happens to be exotic Kenya, you will realize that airport security is very tight because terrorists in Africa are a very real threat so just be patient, speak only when spoken to, and sit only when told to sit. Just trust me.
9. The people of Kenya are actually very nice and cordial. They really are proud of their country and really want you to have a good time. When riding in a taxi though, you might be terrified by the way the speedometer say 105, they mean kilometers, or by zooming past cars on what seems to you is the wrong side of the street, or even by going 20 km over the speed limit. Don't be. They are professional taxi drivers and drive like this everyday and you will come out unharmed, at least I did.
10. Finally, at least for now, I caution you to avoid traveling with multi-millionaires whenever possible. Lets just say it wasn't much of a family vaccation or a visit to good friends anymore when ithers demanded your dad's attention.

Now remember that these 10 points are only the things that you should watch out for when traveling internationally or more specifically to Kenya and that you will have hundred of more good points from your trip.
Hakuna Matata=D

Like Nowhere Else

Now I'm supposed to be writing on how traveling abroad broadens your horizons in general; however, I have really "only" been to Jamaica and Kenya so I'm mostly going to be writing about Kenya and some of Jamaica... so off we go.
Kenya was like no other place I have been, except for maybe Alaska in its wild beauty and extreme temperatures. Imagine no road noises or cities or air pollution or anything that makes America the way it is. At night it was completely silent except for the baboons screaming during a fight and the birds chirping occasionally, and those noises even became somewhat of a lullaby. The hundreds of stars shined so brightly that candles were not needed all the time and you could see the Southern cross a constellation seen only in Africa. Kenya is quite literally in the middle of nowhere with Nairobi being its capital and largest city and Samburu the region where we were having an airport that was a collection of four adobe huts and a airstrip made of just dirt and sand. Somehow, even without all the comforts of urbanization, Kenya felt like home. The people are also like none other. They are the nicest and most caring people you will ever meet even if their own problems far outweigh a friends. I became very sick one day with an 104 temperature and so sick that I could not stand without vomiting. The Samburu people who worked at Oria's camp spent the whole day cleaning out buckets, getting me drinks, wetting wash cloths, and keeping me comfortable on top of all their daily duties for the camp. They were not just taking care of me because they had to (Oria told them that she would care for me), but because they were truly concerned with my condition. Even the ones who had taken my parents out on an elephant collaring expedition visited me when they got back. There is just something about Kenya, well Africa in general, that is beautiful and wonderful and I am sure that I will return to Kenya especially anytime that I get the chance to.

Indianapolis Prize Overview

The Indiapolis Prize is the world's largest animal conservation prize. Iain is a finalist and is the reason my family went to Kenya.

Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton: Heroes of the Elephants

So... the purpose for my trip to Kenya with my family was not just for a vacation(we would have taken it in the summer if it was), but to visit Dr. Iain Douglas- Hamilton and his wife Oria Douglas-Hamilton in Samburu National Park. Iain is an elephant conservationist and Oria runs the only "green" camp in Samburu. Iain was nominated for the Indianapolis Prize, the world's largest conservation prize worth $100,000. We went to visit them and observe the amazing work that they have been brave enough to do. Iain is an amazing person and is credited with the termination of the ivory trade in Africa. Oria created the beautiful camp that we stayed in and it was completely "green". All electricity was powered by solar panels, we took bucket showers with water heated in the sun, and all water was purified and recycled. So that is only a short description on what they do and their histories are much more exciting!