Glucose

Describing low blood sugar has always been difficult for me.  I used to just go the easy way out and say "it's hard to understand unless you have it" and end the conversation there.  It seemed to be a lot easier and a lot less awkward than going into full details of something that I'm not even sure I completely understand.  But lately so many people have been asking that I felt I should design a "no questions", clear-cut, no interpretation, factual way to explain being low.  Well, at least for now, because the proportions change person to person, day to day.  

Recipe for a low blood sugar:

4 cups desire to sleep for 8 days straight

1 cup awkward giggles

1/2 cup extreme anger

2 tbsp spinning scenery

1 tsp trembling

1 gallon urge to eat enough food for 2 full days and usually proceeding to do so

2 tbsp vibrating tongue (I realize this is weird)

3 tsp tingly stomach

3 cups need to lie face first on a tile floor because it is cold   

1/2 cup feeling very out of shape (aka walking down stairs causes you to be out of breath)

1 cup not making sense and getting frustrated that nobody understands

3/4 cup denial

1 pt copious amounts of sweat

2 cups desire to do absolutely nothing for the rest of your life

Put in the freezer soaked in juice for 15 minutes, check and retreat if necessary.

Oh and although lows have been pretty normal here, the treatment is getting pretty cool.  They literally have cookies named glucose.  Aka perfect for lows!  And the funny part is that their slogan is eat healthy, think better.  Not sure if cookies literally named glucose are healthy, but since they say they are I am going to eat as I please...which could end badly.  Very badly. 

Rainforests in Kenya???

For our non-program day today we picked the option of going to a nearby town to see a different market and go for a hike to have a picnic lunch.  What they forgot to say was that this hike was going to be the most gorgeous scenery in the world.  It was like Lion King: rainforest edition.  Lush plants and a 20 foot waterfall makes for one of the most beautiful gorges I have ever seen.., not that I have seen that many really.  And of course all with some of the coolest people I have ever met makes it all the better. 

After the hike we traveled to a local AIDS support group.  Three women started this place after being tested HIV positive and it is really just an incredible place.  They offer test results for free and have regular support groups for those affected by HIV.  They not only provide education about nutrition and drugs but also emotional support.  What moved me the most was that one lady said her entire family stopped going to visit her in the hospital once they realized it was HIV and that she wasn’t able to come back to her community and her church no longer accepted her.  There is this huge stigma about HIV/AIDS and one of the main goals of the AIDS support group is to educate people and get rid of the stigma by talking with community members and even schools.  Seeing first hand just how much hard work and passion goes into this was definitely uplifting and inspiring.

But since I can’t get over how beautiful the hike was I wanted to share with you pictures which at least attempt to give it justice…

Beautiful corn fields

Hey there beautiful!

Waterfall, in case you didn't know

The group

Balance isn't my strong suit

Shower Power

Showering in Kenya is quite the adventure.  They have a door, your own separate stall and a shower head, all of which you would expect going into the shower.  The water is ice cold unless you go when the generator is on, but you also have to be in the hot shower and be tall enough to turn the switch on, which being vertically challenged is a struggle for me.  The generator is "generally" on from 7-11 pm which by the way it is completely dark out and anytime at dinner or after you have to be wearing close toed shoes and pants to be safe from the poisonous snakes so flipflops can only be worn in the shower.  Putting on sneakers while wet, not so fun.  But all of these things don't really bug me that much, but the bugs do!! (no pun intended).  They literally dive bomb your head the whole shower, everything from grasshoppers to beetles to baby rhinos (beetles that have a huge horn and are about half the size of a fist).  Oh and by the way if you want a warm one it is dark so you can't even see them coming.  Showering with a headlamp is quite dangerous because although it allows you to see whether you are putting sparkly body lotion or shampoo in your hair it also attracts 5 times the amount of bugs.  So you will end up with beetle shampoo which frankly I'm not sure is healthy for your hair.  So over the weeks I've decided that the warm water is just not worth the craziness of showering at night and that ice cold water has more benefits than you would think.

Safari Numero Dos

Once again we ventured into Amboseli National Park and worked alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service to create a total count for the entire park.  We got to offroad which was the coolest thing ever and we pretty much thought we were gonna die sometimes.  We also had to push the car out of mud twice...to which I volunteered to "document" both experiences haha.  We got split up into sections of the park by vehicle and luckily my group got to go in the car with my favorite professor, Shem.  He takes approximately 9 minutes to respond to any sort of question and when I say respond I mean that he stares at you, rubs his arm for an awkwardly long time, half rolls his eyes and then says "ok fine".  It doesn't matter if it is a comment or a question the "response" is the same.  At first I hated it and was like can you show some sort of enthusiasm but he is really growing on me.  

Speaking of Shem... so a lot of people went to Club Kimana the other night but me and a couple people stayed back to catch up on work and chill.  So I decided to go for a walk on the trail around the camp right before dinner.  Since everybody else was either in the chumba doing work or at club Kimana I knew it was a safe time to be absolutely ridiculous.  So I was listening to my ipod, singing fairly loudly (and singing is most definitely not my strong suit), and occasionally busting out some dance moves...basically having a good old time knowing that nobody would see.  Promiscuous girl comes on my ipod and I hadn't heard that song in forever so obviously I start jamming even though it is totally not Kenya appropriate.  So I'm singing loudly and dancing and all of a sudden I hear footsteps coming up behind me.  I panicked and turned around slowly to see Shem jogging up beside me.  I quickly muttered Jambo Shem, Habari?  To which he answered... "Wow, that's nice. Ok fine. Kwaheri." and kept on running.  So obviously I was mortified and kept looking back every 3 seconds the whole rest of my walk.  I haven't seen him since but it could be quite interesting when he returns from his days off...but nonetheless he's my new favorite.  

Oh and so back to the Safari...here are my favorite pictures.  Enjoy!

Craziest thing ever.  A giraffe lying down!

Date night

Road block

Sad elephant, Happy elephant

Homestay

Sorry about the lack of updates.  The internet crashed for the past week but a lot has happened so many posts will be coming soon!  Love you guys!

A week ago I did a home stay and lived the life of a Maasai woman for the entire day.  I went with my bandamate Ana to a boma with just two homes to stay with a lady named Lydia.  The mommas were informed to not change any part of their daily routine and so we really did not know what to expect going into it considering every family has a different routine.  My momma’s routine consisted of making chai (tea with milk and sugar aka the most delicious thing ever), fetching water, getting firewood, cooking lunch, cleaning the home, and making more chai.  Overall it has been my favorite day here.  I felt so involved and welcomed regardless of the language barrier.  At the same time I was continually impressed with the strength, wisdom, and love of my host momma.  And of course I’m in love with the kids.  My extreme love for the sassy diva teenagers of Whispering Pines is being transferred to the little munchkins in Africa and I just can’t resist giving them a giant hug.  But as great as it was a couple of things went slightly wrong during the homestay…

1) my cooking skills are subpar… we set up some small sticks and lit them followed by covering them in charcoal to create smoke to boil the water for the chai.  Lydia motioned to me to put the pot of water on the charcoal.  This apparently meant setting it on the charcoal but instead I poured the bucket onto the charcoal therefore filling the entire kitchen with smoke and causing an evacuation.  However, many laughs followed so I was again at ease.

2) I need to start lifting weights… I asked Lydia in my minimal Swahili if I could help her with the large water jug at the swamp.  We had trekked a kilometer to fetch water and I thought I would offer.  She let out a laugh and then said okay.  As soon as she put it on my head I realized why she laughed.  It was so heavy that I could barely stand with it on my head, nevermind carry it a kilometer.  Lydia quickly realized and gave me a gallon jug to carry instead. 

3) I like feeling like a warrior… When we went to fetch firewood I carried a machete and although it was a miserable fail trying to chop the firewood with it (I found using my feet easier) I felt super awesome to be carrying that with a pile of firewood on my back.  It was awesome.

4) Always find out the word for bathroom in the language being spoken… I was going to try and hold it considering I knew it would be a bush I would use at best, but by the time lunch came around I could not hold it any longer.  I tried saying a couple of words that I thought meant bathroom but she took me into a room with a chair.  I was pretty sure that she didn’t just want me to pee on the floor but I quickly realized that it was just a washroom and not the toilet.  Finally after a full on charades game of acting out going to the bathroom she realized what I meant.  A classy hole in the ground a short walk away from the home was what I needed and sign language definitely works miracles.

But I can’t really explain how much fun and what an experience it was through words so I uploaded some of my favorite pictures for you to enjoy.  And I will forever be grateful for running water in my home because in case you didn’t know….water is heavy.  

I love cats!

My favorite kid in the entire world!

Me and my momma

I want one...or two

My host family and the neighbors

Love <3

Playing some games

My host family

Host mom and dad

I've drank more tea on this trip than my entire life combined

Collecting firewood

Love my bandamate!

Fetching water...I wanted to cry

Perfect

The past few nights I've decided to go on a hike around the campus before dinner, mostly to see the bush babies hanging out in a certain tree every night at 6:30.  Also, for a little bit of alone time considering the amount of time we spend together.  But Africa is always full of surprises and I have seen the most incredible sunsets and luckily I brought my camera on the last two so that I could share them with you.  I've never been super into sunsets.  Sure they are pretty and relaxing and even romantic if you will.  It is not to say that I didn't enjoy them, but they never seemed to catch my eye the way they do now.  I'm not really sure what is different about the sunsets here.  Maybe it's the Lion King feel of the Acacia Umbrella trees.  Or maybe it is the bright colors standing out from the brown brush from the drought.  Or maybe it is the fact that you can see for miles out in the distance.  Or maybe, just maybe, it's that end of the day, what could be more perfect than listening to the birds, watching the sunset, keeping an eye out for zebra herds kind of feeling that I just hope will stay with me forever.  I hope that every sunset I see for the rest of my life brings back the memories of Africa and that every day will feel as perfect as these do.  Because right now I can't think of anything better than this.

Love my bandamate Ana!

WTS

There is this thing in East Africa.  It's called WTS (Weird Tropical Shit).  It's this crazy illness that varies from person to person with an unknown cause, unknown length, and unknown symptoms.  Exactly two weeks in I contracted it.  I won't go into the nasty details but let's just say I'm glad to have recovered and I apologize for slacking on the blog posts.

I went to the nearby clinic, which apparently is the best in the country outside of Nairobi and it was seriously one of the most incredible places I have ever been to.  If you know anything about me you will know that I am not too keen on the doctor’s office thing.  But after just a couple hours there, let’s just say that I already got the contact information to volunteer there at the end of the program.  Another post on that later.  

Quick update on the past few days.  I milked a cow.  Or at least I tried to.  I would say about 50/50 on the amount of milk that ended up in the bucket vs my skirt.  I have to say that maybe I should have gone to UConn after all so I would have this life skill.

We also took another game drive through Amboseli National Park on our way to a tourist lodge.  We got to lay out by the pool and yell at vervet monkeys not to eat all of our food and watch lizards chase each other under our feet.  I wouldn’t call it relaxing, however it was interesting to see other mzungu (white people).  People were decked out in the typical khaki zip-off pants, wide brim hats and button up quick dry shirts.  Sunscreen in one hand, camera in the other, and binoculars around the neck.  Just like in movies.

Today we did a homestay but I don’t have the time or energy to even express in words how wonderful it was right now.  So that update will be coming later as well.  But the updates will pick up again now that WTS has been defeated.  Well that is as long as I don’t get bitten by a black momba on my way to the banda.  Goodnight!

Oh and ps.  I uploaded a lot of the pictures from the last few posts so they should show now! :-) Sorry about that.

Rain Dance

Today it rained for the second time but the hard core college kids that we are decided to venture out to Club Kimana anyway.  It was a pretty classy establishment, not gonna lie.  Everything was super cheap and they were super welcoming to our 30 person group of loud white kids.  However, the more important part of the day was the nature hike where we saw zebras and a giraffe skeleton and also.....I danced in the rain!  My skirt was completely wet and I'm pretty sure quite see-through, again with the classy.  And as if the african dancing in the rain weren't good enough, I stood in a rainbow.  Like actually in it.  The end of the rainbow was right in front of me on the ground at our campsite.  It was incredible.  I never thought I would stand in a rainbow, but then again I never imagined half of the miracles I've already witnessed here.  Dear Africa, thanks for being so awesome.  Love always...and forever, Arianna

Rain Dance Crew

Usually I have class next to floating mountains...

I figured I would make my first academic update, considering that is the "main reason" I am here.  We have about 5-6 hours of class every day, including weekends.  So much for the typical study abroad program.  Most of the time the classes are pretty interesting but they seem to drag on sometimes.  Especially because our main classroom is attached to the kitchen so I'm always so hungry when the smell wafts in.  And of course there is that thing called heat.  It makes me sleepy.  Overall I love the professors.  I'm pretty obsessed with one of them and they are so unbelievably brilliant.  They can answer almost any question and talk for hours without any notes.  It's incredible.  Also, they are all trilingual which I am super jealous of considering I have trouble speaking English and then only pretend to speak Spanish and Swahili.  We have our first assignments coming up for intro to hakuna matata we have to write a letter in swahili, for zookeeping 101 we have a worksheet (which to be honest I have no idea what it is on), for elephant relationships we have an exercise on species richness, evenness, population growth models, life tables and all that other fun stuff (thanks to marine ecology I'm all over that one), and for man vs wild we have like 40 page papers to read every night which surprise surprise I am behind on.  And when I say behind I mean I haven't started....oops.  But for the more fun stuff I would like to show you a couple of my classrooms.  I used to think that the beach views outside of the classrooms were enough.  Now, I think not.  Nothing gets better than awesome friends, incredible teachers, brilliant landscapes and floating mountains.  Except for riding an ostrich...

Elephant relationships class

Break time!

Man vs Wild class

Floating mountains are my favorite

Sometimes the views distract me...

We always have visitors in class!

What is normal anyway?

Only 10 days into being here and I already feel like a completely different person.  Things that I never thought I would consider a regular day thing have become normal.  It’s unbelievable what Africa does to you!  I’ve created a list of things that are now “normal” for me and also a list of things that used to be strange and are yet still strange.

Things that never used to be normal but now are:

1)   counting herds of African mammals (specifically zebras and elephants)

2)   seeing giraffes alongside the road

3)   doing a black momba check around my banda before bed

4)   having baboons swing from trees around me during class

5)   sleeping, eating, going to class, and playing games with the exact same people every day

6)   going on safaris

7)   ice cold showers

8)   viewing waking up at 7 as sleeping in

9)   drinking warm water all day every day

10)   only having electricity for 4 hours a day

11)    waving and saying jambo to anyone and everyone

12)    being covered in burrs all day

13)    not flinching at bats that fly at your face at night

14)    rats living next to my bed

15)    sleeping in a claustrophobic mosquito net

16)     mommas bombarding you with jewelry

17)      driving on the left side of the road

Things that used to be strange/frightening and are still strange/frightening:

1)   Seeing a poisonous snake that was too close to the chumba get its head chopped off

2)   Being charged by a cheetah

3)   Showering daily J

4)   Kids walking alone on the side of the road

5)   Doing homework before the day it is due

6)   Gingers

7)   Spears (not Britney but the weapon)

8)   Tarantulas in the shower

9)   Hand washing clothes (disaster)

10)   Replacing ice cream with green beans

And home sweet home...

I <3 Africa

Safari!!!

So I went on my first safari in Amboseli National Park, no big deal.  It was supposed to be science or something but I came up with the brilliant idea of having half hour shifts on our land cruiser on recording data.  And by data I mean the number of elephants and their habitat type...okay I guess we recorded other mammals too.  It was the coolest thing ever.  We stood out of the hatches with the bright sun shining on us (don't worry, I used sunscreen) for 5 hours and to be honest, I actually got a little tired of counting the zebra herds.  Never thought that would happen.  The coolest things we saw were: elephants (one crossed the road right in front of us), lionesses, ostriches, gazelles, zebra, wildebeest, giraffes, baboons and hippos!!! It was absolutely incredible and our group was named Team Awesome Fuzzy Zebra.  We loved how the baby zebras were tinted brown and looked a little fuzzy haha.  I also taught everyone repeat after me camp songs in the hour car ride to the park. The favorites were Tarzan and The Princess Pat so that was exciting!  In case you can't read my excitement take a look at these pics and you won't be able to contain yourselves....unless you hate animals that is.

There were hundreds and we had to count them all.

Only the coolest animal on Earth!

A bad picture, but LIONS!

Rafiki and Rafiki Jr.

Hey Pumba!

From left to right: Julia, Juanita and Jelly Bean.

These hang out in my backyard sometimes.

Can I find you an African husband?

          Yesterday we went to the local high school and got a chance to hang out with the kids.  It is a boarding school and one girl told me it is the best in the district (not sure if that is actually true).  We went for their sports program at 4:00 for which I originally didn’t really want to go (today was our free day so things are optional).  It was stifling hot and I had already spent the morning going on a nature hike and church.  The nature hike was incredible, my favorite things being seeing a zebra skull, being 30 feet away from a family of giraffes, and watching my professors identify species and age of animals by their poop.  And church was absolutely incredible!  So welcoming and inspiring.  The music and dancing was the best part.  They had an electronic keyboard which was dropping some serious beats and everyone was clapping and dancing along.  It was so fun!  The kids even had their own routine complete with a walk-on and walk-off that I loved. 

            Anyways, back to the high school.  So I decided to play volleyball with some of the girls and needless to say I wasn’t very good.  In fact, every time I touched the ball, no matter whether I hit it over the net or not, the girl behind me said congratulations.  Pretty funny.  Then after numerous giggles and whispers in Swahili one girl also said, “you’re killing us.”  However, they seemed to get a kick out of making fun of me so naturally I decided to give some sass back. 

            When I took a break I decided to hang out with two girls and soon after I had about 10 kids tapping me on the shoulder asking me my name and wanting to know how I was.  They wanted me to sing a song for them and do a dance but after realizing that every song I know is completely inappropriate I settled for dancing.  After which they laughed their heads off.  At first I was a little annoyed when they laughed but then I began to just laugh with them and get into it J.  But here are a collection of conversations that I had during my time that I think you will enjoy.

kids: Are you married?

A: No 

kids: Do you want a boyfriend? 

A: sure 

kids: An African?

A: of course

Kids: oh we will be back.

A: ok, pick a good one

Kids: Why are you wearing a ring on your finger if you don’t have a boyfriend?

A: I don’t know.  I always wear it.

Kids: If you wear a ring on your ring finger it means you are married.  Middle finger means you are engaged.  Pointer finger means you are looking.  Thumb means you are divorced.  And pinky means you are widowed.

A:  What if you just have a boyfriend but aren’t engaged?

Kids:  It doesn’t matter.  That’s the same thing as being single.

Kids: Do you know how to break dance?

A: yea

Kids: Show us!

A:  I lied, I can’t break dance.

Kids:  Yea, I didn’t think so.

Kids:  Sing us a song!

A: Ok, which one?

Kids: It doesn’t matter.  Whichever one you want.

A (start doing the hokie pokie)

Kids: No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend.

       

Boma Visit

           A boma is a homestead in Africa that consists of homes that are partly underground and made mostly of cow dung.  They are all built in a ring and each home is about 60 square feet.  They consist of two beds made of straw, one for the mother and kids, and the other for the father.  It also has an entrance and a fire pit for cooking, or what we would call a kitchen. 

            The families live off of less than $1 a day.  The women have to take care of the home, the kids, and sell jewelry to get by.  The men and the young boys go out at sunrise and take care of livestock because the main land use strategy in East Africa is pastoralism with dairy production, not beef.  However, agriculture is quickly catching up as it is more profitable, but also more harmful to the environment. 

            The children stay close to the mommas and don’t even flinch when flies are crawling in their eyes.  They cry when creepy strangers like us come near them and they start fulfilling their duties for the Maasai tribe as early as 3 years old.  It is rare for them to be able to attend school and they are expected to take on the traditional roles in the Maasai society as they grow older. 

            From this description that we were given I expected to learn something from the experience of visiting the boma, but what I actually learned was something different.  I expected to be more grateful for what I have: the ability to attend school, a steady income, loving family and friends, good health, my computer, ipod, and the opportunity to come here and see East Africa.  And it isn’t to say that I am not more grateful for what I have, but I learned a lot more than that. 

            One Momma said to me (I had to write this quote down cuz it was too beautiful), “It may look like we don’t have a lot but the truth is we have everything we need, we just don’t own a lot.  We have so much love in this community.  Everyone looks out for one another.  If one woman sells a necklace we all split the profit.  We understand that a smile and a wave goes further than money could buy.  But, most of all, we have the most beautiful surroundings.  Beauty is everywhere if you are looking for it.” 

            I have a lot more to learn from them than I expected and this only makes me way more excited for the home-stay.  And keep your eyes open, because here is a lot of beauty!!! Enjoy!