Danger, danger! High voltage.

Transcript of my notes from Part II of our safety lecture from the Student Affairs Manager about the danger of animals here in Kenya. Since the electric fence that surrounds our camp and the lands around it is no longer functional because people could not afford to pay for it, we have to look out for lots of animals not only in the field and camping out, but literally every day and night at KBC. Vigilance is the key.

Crocodiles.
Can launch selves nine feet out of the water

Buffalo.
Most dangerous. Pure muscle, big. Stupid. Try to avoid completely. Like to hide in bushes. Very aggressive.

Hippos.
Biggest killer of tourists in East Africa. Big, but fast for their small legs. Very mean. Ok when they’re in the water, very dangerous when you’re on land, especially if you’re between them and the water (their comfort zone).

Lions and predators.
Look them straight in the eye, stare them down. Slowly back away. When at a safe distance, turn and run like hell. Pretend like you’re bigger and more aggressive until you run.

Elephants.
Like buffalos, most aggressive ones are lone males, and mothers with babies. Don’t climb a tree, they can knock them down. Apparently run in zigzag, which confuses them. Can be very aggressive, particularly in parks.

Baboons and Monkeys.
In tourist sites they are very aggressive. They will take your Tupperware, open it, and eat it. In general will take your food if you hold it out. Best to just give it to them if they go for it. Close car openings because they will take it and leave their feces. Nothing you can do, don’t try to scare them off. They will scratch, bit, and give diseases.

Rhinos.
Run like hell.

Snakes. Askaris (guards) have to kill venomous snakes in student areas because they are very territorial, and they will come back. Have found Black Mambas at the Center. Back away from the snakes, don’t go running after them, don’t put face near them (apparently a lot of students have put themselves into serious danger by doing this). Baby snakes can be more dangerous because they’re still learning how to control their venom. Best thing to do if bitten is to fly you to Nairobi, but it takes 45 min to drive to the airstrip, then 1-2 hours flying, and some venom will kill you in 45 minutes.

Black Mamba.
Can strike from one yard away. Most dangerous if backed into tight corners. Not necessarily black. Easily confused with Brown House snake.

Egyptian Cobra.
Can spit, if it goes into your eyes it can cause you to go blind. Some say best treatment for spit on eyes in putting urine on eyes, but they don’t recommend it. Should just wash eyes with water.

Puff Adder.
Might not react to first person to come across it, but can get annoyed and attack next person.

If bitten: most of the time, venom is not released. Do not elevate the bitten limb. Apply pressure to limb, above and below bite area but not to tourniquet.


Avoidance: be aware of where you’re walking. Stick to paths at night. Wear closed-toed shores and long pants. Use flashlight. Leave tent and banda doors closed.

Other biting/stinging critters:

Scorpions.
Most not deathly, but might make you wish you’re dead from pain of bit.

Hairy caterpillars.
Hairs can get stuck in your skin.

Safari Ants.
Bites are painful. Don’t stand on anthills, they will crawl up your legs.

Vegetation.
Everything is pointy or thorny. Some (Acacia thorns) have poisons; wash and cover as response to puncture wounds.
________

Well that was about it. Unless you were wondering what Part I of this lecture was about. In case you are curious, it was all of the diseases we can get, from African Sleeping Sickness to Yellow Fever to Malaria--well, you get the picture.

Jambo

I'm here. It took forever (43 hours to be exact), but I'm here. Honestly there is too much to write--I feel like a computer that's been overloaded with data--but I will try to give some highlights.

During my 12-hour layover in Heathrow, I went in to London. After a mini sightseeing self-guided tour, I went to meet Caroline (who is studying at Oxford this semester) for lunch. We ate in Notting Hill, and it was a fantastic last little jaunt in "civilization," complete with an amble along Portobello Road, where we wandered into the most amazing antique shops I have ever seen; my favorite of them was, of course, the one with the pith helmets and binoculars and trunks and brown riding boots, or, in other words, the one with all of the safari gear.

Well, about fifteen hours later, I found myself in Kenya. At first glance, the country seemed really similar to the developing countries that I've been to in Central America, but then, all of the sudden, this funny thing started to happen. I started seeing animals. And I'm not talking about the cows and goats which, though certainly slightly funny looking, are also found in Latin America. Visible from the Kenyan highway (which is by no means as big or well-groomed as the highways traversed by Jack Kerouac and the rest of us in the U.S.), were animals. Our heavy-duty Land Cruiser (definitely not the type of SUV you see in the states; these ones seat ten, and have three viewing roof windows for safaris, no air conditioning, and manually-opened windows), which had been completely devoid of chatter due to the utter exhaustion of its inhabitants, suddenly, at the beck of one voice calling out "giraffes" became a hub of oohs and ahhs, inquiry and delight.

And it didn't end with that one sighting. During the rest of the 6-hour drive from Nairobi to our camp in the foothills of Kilimanjaro (Kilimanjaro Bush Camp or KBC), we saw at least a hundred zebra, all in different packs, probably about ten giraffes, two wildebeest, and one ostrich. From the road. Not in the middle of a national park. From the road. It was unbelievable. So unbelievable, in fact, that when I awoke from a dream about home during a nap in the car, I was convinced that the self in that Land Cruiser was the dreamer--I just couldn't understand where I was, or what was going on.

Finally, I will share one last little tidbit. When I woke up this morning at 6:30am under the cover of my mosquito net, I girded myself to take a shower (which I desperately needed) in the cold water of the cool morning. Having searched about our dark banda (or hut), and having located all of my shower materials, I walked out the door into the pale light of the new day, the sun visible yet behind the trees to the east. And as I turned right and walked up the path to the bathrooms, I saw it: Kilimanjaro.

Kilimanjaro in all its glory, small white snow caps clearly visible from my little location in the south of Kenya. I was looking right at it, amidst the songs of birds, and chattering of bugs, my first morning in what was increasingly appearing to me to be a magical country to my now rested self. The snows of Kilimanjaro, cresting the pale brown/grey silhouette of the mountain, standing above the trees in front of me. Majestic.

Now I hope I haven't led you to believe its been all animals and play. The extreme heat of the afternoon today was draining, I got prickly plants stuck in the bottom of my feet, we only have cold showers, and I'm pretty sure I found mice poop in the bed next to mine (which is not occupied by a person but rather my stuff). But those moments are fleeting, and I know that tomorrow I will awake to Kilimanjaro again, and as Robert Frost wrote, that has made all the difference.