Gonzaga University Psychology Program in Africa

One of the exciting developments for the African program has been the addition of Biology curricula. Professor Bill Ettinger is teaching a Field Studies course in Biodiversity. Below are some of his notes from the past week. They provide a look at the topography of the area and some of the plants and animals found around Chimfunshi.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Went up to the pens today with Courtney and Tyler. Great walk all kinds of plants and birds. Got a good look at a Black eyed Bulbul. Went around a large termite mound. It was about 15 Meters in diameter. Perhaps 5 M tall. Again there were unique plants like aloe vera and bamboo living on it but nowhere else in the entire woodland. Across from pen 4 there was a candelabra tree growing on a termite mound. I have not seen one of those for the last 50 kilometers or so. They were very common just north of Lusaka. Read more »

So much has happened the last week in Zambia, our first days here were spent acclimating to the Chimps, cold showers and our diet of shortbread cookies and peanut butter and mango jam sandwiches. The pace picked up significantly when the International School children came to visit. It was interesting to talk to them and humbling to realize that at 10 years old they have traveled and experienced more than most of us will in our entire lives. Despite their wisdom and wealth of experiences the kids played hard. We played a game of soccer (football) with the local and international kids and in return they taught us to play cricket. The nature is beautiful and the people are the most kind and generous I have ever encountered. I have only been here a week but feel like I have known the people here for years. Innocent, a worker of Chimfunshi, said it best, he said, “You are in the right place at the right time” this is how I feel. I miss everyone at home and hope all is well. Peace,
~~Kari.

Yo yo! So my past week in Zambia has been a little different than most of the other students here. I had the opportunity to stay at Fidanzse Women’s Center in Muchinchi village with a few of the TAs and my classmate, Kristin. I saw some amazing aspects of Zambian culture during my stay. From watching their church choir practice to teaching English to a classroom of pre-schoolers, the three nights I spent there were the most spiritual and beneficial in my life thus far. I was both moved and humbled by the harmony and happiness the people we encountered there embodied. Even though we weren’t able to shower and had to use a hole in the ground as our toilet, I enjoyed every moment. I made friendships in Muchinchi that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I will never forget the kindness, love, and acceptance I received during my stay and I can only hope my peers have as much of an amazing experience that I did. It was life changing to say the least.
Anyway, missing home and my family. I think homesickness is starting to set in for everyone here. None of us can believe we only have ten days left at Chimfunshi until we leave for our adventures in Livingstone. The time in Africa seems to pass so slowly and then all of sudden you’re two weeks away from home. Hope all is well with everyone back in the states. To my fam and friends – miss you kids! Cannot wait for hugs when I get back! Peace and love to all!
~~Sarah Dysthe

So I can’t believe we are actually in Africa! I’m trying my best to capture this experience through a lense and be able to recreate a glimpse of this experience for others. So far on my camera I have…

• chimps wrestling, eating, playing, fighting,
• the sun rising over the trees,
• us working hard and getting dirty while fixing the road,
• people sharing insights around the campfire,
• teaching the school kids about the chimps and
• “beauty shots” I’ve happened to stumble upon (light rays between the trees, a big toothy two yr old smile, etc)

I cant wait to share this experience with you all. Thanks for watching out for me- I love you Dad, Mom, Jen, and Alex any other family and friends who may be reading this! Xoxo
~~Christine

Hey guys!!! Things have been really great this past week and a half! It seems like we’ve all been getting used to the routine of this amazing place and I know I can’t believe we will be leaving Chimfunshi in only a week and a half! Everyday begins early and goes by so quickly. I think it is going to be really hard to get back into the pace of life back at home since our daily checklists usually consist of a 6 mile walk, hanging out with chimps, playing with kids in the afternoon, and trying to muster up enough inspiration to take a shower! I can’t wait to share my stories and pictures with you all. Be talking to you soon! Love you Mom, Dad, Amanda, and Cody! Stay safe at home!
~~Bridget

Hey everyone back in states! I hope everything is going well abroad. Africa is pretty amazing, being able to watch the chimps everyday is awesome and its neat getting to know their individual personalities. There is also a lot of cool people working here including Innocent and Patrick Chimpanzee who have a ton of great insightful information about the chimps. It was great when the kids came and visit because I am now an expert cricket batter and bowler. We got a Brai tonight which is kinda like a barbeque party over at the orphanage where Billy the hippo is. So I am off but I will be sure to post again. Love you all!
~~Bryan

Hello all!
I have prepared for you a Day at Chimfunshi checklist:

• wake up to the sound of birds and cicadas chirping and friends outside under the boma
• eat amazing fresh fruit for breakfast and visit during the cool hours of the morning
• pack snacks, a journal, and sunscreen before gathering some friends to walk up to the enclosures
• laugh continuously during the 45 minute walk and stop frequently to observe insects, flowers, trees, and birds
• hang out with the chimps for a few hours and marvel at how similar they are to us (and us to them)
• stop by to say “hello” to Patrick before heading back to the Education Center (come away with some gem of information regarding either local plant life or life in general)
• reflect on the day while you walk back to camp and stop to say “muli shani” to the locals as you pass the village
• eat lunch under the boma and journal before taking the coldest, most refreshing shower you will ever have (until the next day)
• visit with the local children on the damboe (let them take over your camera –you will get the most amazing photographs)
• stop by the “Kari-van” while the cook team prepares something amazing for dinner
• enjoy the fruits (or stir fry) of the cook team’s labor under the boma with your Chimfunshi family
• discuss the day around the campfire
• take your time getting ready for bed – make the day last as long as your tired eyes will let you

Remember:

• always bring your torch
• you must call out, “Anyone in there?” before entering the toilet, regardless of what the sign says
• take your malaria pill
• double-check for termites
• savor every minute of this amazing trip – even the difficult or uncomfortable situations – because you may never have another opportunity to experience Africa, let alone with such interesting, caring, and intelligent people

Love you Mom and Dad! Tell Dom I am wearing his hat ALL THE TIME!
~~Courtney

This trip has been amazing and all the chimps are so fun to watch! Watching baby Chris (a girl) escape out of her cage at will is always fun, and I am always waiting for her to come to me. She lives with Sandy who loves doing raspberry’s with his mouth and displaying to show his dominance. It is hard taking so many pictures an trying to decide which is the best, I might run out of room on my memory card. This is such a great experience!
~~Kayla

Mulishani!
This trip has been amazing so far, and I think that I can speak for all the students when I say that we are having a blast! My favorite part has been playing in the Dambo each afternoon with all the kids from the local compound. They are all so adorable, loving, and the most appreciative kids. Their little faces light up the second we walk down their road, and they seem to not be able to give us enough hugs each time we say good-bye even though we’ll be back tomorrow. Even though there is a language barrier, I have really gotten to know several of kids individually, and they are all so amazing.
I’ll be extremely sad when I have to say good-bye for good to these wonderful children, but for now I’ll savor every last moment I have with them. I hope that everyone is doing well back in the states!
~~Wendy

I had a very influential experience recently that Professor Bodamer thought would be nice to share with everyone. The other day, a group of international students came to Chimfunshi to visit. After they got here we took them to a large flood plain, which we call the boma, to run off some energy. I was not expecting what I saw. The international kids were avoiding the local kids at all costs. They called them “dirty” and wanted to leave as soon as possible. It was so sad to see such a separation between two groups of children. I was a little upset but didn’t want it to alter my view of the kids, I didn’t really know them after all. I did really enjoy the kids after a few days of being with them. On the last full day we went back to the boma to play with the local kids. I was with Alisha, one of the girls we called a “pre-madonna.” Before, she was wanting to leave and not interact with the kids, but this time was different. A group of students, Alisha, and me had girl talk while some local girls sat with us. Alisha looked over at the local kids and asked them a bunch of questions. She even told one of the younger girls that she was beautiful. It was amazing to see such a transformation in Alisha in such a short period of time. All I can say is that if a child can become more tolerant then anyone can do it. We all just need to be open-minded and give everyone a chance.
P.S. – Mom I’m not dead and I love you. Tell Dano and my brothers that I say hi and I’ll be home soon. Dad, I love you too and I can’t wait to see how big Oliver has gotten when I get back.
~~Dani Bienz

Infectious. This is Zambia in one word. I wish I could take credit, but as we sat around the campfire last night, Innocent epitomized the Chimfunshi experience. I was lucky enough to be asked back to serve as a Teacher Assistance to Dr. Bodamer and, although I really began to question what I was doing coming back this summer, with the reality of summer jobs and making money breathing down my neck, this first week has made me remember why I was so passionate about returning.

As a TA, one of my responsibilities is to lead students into the local city of Chingola to shop for groceries for the next couple days. On the way home from town today, we stopped to see Costa, the intermediary for HANDZ and a good friend of the program. Costa is also a teacher at the local school that last summer’s program sponsored to come to Chimfunshi. As we were leaving, I heard what sounded like “Tom” and noticed a couple of children sitting in the grass a hundred yards away. Expecting a coincidence with a similar sounding name or word, and more curious in interacting with the children, I walked toward them, only to recognize one of the young students that was in my group last year. It was an incredible feeling to have these children recognize me after only spending less than three days together…. a solid year ago. To have that kind of impact and influence on children, offering an experience that they will carry for the rest of their lives, is such an amazing gift to be able to offer. Although there are definitely language barriers here with the local children, their brilliant smiles speak volumes, expressing far more than words ever could. And with these infectious smiles, I understand why I have found myself among the amazing people of Zambia again.
~~Tom Sexton

It’s been a crazy couple of days. It’s hard to imagine that today marks a week of us being here, it feels more like a month! We had the kids from SIMBA School with us for the past two nights. It made things a little harder, but way more interesting. I think what made me most appreciative of the kids was when we went to go see the chimps. I was able to teach my group of four everything I had been learning for the past semester. I had no idea how much knowledge I had until I started getting bombarded with questions. Not only did it give me confidence, their enthusiasm spilled over and completely reinvigorated me. It was really something special.
~~Willa

I have been having a lot of fun going out to the dambo to play with the local kids. Only a couple of the kids speak English but they are still always excited to see us. They love playing with the bubbles and hula-hoops. They also love getting their picture taken and seeing themselves in our cameras. A couple of them are becoming expert photographers.
~~Colleen

I absolutely LOVE the local children and playing with them at the dambo every afternoon. They are so full of life and energy and are grateful for any amount of play and attention we give them. We have played everything from “keep away” to duck-duck-goose with them. The children are aged 16 to under a year old, and the students bop around between them all doing all sorts of activities. I’m obsessed with this young girl named Maria who can’t be older than 2 years old. She is in the stage of copying every spoken word and I try to teach her new words every time I see her. I have taught her fishy lips and peek-a-boo and I will be extremely sad when it is time to leave Chimfunshi and I can no longer play with her.
~~Lauren

So far it has been so much fun! We’ve all really been enjoying playing with the local kids at the dambo and the SIMBA kids were also a lot of fun to have around. I can’t wait until the school of local kids comes to visit next week. I’m also really glad about how well all of us are getting along and having a great time together.
~~Stephanie

Everything has been amazing so far!! The surroundings are beautiful and the people are great. We’ve got a chance to interact with a wide variety of children between the international students from the SIMBA school and the local children from the village. Playing with the local kids is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It is unbelievable how far some simple attention and affection can go. Everyday when we have to leave it gets harder and harder. The international students were awesome as well. Some of them are twice as mature as their age and taught me more than I could teach them. This whole experience has been absolutely incredible and I look forward to every day.
~~Tyler

It feels as if we have been here for much longer than a week, but not in a bad way. I am so happy with the way everyone in our group has hit it off and we are all having so much fun bonding with each other. The chimps are amazing to watch, but it is no longer weird that there is a chimp two feet away just staring right back at me. They are becoming our buddies. We are getting to interact with the local kids almost every day, which is really making me thirst for more. I cannot wait to go to Muchinchi, a close by village, and stay with the women there and really get to interact with the Zambian people. They are really making the experience.
~~Paige

We’ve only been here a week and already I feel like I’ve learned so much. First arriving in Zambia we spent 13 hours on a truck/bus learning about each other and I loved getting to know everyone! Since then we have spent a lot of time getting to know the chimps, which is exciting and different every time. I had a great group of kids from the international school and the five kids in my group were so much more eclectic than my whole 6th grade class. It was great to hear about their backgrounds and get to show what we had learned about the chimps so far. The hardest thing for me has been the run to orphanage yesterday, but I was really proud of myself for finishing the 9K because I’m definitely not a runner. I’m learning to love cold showers and vegetables and can’t wait to see what else I’ll soon fall in love with!
~~Beth

This has been a great week, and we have done so much already! The chimps are so cool, and I have learned so much about them in this short week. The people here are great, and they are all so loving. I love playing at the dambo, because the kids have so much energy. The people that we came with are awesome and we are a great group of students. The International Students from SIMBA were hilarious, and they were so polite. We taught them a lot about the chimps and they were so appreciative. They were also all very musically inclined, which was cool. I cannot wait for the rest of the trip, I know it will be a great trip!
~~Becky

All is well. We have been very busy. We had a group of kids here from SIMBA International school in Ndola and it was great. They had lots of energy, very good group. Our students are Superstars! Everyone on this end is so impressed with this group. SIMBA arrived Monday the 18th and left this morning. We will have the Education Center to ourselves for a few days and then will have a group of local village kids.

Almost forgot we all learned how to play cricket. We played in the dambo (flood plain) it was awesome!

Peace,
Mark

Hi from Chimfunshi!

Time here is only 9 hours off of Spokane. But time here is really not anywhere close to real Spokane time. The contrasts are right out in front of you. Significant wealth and extreme poverty sit side by side. You see Hummers right next to ox carts that are next to an old man pushing a wheelbarrow. The kids from up north-many of whom have not spent much time in the outdoors recently (in other words just completely pale) next to very black. New everything. My senses are not swimming they are simply drowning.

The trip to Chimfunshi from Spokane was very long-50 hours door to door. Two very long flights to get from Seattle to London and then from London to Lusaka. Having a 7 hour layover in Seattle gave jetlag the upper hand. Once we go to Lusaka, a few husky gals driving a modified safari bus called the monster showed up to pick us up and drive us to Chimfunshi. Another 10 hour drive. Most of it was quite comfortable, except for the last few bumpy miles. Zambian people walk or ride bikes rather than drive-only a few can afford cars. So, there was a continual human procession of walkers, hitchhikers, people waiting for buses, people riding bikes, or people riding along the shoulder of the road along the 80 km highway from Lusaka to Chimfunshi. Even 20 km off of the main drag on dirt roads people are assembled along the side of the road.

There are two 18 Km dirt roads from the main highway to the Ed center where we stay. The old road is under water much of the year and impassable to anything but a 4×4. The newer road is fairly straight, but lesser know. Mark was told that the monster bus was so tall that it may not get under all of the branches of all of the trees. He chose to go on the old road. We spent about an hour and a half on that and the monster couldn’t go any further. So, we had to turn it around in the dark, and drive all of the way back to the highway before taking the newer road. It took another hour to get back to the highway and another hour to drive down the new road to the ed center. Everyone was weary, but very glad to be here finally. The students really kept their cool, no complaining, no moaning and groaning. They seem like a very strong group.  After a quick few introductions to major Chimfunsh staff members we had a fabulous dinner – it was simple, chicken rice and veggies, but we were all famished. Slept very well that night.

Friday AM I went with the TAs into Chingola to get supplies. It was a major adventure. I drove a diesel manual transmission minivan that had the driver’s seat on the right hand of the car. Traffic flows forward in the left hand lanes just like in England. Talk about your potholes. Spokane holds nothing on Zambia! Everyone dodges them by pulling into the other lane. The fear of seeing the front bumper of an oncoming fuel tanker subsides when you realize that the upside is that driver has more potholes to deal with than you do. They eventually swerve back into their own land and tragedy is averted. Supply shopping was surprisingly easy. There was a large, reasonably modern market for most food items. The trouble comes when you try to find specialty items-cell phones and calling plans, or have to stop to exchange dollars for Kwatcha-the national currency. There are around 5200 Kwatcha to the dollar this week. We next had to make separate stops for ice, pop, and a new spare tire!  We spent about 4 hrs and about 4 million Kwatcha in town. The drive back to the ed center only took about an hour and a half-rather than the 4 hours it took the night before!.

Saturday, was my first intensive time in the Miombo forests. There must be 50 different types of tree species in each acre of woodland. I haven’t sorted things out well enough yet to really tell. The main thing is the diversity of plants and birds here is astonishing! This isn’t Kansas or even the coast range forests.  It is really hard to fathom. We walked up to the chimp pens ~4 km up the dirt road toward the river. Mark took 4 students up at 5:30 AM for dawn watch – when the students can watch the chimps greet the new day. I took another group up around 8 AM to meet them. I got up there at around 10 AM I really felt that I was running through the woods at 2 KM per hour, because there was simply too much to take in. Mark apparently makes the trip in about 45 minutes at a brisk walk.  The diversity is just astounding. Good day. It was hot in the PM about 80 degrees.

TTFN
Bill

Today was our second day at Chimfunshi. Students are adapting to the routine of long walks and taking in the wildlife. Everyone is in good health and having a blast! Internet is very limited, so check here for updates and don’t worry if you don’t hear from your students… We are safe! Hope all is well at home!

Notes from students:

Hi Mom and Dad! I love it here and couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my summer! The people are so unbelievably kind and caring and the chimps are awesome! See you soon! Love Bridget

Family, friends, and loved ones,
Hi! I miss you all. Africa is nothing I ever expected but I am loving every minute here. The bugs are crazy but everything else is amazing! I wish we could talk more but only a few short weeks to go. Love you! Take care and God Bless!!  –Sarah Dysthe

It appears as though they went on a walk to the chimpanzee enclosure — perhaps the dawn patrol. Mark sent me a few photos from the first day.

We are here! We arrived late last night and after a nice dinner I (we) went to bed a wee bit exhausted. A long journey indeed. The new ground transport that we arranged worked out very well. We were picked up by a vehicle referred to as the monster. HMMMM? Wonder why? See the photos below. We were told that “monster” was 4.8 meters tall. We had plenty of room, we also stopped for food on the way and had nice pizzas. Since the vehicle was so tall we had to be careful about which road to take into camp. I picked the old route in, but alas we had to turn around and retrace our steps. To my surprise the new road worked great. It made for a long day. Our drivers were awesome. I picked up our mini-bus also.

Today after letting the students sleep in a little we headed up to see the chimps for the first time. Bill Ettinger and a few students went to town to get some supplies and get some tasks done. One task was to get our cell phones working. We now have three cell phones that we can be reached at. One issue is that the signal isn’t always great, my student assures me that we can receive text messages and if someone is trying to reach us and isn’t having luck then they can send us a text message to call and then we can call them as soon as we get the message.

Tomorrow I take the first group up for dawn patrol, see chimps at sunrise. I can hear the students returning from their visit with the staff children; lots of laughter and happy voices.

Cell phone numbers:
+260 978 965 823
+260 978 965 836
+260 978 965 838

Also number for Tony Rauch Chimfunshi General Manager
+260 977 336 710

Day 1 of our Journey from Mark Bodamer

We have made it to London! Everything went very smoothly. Some of us got a little sleep. Lots of the students are currently spread out on the floor snoozing. We have a seven hour layover in London; we have about three more hours to go; then a 10 1/2 hour fligth followed by a 7 hr. bus ride. It is a true “journey”.

Terminal 5 is new and very nice. Well, the last student to meet up with the group (Willa) has just arrived so all 27, going to Chimfunshi are here. We have 19 students enrolled in either a psychology class or a biology class (or both). (We offered three psychology class options: Comparative Psychology, Applied Child Psychology both at 300 level and also offered a 200 level psychology class called Nurturing Reverence for Life. The biology class is called Biodiversity). There are 4 TAs, 2 people that will be working primarily in Muchinshi for HANDZ (see link for more on HANDZ http://www.handzambia.org/pages/what.shtml), and 2 faculty (Dr. Mark Bodamer, Psychology and Dr. Bill Ettinger, Biology).

Time for coffee.

Sarah the T.A. Says:
So far so good! We are all excited and getting used to the time change – currently sleeping in bunches on the floor of London Heathrow. Students seem to be excited too! Can’t wait to be in Africa!