There is a group of international school kids that arrived today – 40 5th graders from Lusaka. We have teams of 6 kids and 2 GU students to monitor them. My group’s name is the Cool Chimps. Those clever kids… We went to the Dambo which is a huge grassy enclosure and we played futbol, kickball, monkey in the middle, etc. with all the local kids and the international students. They got along well for the most part.

This part of Africa is a lot different than other areas I have been to. We haven’t seen any of the “Big Five” or gone on a safari or seen any pyramids here! (Not that I was expecting to see pyramids…) The terrain is suuuper dry and dusty. We always track red dust into our rooms from our shoes. There are big termite mounds on the sides of the roads.
The chimps are really cool to watch and I am going to study the behavior of how baby chimps need and get attention and how it relates to human babies. For our biology class, we have been walking around and labeling which trees are which. I have learned a lot!

The bathrooms are more than a hole in the ground. There is an actual toilet. No door. MY CAMERA BROKE! The lens on it won’t close again. I had déjà vu, so I think this has happened before. But I am taking lots of photos with other people’s cameras that they are so kindly lending me. I’ve got some pretty great photos so far.

I miss everyone back home; I got homesick once so far. I am enjoying my time though and have made lots of new friends. The showers here are freezing. That’s all folks…

MANJA BWINO!!!

It’s hard to believe that I was at home only six days ago and last night I watched the sun set half way around the world in Africa.  There so much to tell you all about but for now you will have to settle for only one story. The main reason is you would probably be reading for a few hours.

The other night I had the opportunity to tag along with Dr. Bodamer to look for chimps making nests.  Even with our binoculars in tow we didn’t see any nest making but what I experienced was better.  Driving back to camp we noticed that Brian, a male chimp in enclosure three, was sitting close to the fence.  Dr. Bodamer and I got out the B.V.G (Bronze Van of Glory- story to follow) and sat five feet way from  Brian. I started playing in the dirt with a stick hoping Brian would be interested in what I was doing.  I looked up from my dirt drawing and Brian was looking directly at me.  It might have been the way he was lounging on the ground with his hands folded across his knees or the way he stared directly in my eyes without blinking or perhaps Brian’s causal sigh that sounded exactly like on I would make that made me remember that moment. Every day I spend watching the chimps I see more similarities in their actions with humans.  I saw a mother chimp pat her baby’s head in reassurance after she couldn’t break a stick of sugarcane just the way a mother would do to a child.

I hope everyone is well and just know that we are having a great time and every day is new and exciting! I have many more stories already to tell you when I get home so get ready.

Keep checking the blog because you never know what will happen..TIA- This Is Africa!!!

WELP….I can’t even begin to explain my past week, with everything from my first time in the London Heathrow Airport-which is awesome-to a 10 hour bus ride to remote Chimfunshi in Zambia, everything has been mind blowing.  First off, the sun here is exceptionally amazing!!! I could sit in it all day making lanyard bracelets and reading bug-book field guides.  But what is even cooler, are the chimpanzees. I didn’t really know what to expect for my first time actually staring one in the eye, but it is so different from any book I’ve read or any description someone has given me concerning a chimp. They truly are amazing creatures and it is easy to see how closely we are related. I have taken a particular curiosity in Milla, an older female chimp in Enclosure 2 who, for the past couple of months, has been contained inside the cement-barred structure on account that she is an impeccable escape artist.  I was told by one of the chimpanzee “keepers”-they’re more like friends and caretakers-that Milla had been getting picked on by some of the other 47 chimps in enclosure 2 (it is 500 acres) and as a result would try and escape over and through the electric fence that surrounds the enclosure.  They started putting Milla inside so that she could get a break form the others, but when they tried to re-introduce her back in the free and open enclosure, she always went straight to the fence to escape, and has done so continuously.  Basically, I like hang out with Milla while she spits chewed up Ntungaloo (a native fruit that resembles the taste of a lemon and has spicy seeds) at me through the bars.  Chimpanzee do this thing commonly called a raspberry, which is this friendly lip smacking, spitting noise and Milla and I frequently raspberry back and fourth. It is very neat getting to know the individual chimps and you truly can see their personalities show, just like humans.

P.S.-I miss you all and hope everything is going beuno at home! We’ve been playing card games like Egyptian Rat Screw/Uno that remind me of old Wyoming b-ball camp days, and Ally J…whoa on Breakfast at Stephanies! The vicks vapor rub…I’ve clearly been reading for fun! B-Work on those dunking skills <3 u!! Thanks so much for making this trip possible M&L xoxo.

Africa, and Zambia in particular, is great! My favorite part (like many before me) is playing with the local kids.  We play soccer and frisbee and the new favorite is duck-duck-goose.  Last time I was at the dambo, two little boys were sitting by me watching a soccer game when one stands up and starts tapping the other on his head saying “duck-duck-duck-GOOSE!” and then running away.  Unfortunately, the game is really not meant for two people because then there is no one to run around… so naturally I just joined right in and as we played more and more kids joined us.  As the game progressed, it became rather difficult for me to be the “goose” because every time I was on the ground one (or more) of the kids would want to sit in my lap, but we had a blast!

PS. Mom and Dad, what about that DQ ice cream cake?

To continue on with Sean’s account of our great adventure with Sheila and the great city of Chingola I need to begin with the ride to town- and when I say ride, I mean a turbulent adventure that is both horrifying and wonderful all at once and can only be appreciated by those who have driven around these parts of Africa. We left promptly at 7:30 as Sheila had planned, but not before turning on the tunes in the little car. This morning it was Lady Gaga and Billy Ray Cyrus who sang us down the road. Sheila has such a love for music that she honestly loves every genre you could come up with. It made me laugh that this sweet little old lady was tapping her fingers to a new American pop star singing about getting drunk in a club, losing everything but her name, and just dancing the night away. Sheila has become and expert pot hole dodger from many years on the roads partially washed away in the rainy seasons. Despite her experience, it was a struggle to keep seated and not flail about on top of the other passengers. We talked a bit with Sheila and amongst ourselves and had some laughs, but ultimately thought it would be best if Sheila concentrated solely on the road and we shut our mouths.
This was my first real trip to Chingola and I was so interested at what was happening around every turn. The majority of people walked around and dodged cars zooming past. There were stores and painted advertisements everywhere. Many people in town were dressed in nice clothes or in school uniforms. It was much different than an American city center. Once in Chingola, we went to the Chimfunshi office, met Mary (a secretary of sorts), dropped off our bags, and called Dr. Lungu, the surgeon we hoped to meet. The doctor said he was ready for us to come on down so we piled into the car again and Sheila drove us to the South hospital- also known as the mine hospital as it is a privately run hospital primarily for the workers of the copper mines and their families. We were all excited meet this man from a completely different world that had some of the same interests that we have.
The trip only gets better from here so keep reading to hear what happened next…

After watching that movie entirely as well, we took a break from tv (the news was so boring) to eat dinner. The rest of the night passed by pretty uneventfully until we all went to bed. Although I am sure we were safe and sound the whole time, it seems as though the chimps, roosters, and figs (from the fig tree overhanging our room) all were determined to prevent us a good night sleep. The chimps screamed off and on, and the roosters-although the girls say it did not start until 4am I am pretty sure it was earlier-jumped up on my windowsill and looked at me toss and turn as they crowed, and the fig tree seemed determined to hit me with a fig all night, not seeing the tin roof above me as much of an obstacle.

Despite a restless night, waking up in that magical place seemed to give me more than enough energy. We woke up at 6:30 to allow Jenna time to shower and me to have some breakfast before watching the chimps at the orphanage get bottle-fed before leaving at 7:30. As I was changing I looked out my window to see Sheila staring at me from across the way, and she waved us over. She made us coffee and we chatted listening to classics such as “How Great Thou Art.” It wasn’t long before we saw Billy pass by, waiting for her morning milk-two bottles of it that she won’t leave without and she won’t drink unless they are warmed. Seeing her with her head on the porch suddenly made us all remember that Jenna was showering a couple of feet away. Then we saw Billy move towards the shower. Kylie and I ran over to the window on the side of the house that would let us see the shower room and where Billy had hopefully been held up at the fence. Fortunately Billy was not eating Jenna. Jenna sat a mere 10 feet away from the big hippo, having a staring contest that she was quick to admit Billy had won. Sheila and Sylvia were quick to her rescue, though she never felt threatened and it ended up not being a big deal at all.

Read more blog to find out about the rest of our day…

–thank you all for reading. Despite being in Africa our thoughts are never too far from home.

I have accepted the chimps, the birds and the kids as a part of my everyday routine. I was granted a glimpse into the Zambian life through lunch-time talks with the chimp keepers Jacob and Patrick and the bony bodies of the kids. However, I was given an even closer look at these people’s lives when I visited the women’s center in Muchinshi. The first day in town we were asked to step in and teach a 9th grade class (the highest grade offered in Muchinshi) because the teachers are on strike. Through this I was confronted with questions about HIV/AIDS, poverty and the genuine desire of all of these kids to learn. I am still unprepared to deal with these experiences completely and each day I am removed from these conversations the gravity of my experience and their situations become clearer to me.

I came here without expectations and I am sure I will be leaving with more questions than answers. Africa is infectious, the more I know, the less I understand and the more I want to learn. I know this is an experience and a place that will be a part of my life forever.

I have had quite the week at Chimfunshi. I did dawn patrol with Dr. Mark and discovered the vibrancy of the birdlife here. I never realized how many different kinds lived in this area and also never appreciated their songs. It was nice to stand on top of enclosure two and look through binoculars at all the different species for at least an hour. Dr. Mark and I made it in time to watch the sunrise, which was a magical experience. My time with the chimps is definitely growing increasingly more interesting. Zsabu, an alpha male chimp in one of the enclosures, has been the focus of all of my filming these past few days. He struts around in angst, knocking the other chimps aside wherever he goes. Today I watched him sit in a tree for an hour keeping a lookout for the keeper to prepare their food. The dominion he maintains is fascinating – he’s like a chimp tyrant. You probably wonder why I find such interest in his obnoxious behavior and it’s mainly because my term paper is going to be on male dominance but also because he’s simply intriguing. Anyway, I’m sure a lot of students would agree that the more time we spend with the chimps, the more we seem to learn about and appreciate them. I realized today that we only have about 3-4 more days with them and that’s definitely saddening.

Having the local school group here was a nice break in routine. I haven’t stopped falling in love with Zambian culture since I arrived and having a dancing and singing group of children with us for the past few days made me the happiest I have felt here. When they arrived there was an initial awkwardness because of the language barrier, but in no time we were screaming together over a huge snake we saw in the ravine and playing an all-out game of soccer on the dambo. We ended our first day together with a two hour dancing and singing party. We Americans showed an embarrassing lack of talent as we mumbled the words of the “The General” and “Free Falling.” Our visitors didn’t hesitate in applauding our efforts, though, which is so indicative of their warm spirits. The following day we took them to see the chimps and they observed with bright eyes. We spent the rest of the day playing together and having yet another Zambian-style dance party. If you think Americans have some raunchy dance moves, you have yet to experience the Zambian hip gyrations. Goodbye this morning was inevitable but everyone enjoyed the excitement while it lasted. As we approach our final days at Chimfunshi, I’m beginning to realize how the people and chimps that have become a part of my daily life will soon be a memory in my past. It’s a difficult reality to accept, especially when Chimfunshi has become such a home to us. I will miss sharing stories with the keepers and dodging rocks from grumpy chimps. However, I must admit how excited I am to reach home. Africa has been nothing less than a fulfilling experience, but I definitely miss warm water and my bed.

To all of my family and friends at home – Momma, Daddy, Sissy, Brub, C-Love, T-REV, Teeny, Axl, and Chloe…I miss you all so much and cannot wait to see your faces when I get back! Nothing but love! Udde, Mixie, Baby, Ally, Man, Bean, Brit, and any other loved ones reading this…see you in less than 2 weeks! Nothing but love to you all!!!!