Mt. Kilimanjaro early in the morning, after a fresh dusting of snow.

A male lion in Amboseli, spotted during one of our game drives. The water in the background is a natural spring that is fed by runoff and glacial melt from Kili.

A herd of elephants in Amboseli. Aside from the area next to the springs, this region is very dry (only 300-400mm rain a year) and completely overgrazed.

Doing our best to be tourists.

Vultures picking at one of the many carcasses that were scattered across the park.

Salesh (right), a very cool Maasai who works at the center that we stayed at, and a very knowledgeable person about what is happenning in the area, in terms of human and wildlife conflict. On this day, we walked around to five farms and conducted interviews with farmers about their livelihoods and what they think will happen in the future concerning development and the subdivision of lands.


Getting ready for bed inside the boma we stayed in during the Maasai homestay. The bed was constucted of a stretched cowhide and reeds for cushioning.


Max, also getting ready for bed. We shared the cowhide, which is traditional for men of the same age

The boma, with Kilimanjaro in the background.

Our Maasai host, preparing to take gathered firewood back to the boma.

Pictures of the last five weeks

Our translator and assistant Denis (left) seated with Max, my homestay partner, and a baby goat inside the manyatta that we stayed at.


My Maasai homestay host preparing to help me make a bracelet.

My homestay host, with her mother and child.

The path that lead to the beach, from our house in Watamu.

Bob, Harry, and Zena catching some rays next to the azure water of the Indian Ocean.

Urban Life, The Maasai and Amboseli, and the Coast

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted, but it is only becuase I have been extraordinarily busy, not because I don't care.

To give a breif recap of the past weeks:

Around mid-September, after our trip to Tanzania, the group split up into pairs and spent three weeks living in Nairobi with a host family. We all comunted from our houses each day to the United Kenya Club to take classes, but also had a lot of free time to explore the city, talk to people, and get involved in things that were happening while we were there. I lived with Tony and Katheke Mbithi in an apartment that was closest in proximity of all the students' families to the city center. This was great becuase I was actually able to walk to and from class everyday, and I had access to a nearby coffee shop where I could work on papers or read. Tony is a private contractor who mostly has been working on roads, and industrial buidlings. His wife, Katheke, is a breast cancer survivor who is working with a breast cancer survivors NGO. She was very active during the homestay and was always coordinating and planning events around Africa. Both Tony and Katheke lived in the US for eleven years, and they did an incredible job of educating me about the ins and outs of Nairobi, the government, and in helping me make comparisons between the US and Kenya.

After a short weekend back at the compound that was spent slaving over research papers, we headed out, safari-style (think Land Crusiers) to a Maasai-owned center near Amboseli National Park. During this component, we spent time learning about the struggle and the competition for resources between people and wildlife, and the inadequate mangagement of this area by the government. We learned about mismanagement of wildlife in Amboseli, and the Kenya Wildlife Service's reluctance to properly control animal population becuase of the high revenues brought by tourists. Amboseli is known well for its tremendous elephant population (there are over 1300 elephants). The park, however, can only support about a third of this number, and due to current overpopulation, there is a significant amount of habitat being put at risk.

During the latter section of the Amboseli component, we redirceted our attention towards the problems that people are encountering on a more regular basis. Due to the serious and prolonged drought in the area, and the growing amount of land being used for agriculture, Maasai pastoralists are facing serious challenges. We were fortunate enough to be hosted by Maasai families for one night during our trip, where we asked a lot of questions about how their lives are changing, and what they see in their future. The family that I lived with was very optimistic about persevering through whatever hardships they may encounter, but they did say that this period has been the hardest time they can remember. In fact, during our week in Amboseli many people, including many of the families that students stayed with, recieved food aid from the World Food Programme. It was definitely one of the harshest environments I could imagine living in, and I deeply respect the Maasai people's ability to live there.

Immediately after returning to the compound, I set out with seven other people to fly to Mombasa for Mid-Semester break. We spent one night and the next morning in Mombasa, exploring Fort Jesus, Old Town, and riding around the city in Tuk-Tuks (three wheeled taxi things) before catching a matatu up to Watamu, a seaside community located about 100km north of Mombasa. We spent four days in Watamu, in a private house that nine students and I (other people met us the day after we left Nairobi) rented out. We lived only eight minutes, by foot, from probably the most pristine, beautiful beach that I have ever been on. We were able to swim without fear of sharks becuase the beach is protected by a large reef. The lagoon side of the reef is actually a designated and protected Marine Reserve, which we explored via snorkling on our second day on Watamu. It was an awesome experience, and we were pretty upset when the day came to return to Nairobi's smoggy and crowded environs.

Here are some pictures from all of these travels; I tried to balance things out. Hope this message finds everyone in good health and high spirits. I miss you all!