Peace, Love, and Elephants

It has been mentioned that I kinda, sorta, really love elephants (tembo). I don't even think "love" is a strong enough word, honestly.

Here's how much I love elephants:

-My iPad case has elephants

-My phone case has elephants

-My purse has elephants

-9/10 times gifts given to me are related to elephants 

-I have an elephant tattooed on my left wrist (yet, people still ask me if I like elephants when they see it?) 

Basically my love for elephants can be explained by Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem "How Do I Love Thee" (Let Me Count the Ways). 

If I'm every sad or stressed or mad, I just look up pictures of baby elephants because they are honestly the most adorable things. 

Example: 

You smiled, didn't you? How could you not?

I don't know when my love for elephants began. I've just always liked them. It must have started with my grandma, because she loves elephants, as well. I remember, instead of having a rocking horse, my grandma had a rocking elephant. How rad is that?! 

Seeing a herd of elephants in the wild is what I'm looking forward to the most when we go on our expeditions. The pictures I take while I am over there will probably be primarily of elephants. My friends and family are probably going to be like, "Weren't there other animals over there Abby?" In fact, some people think I'm going to Tanzania solely to study elephants (I wish). I've mentioned that I want to study animal behavior. Ideally, I will study elephant behavior. I think elephants are incredible. They are so intelligent, emotional, unique, beautiful (the adjectives could continue for forever). 

I would love to work in an elephant orphanage in Kenya some day, though it will be under tragic pretenses. I just really hope that I can create a strong, lasting bond with a calf in need! 

(Side note: the idea that an elephant is lucky if its trunk is up originated in Western culture.)

Kwaheri and 36 more days! 

Hakuna Matata: It Means No Worries, Right?

I am 20 years old and I have never traveled anywhere by plane (ndege). Car (gari)? Yeah. Train (reli)? Sure. Boat (mashua)? Absolutely. Plane? Nope. Never. Not a once.

I (jokingly) like say that my philosophy is "go big or go home" and boy, did I really stay true to that when I decided that the first time I'd fly anywhere would be by myself to a place that is nearly 8,000 miles away! Nice job, Abby. My parents are probably going to have to pin a note to my shirt that says "If lost, please contact Mark and Kelly at...." 

I'm not completely unfamiliar with the concept of planes. I mean, my dad is an airplane mechanic and I've been in quite a few private jets of some pretty well-known celebrities (but those were on the ground and half the interior was ripped out). I know that there are two wings and a cockpit and an engine and probably some other important stuff, too. (Hopefully the left phalange and the party hats will be working!)

But it's not really the idea of flying that freaks me out. I'm not scared of heights, I don't get motion sickness, I don't mind my ears popping, and I'm not scared of a Lost or Cast Away situation happening. Honestly, navigating the airports is what I am most worried about. 

Thanks to TV and movies and books, I'm familiar with such concepts as "Baggage Claim" and "Terminal" but that's about where my knowledge stops. How do I check my luggage and how do I find my gate? I told my friend (rafiki) how I'd like to go outside during my 2 hour layover in Amsterdam. It's not like I was planning on going to visit the Anne Frank house per say. I just wanted to step outside, see the streets and the buildings (aren't they famous for their canals?). But when I explained this to her, she chastised me and said, "Abby, you're not going to have time for that. You'll have to go through security all over again." That thought had never crossed my mind.

One of my favorite pastimes is worrying needlessly over silly things. I know I'll get the hang of airports fairly quickly. And it's not like I can't ask for help! So I've decided that I'm going to approach navigating airports as if it is a mini adventure within my grand one!

Kwaheri and only 44 more days! 

Baaaaaaaaaaa Sowenyaaaaaaa Mamabeatsebabah

There is a very, extremely, 100% chance that I will listen to the Circle of Life on repeat during the entire duration of the 20+ hour journey (safari) to Tanzania. Sad thing is, I probably won't even be sick of it.

(Side note: the opening to the Circle of Life is not in Swahili. It's actually in Zulu)

I leave from Port Columbus on July 12th at 12:55 pm and after a couple of pit stops in New York and Amsterdam, I will arrive in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania on July 13th at 7:40 pm. Though I fully expect to land in Tanzania sleep-deprived with a sore butt and my mind buzzing with Lion King lyrics, it will be nothing compared to the knowledge that my journey is, truly, just about to begin! 

(Side note #2: the broadway version of Circle of Life is bae [just ask my old roommates Natalie and Amber!]-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W_Zblr09Y0)

(Side note #3: you should also watch this video of the Australian cast singing Circle of Life on a plane-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgSLxl1oAwA)

Kwaheri and only 46 days! 

Where is Tanzanzibarobia??

I honestly didn't think that the first question people would ask me after I told them that I am going to Tanzania would be "So, where is that?" After all, it is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro (the largest mountain in Africa) and the Serengeti (from the Maasai word "Serengit" meaning Endless Plains) National Park. Tanzania also borders Lake Victoria (the world's second largest freshwater lake after Lake Superior).

And though I have not yet traveled there, I am sad that not that many people know about this amazing country because I am already bewitched by its beauty, diversity, and splendor over 7,000 miles away! 

So here are some quick facts about Tanzania (with pictures [not mine]!):

Location: Eastern Africa (next to Kenya and the Indian Ocean) 

Largest City: Dar es Salaam 

Where I'll be staying: Rhotia (an administrative ward of the Karatu district in the Arusha Region). 

Moyo Hill Camp

Official Languages: Swahili and English.

It means "no worries" 

Average weather: Pretty moderate, actually.

Here: July=summer
There: July=winter

Diversity: Wow. Just wow. Tanzania is home to over 4 million wild animals (representing over 430 species)!

Most well known ethnic group: The Maasai, a group of pastoralists who live in northern Tanzania. 

Kwaheri and only 49 more days! 

An Autobiography

I figured that maybe I should talk a little bit more about myself.

Things you know about me so far:

-Name: Abby

-School: Ohio State (Go Bucks!)

-Favorite animal: Elephant (duh)

-Reason for traveling to Tanzania: Study Abroad

I will be entering my third year at Ohio State this fall. I am majoring in biology and minoring in zoology. After undergrad, I would like to go to grad school (in Cali fingers crossed) and study animal behavior. Right now, I'd like a career in research. In a zoo, in the field, or at a school, I don't care where, as long as I can watch animals all day. 

I have always had a desire to work with animals (well, I wanted to be a jewelry designer, a teacher, author/illustrator, a hairdresser and every other typical career every little girl wants to have before the animal idea came around). First I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. Then I wanted to be a marine biologist, but the idea of scuba diving kind of terrifies me, especially at the depths I would be required to go down to! So I then decided that I wanted to simply be a zoologist. After all, my favorite animal is the elephant and those are on land, not 20,000 leagues under the sea! During my junior year of high school, my AP biology class studied animal behavior as our first topic. Learning about Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen and the idea of imprinting really sparked my interest and that is when I knew I wanted to study animal behavior. 

My study abroad experience is through a third party program called the School for Field Studies. They are a field-based, research focused program and they offer courses all over the world, from Tanzania to Australia and from Costa Rica to Cambodia. If you're into the environment and want to study abroad, I highly suggest checking them out (www.fieldstudies.org/)! My program is specifically called Techniques for Wildlife Field Research. I will be learning a host of field research techniques so that I may study the animals indigenous to the savanna (I'm super stoked). 

Things to know about me unrelated to my trip:

-I'm a big fan of coffee (kahawa in Swahili) 

-My friends make fun of me because I wear a lot of black 

-I'm weirdly addicted to stickers (I think I am a four year old)

-Target is my heaven 

-I have a goal to read as many classic novels as I can

-I'm a really, really big fan of chocolate 

Sorry this was kinda long and probably boring. I had time to kill at Starbucks! If you have any questions (about me or my trip) feel free to ask!

Kwaheri (good bye) and only 50 more days! 

Dada vs. Baba

Wow. It's been a while since I've posted! Ochem kind of took over my life, but (thankfully) I am done!

Here is what has happened since March (not much):

-I'm slowly chipping away at buying all my supplies. Everything from electrical adaptors to sleeping bags! 

-I'm also slowly chipping away at getting all my shots. Unless you have 500 extra dollars laying around, don't get Yellow Fever and Typhoid immunizations unless you really need them! (side note: malaria pills are surprisingly inexpensive)

  *The rabies immunization has been giving me trouble, it is extremely expensive and no one seems to know where I can go to get it.

-Finally began learning Swahili! It really isn't that hard. Most of the pronunciations are the same as they are in English (at least in the case of consonants). There are just a few weird pronunciations that, as a native English speaker, are heard to force your tongue and throat to produce, but I'm getting there.

   *Here are a few of my favorite words/phrases so far:

    -kiti (pronounced keetee like a kitty): chair 

    -Habari za safari?: How was your journey? (it kinda just rolls off your tongue)

    -dada (imagine a child is saying it): sister (and of course, baba is father) 

    -Mmarekani (pronounced merry-kanee): American 

That's all I have for now! Only 51 more days!