Hey all
So we got into Nairobi on the 2nd (HAPPY MARCH B.T.W!!) and we have been pretty much studying our butts off, in between lectures and days at the National Museum... I just got out of my final exam for Orno and gosh does it feel good to be done with another class. These 2.5 week full-course stints are super hard core and often really tough, especially when you are doing 2-3 lectures a day, squeezed in between activities and meals... they are jam-packed days and we are really exhausted after this module. Yesterday was a much- needed change of pace: Dr Bird took us t the National Museum to explore the ornithology department (so the change of pace was really just a change in location). WE were actually taken behind the scenes to the research department... its essentially a huge bird morgue. Vegetarians beware! Drawers and drawers of stuffed birds, every species of birds in Kenya and many from other parts of East Africa. WE were shown everything from baby ostriches, tiny tiny kingfishers to mamooth monkey-eating eagles with terrfiying talons. It was really cool. Gaming for birds was made illegal in the 70s, so now only about 10-20 birds are added to the collection at the museum each year, and most of these are due to road kills or migratory collisions.
To emphasis our crazy days, today we had our finals at 9-11, and after lunch we are going to Mathare slums, the largest slum in East Africa, larger than the Kibera slums we visited when we were last in Nairobi. Just to exhaust us physically, mentally AND emotionally, tonight we have the chance to go out on the town-- to a pricey dinner at SafariPark (which I'm opting out of for economic and slightly ethical reasons after seeing poverty) and then to the discotheque there.
Tomorrow, oh my I can't wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow is our first day off since the start of this trip. We have a whole day to sleep, do laundry, catch up on journals and hang out! After the last 2 weeks especially, we all really really need some R&R.
In the mean time, however, I have two assignments to finish up and a site presentation to prepare for, so I should rush off and finish those before lunch!!
I hope all is well at home! I'll write again before we leave Nairobi on Sat morning
xoxoxoxo
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Hi Marion! I was thinking about you today and was so happy to discover that you had a blog! How smart! It's extremely late here but once I started reading, I couldn't stop. You write about your travels so beautifully, and I know you are truly making the most of your time there. I'm sure I'm not the first to say that I wish I were there with you! What a way to travel and learn. I can't believe you have been there almost 3 mos now! Anyway, can't wait to hear your gazillion stories once you return :D take care, lots of hugs!
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