Amandine's Adventures

New blog

2010-06-21T16:05:00.001-07:00

Check out my new travel blog at: https://amandinodon.wordpress.com/

A few more days until Kenya...

2009-07-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

So, we've been working hard this week, and gotten all the planned excavations finished. There may be one more, but I think we'll wait to start that after we get back from Kenya. Right now we're working the garage, cleaning things. We've scheduled a carpenter to come by and are having awesome tall shelves made for the garage. We are very excited!

We got up early and got a few more hours of work in on Saturday, so that we could drive up to Lake Kivu beach and spend the night there. So I'm currently in the comfiest hotel bed, relaxing before we go get breakfast on the beach. Everyone jokes that no one will think we got any work done because we have consistently taken a day off every week to come here and take a majority of our photos here.

On a sad note, Aaron and I lost our buddy Onyx yesterday. He was a sweet black cat and even though we're not positive as to how old he was, I think he lived a good life. I going to miss you, Sheriff Onyx.

Lake Kivu

2009-07-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

So on our day off today we went to Lake Kivu beach in Gesenyi, which is a town on the Western edge of Rwanda near the border of DRC. It was just as beautiful as everyone has claims it is. We drove an hour to the lake and basically walked through a hotel onto their beach with no problems. Looked and felt like we were at the ocean. Steve did some birding, while the rest of us got some sun. I'm turning a lovely shade of pink and my freckles are getting ridiculously brown, while everyone else tans nicely.

I know I keep mentioning we, and I thought I would just quickly explain who these "we" are. Shannon is here again, and this year she brought her husband and 5 yr old daughter, Sophie. In addition we have a doctoral student, Erin Marie, also from George Washington University who is chronicling our field season in a series of blogs and audio clips for NPR's website. I'll post a link when I get ahold of it.

Overall it was a great day. I didn't have a chance to visit many places last year, so this day trip has already made up for that. At the end of the day we saw some giant bats hanging in the trees as well as a pair of African grey parrots, which are apparently rarely seen in the wild due to their value in the bird market.

photos

2009-07-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

So I got a new macro lens before I left and I've been testing it out. FYI - I resized this significantly and now that I've uploaded it, it doesn't seem as vivid. The flowers here are very beautiful and colorful, so always end up taking a ton of snapshots.

2009-07-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

We went into town yesterday, which was is always an interesting experience. I got nice fabrics (like the one below) for table cloths, etc. So I’m going to attempt to describe what it’s like to be here. It’s amazing how many people come out here to visit the mountain gorillas every day. Yet they rarely venture out of their hotel’s view since they’re only in town for a day or two at most. Each hotel has a restaurant and gift shop, enough that you really wouldn’t need to leave. As a result, the mizungus (rich white tourists) are kept away from the locals. Once you leave your compound, you’re never alone. People stare a lot. They sometimes stop in their tracks. They practice bits of French with you...bonjour mizungu. They laugh. They whisper. They try to get your attention. It’s like you’re a novelty. And even though it isdifferent and necessary to get used to, it’s not dangerous here. People don’t try to touch or grab you. It’s safe to walk alone outside of town.

So even though a lot of locals are able to speak some French, I’m really trying to pick up some Kenyarwanda and practicing every day. This further amuses locals, since only see a few mizungus in town every month and don’t expect it. So it sometimes backfires when I ask someone something very simple, like how they are doing, at which point they respond in several sentences.

A little vocab lesson (I know, I know...you've been dying to learn some Kenyarwanda)

White person/rich tourist........... mizungu

good morning.............................. mwaramutse

hello.............................................. muraho

goodbye....................................... murabeho

thank you..................................... murakoze

thank you very much................. murakoze cyane

you’re welcome.......................... murakaza neza

how are you?.............................. bite / amakuru

I’m fine.......................................... nmeza

I don’t understand...................... simbyumva

yes................................................. yego

no.................................................. oya

water............................................. amazi

coffee............................................ ikawa

passion fruit................................. amatunda

The view from our front porch

Saw this when we went into a shop to get some extra keys made. There were a ton of these happy keys all over the walls.

Back to Rwanda for 6 weeks

2009-06-16T14:55:00.001-07:00

So we're returning for a second field season in less than 2 weeks! I'm excited and can't believe how fast this is approaching. Last summer I learned that our satellite internet is extremely slow, which makes uploading photos or even a paragraph of words extremely difficult...especially if clouds roll by. But I promise that I will try to update more often this year. Given that a few articles have come out in the past few months and we presented a poster on the collection at the 2009 AAPA meeting, I should be able to provide more interesting details this time around. I was urged to be cautious last year, which is exactly what I did. Makes for boring blogging doesn't it?

For anyone that hasn't seen it, here's a link to the UIndy article: http://www.uindy.edu/news/?p=1713

This year, I leave on June 27th and returning on August 9th. So check back every so often because I'm going to try to update at least once a week, if not more.

Ciao!

I'm back

2008-08-17T18:16:00.001-07:00

So I didn't realize how long it really had been since I updated this. I obviously failed. I just got back today after having a pretty intense week of work. National Geographic helped fund the project and decided to send a photographer out to document things at the very end of our trip, which meant a lot of things had to be put off until then. Fortunately I was able to finish data collection for the summer.

Here's a photo of the Susa River (mind you it's dry season, so it doesn't seem as amazing). We walked this trail way too many times.

Check out this awesome earthworm we found along the trail.

2008-07-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

So last Thursday we climbed up to Dian Fossey’s gorilla graveyard, which took about 2 hours. It was a great hike and we saw a lot of buffalo tracks…but no buffalo. During our climb a lone silverback ran across the trail, but it was so far ahead that I didn't see much.

I forgot I wanted to mention that about a week ago I was able to survey an area where they house confiscated orphan gorillas. They're kept in this quarantine facility before they can hopefully be rehabilitated back into wild groups. I mostly saw the eastern lowland gorillas and one mountain gorilla. These photos are of the oldest lowland gorilla in the orphan facility…she’s soon going to be released into the wild. As I left I noticed one of the gorillas playing with a huge shovel…and it was nicer than the ones we have here.

Oh and this is where I've been working most of the time...out of a large brick garage.

2008-07-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

So we've been passing this sign everyday and I constantly get a kick out of it. I mean a gorilla drinking tea...priceless. Thought someone out there might enjoy it as much as I do! So we've had a busy week but unfortunately I can't really mention much of it. I will be hiking a mountain tomorrow and am crossing my fingers that we accidentally stumble upon live gorillas or vice versa. It happens....so you never know. I've met an eclectic bunch of people here who inform me of all kinds of interesting things.

Fact: Canadian meth addicts are prone to "hammer fighting."

I don't know about you...but there is just something hilarious about that when you say it out loud. Or I'm just so exhausted that everything sounds funny.

My new buddy...

2008-07-11T08:15:00.001-07:00

We went on a walk in this forest today where there were giant steps and walkways made of pumice stone. It was very beautiful to say the least!

We also found this chameleon! Yes I know...I'm very pale. The little guy didn't know what color to change to since my level of paleness doesn't really exist in nature.

And here you will find Steve doing what he does best...birding.

2008-07-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is a shot of the Mount Sabyinyo from our backyard

So I finally made it to Ruhengeri where I’ve been spending the week cataloging and screening material while others went to buy equipment. We are not allowed to begin the recovery until next Monday, but are luckily allowed to probe areas.

The other day I went on a long walk with Steve & a grad student here who is studying reptiles and amphibians to find specimens. So we went along back roads where we accumulated a mass of well over 30 children and curious old adults who helped search for lizards and snakes with the prospect of getting the equivalent of about 20 cents for each one found. It was a very interesting experience…people just want to touch you or ask for money or practice the little French or English they know. I’m having a great time right now, but still am looking forward to coming home…even if it’s Indiana.

A few more photos...

2008-07-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

I swear to god...this red bush is a giant poinsettia. Uh huh, the kind you buy for relatives around Christmas. They're very popular here.

Greetings from Kigali

2008-07-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

I’ve finally gotten some time on the internet so I thought I’d write a little. We arrived safely and have been staying in the capital Kigali the last few days. It’s a beautiful city with lots of little valleys everywhere and rich orange-red soil. I’ll take a few more photos of the hillsides when I have a chance.

We are staying at the Chez Lando Hotel...which has some pretty nice landscaping.

As of now we’ve been meeting with people and talking about the project. Information and photos of the excavation are going to be slightly restricted, but I’ll still try to keep things updated.

Here we go...

2008-06-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

As almost everyone knows by now, I am leaving soon to help with a mountain gorilla skeletal recovery project in Rwanda. So I'm going to attempt to chronicle this summer as thoroughly as possible.

Now please keep in mind I don't normally blog very much, but I will be adding photos whenever I have the opportunity. I'm unsure as to how often I will have internet access, so posting on this site will help me cut down on mass emails all while visually enticing you. Though I'm sure I will be busy I welcome any comments or emails from everyone!