So those of you who have been waiting in absolute suspension about my Luthuli trip- I give my deepest regard because I said I would write quickly about my experience as soon as I got back. Well hmm I don’t even remember when that was- I think I got back on last Wednesday perhaps. To me it is a good thing when I don’t blog. It’s like my journal that I have- I write in it often whenever I’m upset or emotional or down about things, but have a hard time writing when I’m happy and well. I have adopted such a different mindset from the first week that I got here- every single day I remind myself that I am here and to make the most of it. I know only too well that these precious months are going to fly by and I will be back in the states and doing what most ‘normal’ people do. Get a job and blah blah. SO I’m sucking up all I can here…my work, the animals, and the people.
Okay on to my Luthuli experience- I regret that I haven’t written sooner because I don’t necessarily remember specifics as well as I would have before but here goes…It was a four hour drive Northeast up through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. It wasn’t green persay and it wasn’t brown. It was a wonderful mix of tans and yellows and most of the bush and trees were new to my eyes. For most of the journey we were on a four lane highway but the remaining half hour was spent on a gravel/rocky road that almost knocked my teeth loose. I don’t think my body stopped shaking for a good ten minutes after we stopped the car. At first I thought it was fun, Hah but that quickly fizzled out. We stayed in the lodge and I’ve got wonderful pictures to show- but it consisted of 6 different hut style bedrooms each equipped with a bathroom and your very own mosquito netting around the bed. Sounds primative but it was beautiful with everything either made of wood or stone- very bushlike. As soon as we got there we went to go look at the genets and feed them. The purpose of us going there was to release them out of their hacking cage and also to bring food up for the troop of baboon CROW had released there earlier in July. The genets were good and we cut up and de-yolked 20 chicks and 20 small chicken hearts and laid them out in front of the door in order to lure them outside once it got dark. I guess I don’t know what I was expecting going on my first release of an animal from a hacking cage, but there were no party streamers or balloons ☺ we just opened the door, laid out the food and left. The next morning we would go back and see if they had left or not. The rest of the day was spent going on a hunt through the bush and looking for the baboons. We eventually heard them before we found them and followed their sounds for about a mile until we came upon them. They were certainly much bigger than the baboon troop left at CROW and I was astonished by their ability to fly through the trees as such high speeds. The growling/yelling noise made by the biggest male made my skin crawl- it was something between a snarl and bark that just sounded terrifying. I wouldn’t want one of them making that noise at me! After finding the baboons we drove around a bit to see what types of animals we could find. All in all I got to see giraffe, wildebeest, impala, kudu, inyalla, bushpig, warthogs, zebra, monkeys, baboons, guinea fowl and many birds of prey. They also have elephant and rhino and I was a little disappointed not to see them but satisfied nonetheless! The night was spent having our own personal braai at the lodge with just the two of us with a bottle of wine, steak and potatoes. It was delish! Wednesday morning we got up and checked on the genets- all were gone except for one (there were four) and left. It was a quick trip but it was my first real experience at a reserve that looked exactly like what I had in mind when picturing the African bush. It was wonderful!
Lets see….last night we had an escapee! Amy and I went to feed our dassies- I have three and she only has one left. One of her little guys died last week due to kidney failure- it was a sad moment ☹, but anyways- we went in their enclosure and I looked up towards the ceiling and there in between the mesh wire and the tiled roof was one of my dassies! We had no idea how he got there or how long he had been there. The enclosure also has an outside part that’s completely fenced in with a door that opens from the inside and we realized that he must have somehow gotten out of the cage from outside and then tried to get back inside the cage by going between the roof and the mesh on the ceiling. We ended up capturing him after a good half our of trying to somehow climb on the roof and then walking cautiously on the wire to the back where he was hiding. We got him back safe and sound and I must admit that I thought it was a fun adventure!
We have also had two visitors in our bathroom in the past few days. Spiders about the size of my palm have decided to venture into our house in order to seek refuge from the rain. Apparently it’s not uncommon for them to come into houses when it gets damp outside and other volunteers have found them under the couch and such, but both of these guys were in the bathroom right on the rug when someone got out of the shower. One was brown and one was gray- both were furry and had massive fangs about half an inch long! The first one freaked us out, but once learning they are not poisonous- a few of us got brave ☺ and decided to hold the second one we found. It was a test of willpower to just sit there and let it crawl around but I loved it!!
Yesterday we got two new baby bushpigs to join our one bushpig (named B.P.). These guys are one of the cutest things ever and I am thrilled to report that I was asked to handle their bottle-feeding! WooHoo!! Since my dassies are now only being fed three times a day, I find I have more free time and therefore was more than happy to take on the responsibility of feeding these two every 3 hours. They are about a foot long and covered in spots and lines and just so darn cute- I suppose ask me in a week and I may tell you I need a break but for now I’m really excited! The noises they make never fail to make me laugh and when they get excited they run around in circles and literally jump in the air and kick up their heels like Wilbur in of Charlotte’s Web- I really need to videotape it!
In a few weeks we are having a fundraiser for CROW- and guess what that fundraiser is??? SKYDIVING!!! YAH! I am so excited and love that I’m doing it for a good cause rather than just my own pleasure. We are in the process of calling up businesses and asking if they would want to donate to CROW- because we are skydiving for charity we get to do it at a reduced rate (which is really nice) and get to take 20 people up in the plane with us. I’m not sure when exactly this will be happening, but I will make sure to keep you all posted!
I am all out of news for the moment- we get a new volunteer on Thursday and two on Friday. We are also going out again this Friday. Oh that reminds me! All of us went out to a club this past Friday- it was called Eighties and I had one of the best times of my life! A club is pretty much a club anywhere you go, but let me just say that a lot more of these South African boys can dance than American boys. It made for a wonderful night and everyone had a blast. Ciao for now- I am well and happy.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
PICTURES!!
Hello Everyone- you will be happy to know that I have put up 25 pictures! They are very random and I have taken about 300 pics so far and this is only picking out 25...BUT it only cost me R45 to do them and an hour and half of downloading- it's not as expensive as I thought and therefore will try and put more up more frequently. I also plan to write about my Luthuli (correct spelling as compared to what I first called it) experience. It was great and I got to see all of the animals in the reserve except the elephants and rhinos. Please let me know what you think of the pics and Much love to everyone!
Monday, November 10, 2008
LeTulie
I am happy to report on some exciting news!! Tomorrow I am going to LeTulie!! Woooo HOOOO! LeTulie is a game reserve where CROW released a troop of baboons a few months ago. Every so often someone from CROW goes up there to check on them and bring them food. Tomorrow is my lucky day because I was asked if I wanted to go along. Some volunteers stay there for a week or even two, but I will be leaving tomorrow early morning and coming back on Wednesday. It doesn’t matter to me though because I’m going!! I have only heard amazing stories from the people who have been there. We stay at the lodge, which is located smack dab in the middle of the reserve and the last girl who stayed there woke up to a herd of wild elephants standing outside her bedroom window. Let’s just say that this is the type of thing that I was so looking forward to doing. I don’t know exactly what we are doing there other than driving the 6 hours north, picking up baboon food, finding the troop and dropping it off for them, staying the night and coming back the next day. I am bringing my camera fully charged as I hope to take lots of pictures- I will make sure and let you all know about my experience as soon as I get back!
As far as the rest of life- it’s going okay. I have been thinking a lot about what I love about this place and what I will miss when I am no longer here. #1 is the sounds. Silence just doesn’t exist here and I absolutely love it. Birds and insects of all kinds are constantly chattering away with most of the noises being ones I have never heard before. Another perk is the food. Every week we write down what we want and give the list to the head lady. She buys what we put down and la de da all the fresh food you could possibly desire. I will miss being able to go to the cupboard and pick out any fruit or vegetable I desire. Also the meat is amazing- our freezer is filled with all the pork, sausages, beef, and steak you could imagine. Before I got here I was nervous about what I would be eating but now my only worry is that I’ll eat too much!
I do know that this type of lifestyle fits me quite well. I get up without washing my face, (haven’t touched makeup since I got here) and put on comfy scrubby clothes- usually throw some sort of headband or wrap on my head and call it good. Not caring what I look like is something I hope to carry into my life when I get home. Well maybe not caring isn’t the correct word- more like not worrying. I’m comfortable and I’m dressed, that’s all that really matters. AND then it does make those times when you go out and dress up even better. We are planning to go out on Friday to celebrate Julie’s birthday. I’m quite excited to get a peek of the South African nightlife. Julie is from here and promises to show us a good time.
Sitting next to me are the two baby vervet monkeys (millie and Minnie) who have come to live with us. Two other babies have just come in, one who was being bullied by some kids and one whose mother was hit by a car, and these new ones are now being taken care of by Mable (the head monkey lady) and M&M have been given to Amy to care for. Amy is the volunteer who is staying here for a year and studying animal behavior. She is a little apprehensive about caring for these two but I told her not to worry because I would certainly volunteer to babysit whenever she needed a break ☺!
I know this is just a quick update but all is well right now and I am beyond excited about getting to go to LeTulie tomorrow!! Ciao!
As far as the rest of life- it’s going okay. I have been thinking a lot about what I love about this place and what I will miss when I am no longer here. #1 is the sounds. Silence just doesn’t exist here and I absolutely love it. Birds and insects of all kinds are constantly chattering away with most of the noises being ones I have never heard before. Another perk is the food. Every week we write down what we want and give the list to the head lady. She buys what we put down and la de da all the fresh food you could possibly desire. I will miss being able to go to the cupboard and pick out any fruit or vegetable I desire. Also the meat is amazing- our freezer is filled with all the pork, sausages, beef, and steak you could imagine. Before I got here I was nervous about what I would be eating but now my only worry is that I’ll eat too much!
I do know that this type of lifestyle fits me quite well. I get up without washing my face, (haven’t touched makeup since I got here) and put on comfy scrubby clothes- usually throw some sort of headband or wrap on my head and call it good. Not caring what I look like is something I hope to carry into my life when I get home. Well maybe not caring isn’t the correct word- more like not worrying. I’m comfortable and I’m dressed, that’s all that really matters. AND then it does make those times when you go out and dress up even better. We are planning to go out on Friday to celebrate Julie’s birthday. I’m quite excited to get a peek of the South African nightlife. Julie is from here and promises to show us a good time.
Sitting next to me are the two baby vervet monkeys (millie and Minnie) who have come to live with us. Two other babies have just come in, one who was being bullied by some kids and one whose mother was hit by a car, and these new ones are now being taken care of by Mable (the head monkey lady) and M&M have been given to Amy to care for. Amy is the volunteer who is staying here for a year and studying animal behavior. She is a little apprehensive about caring for these two but I told her not to worry because I would certainly volunteer to babysit whenever she needed a break ☺!
I know this is just a quick update but all is well right now and I am beyond excited about getting to go to LeTulie tomorrow!! Ciao!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
UShaka
Today was a good day. It started off as rainy but had cleared up to bright sunshine by 7am. I helped prepare and take out the morning food, then changed the birdcages- giving them fresh food and water. After that Jakki, Julie, and I headed off for UShaka. Our goal was to sit on the beach all day enjoying the sunshine and warm Indian Ocean. UShaka is a center filled with restaurants, shops, an aquarium, water park, and located directly on the ocean. I had been there before to eat but was really excited to plop down on my towel and relax for the day. The first thing I noticed when we got down to the waters edge was that it was covered with jellyfish. These guys were only about an inch in diameter but believe me when I say they can still get ya. I did, however, find them quite fun to step on! They make a satisfying popping noise and don’t hurt as long as you steer clear of the tentacles. We walked quite a ways down the beach looking for other people- we figured it was safer that way. After finding our place in the sun we laid down our towels, slathered on the sunblock, closed our eyes and- just as I was about to give a big happy sigh- was pelted with sand. Did I mention it was windy as all get up? Yes….the flags were blowing straight to the side and it was impossible to lay down without getting sand in every possible crack and crevice. Our drive to be at the beach outweighed the annoyance of the sand and so we stayed put for about an hour. Once we had all flipped from our backs to our stomachs we sort of woke up from our world and had a look around. We were a little surprised to find ourselves surrounded by about 100 others and us being the only white people. I really wasn’t nervous or worried- but we did pull our bags a little closer and keep one eye open- until a police man drove up to us on the sand and asked where we were from. We asked him why and he said we obviously aren’t from here because if we were, we wouldn’t have parked ourselves down where we did. He said we should probably get a move on and watch our back because people were watching our bags. Needless to say we put our clothes on rather quickly and hightailed it back to the center. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating sushi and perusing the various shops.
Fishing. We went to Kenneth Stainbank Reserve tonight and fished. I was really excited because I think fishing is fun and was looking forward to getting inside the big gates that run the parameter of the reserve. In my mind I just assumed this fishing experience was going to be like all the other ones I’ve had back home. Haha. Well as it turns out- after we all piled out of the back of the truck, we were sent off to find bamboo. Yup… we cut our own poles, tied on string, dug for worms, and tied them on ourselves. It was something I have always wanted to do- go fishing with a pole and string in the ole fashion way, but uh it quickly lost its magic. Throwing the string with nothing to weigh it down got to be very frustrating for me, then not to mention fish stealing my worms or them just falling off because I can’t tie them on right…and then having to go find new bait. Ahh…I did not catch one fish. It was a good time tho, but I think I’ll just admire the Norman Rockwell pictures of ole fashion fishin rather than do it again. ☺. We’ll see.
A lizard was on my ceiling in my room when I got back from fishing. Tomorrow I get to help catch some baboons; we are testing three of the babies for TB. I am quite sun burnt. A cockroach 2 inches long went running across my foot in the bathroom before I showered. It’s 9:30 and I’m tired.
Fishing. We went to Kenneth Stainbank Reserve tonight and fished. I was really excited because I think fishing is fun and was looking forward to getting inside the big gates that run the parameter of the reserve. In my mind I just assumed this fishing experience was going to be like all the other ones I’ve had back home. Haha. Well as it turns out- after we all piled out of the back of the truck, we were sent off to find bamboo. Yup… we cut our own poles, tied on string, dug for worms, and tied them on ourselves. It was something I have always wanted to do- go fishing with a pole and string in the ole fashion way, but uh it quickly lost its magic. Throwing the string with nothing to weigh it down got to be very frustrating for me, then not to mention fish stealing my worms or them just falling off because I can’t tie them on right…and then having to go find new bait. Ahh…I did not catch one fish. It was a good time tho, but I think I’ll just admire the Norman Rockwell pictures of ole fashion fishin rather than do it again. ☺. We’ll see.
A lizard was on my ceiling in my room when I got back from fishing. Tomorrow I get to help catch some baboons; we are testing three of the babies for TB. I am quite sun burnt. A cockroach 2 inches long went running across my foot in the bathroom before I showered. It’s 9:30 and I’m tired.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Leading this Life
Hello everyone! I finally got net and am taking the first opportunity to put my blogs up. I have not gone back and re-read what I wrote and I know my feelings at first were rather depressed and sad. Lets just say that things are improving in my mood- I’m used to being alone again, but I miss people like crazy. I’m getting to know my mates and realize we really aren’t so different. People have come and gone in the house and it makes me realize that I need to soak up every second of being here because once people are gone, they are gone. Never again will the house be the way it is with these certain people in it. The other Americans have left and therefore I am alone in the house with 5 UK’ers and one Swiss. Thanksgiving probably won’t happen this year. Alright, enjoy the blogs and the rollercoaster of emotions that go with them. Much love to everyone!
Dai Uno Oct, 22
So I’m sitting here in our living room surrounded by Laura, Emily, Ellen, Dan, and Tyler. All are from the UK except for me and Tyler- who is from Florida. I feel as though I am sitting in some strange strange world. I’m nervous because I am not someone who really does well in new areas and especially with people that I don’t know. The house that we are in is quite small for being currently inhabited by nine people. The living room consists of nothing but a TV, really great sound speakers that seem to always be full of someone’s IPOD, and five arm chairs- two couches. We have had many laughs since I’ve been here about different words and the different ways we pronounce those words. I have so much going through my head right now but there are so many distractions going on in the room that I can hardly concentrate. So please forgive me. The cat, Lucifer, is currently sitting on my lap and making it difficult to type. I am very happy there is a cat here- also a dog named Dingo.
Alright so I emailed a few of you and let you know that I made it and I told you all a little about my first day. I haven’t slept since I left Wales, which I believe is now going on some 38ish hours. I don’t really feel tired at the moment, and I just keep watching the time because it’s 8:40pm and I need to go re-feed the Dassies at 9. They need to be fed every three hours and I think I am going to start being in charge of them. We also have three Genets that need to be fed every 4-5 hours. This reminds me of my coon days and honestly I’m not really looking forward to having to go over to the clinic late at night and by 5am every morning I work. We’ll see how this works. The Dassies (no idea how to spell it) look like overgrown big guinea pigs. They constantly have a smile on their face and it just makes me giggle. There are three of them and while they are cute- they have these two sharp teeth right in front that they like to bear when they feel threatened.
Oct, 23 One bit me while I tried to grab and feed it yesterday and now today it’s a little sore and tender. This blog is really going to be all over the place and what I want to do is give you some idea of this place that I’m at, but my feelings are sort of overriding everything. I haven’t eaten much and I’m not hungry right now. It’s 7:30 am and I have to be up at the center at 8. I was up with Lynn at 4:45 to go take care of the Dassies and then went back to sleep. I got back up at 7:15 thinking I would eat and stuff, but all I want to do is crawl back under my covers and go to sleep. I know part of it is just feeling depressed and part of it is that I still haven’t caught up on any loss of sleep.
It’s cold here and I did not bring enough warm clothes with me. I will hopefully get to buy some sweatpants and a sweatshirt or something like that because all I have is one long sleeve shirt and that’s already dirty from the Baboons. It is really hard for me not to have internet and knowing that I can get in contact with people when I need them. No one has found a place for wireless and therefore a place to bring a laptop, but I am going to do my best to find one otherwise I have no idea how many blogs I will be able to post. It is different writing these and wondering if I will be able to put them up for others to see. I suppose I will probably write more honestly- that will also come of not really having only happy thoughts to express.
Right now I don’t know how I feel about this place. I really hope that it is just the newness of everything, because I really don’t want to give up and come home. It isn’t what I had thought it would be in my head. Guess that just goes to show how you shouldn’t necessarily have preconceived notions in your head but just accept what comes along. One of the girls in my room last night was snoring quite loud. Her bed is maybe a foot away from mine and even with earplugs it was loud enough. I thought to myself as I lay there that maybe this is why I came to Africa. To get over not being able to sleep with noise such as snoring or the ticking of clocks- I don’t know. I haven’t gotten a very good impression that I will be able to run anywhere…specially alone. The area around the center isn’t runable besides the main road that sort of leads from the houses up to the main building and clinic, and that road would take maybe two minutes to run- so that would be a lot of turning around and just general annoyance.
Basically I just miss people. I miss John and his presence and just being able to look at him and smile. I am trying to take so much strength from our love and knowing that we don’t have to be in the same place in order to express that and feel it. I miss the news and being able to keep up with it through the internet..mostly I have John to thank for that. Life is very much secluded here and I really don’t know if I will be able to last the whole time. I came here to find myself, but I feel as though I am hiding away in some place. It scares me so much. I don’t know if I can leave on my days off and go places alone- but since I got here in the middle of the week my days off fall differently than everyone’s. I can’t wait to get a phone and call people- I just don’t know when I’ll be able to get one.
If I post this- I’m sorry for all the complaints and if I don’t live up to everyone’s expectations. I think right now if offered the chance to leave I would. The only problem is not knowing where to go.
Same day- 4:14pm. One of the monkeys here has had twins. Emily and I went to see it- these monkeys are kept in an enclosure farther back away from where people don’t go. They were all quite curious about us and all the mothers brought their babies over to the front to show them off. It was lovely! Today I helped Tyler clean out the back of the ICU building. It was filthy and I had to climb up by the rafters in order to clean all the spider webs- and kept on getting surprised by the geoko’s running back and forth.
Oct, 24- Today was day three and I feel as though I’ve been here for at least a week. I have done a lot and yet I feel as though a lot of my time has been spent doing nothing. I really don’t have any clue what to do if I’m not following people around or just completing a task. That makes me feel pretty useless. I also realized just from what little I’ve done that I have a work ethic that is relatively high compared to most. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but if someone gives me a task I work at it till I complete it. A lot of the people here are much more relaxed and just go about things at their own pace- which is something I want to adapt into my lifestyle. People here just have an air about them that is peace and calm.
Today as I was leaving the Duiker enclosure I put a wire through my thumb. Okay I’ll back up and explain for those of you who are interested. All of the enclosures here are made of old wire mesh type fences and the gates to them are closed by various slide latches that are rusted and hard to slide. Usually you shake it and jimmy your hand so it slowly slides out, and that is what I did today. However, this latch was very hard and so I was pulling and jimmying very hard and when it got loose my hand shot over and freed the latch. Well…. where my hand moved there happened to be a wire about 3 cm in diameter that lined up perfectly with the middle of my thumb nail. It jabbed in and hurt like hell but I thought nothing much until I dropped the latch and I realized my hand was stuck. The wire was through my thumbnail and I had to use my other hand to slide my thumb backwards and off the wire. So I started saying “ow, ow, ow, ow, ow” and was rushed into the clinic where they treat the animals. I thought it wasn’t too serious but the Big man, Boss, Alister was the one who found the dot of blood on the other side of my thumb- meaning it went clear through. So that was fun. Of course, as my body adjusted and the shock wore off, the pain came strong and my eye started filling with tears. Nothing is worse than crying in front of people you really don’t know. The tears just kept coming and was compounded by still not being sure if I want to be here.
I am sorry to only report bad and sad things. This will hopefully change- at least it better or I will just stop blogging and save you all from reading!
Animals I’ve worked with so far:
-Blue and Grey Duikers
-Vervet monkeys
-Baboons
-Genets
-Dassies (Rock Hyrax) - these are the ones I am in charge of bottle feeding
-Slender, Water, and Banded Mongoose
-Bush Pigs (one baby and one massive male)
-And a lot A LOT of birds: pigeons, mouse birds, Seagulls, Bulbul, Hammerkop, Ring neck, tamburine, and laughing doves, Weaver, Hadedahs, Herons, Egyptian Geese, Spurwing, and Pelican - that is all I can think of as the moment.
I am looking forward to going on releases.
Nov 4th. I can not wait to hear the results from the election!! That was first on my mind and therefore the first thing I had to say. I finally have internet hooked up to my computer and so blogging should now be able to go fairly smooth from here on out. I shall give you all a quick rundown on what I’ve been up to and hopefully will just update more thoroughly from now on. These events are in no particular order and very random.
-Two new dassie’s have arrived which means I am now in charge of Huey, Duey, Luey, Donald, and Daisy. They are starting to develop personalities and are very cheeky!
-The porcupine that came in with the top of his head skinned off had to get put to sleep.
-Baby ostrich came in with a broken leg and had to be put down. If you ever get a chance to see one please do! They are possibly the cutest things- it looked exactly like an adult but only about a foot tall.
-Help with the feeding of baby baboons- I hope to get video of them grooming me (love it!)
-Several trips to Mont Clair to get my computer working – also shopping
-Several trips to the Pavillion- shopping center that rivals Mall of America- I feel as though I get transported back to America as soon as I step through the doors.
-Many many Braai’s with lots of drinking- most of it not done by me ☺
-The escape of baby baboon, Boris. And recapture
-Getting attacked by Martha the terrorizing guinea fowl
-Cleaning and cleaning and preparing food and more preparing food
Basic rundown, nothing else of real significance really comes to mind at the moment. I did have the opportunity to go and stay at Rain Farm- a place where we released 8 dassies and two blue duikers. Jakki and I had to stay at the farm to feed them while they were kept in the holding cage for a few days. We spent the days in a luxury farmhouse that was all wooden floors and open beam ceilings. We were located right on the lake, our kitchen actually hung out over the lake and we were able to swim off the front to our own personal island. We also got taken on several game drives throughout the park to see all that’s being held there: zebra, impala, inyalla, wildebeest, monkey, emu, ostrich, duiker, and other small game. We also came into contact with a black mamba- the deadliest snake found around here. If you get bit and are not given anti-venom within 15 minutes- you’re toast. It was a great experience.
My view on being here has changed somewhat. The reason I came to C.R.O.W. was to get experience for my career in working with animals- in some way. Being here for two weeks- and talking to others who are here and have been here- the experience I am seeking I will not get. I have wrapped my mind around this and decided not to stay here at C.R.O.W. for the full four months. I have been given the opportunity to possibly work in a game reserve farther down on the Eastern Cape. I will let everyone know what is going on as soon as I know anything of significance.
I have no idea if I will be able to upload any photos. I was told that it costs R2 for every 300 bytes that I upload onto the internet. I really don’t know how much my pictures are and so I may try to put a few up, but more than likely it will be after I get home or if I find free internet farther down the cape.
While I’m thinking about it- Mom, the address here is:
C.O. Mabel Watts
FAO: Tiffany Fisk
The Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW)
P.O. Box 53007
Yellowwood Park 401
Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa
Dai Uno Oct, 22
So I’m sitting here in our living room surrounded by Laura, Emily, Ellen, Dan, and Tyler. All are from the UK except for me and Tyler- who is from Florida. I feel as though I am sitting in some strange strange world. I’m nervous because I am not someone who really does well in new areas and especially with people that I don’t know. The house that we are in is quite small for being currently inhabited by nine people. The living room consists of nothing but a TV, really great sound speakers that seem to always be full of someone’s IPOD, and five arm chairs- two couches. We have had many laughs since I’ve been here about different words and the different ways we pronounce those words. I have so much going through my head right now but there are so many distractions going on in the room that I can hardly concentrate. So please forgive me. The cat, Lucifer, is currently sitting on my lap and making it difficult to type. I am very happy there is a cat here- also a dog named Dingo.
Alright so I emailed a few of you and let you know that I made it and I told you all a little about my first day. I haven’t slept since I left Wales, which I believe is now going on some 38ish hours. I don’t really feel tired at the moment, and I just keep watching the time because it’s 8:40pm and I need to go re-feed the Dassies at 9. They need to be fed every three hours and I think I am going to start being in charge of them. We also have three Genets that need to be fed every 4-5 hours. This reminds me of my coon days and honestly I’m not really looking forward to having to go over to the clinic late at night and by 5am every morning I work. We’ll see how this works. The Dassies (no idea how to spell it) look like overgrown big guinea pigs. They constantly have a smile on their face and it just makes me giggle. There are three of them and while they are cute- they have these two sharp teeth right in front that they like to bear when they feel threatened.
Oct, 23 One bit me while I tried to grab and feed it yesterday and now today it’s a little sore and tender. This blog is really going to be all over the place and what I want to do is give you some idea of this place that I’m at, but my feelings are sort of overriding everything. I haven’t eaten much and I’m not hungry right now. It’s 7:30 am and I have to be up at the center at 8. I was up with Lynn at 4:45 to go take care of the Dassies and then went back to sleep. I got back up at 7:15 thinking I would eat and stuff, but all I want to do is crawl back under my covers and go to sleep. I know part of it is just feeling depressed and part of it is that I still haven’t caught up on any loss of sleep.
It’s cold here and I did not bring enough warm clothes with me. I will hopefully get to buy some sweatpants and a sweatshirt or something like that because all I have is one long sleeve shirt and that’s already dirty from the Baboons. It is really hard for me not to have internet and knowing that I can get in contact with people when I need them. No one has found a place for wireless and therefore a place to bring a laptop, but I am going to do my best to find one otherwise I have no idea how many blogs I will be able to post. It is different writing these and wondering if I will be able to put them up for others to see. I suppose I will probably write more honestly- that will also come of not really having only happy thoughts to express.
Right now I don’t know how I feel about this place. I really hope that it is just the newness of everything, because I really don’t want to give up and come home. It isn’t what I had thought it would be in my head. Guess that just goes to show how you shouldn’t necessarily have preconceived notions in your head but just accept what comes along. One of the girls in my room last night was snoring quite loud. Her bed is maybe a foot away from mine and even with earplugs it was loud enough. I thought to myself as I lay there that maybe this is why I came to Africa. To get over not being able to sleep with noise such as snoring or the ticking of clocks- I don’t know. I haven’t gotten a very good impression that I will be able to run anywhere…specially alone. The area around the center isn’t runable besides the main road that sort of leads from the houses up to the main building and clinic, and that road would take maybe two minutes to run- so that would be a lot of turning around and just general annoyance.
Basically I just miss people. I miss John and his presence and just being able to look at him and smile. I am trying to take so much strength from our love and knowing that we don’t have to be in the same place in order to express that and feel it. I miss the news and being able to keep up with it through the internet..mostly I have John to thank for that. Life is very much secluded here and I really don’t know if I will be able to last the whole time. I came here to find myself, but I feel as though I am hiding away in some place. It scares me so much. I don’t know if I can leave on my days off and go places alone- but since I got here in the middle of the week my days off fall differently than everyone’s. I can’t wait to get a phone and call people- I just don’t know when I’ll be able to get one.
If I post this- I’m sorry for all the complaints and if I don’t live up to everyone’s expectations. I think right now if offered the chance to leave I would. The only problem is not knowing where to go.
Same day- 4:14pm. One of the monkeys here has had twins. Emily and I went to see it- these monkeys are kept in an enclosure farther back away from where people don’t go. They were all quite curious about us and all the mothers brought their babies over to the front to show them off. It was lovely! Today I helped Tyler clean out the back of the ICU building. It was filthy and I had to climb up by the rafters in order to clean all the spider webs- and kept on getting surprised by the geoko’s running back and forth.
Oct, 24- Today was day three and I feel as though I’ve been here for at least a week. I have done a lot and yet I feel as though a lot of my time has been spent doing nothing. I really don’t have any clue what to do if I’m not following people around or just completing a task. That makes me feel pretty useless. I also realized just from what little I’ve done that I have a work ethic that is relatively high compared to most. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but if someone gives me a task I work at it till I complete it. A lot of the people here are much more relaxed and just go about things at their own pace- which is something I want to adapt into my lifestyle. People here just have an air about them that is peace and calm.
Today as I was leaving the Duiker enclosure I put a wire through my thumb. Okay I’ll back up and explain for those of you who are interested. All of the enclosures here are made of old wire mesh type fences and the gates to them are closed by various slide latches that are rusted and hard to slide. Usually you shake it and jimmy your hand so it slowly slides out, and that is what I did today. However, this latch was very hard and so I was pulling and jimmying very hard and when it got loose my hand shot over and freed the latch. Well…. where my hand moved there happened to be a wire about 3 cm in diameter that lined up perfectly with the middle of my thumb nail. It jabbed in and hurt like hell but I thought nothing much until I dropped the latch and I realized my hand was stuck. The wire was through my thumbnail and I had to use my other hand to slide my thumb backwards and off the wire. So I started saying “ow, ow, ow, ow, ow” and was rushed into the clinic where they treat the animals. I thought it wasn’t too serious but the Big man, Boss, Alister was the one who found the dot of blood on the other side of my thumb- meaning it went clear through. So that was fun. Of course, as my body adjusted and the shock wore off, the pain came strong and my eye started filling with tears. Nothing is worse than crying in front of people you really don’t know. The tears just kept coming and was compounded by still not being sure if I want to be here.
I am sorry to only report bad and sad things. This will hopefully change- at least it better or I will just stop blogging and save you all from reading!
Animals I’ve worked with so far:
-Blue and Grey Duikers
-Vervet monkeys
-Baboons
-Genets
-Dassies (Rock Hyrax) - these are the ones I am in charge of bottle feeding
-Slender, Water, and Banded Mongoose
-Bush Pigs (one baby and one massive male)
-And a lot A LOT of birds: pigeons, mouse birds, Seagulls, Bulbul, Hammerkop, Ring neck, tamburine, and laughing doves, Weaver, Hadedahs, Herons, Egyptian Geese, Spurwing, and Pelican - that is all I can think of as the moment.
I am looking forward to going on releases.
Nov 4th. I can not wait to hear the results from the election!! That was first on my mind and therefore the first thing I had to say. I finally have internet hooked up to my computer and so blogging should now be able to go fairly smooth from here on out. I shall give you all a quick rundown on what I’ve been up to and hopefully will just update more thoroughly from now on. These events are in no particular order and very random.
-Two new dassie’s have arrived which means I am now in charge of Huey, Duey, Luey, Donald, and Daisy. They are starting to develop personalities and are very cheeky!
-The porcupine that came in with the top of his head skinned off had to get put to sleep.
-Baby ostrich came in with a broken leg and had to be put down. If you ever get a chance to see one please do! They are possibly the cutest things- it looked exactly like an adult but only about a foot tall.
-Help with the feeding of baby baboons- I hope to get video of them grooming me (love it!)
-Several trips to Mont Clair to get my computer working – also shopping
-Several trips to the Pavillion- shopping center that rivals Mall of America- I feel as though I get transported back to America as soon as I step through the doors.
-Many many Braai’s with lots of drinking- most of it not done by me ☺
-The escape of baby baboon, Boris. And recapture
-Getting attacked by Martha the terrorizing guinea fowl
-Cleaning and cleaning and preparing food and more preparing food
Basic rundown, nothing else of real significance really comes to mind at the moment. I did have the opportunity to go and stay at Rain Farm- a place where we released 8 dassies and two blue duikers. Jakki and I had to stay at the farm to feed them while they were kept in the holding cage for a few days. We spent the days in a luxury farmhouse that was all wooden floors and open beam ceilings. We were located right on the lake, our kitchen actually hung out over the lake and we were able to swim off the front to our own personal island. We also got taken on several game drives throughout the park to see all that’s being held there: zebra, impala, inyalla, wildebeest, monkey, emu, ostrich, duiker, and other small game. We also came into contact with a black mamba- the deadliest snake found around here. If you get bit and are not given anti-venom within 15 minutes- you’re toast. It was a great experience.
My view on being here has changed somewhat. The reason I came to C.R.O.W. was to get experience for my career in working with animals- in some way. Being here for two weeks- and talking to others who are here and have been here- the experience I am seeking I will not get. I have wrapped my mind around this and decided not to stay here at C.R.O.W. for the full four months. I have been given the opportunity to possibly work in a game reserve farther down on the Eastern Cape. I will let everyone know what is going on as soon as I know anything of significance.
I have no idea if I will be able to upload any photos. I was told that it costs R2 for every 300 bytes that I upload onto the internet. I really don’t know how much my pictures are and so I may try to put a few up, but more than likely it will be after I get home or if I find free internet farther down the cape.
While I’m thinking about it- Mom, the address here is:
C.O. Mabel Watts
FAO: Tiffany Fisk
The Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW)
P.O. Box 53007
Yellowwood Park 401
Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa
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