Images of our second home.

Here are some photos taken on the Daraja Academy campus and around.  I also threw a random animal photo in there.

Daraja volunteer Cora and the garden shed she is building for Daraja's garden.  What an amazing 18 year old she is!

View of the Daraja kitchen and dining hall.

Thompson's gazelles

The rondavel that Bennet and I reside in while at Daraja

Our water heater.  We get scalding hot showers when the sun shines!

One of Daraja's resident cows attempting to snack out of the compost heap.

Species List: An Update

Just thought that I would repost the species list – because it has grown considerably.  This past weekend we traveled to the eastern coast.  I expected to see a slew of different bird species, but I only came across a handful, probably due to the decimation of the forested regions and the ever-increasing human population (including an influx of tourists).  We now realized how lucky we are to be living in the Laikipia Plateau – one of the most diverse regions of Kenya outside of the big national parks.  All species otherwise not labeled are species we have seen within the Laikipia Plateau.  Species found outside of this vicinity are labeled according to the region they were seen.  Many were seen at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage located in Nanyuki.  The orphanage takes in animals for rehabilitation and eventual release (condition dependent). They also have a very successful bongo breeding-program.  Their aim is the release of the population onto their native slopes of Mt. Kenya, although they are encountering resistance from scientists/geneticists who would like the bongos to remain confined so as to more easily access them/utilize them for their own purposes. Those found outside of the orphanage are wild/free-roaming.

The pictures below were taken yesterday of a giraffe we encountered on our drive from Daraja into the bush - and just a minute down the road from where we were staying! I think the giraffe is one of the most spectacular animals to see in the wild - something about their silhouette against the expansive African sky.  When they run,  it seems like they are doing so in slow motion, due to their size and exaggerated strides.

I am  becoming more acquainted with the troop of baboons that I will hopefully be researching.  Around 9 AM they migrate onto our land and spend a good deal of the daytime hours foraging here - often congregating outside our trash pits, extracting large pieces of discarded vegetable matter.  Fortunately (for their health) we do not produce much waste here other than a minimal amount of organic matter, but still it is not favorable that they learn to rely on our garbage as a supplement to their regular diet.  Although, the baboon is one of the most adaptable non-human primate species, and during times of drought they would diversify their diet to include different species (animal and plant) not normally exploited (even small monkeys, such as the vervet - which we also find along our river banks).  So, if the garbage produced at any time diminishes, they will soon find something else to replace the lost calories.  Troop size appears to be around 18-22 individuals (group size fluctuates frequently as adult males migrate in and out of the groups, females remain in their natal group for life - their dominance rank remains stable as well, meaning that females are born into their place in life and have no opportunity of advancement.  This female life-situation seems kind of dour but studies show that the males fluctuating ranking and continuous attempts to dominate all, causes much higher stress levels).  I flanked the troop this morning and was able to observe a linear progression of them (18 on this occasion, including 2 infants aged 4 months and under, riding dorsally on adults.  They are not habituated, and so this currently does not permit close and sustained observations.  Anyway, enough on animals - will post a blog soon on our recent trip to Mombasa and around, and some more on human culture and behavior.

Maria

SPECIES LIST

Birds

1. White-bellied go away bird: Criniferoides leucogaster

2. Von der Decken’s hornbill: Tockus deckeni

3. Red-billed hornbill: Tockus e. erythrorhyncus

4. Superb starling: Lamptotorns superbus 

5. Pied crow: Corvus albus

6. Wood warbler: Phylloscopus ibikatrix

7. Grey-capped social weaver: Pseudonigrita arnaudi

8. Red-billed quelea: Quelea quelea aethipica 

9. Somali ostrich: Stuthio (camelus) molybdophanes

10. Vulture guinea fowl: Acryllium vulturinum 

12. Ring-necked dove: Streptopelia capicola semalica

13. White-browed scrub robin: Cercotrichas leurophrys

14. Speckled mousebird: Colius striatus kikuyuensis

15. Greater blue-eared starling: Lamprotornis c. chloropterus (larger and more uniformed colored glossy starling, sympatric with superb starling)

16. Purple grenadier: Uraeginthus ianthinogasta

17. Marico sunbird: Nectarinia mariquensis snarelica 

18. D’Arnaud’s barbet: Trachyphorus darnaudii

19. Hadada ibis: Bostrychia hagedash brevivostis 

20. Cardinal woodpecker: Dendropicos fuscescens

21. Sprosser (or thrush) nightingale: Luscinia luscinia

22. Yellow-necked spurfowl: Francolinus leucoscepus 

23. Green-capped Eremomela: Eremomela scotops kikuyensis

24. Grey headed sparrow: Passer griseus 

25. Common bulbul: Pycnonotus barbatus tricolor 

26. Grey-wren warbler: Calamonastes simplex 

27. Slate-coloured bou bou: Laniarius funebris 

28. Grey-backed camaroptera: Camaroptera brachyura tincta 

29. Black-capped social weaver Pseudonigrita cabanisi

30. Wire-tailed swallow: Hirundo r. rustica

31. Southern black flycatcher: Melaenornis pammelaina

32. Fan-tailed raven: Corvus rhipidurus 

33. Common drongo: Dicrurus a. adsimilis

34. Lappet-faced vulture: Torgos t. tracheliotus

35. Laughing dove: Streptopelia s. senegalensis

36. Emerald –spotted wood dove: Turtur chalcospilos   

37. Speckle-fronted weaver: Sporopipes frontalis emini

38. Vitelline masked weaver: Ploceus velatus uluensis

39. Kori bustard: Ardeotis kori struthinunculus  

40. Speckled pigeon: Columba g. guinea (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

41. Rufous Chatterer: 

42. Long-toed lapwing (plover): Vanellus crassirostris 

43. Crowned lapwing (plover): Vanellus conronatus 

44. Helmeted guineafowl: Guttera pucherani

45. Pied wheatear: Oeanthe p. pleschanka 

46. Spotted morning thrush: Chichladusa g. guttata 

47. Marabou stork: Leptoptilus crumeniferus (Nairobi, Nanyuki, Watamu)

48. Egyptian goose: Alopochen aegyptiacus

49. Grey-crowned crane: Balearica regulorum gibbericeps (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage)

50. Red-winged starling: Onychognathus morio (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

51. Lilac-breasted roller: Coracias caudata

52. White-bellied bustard: Eupodotis senegalensis canicollis

53. Three banded plover: Charadrius t. tricollaris (Watamu)

54. Whimbrel: Numenius p. phaeopus (Watamu)

55. Angola swallow: Hirundo s. splendes (Daraja Academy, Nanyuki)

56. House crow: Covus s. splendes (Shanzu)
57. Black saw-wing or rough wing: Psalidoprocne a. albiceps

58. African firefinch: Lagonosticta rubricata hildebrandti

Reptiles & Amphibians

1. Striped skink: Mabuya striata

2. Red-headed rock agama: Agama agama

3. Rainbow skink: Mabuya margaritifer

4. Great plated lizard: Gerrhosaurus major

5. Leopard tortoise: Geochelone pardalis

6. Sharp nosed rocket frog or Mascarene rocket frog: Ptychadena oxyrhynchus or Ptychadena mascareniensis

7. Tropical house gecko: Hemidactylus maboula

8. Nile monitor: Varanus niloticus

9. Galapagos tortoise: (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native only to the Galapagos.)

Mammals

1. Dwarf mongoose: Helogale parvula

2. Impala: Aepyceros melampus

5. Giraffe: Giraffa camelopardalis

6. Vervet monkey: Cercopithecus aethiops

7. Olive baboon: Papio anubis

8. Grevy’s zebra: Equus grevyi

9. Burchell’s zebra: Equus burchelli

10. Kirk’s dik dik: Madoqua kirkii

11. Rock hyrax: Procavia capensis

12. Thomson’s gazelle: Gazella thomsoni

13. Warthog: Phacochoerus aethiopicus

14. Spotted hyena: Crocuta crocuta

15. Elephant: Loxodonta Africana

16. Black-backed jackal: Canis mesomelas

17. Scrub hare: Lexus saxatilis

18. Squirrel: Xerus sp.

19. Gerenuk: Litocranius walleri

20. Bush buck: Tragelaphus scriptus (spotted a solitary one across river – seemed a deep reddish color, rounded rump, short tail)

21. Blue/sykes monkey: Cercopithecus mitis (Gedi)

22. Patas monkey: Erythrocebus patas (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

23. Guereza black and white colobus: Colobus guereza (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

24. Bongo: Tragelaphus (Boocercus) euryceros (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage and Breeding Center. Native to Kenya.)

25. Pigmy hippopotamus: Hexoprotodon liberiensis (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage – not native to Kenya or Eastern Africa. Found only in Western Africa coastal areas)

26. Cape or savanna buffalo: Syncerus c. caffer (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

27. Lichtenstein’s hartebeest: Sigmoceros (Alcelaphus) lichtensteini (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Not native to Kenya but found in Tanzania and south.)

28. Blue wildebeest (brindled gnu): Connochaetes taurinus (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

29. Cheetah: Acinonyx jubatus (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

30. Caracal: Caracal caracal (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage. Native to Kenya.)

31. North African porcupine: Hystrix cristata (Mt. Kenya Safari Club Orphanage)

32. Oryx: Oryx gazella beisa

33. Grant’s gazelle: Gazella granti

34. Camel: (Domesticated)

Halloween

We had an overdue Halloween celebration for the Daraja girls last night.  We set up several classroom as trick or treat stations, each with a game to earn their treat.  The celebration was planned last minute;  during lunchtime an announcement was made that there was to be a party that evening and to come in costume.  Despite having little time to plan or gather materials, these girls had some of the most creative costumes I have ever seen.  The highlight of the night was the cat walk show the girls participated in, in an attempt to earn the awards of: craziest costume, best use of non-clothing items, most original, and best cat walk.  Bennet and I laughed hysterically as the girls (many with part of their costume being enhanced body parts, e.g. a pregnant belly or rotund rump) danced up and down the dining hall aisle.  Good times!

Beach bum Bennett playing the mandolin.

Change

It has been a long time since an update, a story….

So, my thesis work is finally officially underway.   The phrase “pole pole”, “slowly, slowly” (which I think should be the national slogan) continues to be relevant in all domains.  I am learning to expect the unexpected, and I am trying really hard to accept not being in complete control.  It has been a much different experience (mentally) living and working somewhere, as opposed to traveling within a country - while also attempting to adhere to U.S. deadlines and a U.S. manner of dealing with things.  I am now (sort of), living in the NOW, albeit often lost somewhere in my thoughts, but Bennett comes to find me and reminds me of the NOW.

Bennett and I are currently staying at the Daraja Academy – just 25 kilometers outside of Nanyuki town.  They have offered us our own rondavel while I do my research.  And it even has running water, an indoor toilet, AND an indoor shower with hot water in the middle of the day.  I took my first really hot shower in a month a half the other day. Paradise.  We get power from 6 PM until 10 PM.  Everyone has been so welcoming and accommodating. It is almost like we have two different homes, two very different homes.  All the better to really feel like we are living in Africa, and experiencing it from the multiple perspectives of its various inhabitants.  There is even some variable wildlife and vegetation in this area.  I look forward to identifying everything. 

I am getting to know all the girls, all fifty-two of Form 1 and Form 2 (our equivalent of 9^th and 10^th grades).  Come January a third form will join the Academy and Daraja will be home to 9^th-11^th graders.  My research will extend through March of next year, at which point I hope to return to the U.S. for a bit, to write up my thesis and put forth my best effort at a defense.

The girls are wonderful, unconventially motivated, and confident in their academic pursuits.  They look forward to and attend the random weekend classes (class on the weekend!) offered by the various visiting volunteers.  This weekend I will begin a series of classes on primatology.  Perhaps this will be the true test of their motivation.  Hmmm – take a nap or fall asleep learning about monkeys…

Eighteen of the recognized Kenyan tribes (of which there is forty +) are represented at Daraja. The girls come from various regions of the country and are Kikuyu, Masaai, Meru, Kamba, Luuya, Pokot, Kuria, Kipsigis, Boran, Taita, Turkana, Somali, Nandi, Luo, Embu, Samburu, Turgon, and Teso.  They are currently seeking girls from the other tribes as potentials for January enrollment. 

English is the official language of the school and it is incredible how fluent they are despite being ESL students.  Today a Form 1 student taught the beginning half of a history lesson on the spread of European culture into East Africa, while also quizzing the students on their understanding of the more complex vocabulary, e.g. ‘compile’ and ‘extraction’.  Her definitions were spot on and she addressed the class as confidently as a well-seasoned teacher, while also intertwining some of her tribal mythology.  The class subsequently and enthusiastically debated the difference between ‘compile’ and ‘combine’. 

The curriculum is rigorous and their “spare” time is filled with enriching activities.  A current volunteer, Cora, is building a garden shed and is teaching the girls about sustainability and conservation practices.  On Mondays and Fridays the girls host a flag assembly.  They sing the Kenyan national anthem and then one of designated groups performs a traditional dance and song.  On either Tuesday or Wednesday the girls participate in a WISH class (Woman of Integrity Strength and Honor).  As this is a boarding school they also have allotted time for study hall, computer skills, and writing seminars throughout the week and into the weekend.  They hold religious gatherings on Sunday, and their song can be heard across campus. 

The Daraja Academy’s atmosphere is that of a family.  All work and grow together towards the betterment of lives.  We have even made good friends with some of the head chefs – Bennett gets extra pancakes often :)

I am working diligently-ish on my Swahili.  I found a Rosetta Stone Kiswahili edition on a bookshelf at our house in the bush - so I am attempting to intersperse some of that into my studies.  And actually, I really recommend the Rosetta Stone as a means of learning a language (as long as you don’t mind sitting in front of a computer for hours, which can be quite tedious).  All vocabulary presented in exercises has made its way into my permanent-for-now memory bank   The most difficult part for me is attempting not to hear Spanish in their conversations and to not reply with “si” to simple questions. 

The school website is: http://daraja-academy.org/

The vintage vehicle is still at near peak performance.  On the way to our bush home the other day a tire popped (coincidentally in the exact same location as our first breakdown), but Bennett and I replaced it in about 15 minutes, thanks to Bennett’s experience.  No, we did not have to be rescued on this occasion :) We took her to town yesterday to have the tire repaired (a whopping $1.25 and a replaced inner tube $25) and just as we arrived a second tire deflated.  Glad she made it to the shop. And wow, so glad car repairs are really affordable here!

Anyway, life is getting a little bit busier and a little bit more interesting.  October and November are the months of the short rains, and Daraja as well as the Plateau land to the north, has seen a good amount.  The landscape has undergone a complete transformation – flowers blooming, green grasses, and abundant wildlife.  We saw some oryx on the property we have been residing on in the bush, as well as a gerenuk.  As soon as I have my lens fixed, we will upload more photos!

Bennett has made friends with the owner of a local café/restaurant and they are now "book buddies".  He hosts a monthly quiz night and pup grub in town and they have a great Full English Breakfast (2 eggs, toast, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, sausage, bacon, a pot of coffee or tea, and two types of homemade jam - all for $5!).  We were truly embarrassed by the outcome of October’s quiz event.  Our derby trivia and knowledge of obscure British anecdotes is really sub par.  Anyway, this local place, The Eatery, is putting on a Thanksgiving feast this month! Complete with a turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed and sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and chestnuts imported from the UK. We look forward to getting a little taste of home!

Maria