Fourth Party and Community Conservation Day

Last night’s party was a lot of fun.  The ranch house was absolutely beautiful with an incredible view from the front lawn.  There was a tennis tournament and an ultimate Frisbee tournament.  For food, there was a full on American barbecue spread: hamburger (and veggie burgers!), hot dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, baked beans, French fries, corn on the cob.  It was all very delicious.  I haven’t quite been here long enough to have a super craving for American food, but it was really good.  For dessert, there was an amazing fruit salad, apple pie tartlets, and a massive cake decorated like the American flag.  As it was being brought out, people started singing the Star Spangled Banner.  So it was like we were having a birthday cake for our country, which was cool.  We all hung out at the house for a while, then it was time to come back to the center and go to bed.

This morning after breakfast, I headed out with Rob (Pringle, the professor I’m here working under), Corina (Tarnita, another Princeton professor), Tyler and Renata (who’s here doing thesis research with Rob as an advisor).  Today is Community Conservation Day, which is an annual event in which all of the eleven schools that are part of the Northern Kenya Conservation Club participate.  The children from all of these schools had made posters, which they were presenting when we got there.  The topics included: giraffes, bio-gas, using natural materials instead of chemicals as fertilizer, and animal classification, among others.  We stayed to watch those presentations, and then the main event began with several speakers (including Professor Dan Rubenstein, from Princeton) presenting opening remarks and an opening prayer.  The children from the host school, Kimanjo Secondary, then performed a song and dance, which was fun to watch.  Several games, poems, and other performances were planned for after that, but we left to come back to the center. 

We got somewhat lost on the way back, but it just ended up meaning that we saw some really cool stuff.  We drove right by this awesome rock formation, and I saw several animals I hadn’t seen yet: camels, baboons, oryx, Grant’s gazelles, and gerenuks (we weren't within Mpala's boundaries at that point--gerenuks are apparently very rarely seen at Mpala).  We arrived just in time for lunch, and now I have the rest of the day free.  

Not the main house at the ranch, but the house in which Professor Dan Rubenstein and his wife Nancy live while here in Kenya. 

The view from the porch at the ranch. 

The cake! It was huge.
(10 points to anyone who sees what's off about it)

We watched the sunset while eating cake :)

Aubree, Kate, Annelies, Dayton, me, Kaya, Anchal, Helen and Colleen. 

One of the students presenting about giraffes at Community Conservation Day. 

The awesome rock formation we saw on the way back from Kimanjo.