The Adventures of August

Cheers to the end of my project's first quarter! Only three more to go. No doubt this year in Kenya will go by fast. I can see from social media that your summers, too, have flown by and everyone is gearing up for fall. Here we're having an unexpected resurgence of monsoon-like rain, with regular downpours every afternoon from 3pm onwards. It's good news for our water tanks, but I'm looking forward to the dry season's long afternoon's and dry seats on the ground. We're also experiencing a mysterious blackout on cell phone service in the area. So, apologies for the silence! 

The Groom and Bride: Patrick and Casty

At the end of August, I had the honor of going to my first Kenyan wedding! The wedding couple, Patrick and Casty, go to the church I attend in the nearby town of Shinyalu. The wedding itself was held in the not-so-nearby city of Gilgil (an 8 hour bus ride there, detours and getting lost included -- a 10 hour matatu ride back, matatu-madness included). I was completely honored to be one of the wedding's official photographers! I did this along with my friend Lauren, a colleague on the project. To wedding photographer friends - I totally understand that your job is not easy! I was a fly on the wall searching for good lighting while the bride got ready with her maids. I was also challenged to capture the moment amidst trying to enjoy the singing, dancing, and praying - of which there was a lot! It was an incredibly good time.

Wedding party and guests in Gilgil (can you spot me?)

Lake Naivasha and
Hellsgate's Gorges

I swung down to visit Lake Naivasha for a night after the wedding and took a shot at biking through Hellsgate National Park. Hellsgate is so charmingly named because it gets quite hot midday. I found that out while biking and a nice man with a car was kind enough to taxi me back to my homestay (only a 30 min ride, marriage proposal included). In Hellsgate, I met some animal friends, both old (baboons) and new (warthogs!).

Cute and cuddlies of Hellsgate Nat'l Park

Celebrating birthdays on a rainy afternoon.

As for the real reason I'm here, my team at camp is really finding its rhythm in data collection. I am so proud of these women, their daily drive, and their genuine curiosity about animal behavior. More than scientists, we're growing as a team and as individuals. No one is perfect on any team, and lately we've been dealing with ways to hold each other accountable. Accountability and integrity are always difficult to maintain, but in this culture, "ratting" on a community member (i.e. reporting any misconduct whatsoever) is an especially nasty practice. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it's because communities here are so tight-knit and long-standing, because witchcraft is a prevalent method of revenge, or some combination of reasons. In any case, workers like to make their own schedules here, co-workers hate to be the narc, and bosses (like all humans) can only be in one place at a time. In my team, we haven't suffered from this problem extensively, but I've done my best to nip all signs of dishonest or uncooperative behavior in the bud. Not easy, but every morning we take turns praying for health, communication, cooperation, encouragement, and integrity. And God answers our prayers.

Just this Friday, we celebrated the birthdays of two of our teammates, Sylvia and Sheila. Being singled out of the crowd and celebrated is not as common here as it is in Western cultures, and the gifts and recognition make for a very special occasion. Sheila proclaimed she would be celebrating like this with her family in the future. Good times.

More about these ninjas and the work they do to come!

Lots of love,

Nicole

PS. If you're curious about where I was ... ;)