Elephants and Whales and Satellite Camps!

Hey everyone! Internet is hard to come by and slooooow so this blog will have to be a bit briefer. Sadly, I probably won't be able to put up pix for another week or so...but you'll just have to use your imaginations!

Last weekend we volunteered with our partner, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and participated in a beach clean up with schoolchildren from 5 different towns in the neighboring community. It was a few hours of hot trash gathering, but the kids worked really hard and we gathered loads and loads of garbage that had been washed ashore and helped protect the environment. I was impressed by how passionate the students were to protect their natural resources. Lots of teachers and students and volunteers and chatting and fun. And KWS gave us all sodas afterwards, which never hurts :) Last Sunday we went to Mwaluganje Elephant Reserve and learned about this amazing conservationist community based organization. Check out the GVI blog (link below on this page) for the blog I wrote about it. Basically, in order to protect a longstanding migratory path the elephants use, the community members made their area (which had included farmland) a reserve for the animals. One of the biggest challenges there is human-wildlife conflict - ie when elephants trample farmers crops. One solution they found - and taught us about - was using elephant poo to make recycled paper. I know, it sounds grody, but elephant poo is pretty impressively clean - lots of fibers. They boil it and dry it for 2 days, mix it with scrap paper, water and paste and make this awesome recylced paper to sell to tourists. Way to go sustainability!! Our goal is to take this skill to the satellite camps near Tsavo West National Park and share this transferable skill with them. We head out for a week of dusty, exciting inland Africa tomorrow!
But one of the coolest occurrences this week was HUMPBACK WHALES!!! The other group saw them the week before and I'd been practicing yelling out "whale" for when the moment came. Turns out, speaking Whale, like Dori does in Nemo, is the best way to get them to come. On Monday we spent an hour with a mother and calf (followed them all the way to Tanzania!) The calf was pretty siked to see us and kept jumping jumping jumping in the water for us - they were swimming about 30 feet away from us!! At one point, just before we parted ways, the calf snuck up on us and splashed behind the boat within 5 meters! It was unlike anything I've ever experience before. We've got loads of videos and you can hear the whole boat cheering with joy! Then Tuesday we saw ANOTHER mother and newborn - this one was nursing. We thought we were spotting tail dive, but they tail just stayed and stayed out of the water - she was upside down, head underwater, nursing for over 10 minutes at a go. It was 9am and I was hanging half out of the boat holding the underwater camera towards them trying to photograph these whales 20 feet away from me - how crazy!!
This next week will keep me completely away from any internet, but please still feel free to email and tell me how you all are. Miss you tons!

Mzuri Sana

In Swahili when someone says "Habari?" they are asking "How are you?" The response, "Mzuri Sana" means "Really good". And these days...that's pretty accurate!

We've finished our first week of training and I passed my tests with flying colors!! I can now identify 6 species of dolphins, 3 species of monkeys, 2 sea turtles and a host of other animals in the wild! We've already seen about 20 Bottlenose Dolphins when crossing the channel from Wasini Island to Shimoni Village. Earlier that week some of the others saw 300 at one go! I've been snorkelling in the Kisitie-Mpunguti National Marine Park - and while we haven't yet seen Sea Turtles, we have seen loads of tropical fish, a moray eel, flying fish and a few African Sea Eagles!

I'm getting used to living on a tropical equatorial island...all of our showers and washing is done with salt water from the ocean that we haul up in buckets every day. It really makes you awayre of how much water we use! Getting to shower outside under the stars is a pretty cool experience...and you get used to sharing your space with millipedes, slugs and all sorts of other creepy crawlies pretty quickly...though I

haven't yet found any in my bed...that would probably change my feelings about them... Not having much electricity (we use solar panels or a generator for a few hours of the day to use the computers for scientific data entry) has changed the social activities significantly. We actually have had some great nights playing games like Celebrity or telling stories or singing as we look out over the island sunsets. This picture is a view from our "lounge" area on base out onto the ocean.

In the forest portion we've already seen troops of Colobus monkeys, sykes monkeys and vervet monkeys..as well as a couple of impressive yellow baboons. We spend a lot of time studying the behavior of the Colobus...but I'm starting to feel like they spend just as much time studying us. I hope to have some better pictures of them to share with you soon..my wildlife photography skills are only just beginning. This picture is taken using both the zoom on my camera and my binoculars!

In the village of Mkwiro, where we live, the community isn't exposed to tourism, so we mzungu's (foreigners) are pretty novel. The kids come up to us yelling Jambo! and are ready to grab our hands and ask us our names and basically giggle at everything we do. We had a short reading session with some of the boys from the orphanage and I was so impressed with how eager to learn these guys were. I'm really looking forward to working in the classrooms. As it is a Muslim community we have to wear head scarves when we leave the base, but that doesn't take a whole lot of getting used to either. And, as you can see at the top of this page, some of the Kangas (sarongs) the ladies make are pretty cool.

Last night was our first night off in over a week and we went to the nearby tourist beach town of Diani where we were able to get in some fun and relaxation. Reggae is pretty popular here in the coast so I've been treated to the sounds of Bob Marley pretty often. Lots of dancing and fun and sleeping in all the way till 9am!! (most days we are up by 6 cooking for each other and preparing the gear and in the field by 7:30...very different from my After School hours!!)

Lastly, if anyone wants to write to me, there has been a change in my address, please send mail to: Sara Mayer c/o GVI PO Box 10 Shimoni 80409 Kenya

I hope you are all happy and well back home - don't forget to vote this election! (Kenyan's here are pretty interested as you can imagine) I'll leave you with this picture of a Baobob tree...the Colobus Monkeys love to climb them, and our friend will help to give it some scale for you. Remember, I always love hearing from you!!

First Impressions in Kenya

As I exited the Nairobi airport to transfer to Mombassa a little boy of about 2 years old sized me up, smiled and gave me a high five.  I considered that my official welcome into Kenya. 

I am writing you from the Reef Hotel in Mombassa - a very swank place that we stayed at our first two days as we all arrived in waves.  The swimming pools and showers will be a nostalgic memory by the end of the week as move on to bucket showers and no electricity. 

 However, the warmth of the Indian Ocean is very inviting and the abundance of wildlife that we've seen even here at the hotel is encouraging.

While I haven't been able to put my pix on disc yet and upload 

them to this site (look for that in about two weeks, I think...when I have access again to internet)  I have plucked a few fro

m the web to share with you.  The following picture is another of the Reef Hotel and includes one of its many visitors: Vervet Monkeys.  These guys washed over the tin roof this morning at breakfast like a storm - all thundering and peaking about to see if there were any extra food scraps. We've also seen gecko lizards, rainbow colored lizards, giant spiders, cats and a number of brightly colored, beautiful sounding birds.  

My visit to London and friends was wonderful - though I was slightly impeded by the many tropical meds I've been taking.  Typhoid and Malaria meds waylaid me for a bit...But beyond that I had a wonderful time going to the Globe, riding the London Eye, seeing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and enjoying the company and the sights.  Hopefully, I'll have pix of that trip to share later...

Now we're off for a 2 1/2 hour drive south to Shimoni and then the boat on to Wasini Island where we will begin this adventure!  Our group is only 8 people: 3 Brits, 3 Americans, an Italian and an Australian.  Though we will be joined by 3 Kenyans in our 2nd or 3rd week.  I look forward to hearing from all of you and hope that you are well.  Please feel free to leave comments and send mail to our address in Ukunda!  (it'll be an interesting experiment to see how long it takes to arrive)

Love,

Sara

PS favorites include the following signs at the hotel: Beware of Falling Coconuts and Please Do Not Feed the Cats or the Monkeys.  Also, we arrived on Eid, the end of Ramadan, so on my first day here the place was filled with local families swimming and relaxing and celebrating. :)

On your mark....get set....

The time is drawing very close to my departure for Kenya! As I scramble to get myself organized, I wanted to share a few things with everyone. Firstly, for those ambitious enough to try sending mail, here is my postal address in Kenya:
GVI PO Box 1032 Ukunda, 80400 Kenya
I have no idea how long the mail will take...so, you might as well send it now! ;) Next, if you'd like to subscribe to my blog simply add it to your dashboard. Don't know what that means? Go here. This way you will get updates whenever I put a new post up! Again, please feel free to leave me comments - I love them!
Here's my upcoming itinerary:
Sept 20 - move out of my nyc apt (sniffle, sniffle)
Sept 20-25 - hang out w/fam & friends in rochester
Sept 25 - going away party in nyc!! (Dempsey's on 2nd Ave)
Sept 26 - fly to London
Sept 27-30 - London!!
Oct 1 -3 - arrive in Mombasa, Kenya - explore!
Oct 3 - Dec 12 - Expedition!
Dec 12-Dec 22 - travel in Kenya
Dec 22 - one night layover in nyc
Dec 23 - home for the holidays
Early 2009 - move to LA!
I've been keeping up with the GVI Kenya blog and there is some exciting business going on there! I've included a few pictures here from their posts. There have been several Humpback Whale sightings, a new breed of forest rat found, discussions w/the local fishermen about how to keep their livelihoods sustainable with so much human expansion in the area and classroom activities with local schoolchildren exploring the Shimoni forest - and much more! Enjoy the pix and I hope to hear from you soon!


Swahili Vocab List for the Day:
Ndiyo - Yes
Hapana - No
Asante Sana - Thank You Very Much
Hakuna Matata - (c'mon now, you know this one...) :)
(tip: in swahili you pronounce every letter, so "ndiyo" is pronounced like "in-dee-yo")

Kenya Night at Madiba!

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the Kenya Night at Madiba Restaurant in Brooklyn with my friend, Kendrick. Madiba is a South African restaurant in Fort Greene that not only serves up great food but also showcases a variety of talent from all over Africa and NYC. They also "reinvest a percentage of their proceeds in the people of South Africa via the charities Ubuntu Education Fund, Ethembeni School of the Blind, Achilles, and others." There was a Kenyan chef at Madiba serving up traditional dishes - though we filled up on the yummy South African food and Tuskers before we had a chance to try the Kenyan plates. Guess I'll just have to wait till October!

With amazing music from Anna Mwalagho, the "Queen of Spoken Afrobeat", and her awesome band the whole event had a celebratory feel! Anna is a talented and dynamically energetic performer who enouraged dancing in the restaurant and general joyfulness throughout the night.

I had the opportunity to meet Kenyan Ambassador, George Owuor and First Secretary, Fredrick Matwang'a. The Ambassador was kind enough to give me some Swahili tips and words of encouragement for my upcoming trip. I also shared with him some literature from GVI about the work they do and this Wildlife Conservation and Community Development expedition. Everyone that I met was so incredibly warm and welcoming - I was kind of blown away by the generosity I received. New friends were giving me travel tips and names of people that I should meet when I arrive. It definitely made me more excited than ever for the expedition this fall.

Kenyan Ambassador George Owuor and me.

See, mom, I have friends in high places! ;)

That's all for now, I hope to post more interesting developments as I continue to prepare for my expedition. Lastly, asante sana (thank you very much) to Siaya for sending me these photos from the night!

BBQ Thanks!

Friends,

Thank you to all who were able to join us for the African Safari BBQ - we had a lovely afternoon of food, friends and fundraising. Special thanks goes to: Jay Lombard for hosting and cookin up a storm (mmm, italian sausages....) as well as the following organizations that donated prizes to our silent auction: Korhogo 126 (http://www.bouillabaisse126.com) an awesome West African restaurant in Brooklyn that donated a $75.00 gift certificate for their fabulous cuisine, The Museum for African Art (www.africanart.org) who donated some great books of African Art, Joe Ciccone and the Prospect Park Zoo who donated a personal tour of the zoo for 6 people (http://nyzoosandaquarium.com/ppz) and Jay Lombard and Brooklyn Industries (www.brooklynindustries.com) for a $100.00 gift card for their gear!

Also, thank you to so many generous people who weren't able to attend the BBQ but have shown so much support for this project. Your donations are so greatly appreciated and I hope to be able to post a lot of blogs on here this fall from Kenya so you can see all the good work your donations are helping to make possible.

The expedition begins October 3rd and I will be leaving NYC - after 11 long years - in mid/late september. If you're in the city, please hit me up so we can enjoy the summer sun together before I go! More Kenya prep news to follow...

Lastly, if you would still like to donate - you can always hit the shiny donate button up top to support this project.

Have a great 4th of July weekend, everybody!

The Big Picture

Dear Friends,
As many of you may already know, I have decided to pitch myself forward into a new adventure this fall! After many wonderful years acting in nyc and working with children, I am shifting my perspective for a few months. I have been accepted into a Global Vision International (GVI) Expedition. I will spend the fall living on a remote island on the southern coast of Kenya studying dolphins, whales and monkeys as part of a Wildlife Conservation project. I'll also get to use my school experience teaching children and and adults English while working with the local community to help create sustainable eco-tourism in the region. In order to participate, I have to fundraise to cover the costs of the program -

SO... I'd like to invite you to An African Safari Fundraiser Party!!

On Sunday, June 29th from 1pm-5pm I will be hosting a theme party at my good friend, Jay Lombard's house in Brooklyn, 77 McGuinness Blvd. It's close to the G train and a 15 minute walk from the L train. There will be barbeque, African food, music, games and a silent auction! Tickets to the event are $30 each or two for $50. If you can't make it to the party, but would still like to donate, your support is always welcome! You can purchase tickets by clicking on the "Donate" button at the top of the page.

For more information about the expedition, GVI, Kenya, my preparation or to see how the fundraising is coming along....explore this blog and check back often! I hope to see you at the party - and please feel free to ask me any questions along the way!
Love,
Sara Mayer