First Days at Moyo Hill

Ever thought what it would smell like if there were no trash service in your country? I didn’t until I got a whiff of the burnt-rubber smell and saw little piles of trash burning as we were driving through various little towns and villages here in northern Tanzania. The moment I got off the plane at Kilimanjaro international airport I knew Tanzania was going to be like nothing I have experienced before. For starters I have never traveled with a group program before. It was nice knowing there were twenty other students at the airport headed for the same destination as me (and twenty more to come the next day). I have also never experienced lost baggage, until now that is, but wearing the same clothes for four days wasn’t as bad as it thought it was going to be. We were picked up by three green Land Cruisers (the classic safari car) and driven to the town of Arusha to spend the night in a hotel before continuing on to the Moyo Hill field station. We spent the first couple days orienting ourselves to the campus and the surrounding area. We went into town to practice Swahili and meet some of the locals. Hand gestures and patience are essential in trying to learn a new language. There are forty-two students and thirty-three staff and faculty members, I have a feeling we’ll be learning names for a while. Coming from a town that is all about local organic food I was a little worried about what I would be eating here after being so spoiled. But the cooks here create some pretty darn yummy meals for seventy people three times a day (I am impressed). I hear we will be doing a goat roast a couple times so I am considering breaking my vegetarian diet. Worth it? I think so too. I am living in a banda that has four beds, desks and a shared bathroom with three other girls. So far we get a long really well. I don’t think I have ever been surrounded with so many people that share my same passion for wildlife conservation and animals, yet everyone comes from such different backgrounds, it’s amazing! Today was our first full day of classes and our teachers got a chance to tell us a little bit about themselves and the classes they will be teaching. I am excited to be learning from such incredible people, not to mention a long side some impressive colleagues. I can tell this will be a fun semester here in Tanzania.

View from top of Moyo Hill