The School for Field Studies Center for Wildlife Management Studies, Tanzania
March 23, 2010

Academic Update
Students have just arrived in Kenya after completing a month and a half in Tanzania. They spent their last two weeks in Tanzania taking exams and finalizing their papers and assignments for classes. We started off last week with a traveling lecture focusing on resource utilization, development, and the effects of population growth in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem. For one assignment they made board games about species' habitat relationships, including the “Zebra Zone” where players build their own herd with various resources, and “An Elephant Never Forgets” where players move through the game by answering questions about elephants. After  their final exams students finished off their experience in Tanzania with a community service project at an orphanage where they designed and build the orphanage’s first swing set. Now that students have arrived in Kenya they will start with an introduction to the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem and a home stay with a Maasai family.
-Dr. Bernard Kissui, Professor of Wildlife Management

Student Reflections
The past few weeks in Tanzania have been some of the most beautiful, rewarding, and enriching times in my life. Every day I experienced in Tanzania so far has been one to treasure. Our return from a weeklong expedition in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater left us reminiscing and preparing for our finals. After our exams and last minute projects, we packed up, tearfully said goodbye to Haven Nature Camp, and headed off to Kenya for the second half of our program. We were greeted by the students and staff of KBC and got our first incredible views of Mt. Kilimanjaro from outside our bandas. The Tanzania vs. Kenya Olympics were a hilarious and challenging break from our coursework and was a great way for the students in each of the two programs to get to know each other. All day, students competed in events like Maasai bracelet ring toss, water bucket head balance, volleyball, mosquito net tucking, Maasai jumping, Ugali Chubby Hippo, and an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee. We ended our evening with a dance off and party and said goodbye to our new friends, beloved SAMs, faculty, and staff as they made their way with the new group to Tanzania. So far I am thrilled to find myself in such a new and different country after having so many amazing experiences in Tanzania. I can’t wait until our expedition in Tsavo National Park, trip to Amboseli, and the commencement of our Directed Research. It seems so incredible to me that I have the opportunity to study abroad in two countries and after my experience in the first, I am so excited to start my adventures in Kenya.
-Molly Duvall, Moravian College

It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached our last day in beautiful Tanzania. It seems like only yesterday we were just a bunch of misfit students, dodging low-hanging acacia bushes and sporting massive sunburns. Today, though, I am proud to say that we stand together as residents of the beautiful, green Haven Nature Camp. We have defended our home from the gaze and wanderings of nearby tourists. We have recovered from a beautiful, thrilling, and terrifying Serengeti expedition in our home. More than anything, though, we have come together as a knowledgeable, diverse, and talented group of friends in our home. And while I cannot speak for all of my new friends, I think most would agree that the amount of useful information we have learned these past weeks will far surpass the knowledge learned any other semester. Our experiences in this place, combined with this vast amount of knowledge, will undoubtedly provide us with the ability to affect change on this planet. I am excited at this prospect. And although I am sad to leave Tanzania, I know that our journey together has only begun. I can only imagine the new things we will learn when we begin to accept Kenya as our new home.   
-Maggie Taylor, Kenyon College

Previous Page    Back to Tanzania News Archives 2010    Next Page