Friday, October 15, 2010
just a minor ISP crisis....
ok short post here but basically i have completely decided to change my ISP...even after all my posts about the great ecological walk I was going to do (Molly if you are reading this I;m so sorry Im not doing it anymore! :( but I've been doing a lot of thinking and realized that I had jumped into the 60km walk because it seemed "easy" in a way, it was already pretty planned out and seemed like a good idea. In theory, the walk seemed amazing. however, after ISP prep days I wasnt so sure anymore. I obviously had a blast in engaruka hanging out with my fellow students and chatting it up with Elvis and Onesmo, but I wasnt really being honest with myself in what I wanted out of my study project here in Tanzania. I know myself well enough that when I struggle with a decision back and forth for a while, deep down I already know the answer. The heat was a big factor too....I knew that being miserable and most likely getting sunstroke would not make me a very happy camper in collecting my data...it was already over 100 in engaruka over prep days and it would just get hotter until we start actual data collection. And the student who did the same study last spring saw a lot more mammals than I would see, because they collected data in the wet season, where we would be collecting it in the dry. I just couldnt justify collecting data on spores and tracks when I knew that physically I would be run down every day. I really struggled this morning after meeting with my AD..I had to go take a little walk to calm down, mostly because I felt like I was going to let my group down. I also had to completely restart and develop a brand new ISP. luckily I have some ideas that I'm trying to develop with my Academic Director tomorrow, but its stressful. Anyways, just wanted to do a short blog about that. I feel better now that I've made a decision that I've been struggling with the past couple weeks. Definitely feel like a weight is lifted off of me. I'm currently looking into some zebra projects back at Ndarakwai Ranch (where we first went when we got to TZ for orientation) which makes me pretty excited. I came to TZ to do some sort of mammal study in the first place, and I feel like I'm more on track doing a behavioral ecology study. Anyways, gotta run, internet time is almost up. Our group is going to go blow off some steam tonight at a club :) Serengeti on Sunday!
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Hi Alex, I have really enjoyed your blogs! Unfortunately, it makes me want to be there with you, especially in the places you are heading too. In January when I was there it was the "short rain" season so everything was green. As we were traveling through the Serengeti we witnessed the end of the Great Migration. Even though the majority of animals had passed through there were still hundreds as far as the eye can see across the plains. It was there that we saw our first cheetah and leopards. That was so exciting! The Ngorongoro Crater was my favorite place. We stayed in a lodge on the top of the rim. There were so many varieties of animals it was amazing! I feel for you with the hot temps. The hottest day we had was 75 degrees even in the crater. I think you made a good choice by going with your instincts and changing your project. Yes, making the decision is the hardest part, but in the end being true to yourself is what will make you most happy :) Enjoy the safari!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Debbie Furnari