SERENGETI TIME!

I've realized this is the most I've blogged the entire time I've been in this beautiful country, but its ok because for the next 2 weeks I'll be off the grid completely! No internet or cell service for 2 weeks! I'm so freaking excited I could pee my pants though...this safari is what I basically came to Tanzania for. Its definitely going to be bittersweet though; it's our last safari as a group and with all the wonderful Tanzanian teachers we have gotten to know.
Over the next 15 days we will be in 3 different places. The first stop is Ngorongoro Crater, which is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. I highly recommend googling it. It also has the highest density of predators in the entire world! We are camping right on the rim of the crater, which I'm sure will have spectacular views. Ngorongoro also contains the only rhinos that Tanzania has, and there are only 24 of them....we only spend 1.5 days in the crater so our goal is to find a rhino!
From the crater we travel to the SERENGETI!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll be there for 4 days and we pick back up with out study groups from Tarangire (I'm in the non-ruminant group, which includes lions). We formulated study questions and will carry out our mini-research projects here in the morning, and spend the afternoons being tourists and taking pictures of the lions. OH, they also have crocodiles there, which i'm super stoked about because I'm obsessed with them.
Most people think of Serengeti as mostly grassland, but our AD told us today that in reality only 20% of the total area is grassland; the rest is a woodland. So once we leave Serengeti we drive up north through Serengeti (basically coming up on the border of Kenya at one point) , stay one night at a guesthouse in a town called Wasso, and through the woodland down into Maasai land!
The final part of our safari is a 4-day homestay with the Maasai! I dont even know what to expect for this...it's going to be crazy. Our AD basically told us to see and explore as much as we can! He pretty much told us, if a goat is being slaughtered, go watch it. If theres a circumcision ceremony happening, celebrate with everyone (circumcision, both male and female, is a HUGE part of life in the Maasai and is the reason for many celebrations).
I'm a little jealous of the boys in our group though...they get to spend the time with the warriors and herd goats all day!
We are only allowed to bring a toothbrush and headlamp because apparently we dont really wear clothes either...our mamas will dress us in full maasai clothing that we'll wear for the entirety of our stay.
Oh, I definitely think the most interesting part of our homestay will be WHERE we stay. The Maasai live in bomas (which we've been in before) that are about the size of an average bedroom, but they're completely circular. And there is ONE bed. So yup, we'll all be sleeping with our mamas and siblings in one cowhide bed in a boma. I'm just honestly praying that I dont get crapped on by a baby in the middle of the night because apparently that has been known to happen... :)
They also slaughter a goat for us at the end of homestay, and then we are all apparently supposed to drink some weird goat soup with some herbs and then they pass around the liver and kidneys and then they drink the blood......I could have some issues with this part....

So thats basically what I'll be up to for the next 2 weeks...stalking some rhino, collecting data on lions, pretending I'm Maasai, and eating goat soup (maybe)!
I spent the majority of yesterday and today planning out my new ISP...the ecological walk actually completely fell apart because of budget issues and logistics, so we all had to come up with new ideas. I am now going back to Ndarakwai Ranch (where I was for orientation) to study the social behavior of a group of resident zebra. I'm really excited for this, and I definitely feel like I made the right choice switching my study.

Will report back in 2 weeks about the safari!

woops...editing this post about an hour later...also forgot..we're going to Olduvai Gorge as well! Its in the east Serengeti plains. I dont really know that much about it but apparently some really old humans were found there by the Leakys....i think. it apparently established the african origin of humankind. idk im sure I'll know more in 2 weeks!