Exploring Florida Culture

A wise man once said that “one safari leads to another” (Oscar Mbogo Paschal). When we were told we had to evacuate Kenya do to COVID, we were not given instructions on where to go. All we knew was that the rest of our program was online and we could not remain in their country. …

ISP Week

SIT is a school for hands-on learning experiences. One of those experiences offered across all of their programs is the Independent Study Project, better known as the ISP. Under normal circumstances, the ISP involves a prep week, three weeks of data collection, and then one week to work on a paper. Under COVID circumstances, they …

Free Time around the Coast

Our free time around Kilifi was far and few in between, but we made sure to make the most of it. Activities in the immediate area included tuk tuk rides around town, trips to one of the local beaches (sometimes waaay too early), walks through the mangroves, and rides on the Waka Waka, which was …

Coastal Ecology

As soon as we were able, our professors got us back to learning ecological research methods, only this time it was in water. With the help of local guides, we were able to visit a variety of marine parks in and around the Kilifi area. Local seagrass expert Dr. Charles headed up our field data …

Kilifi Life

We finally arrived to Kenya on the 13th of March. We got to Kilfi in the evening following an 8 hour drive; we were all tired, sweaty, and ready for bed. The next morning, we got to see just where SIT had elected to set us up for the foreseeable future. So far as quarantine …

Kiswahili Crunch Time!

Just prior to our Serengeti Safari, we were informed that the U.S. Department of State decided to upgrade the travel advisory in Tanzania from a level three to a level four. The reason why is still a mystery since Tanzania has not been reporting their COVID case load, from the beginning. Per SIT’s guidelines, this …

Into the Crater!

Following our three nights in the Serengeti, we headed for the famous Ngorongoro Crater where we were to spend our last night and day on Safari. The crater pictured below is the remnants of an old volcano which collapsed inward on itself more than 2.5 million years ago, following a major eruption. It is worth …

The Watering Hole with Farting Rocks

Following a week of intensive Swahili instruction, our quest for the big five brought us to none other than Serengeti National Park! You probably recognize the name Serengeti, and with good reason as it is one of the most famous national parks in the world. The Serengeti contains the largest intact mammal migration in the …

Quest For the Big Five

Following our stay in Mweka, we had a night of recuperation back in Arusha at Klub Afriko before heading to Randilen Wildlife Management Area (WMA). We would end up spending 3 nights there before skipping over to Tarangire National Park for two days, and one more night. During this five day period, nature was our …

Brewing Coffee the Right Way

Following our week-long quarantine in Arusha, we headed off to the mountain town of Mweka at the foot of Kilimanjaro. I say that it is at the foot but in reality, Mweka is still situated 1374m in the air (comparable to Arusha). The goal of our trip was to spend a couple of days studying …