Elephants!

2/26/2010

So, I normally write these at night before I go to bed (or early the next morning if I forgot the night before), but since this is the last time I’ll have internet for a few weeks (most likely until the 20th of March, we’ll see if that’s accurate or not), I decided to write one in the afternoon. Today was a day off, and it’s been pretty hectic. I tried to do laundry before we left for a game drive, but apparently a working washer just wasn’t an easy enough task. Anywho, we drove to a little tourist area in the very south of the park, and we had “pancakes”, or as I like to call them, “pancrepes”, because they are basically crepes. It was really nice, and it was a fun drive. We saw an entire herd of buffalo (there were probably about 150), as well as a lot of birds and some bull elephants. Then we came back, and I ran errands. We met to talk about getting out of here tomorrow, as we aren’t going to be back until April, and we can only have 20 kg of luggage on the plane. That brings us to now. This is why I write them at night :P I’ll see you all in March!

2/25/2010

We started out the day with a very relaxing morning of studying for stats. The exam was at 10, but people all got up at 7 ish for breakfast. Then people napped, studied, did laundry, or just played peggle until it was time for the exam. We were able to take it in pairs, with all of our notes, and able to ask questions. They weren’t trying to hurt us. It was a good exam, but very long. Melissa thought it was only going to take us an hour and a half or so to do it; the first people finished at around 12:15, maybe 12:30. Rachael and I finally turned ours in at 1. Then lunch, and Dax had bought us juice things 
After lunch, we all relaxed and did what we needed to in preparation for a day off and leaving on Saturday. I organized my stuff, as we are flying to Cape Town, and there is a 20 kg (45 lb) weight limit on all of your checked luggage. So, I’m leaving a lot of stuff behind. I brought too much anyways, and I don’t think I’ll miss it. Then I used the internet (got to video with Chris, oh boy!), and off to sundowners. Our shoes made a miraculous reappearance today in Dax’s room, but I think he was framed. We also had a get together at the train pub (a pub constructed from a train parked at the station, with platforms and open air sections) tonight in honor of our day off tomorrow.

2/24/2010

Again with the stats lectures. We started at 8 with an assessment of data we had already done for our IP’s, and used it as an exercise to better understand diversity indices. Then we talked a little more about such tests as chi-square and goodness-of-fit, and why we use them. After that, we had a little break in which to talk about our debates, and divide into teams. I am debating the ethics of zoos, and I am for them. In real life, I wouldn’t go as far as that, but that is another story. After that, we went to the store for a t-shirt and ice cream run. Too much money spent. Plus, it always feels like a lot more than it actually is, as the rand is so much “lower” than the dollar. Refresher: R7.6 = $1.
After lunch we went right back at stats again. It’s getting rough to keep plugging away with what seems like a fruitless proposition, but it’s almost over; we have an exam tomorrow. Oh boy! We did an experiment comparing leg length and jump distance. The data were screwy, but it’s ok. Life goes on. After that was over, I worked on my applications a little bit more. If someone knows someone who needs a research intern for the summer, who do you tell them to call? THIS GUY. I would love a research job this summer, and I’m getting less and less hopeful as time goes on. It’s rough. We then played soccer (barefoot. Someone stole one shoe from each pair we weren’t wearing yesterday during lecture), and it was really fun. I’m getting better, and more in shape. Hurray! Dinner, meeting, post! Word of the day: good-bye = salakacha.

2/23/2010

Another day of excruciatingly long lectures. We started out with a lecture on the theories behing managing the park. I think that a lot of it went over my head, mostly because I am not big on philosophy. Then we had a lecture on research in the park, as well as the joining of the Kruger park and the Limpopo park in Mozambique, and if this could spread into Zimbabwe as well. These lectures were long and hard to pay attention to, mostly because the speaker had an extremely quiet voice and a thick Afrikaans accent. Last lecture of the morning was Melissa talking about stats. THAT was a disaster, not to any fault of hers. We just were not getting it (me included), and we spent a half an hour trying to get all on the same page. Finally we just decided to go to lunch and try again later. I had ice cream for dessert 
After lunch, we had a returning lecturer come and talk to us about the different resources of the park, such as antelope and water relocation. She is a very interesting and engaging speaker, but she has SUCH a thick accent. Then it was back to stats. Hooray. We worked more with normal distributions, then moved onto the different types of tests. Alan talked a little about the differences between certain tests, and then released us for the day. We came back to camp, and then a bunch of us went to use the internet. It was there that I first found out about Gunnar. He’s going to be OK, and I won’t talk about it here, but to make a long story short, I know now how to rally people towards a sad person’s cause. I am now going to watch chicken run to make myself feel good. Word of the day: my friend = monamoamina.

2/22/2010

We had lectures up the wazoo today. To make it easier on the people lecturing us, we relocated to a more central location in the park. The room was so air conditioned it felt like it was snowing. Just like home. We first had a lecture on the veterinary life in Kruger, which doesn’t really have anything to do with treating animals. Most of what they do is relocate animals to other areas of the country or private buyers. This lecture was interesting, but something about the methods just didn’t sit well with me. After that, we had a lecture on GIS and its practical application. Almost this entire lecture went completely over my head, as well as everyone else’s. The graphs were pretty, though.
In the afternoon, we had a lecture on plant defenses given by Laurence. We talked about the research that had been done on herbivory as a negative influence on plant communities, and how almost all of it has been based in the tropics, such as costa rica. Then the FFP’s were presented by the groups who were doing the analysis, though they didn’t really have anything yet to talk about. That evening was spent mostly just relaxing and trying to sort out everything we had left to do, like our insect collections (due in April). Words of the day: banana = banana, grapes = grapis.

2/21/2010

In the morning, we had our final FFP lecture on plant defenses. It was very interesting; basically the entire time, the lecturer was trying to convince us that no one can study ecology anywhere else but Africa. Hmm. I saw his point, but still. After lecture, a bunch of us went down to the student office to use internet, and I submitted an application. Fingers crossed, this one will go through. Or just one of them, it doesn’t really matter which. I’d like to do any of these that I’m applying for. After lunch, we all relaxed for a while, as well as working on our Goldsworthy photo project. Mine is purty .
Tonight was my night to go out on bats. We left at 5, and by 545 we had found a herd. This was frustrating, as the whole point of the project was to find bats around elephants, as the theory is that the elephants “flush,” or disturb insects, which attracts bats. 545 is way too early for bats to be outside. We waited around the herd for as long as we could. During this time, Jeremy, our instructor found an acacia tree. Acacias have thorns. He decided we should all pierce our ears with acacia thorns. WTF. A couple of people did (not me, thanks). Very weird. Finally, when it got to be time to record for bats, the elephants got to be too far away. So, we moved on. After driving for about a half hour, we would stop and take a reading, whether or not there was an elephant. This happened more often than not; elephants are hard to find at night. While driving, we almost ran over a bird, which made a daring escape into the GDV, hitting Hannah in the face with its wing. Finally we found an elephant, took recordings, and then drove around for a while to wait for the elephant to leave, to record again for a control. We were driving when suddenly we drove through a massive spider web. We all laughed, until we realized the spider (about the size of a small toad) was still in the GDV. Then we laughed harder, except for Hannah, who had to get it out. Then we went back, took more recordings, and went home. Words of the day: Apple = apula; orange = lamula.

2/20/2010

Today it was my day to go out into the bush for the plants FFP. We started out the day with a lecture on bats, talking about the various projects that can be done with the population dynamics. After that, we prepared and jumped into the GDV to go to the next two plant sites. It was a really long drive (1 ½ hours either way), and I was glad for my iPod. On the way, we stopped to pick up some elephant dung (I’m not sure what the purpose was, but there’s always a reason), and we also got some dung beetles for our collection. When we got to the site, we walked around taking branches from the trees, identifying them as we went. We also were collecting any millipedes we saw for a dung beetle trap (in the Cape, dung beetles are carnivorous. Kind of a misnomer). After we were done, we drove to the next site. We didn’t get out, however, as the plant crew already had too much data to deal with. We then went back to camp, and analyzed the branches we had collected. Afterwards, I worked with my group on our cartoon analysis. We are taking a political cartoon about south African politics and discussing the history behind it. This evening, we didn’t really have a lot planned, so Evan performed a magic show for the instructors. Hilarity ensued.

2/19/2010

Today we started our first FFPs. It started off with two lectures introducing us to bats and plant defenses, as well as what the projects would actually be. Everyone has been assigned a project, and everyone else doesn’t have to participate the whole time because of this. I am not on either of these, and didn’t have to go into the field at all today. As you already know, I posted ALL my blogs up to today, as well as a ton of other internet stuff, like internship applications. I then tried to do laundry. Bad choice. I had to get coins, which was an ordeal. Then, when I went to use the machines, one worked, then the other one didn’t. I had already put detergent in. Awesome. I went and used the other set of machines, which worked. It was a lot of extra walking. Then I mailed stuff, and started work on my cartoon project. After lunch, I collected my laundry and took a nap. Then it was soccer, dinner, and helping the plant FFP with their collections. Word of the day: excuse me = sorry/nikarelle.

2/18/2010

We were all so tired this morning. But, we got up early to go whitewater rafting on the Sabie River. It was amazing; we paddled down the river in inflatable rafts through rapids, as well as body boarding down a few. Lots of fun, lots of great pictures. After, we went to lunch at a pizza place. It was wonderful to have pizza, although it wasn’t terribly good. I also had a milkshake. Very American. When we came back, it was our day off, so lots of people just slept or did random things. I read and ran errands. Around 6, people were setting up bat nets by the pool, as we are starting our first and second FFPs tomorrow (Faculty Field projects, bats and plant defenses). We hung around the pool and chatted, then had dinner and watched the lion king. On a wall. TIA. Word of the day: tired = garella.