MEET THE NEIGHBORS

There are many issues to deal with when doing fieldwork: physical stress, emotional stress, sometimes language/cultural difficulties and misunderstandings, inclement weather, running out of supplies, and of course many others, but one thing that I am still trying to get used to is living with what I call “creepy crawlies”, or the insects, spiders, lizards, and snakes that constantly surround me (I apologize to my aunt, L.L.’s husband, and any other entomologist (or non-entomologist) that I might offend with my choice of words and lack of scientifically accurate descriptions/taxonomy within this post).

I will admit that there are some interesting creatures here that are of colors, sizes, and shapes that I have never seen before.  They are definitely interesting enough to stare at for a few minutes and document with a photo.  But, I wish that would be where my interaction with these animals would end.  These animals are interesting from afar, but creepy when they get just a little too close or even on you.  

It is not a good feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night hearing scratching noises in your tent.  Only after a minute, when you have fully woken up and found your headlamp, do you realize that the noise is not coming from inside your tent, but rather from underneath it.   That is only a small consolation.  In the morning I checked and found that termites had made their home under my tent.  At first I thought I’d leave them in peace (they eat wood, not plastic, right?), but the noise started driving me crazy, and eventually one little hole started to appear….that was it.  The hole got duct taped, and hot water was poured under my tent. (Again, sorry to anyone who feels for the dead termites).

Besides the termites, there is now a lizard (it’s either one of the smaller agamas or skinks running around) that likes to go under my tent and scare me half to death when I accidentally step on it before lifting my foot allowing it to scamper away.  Or, I simply hear it scuttling under my tent in the middle of the night.  There is also a snake (which I have yet to get a picture of or identify) that lives in the “office” next to my tent; I found this out when it startled me by slithering under my chair about an inch away from my foot.  I’m hoping it’s a non-venomous snake, but the field assistants are convinced that it is a baby cobra (though they’ve never seen it).  I actually like reptiles, just not when they could potentially kill me (i.e. the snake if it is a cobra) or when they give me a near heart-attack in the middle of the night (i.e the lizard).

There are also numerous spiders that have made their homes on the side of my tent and between my tent and the rainfly.  Thankfully none have gotten inside, but every now and then I have to remove a spider and their web when it gets too close to the door.  I have also had various beetles and caterpillars stay on the side of my tent for a few days at a time, and just the other day saw a praying mantis that was hanging out.  These don’t bother me too much anymore……as long as they stay outside of my tent.  And I should say, out of my field bag; just the other night I was in the “office” working on my computer when I heard a sound coming from my backpack next to me.  It sounded a bit like plastic slowly being crumpled.  I glanced around quickly and did not see anything, so I went back to work.  A few minutes later I heard the sound again.  This time I stopped and emptied out my bag.  Nothing was in there that could explain the noise.  I went back to work and heard the noise again.  Now, I looked at every inch of the bag.  On the underside of one of the shoulder straps was a big Giant African Millipede.  Thankfully, they are not dangerous (unlike centipedes that are venomous), but I still consider them unwelcome on me or on my things.  I got a stick to try and transfer it to the ground, but it would not let go of my backpack…it was holding on for dear life with every one of it’s little legs.  Finally after more prodding and shaking, I got it on the ground.  Now each morning I check inside my boots and my backpack before putting them on!

My feet may be small (this boot is a men's size 6), but that is still one big millipede!

I’ve also encountered spiders of many sizes and colors while out in the forest and woodland.  Again, fascinating to look at…from a distance.  I don’t like walking and all of sudden getting a web in my face.  Even once you remove the web, you feel as if there is something on your face the rest of the day.  My remedy to this problem is to make one of the field assistants go first (then they get webbed) or to walk around swinging a stick in front of me (which makes me look like a crazy person, but at least amuses the field assistants).  Then of course there are tsetse flies, house flies, honey bees, mosquitoes and sweat bees that are flying around everywhere.  Thankfully the flies aren’t too bad here because of the high altitude, and I’ve been in places (even within the US) with many more mosquitoes, but the bees are just obnoxious.  They fly around your head and buzz so loudly that it’s hard to concentrate on work at times.  And I got stung just the other week when a bee flew up the sleeve of my poncho and freaked out when it got stuck.  But the sweat bees are by far the most annoying insect here.  Not only do they swarm you and buzz around your head, but they fly right into your eyes and ears.  Bug spray (herbal or deet) does not deter them.  The only solution is to wear a headnet.  They will still swarm and buzz, but at least they are kept out of your eyes and ears.  However, the headnets make it hard to see and can get very hot.

Wasp nest

Encountering these types of animals is just part of living in a tent and being outdoors, so I am never surprised to see them, but I keep hoping that they will stop getting so close.  I don’t think these animals feel the same way; they have no issues with landing on me or my things, so for now, we’ll just have to try and live peacefully as neighbors.

SECOND VISIT TO GOMBE AND A TYPICAL DAY OF FIELDWORK

This post was written for the IHO blog, which is why it was a bit delayed...

The second week of February 2011, I arrived in Kigoma for the purpose of meeting Dr. Don Johanson and the rest of his National Geographic Expeditions group (http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/human-origins-safari/detail) so that I could give a short presentation about my research and explain why and how chimpanzees can be used as models for our early human ancestors.  There was one slight problem—I knew where the group was staying, but did not know at what time they were arriving or when/where I was supposed to meet them.  So, I went to their hotel, Kigoma Hilltop, and was surprised to see three zebras that are allowed to roam freely on the hotel grounds.  Apparently, there are a few more zebras that stay closer to the beach, as the hotel is right on Lake Tanganyika.  I left my name and number at the front desk, and was promised a call when the group arrived.  I got the call to come by for dinner, so I made my way back to the hotel and met Carol, the expedition manager, and some members of the group before seeing Dr. Johanson.  We had a wonderful dinner (I was especially thankful to see the menu did not include rice and beans!), during which I was able to chat with many of the group.  They were all extremely nice and seemed to be enjoying the trip immensely.

The following day I met them at the hotel, where we all departed by boat across the lake to Gombe National Park.  It was a pleasant ride and took even less time than my first trip to Gombe, as we were in a slightly newer, and therefore faster, boat.  When we arrived at Gombe, I went to find Dr. Anthony Collins (senior representative at Gombe Stream Research Center), who has been an invaluable resource about living in Tanzania.  After a few minutes of catching up, he greeted the group and thanked National Geographic for all of their contributions to the Jane Goodall Institute and research at Gombe over the years.  We then we split into smaller groups and headed off to find the chimpanzees.

Dr. Don Johanson and me with the National Georgraphic travelers in Gombe

Gombe staff member (unfortunately, I don't remember his name, but he was 7 years old when Jane first arrived and has been at Gombe ever since), Don Johanson, Deus Cyprian Mjungu (current director of chimpanzee research at Gombe), me, and Dr. Anthony Collins (senior representative at Gombe Stream Research Center)

We had to climb some steep trails, but finally came across a group of about eight chimpanzees near Jane’s Peak that included the current alpha male, Ferdinand.   We spent some time watching them rest and groom each other before Ferdinand decided it was time to go; of course, when he went the group followed.  We lost this big group, but came across Tarzan, and later his brother Titan.  Then at some point we ended up in front of the group, because Ferdinand came charging (and displaying) down the path towards us.  We quickly moved out of the way, and he continued along without even a glance back at us.  After climbing a bit more, it soon became evident that the chimps had gone high up the mountain, where we would not be able to catch up with them, so we headed to the waterfall instead.

We rested for a little while at the waterfall taking in the beautiful scenery before it started to rain, which prompted us to head towards the old feeding house

(where chimps were provisioned with bananas, up until 2000) for some shelter.   When the rain eased up we made our way back to the main entrance.  There, Dr. Collins took most of the group to see Jane’s house while I stayed behind to chat with a fellow grad student researcher who had just arrived at Gombe to study the baboons there.

Waterfall at Gombe

Old feeding station at Gombe, used until 2000

When the group returned, we got back onto the boat to make our way to Kigoma Hilltop Lodge in the park for lunch and then back to Kigoma.  After a little downtime it was time for me to “earn” my trip by giving my powerpoint presentation.  Everyone was really enthusiastic about my research, which was a great boost in confidence about my time here in Tanzania.  After my talk, it was time for another fantastic dinner and chatting with more of the group members.  I got back to my hotel late that night, with a care-package of apples and cookies from some of the group, feeling lucky to have been able to meet such great people and share my research with them.

During my presentation, someone asked me what a typical day of fieldwork was like for me.  I thought that was a good question to share here in case others were also wondering the same thing.  My day usually starts between 6:00 and 6:30am when I get up and get ready for the day.  After making sure my fieldbag is packed, it’s time for breakfast—the field assistants usually eat cold rice and beans, but I cannot bring myself to do that so I usually have some bread and tea or oatmeal.  We pack food (usually rice and beans) to take with us for lunch and head off into the “bush”.  Here is where there is some variation in the routine—on some days I need to “establish” a patch; this means that I go to a particular location previously determined by selecting random GPS coordinates within the study site and make a 50 meter by 50 meter (or sometimes 30 meter by 30 meter) square plot.  Once the edges are marked with flagging tape, my research assistant and I begin to document and measure all of the trees within that patch. Other days involve monitoring these patches, which means sitting somewhere near the patch where I can observe what, if any, animals enter the patch and what they do while there.  During the middle of each month I also spend a few days checking the 22 digital camera traps that are located throughout the study site; this means making sure the camera is working and downloading the photos/videos onto a small laptop before re-deploying the camera.  Each of these tasks usually takes the full day, so that I arrive back at camp between 5:00 and 6:00pm.  Then it’s time for a nice bucket shower and then dinner, which is….rice and beans!  After dinner I either read or join my field assistants in watching a movie on my computer before going to bed.  Every now and then I take a “day off” from going into the field to stay at camp to wash laundry in the river and enter data into my computer.  Fieldwork is certainly a full-time job!

TRAVEL ADVENTURES

The last time I wrote about how friendly people are. Well, I have now come to the conclusion that some people are just too friendly….

On my way to Kigoma last month, I was traveling by myself; this was both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.  While waiting by road, I met Alex, a refugee from Burundi; he had been walking from Mishamo (the refugee camp near to our fieldsite) and was heading to Uvinza.  He stopped when he saw me and begin to ask me many questions, of course all of them in Swahili.  I actually managed to have a decent conversation with him in Swahili with only a few misunderstandings.  After he found out where I was from he would utter the phrase, “America! Huh!”, every so often at random times throughout the conversation.  And then he asked about my religion, another question I get asked by many people here.  I did my best to explain that I was Jewish (amazingly that was in the English-Swahili dictionary I had) and after that his new phrase to utter became, “Hamna Jesus?” (“You have no Jesus?”). People stopping me by the road or in town to ask me questions, in both Swahili and English, is commonplace here in Tanzania.  Most of the time I do not mind stopping and talking; it is only when they start asking for money that I begin to get annoyed. But, this is not the friendliness that I was referring to; it seems that people here really love foreigners…

Alex and I got a ride in the cab of a petrol truck (for you Americans, that’s a gasoline truck).  About halfway to Uvinza the driver and Alex began to argue over Alex not paying for the ride.  I was desperately trying to stay out of it and say that he was not my friend, that I didn’t even know him before that day.  The driver finally said it was okay for Alex to ride for free, but things were tense the rest of the way.  Of course we had to stop and fix a bolt that had fallen off of the truck at one point; no trip is complete without some kind of mechanical issue.  When got to Uvinza I was told we were not going all the way to Kigoma that day, so I ate dinner, exchanged phone numbers with the truck driver, and agreed to meet at 7am the next morning.  I then walked to the house UPP has in Uvinza to stay the night.  This was of course after making it clear to the driver that he and his assistant could not come with me.

That night I received a text message from the driver that said, “I LOVE YOU SO MARCH” (i.e. “I love you so much”). UH-OH. What do I do now? Option 1: wake up early to try and get a seat on the dala-dala (mini-bus) that leaves at 5am (but this bus is usually overstuffed and fills up early) or option 2: ignore the text message and meet the driver and his assistant as planned in morning. I went for option 2.  I ignored the message, went to bed, and awoke to find that little tiny ants had gotten into my backpack; unfortunately this was not the first time this has happened. Luckily I had enough time to get them out, clean my stuff, and still get to town in time to meet the driver. I got into the truck and we started on our way to Kigoma.

I was a bit on edge the whole trip, but there were no problems until about halfway to Kigoma (what is it about halfway points???).  The assistant got out to sell some of the petrol, so I was left alone with the driver who turned to me and asked if I had paid yet.  When I said no, he responded with (in broken English), “for you free”.  UH-OH (again).  Of course I politely refused and insisted I could pay (in my bad Swahili).  He then said, “Samantha, I love you so much”.  Awkward smile.  Then he said, “you, me, sleep kigoma”.  NOT GOOD.  Thankfully my previous time spent in Uganda had taught me that as a single woman traveling alone it was best to say you were married and wear a ring (which I put on before every trip to town), so I was prepared and responded with “nope, I can’t, I’m married (point to ring)”.  The name, job, and country of origin of my “husband” often changes each time someone asks me about him, but it is definitely beneficial to have a “husband” to talk about whenever someone starts getting a little too friendly.

At this point, I’m thinking, “great, I still have a few hours left with this guy. Do I get out and try and hitch a ride with someone else or take my chances and stay here?” I didn’t have much time to decide, because just then the other guy came back and we were on our way.  Thankfully I had no problems the rest of the way and the driver acted as if that conversation had never happened.  When we got to Kigoma, I got out of the truck and the assistant asked me to pay.  Now for the not so friendly side of some people here...

I gave him the agreed upon 15,000 TZ shillings (about 10 US dollars) at which point he said it’s 30,000 shillings. Now, normally to get a ride to Uvinza and then to Kigoma totals between 10,000 and 14,000 shillings, so there was no way I was paying more than the 15, 000 shillings.  And I told him all this the best that I could in Swahili.  So he says “okay,” but then looks at the 15,000 shillings in his hand and says, “bado elfu tano” (not yet 5,000).  So I said, “I don’t think so; that’s 15,000).  He smirked and put the money in his pocket.  Sorry dude, my Swahili might not be great, but I know enough now to know when you are trying to swindle me.  Thankfully there was a taxi nearby that I got into right then and directed to my hotel (thankful that the driver did not know where I was staying!).

So, everything turned out okay, but I definitely do not want to have that experience again! Although, I will admit that I was proud of myself for making it safely from camp to Kigoma (and back) all on my own.