Through My Eyes, In My Words:

Modern Sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya and Tanzania

Taught by Kofi Asare Opoku, professor of religion, and Roger W. Ruggles, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering

Yashpal Subedi, (Home Page), of Däng, Nepal, is a mechanical engineering major with a minor in economics and business. He is vice president of the Lafayette chapter of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a third-year resident advisor. A member of the Alternative School Break Club, he traveled to Honduras to build a house in the Habitat for Humanity program.

By Yashpal Subedi '05

After spending a rather busy semester filled with sophisticated engineering, I found myself huddling with nature and getting up-close with some of the fiercest animals in the world!

Our interim-session course in Kenya and Tanzania started at Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. We got right into the business by visiting the Nairobi National Park where we were briefed by a conservationist of Kenya Wildlife Service about the methods and goals in conservation of forest and wildlife. By petting orphaned cheetahs and feeding giraffes at the park I was immediately drawn into appreciation of these wonderful animals, and my desire to see them in the wild grew even stronger.

After visiting places of historical and cultural importance in Nairobi we headed north to cross the equator, reaching tented camps at Sweetwaters Game Reserve and conservation area. This place was a perfect example of a successful involvement of community in the sustainable conservation of a protected area. We saw hundreds of zebras and buffalo and many giraffes, elephants, chimpanzees, and birds on our first day of safari. Here I was bold enough to grab a rhino by its horns -- except it was a gentle and a tamed rhino! Almost all of our safaris were followed by lectures by guest speakers involved in wildlife conservation illustrating conservation efforts and the achievements made thus far at the parks.

The trip got more interesting every day, and there were always more events to look forward to. After visiting Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya we traveled south towards Tanzania, traversing the Great Rift Valley several times. The safaris at the Ngorongoro Crater certainly were the best among all the safaris that we did. It was here we saw every animal that there was to see. The lush green grassland in the crater bottom was home to the thousands of animals such as wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs, warthogs, hyenas, gazelles, rhinos and many other birds and animals. We continued to see the animals as we traveled through various national parks in Tanzania and back again into Kenya. Towards the end of the trip we stopped at Mombasa, a major Kenyan port by the Indian Ocean. Besides enjoying the tropical beaches at Mombasa, we learned about marine wildlife conservation. I experienced my first snorkeling at Mombasa in the warm waters of Indian Ocean. The views of the corals and other sea creatures were breathtaking.

Between seeing the animals in the safaris and staying at some of the nicest resorts in the world we had several opportunities to meet and talk to the locals and the natives of these countries to understand their ways of life and get answers to lot of our questions first-hand. We visited a primary school to learn about the education system in Tanzania and to donate school supplies and other materials. At a Masai village we observed some of their traditions and their way of living. It was indeed amazing to see how the Masais have stuck with their beliefs and traditions despite the strong influence of the western world through colonization in the past and tourism today.

Professor Opoku and Professor Ruggles were both very helpful and friendly and they had answers to almost all questions that we raised during the trip. Their lectures in the evenings helped us tie up the information we had gathered during the day. More interestingly, these lectures would be frequently interrupted by flying bats, hyraxes, or loud animal sounds coming from the wild! I would certainly recommend this trip to anyone! Just by being there for two weeks one can learn so much about the land, the people, and the nature.