So I had to write a paper for Environmental Toxicology about the effects of firing range soil from a Fort Benning firing range on the survival and growth of earthworms. It was due this morning, so I spent most of my weekend polishing it up to turn it in. Then someone convinced the teacher to move the due date to Wednesday. I just had to get it out of my hands so I could move on to the next assignment I have to do, so I turned it in. I'm not sure if the worms disliked the soil because of toxicants, but they totally all tried to escape. We came into class the whole next week after setting up the experiment to find dried up dead worms all over the floor. This is the stuff that occupies the mind of a biology major.
My senior research project is still plodding along. It has been really slow due to malfunctioning of equipment, contamination, and pretty much clumsiness on my part. I did get some positive results in one experiment, but I still have to repeat it because of some wonky results in one concentration. We were supposed to do that today, but the cells weren't completely ready to be treated today. I'll be so glad to finish this up!
There's only a month and a half until the trip to Tanzania! I'm so excited! I've installed a Swahili app on my phone that sends me a word/phrase of the day. I know how to say "Call the doctor," "I think he has fainted," and "breast." I don't pick which words they send me, I just learn them as they come!
Graduation is looking to happen Spring of 2014. I was going to be finished this December, but I decided to take another run-through of Organic Chemistry 1 so that I could understand 2 come spring. It also looks like Micah (my son) and I will be doing Ochem together! Won't that be fun!
Just wanted to slap another update here. I've given up any kind of regular posting. :)
~Ciao!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
A Little Help?
I have been very blessed that I get to go to Tanzania and the money has been provided to pay for the trip through grants, scholarships, and donations. Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far! There are a couple of scholarship applications still in the works, but those will not pay out before my trip actually happens. I have several items I have to purchase and I need to get a medical check-up and some preventative medications to take on the trip. I'm going to list the actual items I need, and maybe someone can loan some of them or maybe make a donation so I can purchase them. I am very excited about this trip, and I hope that everyone is as excited as I am!
Here's the breakdown:
Clothing Packing List
• 2 Long sleeved lightweight shirt for protection from the sun *all clothes should be muted colors, bright colors will scare away some animals or attract others…we don’t want either occurring!
• 1 Sweater / jacket for cold temperatures experienced at night
• Hat (again sun protection, I also had a wool hat for warmth and gloves and long johns)
• Bathing suit (if you stay in a lodge/hotel that has a swimming pool and would want to swim) – not required but an option if you want to get into the pool
• Socks, undergarments (4 or 5 days’ worth, then plan to wash, most places offered clothes washing but you are charged a fee, in some places Maasi men did the laundry so no female undergarments were allowed…as I said, plan to wash in the sink
• Belt (if preferred)
• Sandals (flip flops) for wear during safari in the truck, if we stop and walk you will want hiking shoes and socks – the reason for flip flops or sandals is they don’t want you standing on the seats in the safari vehicles with your shoes on
• Lightweight hiking shoes
• 2 Shorts/zip off pants (two pair) that convert into shorts are best, 3 -4 t-shirts, something to sleep in if preferred (your roommates might prefer!)
• Sunglasses
• Reading glasses (if you wear contacts bring glasses as it can be very dusty)
• Remember: Bring enough clothing for the entire safari as you may not have them washed (most lodges do offer laundry service) *you can always wash clothes in your sink, we did
Personal items
• Sunscreen / Sun block
• Lip sun block
• Toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo *soap and shampoo are provided by all lodges, however, bring a small travel bottle then can be used to wash clothes
• Several Ziploc bags for camera and toiletries (and dirty clothes)
• Antibacterial hand (or facial) wipes/hand sanitizer and/or baby wipes
• Ibuprofen and other required medications – make sure they are in original bottles *for Malaria we use Doxycycline a broad spectrum antibiotic, started 1 – 2 days before we leave for Tanzania – also consider controlled release Ambien, anti-diarrhea meds and get a prescription for Cipro (strong general antibiotic)
• Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots, such as measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc., Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio
• Bug repellant (Tsetse flies cause sleeping sickness and are bad!) *we used lemon eucalyptus from Forestry Suppliers
• You will NOT need bed nets
Other
• Camera, 300 mm lens recommended. (bring extra scan disks so you can maintain resolution of each photo *we shot our photos in RAW but that took a lot of room, we each had 5 scan disks!)
• Extra camera batteries *we will have electricity at each site and in the vehicle so bring rechargeable camera batteries and an adapter
• Flashlight
• Binoculars (each of our vehicles has 1~2 binoculars)
• Locks for baggage
• Video camera (if you want)
• Small gifts for Maasai children (if you want) – maybe chalk or gum or other school supplies
• Travelers checks or currency *bring currency in small denominations, in some places they would not take a $20 *call your credit card company, let them know you will be using your Visa or American express (not discover) in Tanzania and the Netherlands, give them the dates of your travel
• Wildlife guides (we can consolidate as weight will quickly become an issue)
• Small backpack (to use on non-travel days to bring in the truck while on safari – this is also what I will use as carry on for our international flight)
• Money belt (place to keep your passport) *each lodge had a safe in the closet of each room so you can leave extra cash, airline tickets and passport locked in the room, however, don’t forget them when we depart!) *Keep your passport on you while we are traveling DO NOT PACK YOUR PASSPORT, you will need to show it several times*
• Snacks *if needed, to be honest we often had packed lunches or breakfasts and they gave us so much food we didn’t need snacks
• Good Earth will provide bottled water in the trucks; you should carry a couple of bottles with you to your room. Don’t drink water from the tap. Only drink bottled liquids, wipe off the mouth piece or use a straw.
So if anyone knows where I can borrow this stuff or get it cheap, I'd love advice. As far as the medical stuff, I do not have health insurance, but I participate in a medical sharing plan called Samaritan Ministries. This means that preventative stuff and anything under a certain amount is covered by us, and anything else is sent to them and shared among the members. So donations in that regard are definitely welcome. Donation button to PayPal is below. Thanks everyone!
Here's the breakdown:
Clothing Packing List
• 2 Long sleeved lightweight shirt for protection from the sun *all clothes should be muted colors, bright colors will scare away some animals or attract others…we don’t want either occurring!
• 1 Sweater / jacket for cold temperatures experienced at night
• Hat (again sun protection, I also had a wool hat for warmth and gloves and long johns)
• Bathing suit (if you stay in a lodge/hotel that has a swimming pool and would want to swim) – not required but an option if you want to get into the pool
• Socks, undergarments (4 or 5 days’ worth, then plan to wash, most places offered clothes washing but you are charged a fee, in some places Maasi men did the laundry so no female undergarments were allowed…as I said, plan to wash in the sink
• Belt (if preferred)
• Sandals (flip flops) for wear during safari in the truck, if we stop and walk you will want hiking shoes and socks – the reason for flip flops or sandals is they don’t want you standing on the seats in the safari vehicles with your shoes on
• Lightweight hiking shoes
• 2 Shorts/zip off pants (two pair) that convert into shorts are best, 3 -4 t-shirts, something to sleep in if preferred (your roommates might prefer!)
• Sunglasses
• Reading glasses (if you wear contacts bring glasses as it can be very dusty)
• Remember: Bring enough clothing for the entire safari as you may not have them washed (most lodges do offer laundry service) *you can always wash clothes in your sink, we did
Personal items
• Sunscreen / Sun block
• Lip sun block
• Toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo *soap and shampoo are provided by all lodges, however, bring a small travel bottle then can be used to wash clothes
• Several Ziploc bags for camera and toiletries (and dirty clothes)
• Antibacterial hand (or facial) wipes/hand sanitizer and/or baby wipes
• Ibuprofen and other required medications – make sure they are in original bottles *for Malaria we use Doxycycline a broad spectrum antibiotic, started 1 – 2 days before we leave for Tanzania – also consider controlled release Ambien, anti-diarrhea meds and get a prescription for Cipro (strong general antibiotic)
• Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots, such as measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc., Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio
• Bug repellant (Tsetse flies cause sleeping sickness and are bad!) *we used lemon eucalyptus from Forestry Suppliers
• You will NOT need bed nets
Other
• Camera, 300 mm lens recommended. (bring extra scan disks so you can maintain resolution of each photo *we shot our photos in RAW but that took a lot of room, we each had 5 scan disks!)
• Extra camera batteries *we will have electricity at each site and in the vehicle so bring rechargeable camera batteries and an adapter
• Flashlight
• Binoculars (each of our vehicles has 1~2 binoculars)
• Locks for baggage
• Video camera (if you want)
• Small gifts for Maasai children (if you want) – maybe chalk or gum or other school supplies
• Travelers checks or currency *bring currency in small denominations, in some places they would not take a $20 *call your credit card company, let them know you will be using your Visa or American express (not discover) in Tanzania and the Netherlands, give them the dates of your travel
• Wildlife guides (we can consolidate as weight will quickly become an issue)
• Small backpack (to use on non-travel days to bring in the truck while on safari – this is also what I will use as carry on for our international flight)
• Money belt (place to keep your passport) *each lodge had a safe in the closet of each room so you can leave extra cash, airline tickets and passport locked in the room, however, don’t forget them when we depart!) *Keep your passport on you while we are traveling DO NOT PACK YOUR PASSPORT, you will need to show it several times*
• Snacks *if needed, to be honest we often had packed lunches or breakfasts and they gave us so much food we didn’t need snacks
• Good Earth will provide bottled water in the trucks; you should carry a couple of bottles with you to your room. Don’t drink water from the tap. Only drink bottled liquids, wipe off the mouth piece or use a straw.
So if anyone knows where I can borrow this stuff or get it cheap, I'd love advice. As far as the medical stuff, I do not have health insurance, but I participate in a medical sharing plan called Samaritan Ministries. This means that preventative stuff and anything under a certain amount is covered by us, and anything else is sent to them and shared among the members. So donations in that regard are definitely welcome. Donation button to PayPal is below. Thanks everyone!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I'm going to Tanzania!!!!
So thanks to some VERY generous donations, a grant, and a CRAZY huge scholarship from CIE, my trip is PAID for! I am so thrilled that I get to go, and I am very grateful for all who have helped. We are leaving May 21 and coming back June 1. I can't wait to see all the awesome animals!!! So thank you all for your help, and I will be taking lots of pictures and telling everyone about my adventures in just a couple of months! WOOHOO!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Time is ticking!
So I'm going to Africa! There was some doubt as to whether the trip was going to be on, and I had started planning to go to the next trip in Oxford instead. But they actually lined up enough people to go, so it's back on!
Problem is, I am supposed to pay another $1,000 by this Friday, and I don't quite have that much yet. So if anyone would like to donate, I would appreciate it very much! You can donate by clicking the button below and choosing the amount, and VOILA! I'm going to Tanzania! :) Thanks to everyone who gives, I really appreciate it!
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