Karibu Kenya!

Hello all, we are safe in Kenya and getting accustomed to the new camp. It is beautiful here! And quite different from Tanzania. It was a long drive from Rhotia to Kimana on Tuesday, though on the way we got a break in Arusha, where we went to a real grocery store (that had oreos and granola!). We were welcomed to the KBC by all the staff and the students who have been here since September.
Yesterday we spent the day doing stuff with the other group and exploring the camp. It has been an exciting but overwhelming few days. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone in Tanzania, and then strange to arrive here in Kenya and know we will be living here for a month and a half. Plus, there were so many American students and we were all going through a strange transition - them trying to say goodbye to the camp while we were preparing to stay here. The students left early this morning for Tanzania (I had cook crew this morning and had to wake up at 4:45!), and before lunch we had a long class about our case study (about the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem) and other academic info.
We had a lecture from the Kenya Student Affairs Manager, Molly, that should be called "Things that can hurt you in Kenya, duh duh duh...". It wasn't too scary though, because we already familiar with most of the things. The difference is that since we lived in the center of a village in TZ, we only had to think about run-ins with buffalo and elephant while visiting the parks (though that really isn't an issue because we are in land rovers). Here at KBC, we have vervets and baboons living next to our bandas, scorpions, many venomous snakes living in the tall grass, and elephants who once in a while knock down the fence that surrounds the camp. So much to look forward to! Maybe I'll have a few stories to tell, ones that don't involve close encounters...
I hope I can upload a photo or two soon, as it is really beautiful here! And I will soon write more about what we are up to and what Kenya is like. We literally live below Kilimanjaro and it is awesome to stare up at it while running around the trail. Best wishes to all back in the states, Catherine