Old People

So, 2013 kinda sucked but it was pretty amazing. Do you get what I mean by that? I mean there were good parts and bad parts.

In fact, the year of 2013 held my lowest point in life... And my absolute highest too!!! What!? Lol that's pretty cool I think. Should I list out some thank yous?... Or do you already know who you are? 

What the hecckk is gonna happen to me in 2014? Step 1: Make it home from Africa alive.

The chimps run around this little island of trees like they own the place. Jk, they do own it. The guides are so good at keeping track of them and predicting where they're going next! They always put possibilities into percentages. "90% sure they will come back before bed." "50% chance they will cross the road." Regardless of the probabilities.... We always wait for them.

I just can't believe the old lady chimps here. When they walk into the observation area, my jaw drops. They are so old. You can just SEE that they've seen so much. I see them walking around so slow and I feel like their bones seem alarmingly fragile... But 20 minutes later I will see them 30 meters high in a tree! They walk like severely old humans do; kind of hunched over and inflexibly. And a recent study showed that they groom each other with their faces further away from their partner's fur. Does that make sense? Ok, just imagine trying to show your parents a text message... They always shove the phone farther from their face so that they can see. Now do you get it? Lol these old ladies! 

Matsuzawa said these mats are why he has lasted doing this field work for 28 years. 

Two days ago a monstrous tourist vehicle showed up on our lawn with 23 white people, one Indian, and one Japanese on it. These people got out if the vehicle and started setting up camp. Their bustruck had "London-Cape Town-Cairo 40 Weeks" written on the side of it. Welcome to Guinea! Apparently Bossou has ended up on some tourist lists, so every once in a while a bus full of Europeans will pull up and dump their belongings in the front yard of our establishment.

Lol which is fine with me. I don't really care. But some of the people here HATE IT. I mean, it's less quiet now... And there are more people standing around the well. But these people bring money to the town and to our guides. The tourists will pay $100 each for 1 hour of chimp tracking (not 100% guaranteed to see chimps). Stop bring mad at ecotourism. 

However... Some weird things happen when these guys come in. A) White men always seem to think that taking off their shirt is appropriate. No one else in Africa is shirtless; just the white men. And B) The doorless outdoor shower is positioned in a way that when I emerged from the woods after work yesterday- all I could see was the pant-less & soapy bottom of a British man. 

As soon as these people got out of their van, an Australian dude got out a soccer ball to kick with a lone Guinean child. This action had the same effect as throwing a potato chip to a single bird on a beach does. As in, in about 20 seconds there were 400 Guinean children running around my winter home. Screaming and laughing. It was kinda cute... But I didn't understand how the guy was planning on getting his soccer ball back, lol. 

Last thing about the tourists... As they were packing up their things to leave yesterday, they all took turns gathering up the hoards of children for photographs. These photographs will become their Facebook banner photo that says, "Look! I went to Africa and saw a bunch of Black African children!" Cool dude, cool. I actually can't put into words what's weird about this... I've been thinking about it all day. "Objectify" keeps coming to my mind.

There are 4 other girls here. They just arrived back from the Nimba Mountains. They work up there for 10 days, then come back to rest for 5. They are trying to habituate a new group of chimps up there AKA trying to get the chimps unafraid of people. They are back now. And... The whole time they were gone I was trying to figure out why they made fun of Matsuzawa so much. I wanted to be on the Cool Team. But really... I can't figure it out. Matsuzawa is a well-mannered, organized, powerful, and reasonable man. And, he takes responsibility for his actions. AND- He is weird because he's old! Duh! Big deal! Young people get so caught up in old people's weirdness. LOOK PAST IT, losers. And if you do- you'll find that these people basically know everything. Old people were the original Google. 

More about how cool chimps are:

  The chimps here at Bossou get thirsty because it's kinda hot sometimes. But chimps don't have cups or bottled water. So instead, they need to drink rain water. OR the water that Matsuzawa puts into a hole in a tree at the outdoor laboratory. But omg, how do they get that water out from down inside the tree!? I'll tell you. 

   They use TOOLS. They just make a little tool to get the water out! Step 1) Look around for a large, sturdy leaf. Step 2) Yank the leaf from its branch. Step 3) Crunch leaf in mouth, but not too much. Step 4) Remove leaf from mouth and dip down into water hole! Step 5) Quickly transfer watery leaf to mouth.       REPEAT!

 The folds in the crunched leaf provide little spaces for water to be held. All of the chimps here do this.... Even the tiny 2 year old! Although, he usually grabs the old tools his momma just used, instead of making his own. This is a pretty neat sequence of events to watch. Quite impressive! 

Today I play soccer and tomorrow I will tell you about it. 

TCHAU, FEIAS!! xoxoxo

Some information about some topics.

First: Finally!!

My current situation is equivalent to FINALLY and out of NOWHERE being asked to dance by a random attractive stranger. After standing in the back of the room, in the dark, with no buddies... Someone approaches YOU. That happiness! Lol I can see my dad being like, "What?!! Who are you dancing with!?" 

No dancing! I was invited to play soccer! According to THIS formal invitation!!!

I don't know what all of the words say, but I do know that there is a women's soccer match for New Years and LEIGH ANNA is invited! And the other white girls here. I am so HAPPY. 

I think about jumping in and playing with those boys everyday. But I don't. I was starting to think I wouldn't be playing with them at all this winter. No one even knew I secretly wanted to dance! They just invited me!

But let's get back to reality. (Whoop! There goes gravity.) I am sitting in the forest. This particular forest is maybe 15 square kilometers... But we stay focused on the chimps' core range. This is about 6 square kilometers. This forest is completely cutoff from the rest of the forests in this area; 100% due to human impact. It's like an island. For this reason-  there are hardly any wild animals in this forest. Besides the 9 chimps we watch everyday. Other than that, I've seen birds and 3 squirrels. See why we had that "isolated chimp population" conference here?

So, I kinda lied. Bossou's forest isn't COMPLETELY cut off from other forests... Matsuzawa and his team have worked for YEARS to create a 'Green Corridor' that would connect our forest to another close to the Nimba Mountains. The team has planted thousands of trees in an effort to connect the forests... And it seems to be working well. However, they still have a long way to go.

All of these things have affected the chimps throughout the years. Up until 2003, there was a stable population of 19 chimps in Bossou's group. It was during that year that a flu epidemic (originating in the human population) took the lives of 5 chimps. 

In chimpanzee families, once a young female comes to age she leaves her natal group to live with a neighboring family. This positively affects the gene pool. So, before Bossou's forest was cutoff from the others- its chimp community was successfully mixing in with all the others due to female emigration! But now- that can't happen. 

Except, it kinda CAN happen. But it's a one-way street. Our female chimps can use the Green Corridor to move to other groups... But no other females are brave enough to come live in our group. This is because our group is so heavily mixed with humans! Our chimps see humans everyday, and have for 30 years! Our chimps are not scared of the passing cars, amplified voices, or musical celebrations reverberating from town! But, all of these things scare foreign chimps away from ever moving here. For this reason- there are only 9 chimps living in Matsuzawa's community. 

What do you think about this? 

Maybe the stilled gene pool contributed to Flanle's 6th finger on his right hand... Did I ever mention that!? 

What elseee.... 

Oh... We got mats for Christmas from Matsuzawa. 

(Notice the shade leaf I planted.)

"Is Leigh Anna getting paid to sleep all winter??" Uh, no. I'm not getting paid. AND- I probably have ant eggs in my ears from sleeping on the ground before this mat.

Things about things

"A quest is as much about the seeker as the sought." 

That awkward moment when your phone grabs onto the Liberian cell network.... 

Hi, guys! Hi, Future Leigh Anna! How are you? 

I'm hanging from a vine on Mont Gban contemplating life and our history as a species. Just kidding, I'm thinking about lunch. (But I promise I think about smart things too sometimes, Dad.) We've heard the chimps this morning... But they haven't come up to us for a snack yet this morning. 

I'm reading that book "The Follow" by Linda Spalding. Have you heard of it?? It's amazing...

At one point she describes the trees surrounding her as being "living columns." This line stopped me in my tracks. How true. I read that sentence from this very spot in the forest. My eyes shifted to the giant tree that acts as the centerpiece of our clearing. It has a thick trunk and a massive buttress with wide, extending roots. It's the tallest tree here at the tip-top of this hill and we sit under it for 10 hours a day. It's the living column that supports the canopy up above us... So I pictured us scientists under a circus tent: This tree in the middle holding up the tent canvas, us huddled together to the side with our cameras, and the chimps performing tricks with nuts and stones. "Step right up!" "Oooooo! Ahhhhhhh!"

I meant to tell y'all that we had a rat in our soup three days ago for lunch. Well, they* had a rat in their* soup. I was an innocent bystander eating a protein bar from Kroger. 

Matsuzawa is amazing every single day. I noticed his multicolored pen the very first day I met him... Because what full-grown man uses a multicolored pen?? This guy does. You know the kind I'm talking about, with the small black, blue, red, and green pull-down nobs on the side? Matsuzawa buys these pens in bulk I guarantee you. Lemme show you why:

This is Dr. Matsuzawa's "Activity Budget." Mentioning his pretty-colored paper was a loaded complement... He dove into explaining, clearly proud of his work. That picture above perfectly depicts every single thing Matsuzawa has done in the past three months. Color-coded and adjusted for travel time differences. Black is for sleeping, red for computer work, green for resting, dark green for forest time, and blue for social interactions. He even notates how many times he bushes his teeth each day (my favorite part). When he saw how honestly interested I was, he explained further. And further! On the next pages he has his "one-line diaries" for each day. Is this man a human being or not?... Because I don't even know if I should TRY to emulate. He's just beyond. He told me to try, of course. So I want to. 

Last night he told us that he is one of the very few people in the world to have met all three of Leakey's Angels. Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas, and Jane Goodall. These three girls were sponsored by Dr. Louis Leakey decades ago to study our closest living relatives- the mountain gorilla, the orangutan, and the chimpanzee respectively. Dr. Leakey believed that women were the best observers, so he gathered up three of the toughest ones to send out to the uncharted wilderness!! Girl power!

ANYWAYS- Matsuzawa has met all three of these ladies. The next logical question for me to ask was, "Who did you find to be the nicest?" He laughed and said without any hesitation, "Absolutely 100%- Jane Goodall!" OMG she is a saint! 

What else?... Hmmmmm....

Last night I drank the palm wine that Dr. Tatyana Humle warned me about. "If it's not sweet, don't drink it!" It was sweet, so I drank it. Also, Cat gave us chocolate for dessert and I almost cried tears of joy. Lol that's dramatic, I'm jk. I was happy. 

In my next post I will reveal why we only have 9 chimps in this forest. This will also explain why there aren't any other animals! Besides squirrels. I've seen like 3 squirrels since I've been here. 

Want some pics? 

The chimps were in the pretty tree on the side of the hill!

Such a cute couple! 

Christmas with the Chimps

I've never been homesick in my entire life until this Christmas Eve. 

A horrible Christmas. I never wanna choose science over family on Christmas again. 

I don't know if Santa Clause doesn't come to Guinea  or if I've just been bad this year. I'd say there's a 75% chance that both of those guesses are right.  

But let's move on!! 

My momma told me I should talk more about the chimpanzees. Less Beyonce, more chimps. Got it!

First let's talk about how we did not evolve from chimps. We share a common ancestor with chimps- just like we share a common ancestor with the ant I just flicked off my shirt (gently). 

Also, chimpanzees are not monkeys. Chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and humans are all apes. Monkeys are those cute little babies with tails. Apes don't have tails. Monkeys and apes are both primates. I'm quizzing all of you when I get back.

The chimps here crack nuts with stones. That's the whole point of this field site. We consider this non-human tool use. The chimp will pick two stones- one to use as a hammer and one to use as a hard surface to crack on. Aka- an anvil. So, once the chimpy has grabbed her hammer and anvil, she will crack nuts! We watch them all crack nuts from behind the palm frond wall I mentioned in an earlier post. Last time I counted, a grown male chimp ate 52 nuts in one sitting! 

As soon as the chimps are full, they leave us.  That's when we start waiting for them to be hungry again. However, it is not guaranteed that the group will return! The chimps eat all kinds of other food around here, including figs, leaves, and maybe even meat! Meat is rare though... So I definitely don't have my hopes up about getting to see that. 

Chimpanzees are cavemen, like I've said before. They like to grunt and hit each other as well as nap and use stone tools. The 7 year old likes to throw rocks at other chimps. I think those are all very cavemen-like activities. 

Before recently, there hasn't been much crazy social behavior. However, starting yesterday, there has been a lot of drama! GUESS WHY. It's really exciting! One of the old ladies is in estrus now!!!!!! This is actually really weird to see because the lady is very, very old. She is about 45 or 50. She's had 10 kids. But, to each his own!

So with this estrus, comes drama. Like I said. The two boys were running around today hooting an hollering. The others are just trying to stay out of the way. Like me. The lady can't even help causing such a ruckus because the boys can SEE that she is fertile. It's not like they heard through the grapevine that Jire was ovulating. They can SEE it and KNOW! How embarrassing, lol. A female chimp's rump will become pink and swollen when she enters this stage in her cycle. The boys find this pinkness very attractive!! The boys will sniff and poke and follow a pink female around. Meanwhile I KNOW Jire is saying, "Jeje, STOP- I'm your mother! Plus I've already had enough of you wild children! Give me a break, boys!" 

The boys try to show how strong they are by running, jumping, shaking branches, and picking up heavy items. Boys are so weird.

Luckily for me and not for Jire, she is only at the very beginning stages of the whole ordeal. She has a few more days to go... And these coming days will be even more fun! Draaaammaaaa. "These are the Days of Her Estrus"

When the chimps sleep on their backs they hold one foot with one hand, ok? I don't know why. It's very cute. 

I like watching them groom each other. It makes me wanna be groomed. It's sweet! This chimp group is basically just a dysfunctional human family; they fight and yell at each other, but if Foaf sees that Jeje  has an ant on him, he's gonna help him get it off. That's the foundation of family. 

Yesterday we watched the chimps climb in a huge fig tree. HUGE fig tree. The tree was bigger than any I saw in Brazil. And, it was hanging off the side of this mountain we're on! The sky was blue and crystal clear. Guinean Christmas music from the village was blaring in the background. It blew my mind that those heavy apes could climb so high in that tree. It blew my mind that those 50 year old ladies could climb that high too! I'm currently picturing my grandmas sitting up there on those branches eating figs... Omg. "NANNY! MOMMIE! HOLD ON! THE HELICOPTER IS ON ITS WAY!" 

The sight was beautiful. Unlike the little kitty monkeys I was struggling to keep my eyes on high in the trees this summer, these massive pitch-black apes were incredibly easy to spot in the tree tops. Especially against that sky. Idk, it was just a cool sight. 

I feel so spoiled for being upset all day yesterday after getting to see that... I can't help it... I wanted to feast with my family too! Christmas! 

Me and Mont Gban, the mountain we climb everyday. This is the view from the village. 

What I spent Christmas doing. 

You can email me things if you want to. Lyoung40@uga.edu

Frog Soup for the Vegetarian's Soul

Here are some random tidbits of info that have no single overarching theme. 

Market day is on Wednesday. I'm extremely excited to visit this market!!!!! Even cooler- it's not gonna be closed for Christmas! That means we get to go there as a Christmas special occasion. 

We have to ask our "housekeeper" guy to pick up food items for us in town on most days because we are in the forrest for 11 hours of daylight... Loaves of bread cost 25 cent. If I bring that receipt to Walmart, will they pay me the difference? Just curious.

All of the people that were here for the workshop conference are now gone as of yesterday morning. Thanks be to Lord Santa because there were just TOO MANY people. PLUS- I get my own room now! What am I gonna do with a whole queen-size bed to myself!? I also got to unpack all my items and set them up all organized on a nice shelf. This was so fun. I really like having all my things spread out and organized. Routine <3. 

I have heard there are comments below... But I can't use my limited internet to load them! Please feel free to comment only blogs though! I really can't wait to read what you think!!!

Today I will be testing out my first draft data collection sheets! I feel cool... I did this junk all by myself. Lol and the chimps are going to be so aggravated with me because I moved away all their favorite stones and gave them awful ones instead! Sorry not sorry. 

This Beyonce album is more than just a few collaborations. These are SERIOUS. The collab with Drake isn't just a verse feature... It's a deep musical collaboration with Drake and his team. That's Sampha's voice in there. That's a mutual shoutout to one of the biggest themes in "Nothing was the Same."  I can't wait to dig deeper into this album. 

I may have already told you this, but stressing this point couldn't hurt. The villagers don't harm the chimpanzees in this area because they believe the chimps are reincarnations of their ancestors. This is a rare case of perfectly stable coexistence between humans and chimps. In addition, the relationship that Matsuzawa and his project has made with the village is exceptional. The project has built schools, provided medical care, created stable income opportunities for villagers, and installed toilets in the homes of many to improve sanitation. This is how you do it. Having a stable relationship with the local community is a KEY to conservation! 

One cool thing about every place that I've ever been to is how important SOCCER is! Playing soccer is so important. All you need is a ball! In between our research station and the village is a huge, square, semi-flat plot of land set aside for this purpose alone! Every single day the young boys of the village get out in the dirt to play the world's sport. The beautiful game. The makeshift goal posts here are constructed slightly differently than those I saw in rural Brazil. Woooooohoooooo!!!! I wanna play....! 

Yesterday as we walked into the observation area as the chimps left, Cat said, "Ahhh :-) I love the smell of chimps." I was totally shocked when I heard this, "Oh! That's what this smell is?!" I had smelled it here before... But I never realized it was coming from the chimpanzees. I kinda liked the smell too! It's funny, I always compare the 7 year old chimp, Flanle, to my little brothers... But I'll tell ya- Flanle doesn't smell as bad! (Moment of silence in remembrance  of when all our little brothers hit puberty. #ThisTooShallPass)

ProTip: When visiting areas of the world where people eat rice and beans a LOT, be prepared for this steady diet by bringing from home packets of fajita/taco seasoning powder! (The things you learn by hanging out with people older than you: Priceless.)

There is a bird here that sounds a little like the Hogwarts theme song... Miss you, Olivia! Don't forget- Orbit and Ag Hill will take you to and from biology!!!!

We are in the woods now waiting for the chimpy babies to arrive. I think Matsuzawa is asleep by that tree trunk... But I can't see. I just know he hasn't said a word in an hour.

Oh, last night was pretty cool because it was only me, Cat, and Matsuzawa eating dinner. We got to talk with him and hear some personal stories about when he first met his famous chimps in Kyoto. In the woods yesterday I asked if Santa Clause came to Guinea. Lol he really thought that was funny. I was being dead serious though because I need presents.

OMG, I almost forgot to tell y'all about the frog soup. Have you ever been cooking a plain, boring vegetarian soup? While cooking that soup, did you ever step outside for a breath of fresh air? Maybe while you were freshly breathing outside you spot out the corner of your eye a cute frog hopping. Did you then decide, hey- I should catch that, cut all its limbs off, and toss all the body parts into my cooking soup!!! 

(I woulda just ran over to take the frog's picture for Instagram.)

#SoupWildlife

Don't even ask me if I ate it or not. Just make an educated guess. 

Merry Christmas Eve, sugars!! I wish I were playing with my sisters and family and eating cookies and hanging stockings. Miss y'all. 

Cold water and chimp dung

It just so happens that I can allow myself one new Beyonce video per night! Glory Bey to Thee!! I just sat down to write up a schedule because I thought I was going to has to limit myself... lol but uh no, there are plenty. Rejoice! 

-----......-----.......

It's been about two hours since I wrote that paragraph above. Tonight I got to watch the "Flawless" video. GOOSEBUMPS. Amazing. Beyonce is the best female pop artist there ever was or ever will be. I'm close to putting her on Michael Jackson's level. That video/song is so HARD. So feministic. So strong and inspiring. Y'all already know that Rihanna is my girl. But, let's be real- RiRi better not get it twisted. 

Secret about Leigh Anna: She LOVES pop culture. She loves what it does to us. 

LET'S MOVE ON.

Why don't we talk about what I do on a daily basis! Keep in mind, I've only been here for a few days.

I wake up at 6:00am so that I can be ready at precisely 6:30am to walk up a mountain. Don't forget to pack the snacks! I actually pack my bag and get ready for the next day as soon as I get back from the day's work. This eliminates forgetting most things!

It is pitch black dark and -400 degrees when I wake up. Headlamp: ON. 

I keep a large water bottle filled with water next to my bed so that I can brush my teeth and take my supplements. We also have to keep that toilet bucket of water filled... A total hassle! 

I usually eat a large piece of French bread for breakfast. I will dip it in peanut butter (thanks Anne!) or eat it with a banana. Tell my sweet dietician that there is no need to worry about my potassium levels; I eat bananas alllllll day. 

Then, I gear up and head out! We usually have about 5 or so guides with us. They lead us up the mountain. I'll be honest- I've been struggling with that mountain. Some of you with large lung capacities may call it a hill >>. Anyways, we climb it. The past two days, we've had to RUSH up it because halfway up we heard the chimps! That means they're close! We have to set up all the cameras and make sure they have enough nuts/water! Quick! I definitely break a sweat.

If we know the chimpanzees are close, we will quickly set up and man our posts along the palm frond wall. If we're not too sure where the chimps are, we will set up and sit down by our respective trees. Today, a guide cut down two palm fronds for me to lay down on my sitting area. This was a major upgrade that significantly reduced the amount of dirt I wallowed in. Thanks! 

Here we will sit for hours. I'm not kidding. HOURS. I usually talk Cat's head off or ask her millions of questions about academia/primates. I've been writing blogs and reading a lot too. (OH- you're curious about what I'm reading? I'll tell you! I'm reading a book written [partially] by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama called, "My Spiritual Journey!") Maybe a quick French or Manon lesson. Or one time I napped. But basically, we just wait until the chimps come to us. But have no fear! They DO come! And when they do- we get up to investigate! I don't have a camera, so I merely observe the cavemen. The others film specific aspects of their behavior from different angles. It isn't anything crazy. I just keep an eye out for cool stone manipulations. I always pray that the babies will show up!

Sometimes when the chimps enter or exit the observation area, the alpha male, Jeje, will walk RIGHT BEHIND US. With no care. He just walks straight through our little clearing. I have to get sneaky to take pictures of him doing this... We aren't allowed to look straight at him. Probably because he will feel frightened and then eat us. Blah.

We may hear on the walkie-talkies that the chimps are heading towards the salon! In this case- we pack up and RUN down the mountain to beat them there! I like going down the mountain fast. It's kind of like Temple Run. Except, this is real life and ankle fractures are a serious threat in real life. 

Most days we head home at around 5pm. When we get home- I go straight to the snacks aka bananas. Then, we upload videos or transfer notes or whatever other business. I try to shower before I cool off... Otherwise- the chilling ground water from the washing bucket will freeze your heart solid. Ouch. ProTip: Breathe all of the air out of your lungs before pouring the cold water onto your body. This greatly reduces the pain and whimpering.

Like I said, I like to pack up my bag for the next day at this time. Then- free time! Then, a not-so-tasty supper :-/. Whatever. Maria, te amo. 

THEN I LAY DOWN, YA'LL! This has turned into such a boring post. Oh my gosh. It's 8:39pm and I've been in bed since 8:00. Who cares? What else do I have to do!? Stalk you guys on Instagram like usual?? NO! I can't waste my precious internet on that! 

"Leigh Anna... What!? You have Internet?!"

Oops!? Did I say that? Ugh. Fine. I have a tiny bit of Internet. It's reserved for blogs, though. So don't expect me to poke you back on the Facebook. 

Quick shoutout to my boy Jacob who better be doing 100+ push-ups in his bed whilst sleeping every single night. OOO KILL EM! 

Aside: Tomorrow is my last day of Flaming Hot Cheetos... I'm so sad. I'm also impressed with myself for letting them last this long! I bet Olivia couldn't do that...!! Ha! 

Today I saw a dung beetle. I told two of my best friends that I would cry if I saw a dung beetle here. I didn't cry because Cat was right there... But just know that I was so joyful. I didn't get to see him rolling the chimp dung across the way, but I still did see him! I have pics. 

CHIMPANZEES

"Ok, Leigh Anna! Shut up already! We want to hear about the chimps!!!!"

Oh! My bad :-). Lemme tell you about some chimps I've met.

There are 9. ONLY NINE! Three were lost in September... And no one knows where they are...

Fana was probably born around 1956. She has a huge son named Foaf who is 10 years older than me. Foaf used to be the alpha male. Fana also has a daughter named Fanle. Fanle has two sons- Flanle and Fanwa. Flanle is 7... And he is a little RASCAL! Fanwa is a little over 2 years old.... Oh lord have mercy he is SO ADORABLE. I want to hold him and love him. But he is completely dependent on and attached to his mother. Also, we aren't allowed to snuggle the chimps. Jire was born around 1958 and has a big 12 year old son name Jeje. Jeje is the alpha male!! Velu and Yo are the two old ladies. They were born in 1959 and 1961 respectively. I have yet to see these two ladies.

They have two outdoor "laboratories" here in Bossou. One is a flat 5 minute walk from home and is called the Salon. The Salon is great because it is extra natural. The water hole in the tree is natural, and there are palm trees hovering above that would be providing nuts anyway. Plus, you can witness 4 different types of tool use there- nut cracking, water scooping, pestle pounding, and possibly ant dipping! The other site is a (tough) 20 minute hike up a mountain. This is the most popular site for the chimps to come to. It's called the Bureau. I'm there now! The Bureau is smack-dab in the middle of the chimps' territory; an ideal location for secret experiments! Typically, we will wait at either of these locations behind a makeshift palm frond wall for the chimps to stroll on up and start crackin'!

The first time I ever saw wild chimps was about two days ago. We were at the Salon. Lots of conference attendees were with us. I had my new binoculars out. And we waited. 40 minutes went by.... And then- BOOM! Seven chimps walked in! I peaked through my hole in the palm wall with my binoculars to see their faces up close. Magnificent! They the nuts were scattered in piles in the bare-soil area we made for them. Cautiously, they all came out into the open. 

They were so much bigger than all my capuchin friends! And slower! Their grunts and pant-hoots are wild. Chimpanzees are literally cavemen. Not the Geiko commercial fake-cavemen. REAL cavemen. The way they chose their stone tools was prehistoric. The way they used their tools was ancient. Such a wild site! 

Flanle, the 7 year old boy, was raising a ruckus. He was being so obnoxious! But not really, lol, he just wanted to play! He would run up to an adult and pretend to throw a rock at them! Then, he actually DID throw a rock at an adult! I thought it was so amazing that the grown ups would actually get up and leave their nuts to pretend to chase Flanle around. They would walk, and Flanle would run away! Never did they actually get upset with the young boy. The atmosphere was so relaxed.

Fanwa, the little infant, was constantly clinging to his mother. It was such a cute sight to see. Sometimes he would walk a few steps away... Jump around a little bit... And then run right back to his momma. One time, as his mother was cracking nuts, little Fanwa stood up on his two feet and began to swing his left arm up and down so fast! As if he were cracking nuts! With no stones or nuts, of course.... But still, I wondered if he was mimicking his mother. I wish I had good video of this. Maybe Cat does! 

One fun fact about these crackin' chimps is that they all prefer a certain hand to crack with. The chimps here have been almost 50% left-handed and 50% right-handed. And there is no correlation between a mother and her baby's preferred hand! And in fact, some of the grown ups have actually had to switch hands throughout the years due to injuries! This switch seems to be seamless and therefore demonstrates one of the many differences between us and them! 

So far, I have seen the chimps crack no more than 5 times. And every time, they have finished all of the nuts we gave them! That's about 60 nuts per chimp! I think if Jatoba, our alpha capuchin in Brazil, ate 60 nuts... His little belly would burst. 

When the chimps aren't here- we just wait. This is much easier than our work this summer. The guides nap. And I read/write.

Ok, I'll be honest. I napped in the forest yesterday. This is funny because one day Allison and I agreed that "we don't sleep in the woods." That's actually only what I THOUGHT she said. She actually said that she "can't sleep in the woods." Well, regardless- I can and I will. 

My internet is extremely limited. Please bare with me. Love you all. 

Y IS I HERE THO

And now we get to know why in the world I'm even here!!!! Yay! All of our questions will now be answered! 

Just kidding. I still don't know exactly why I'm here. Kinda. Originally I was hired to run the cameras that film the stone tool use of these famous chimps. During the dry season (now) Matsuzawa and his team have been documenting the development of stone tool use in the chimps of Bossou for decades. It was originally MY job to film this for Misato Hayashi who is out with a sweet new cute Japanese baybay. However, things have changed.

Yesterday, to sum up, Matsuzawa said, "Leigh Anna, I have changed my mind. Now, I am teacher, you are student." 

This kind of made it seem like I'm his little apprentice. Uh, cool. AMAZING. Incredible. Matsu- just talk to me! Just tell me things! I want to hear and learn and know all the things! 

He also said that I will be Cat's assistant. AND he said that she and I have free reign over whatever experiments we want to do. He said, "Cat is senior, Leigh Anna is junior." Which meant that I should use Cat for guidance. I'm really good at asking for guidance. Cat knows so much, so I'm excited to work with her!! She also reminds me of my very good friend Cammie. And she looks exactly like Wynona Rider.  

Cat is hoping to pilot some gesture studies here this month. She is here to scope out the scene and to see if there is a possibility of continuing some of her work here. 

I am now hoping to find something cool too look at that I could then compare to Dr. Fragaszy's capuchins. I just want Dr. Fragaszy to LIKE ME and REMEMBER ME and to THINK IM SMART! Ok!? But, it seems like most everything possible about nut cracking has already been studied here! That's how I feel, anyway. But, I've kind of been stuck on the idea of looking at the hammer/anvil manipulation. Trial and error? Intentional? Comfortable? Does it matter? Environmental constraints/supports? Lol that may not make any sense whatsoever to you... But it does in my head- I SWEAR.

The conference

The conference was pretty neat... Even though I was very nervous about participating. We all filled the little school room and waited for the presentations to start. Dr. Matsuzawa and his important people all sat up at the front.

Conference/symposium/workshop- all of these words were used equally. 

I was scheduled to talk way later in the day. Lol I was very happy for this. 

Each person spoke... But GEEZ we had a language problem!! French or English or a serious accent constantly prevented a portion of the attendees from understanding. Plus, it took forever when we included translations! It was such a hassle. But I guess this hassle comes with having an international conference.

We had lunch and everyone chitchatted. All of the talks were on different subjects and all were interesting! Then we had another break to have coffee aka to wake up all the old people.

Then it was my turn to talk! I was the youngest participant and the only American. AND I knew no French. Cat was very nice to help translate after each slide. This took some of the pressure off because I could relax for 15 seconds before I had to speak again. In all- I rocked it. I freakin rocked it wtf. And for those of you who know how freaked out I was about going this talk- Shut up! Ok!? You were right! But still!! I was scared! Using a laser pointer during a talk that you're very nervous about is a no-no. No one needs to see how bad I'm shaking. Luckily, after just a few slides, I was totally cool.

Matsuzawa spoke right after me. As we were transitioning in the front of the room, he sincerely complemented my presentation. 

:-O whaaaaat. Thanks, bro! 

Some of Kat's girls also complemented me. This made me feel really happy. IM TELLING YOU- I almost passed out when I found out that I had to do this. It's crazy to think it turned out ok when a week ago I KNEW I was going to blow it!

So for that- a big shout out to my dad, my Allison, my Anne, my Natalie, and my Kelli for the support. 

Arrival!

We made it to the research station before it got dark! I was very happy for this, because in my understanding, the hotel we were staying in was only the halfway marker! 

The 2 buildings look just like the picture online! Concrete rectangles with several rooms. Large grass courtyard-lookin thing right in the middle. 

Getting out of the car, I was bombarded by many people shaking my hand and a "bonjour" from all! It was a great welcome! My bags are so heavy, but someone helped me carry my things to my new room. This room is only temporary. Because guess why! Because there is a surprise international conference taking place here! This means that there are tons of people here from Uganda, the Congo, Guinea, Japan, the UK, the Netherlands, and me- the American. The point is- there weren't enough rooms for us >.<! So I moved into room 5 along with Cat and a little Japanese woman named Tigi. Tigi's real name isn't Tigi. But that's what she told me to call her. In fact, I'm sharing the bed with Cat, and Tigi has her own little twin-sized mattress on the floor. Things are quiet cramped here. We share one toilet with the room of two women next to us. 

There is no running water, electricity, or heating/AC. What do you think my life is like right now?

I think my life is ok! We just fill up a bucket at the well when we need water for the toilet. I found that four scoops out of the large bucket into the toilet tank is sufficient to flush. Usually.

If you need to shower- go fill up that bucket and then pour it all over you. Then freeze to death. Showering isn't fun. 

Electricity is fine because we all have headlamps and flashlights and candles. Candlelight dinners are pretty cute anyways.

I never woulda thought this.... But this place is FREEZING in the morning!!! I'm always so cold! And during the day, it is hardly hot! Especially if we are up on the mountain under the trees. 

A woman and her family help cook for us every night. I'm just gonna say this plain out- the food here is not yummy. Not yummy at all. I don't like it. It's plain and the repetitive. They put fish or meat in every dish. And don't chew your rice too fast because it is dried out on the road and may have a few rocks floating in it. I think about Maria in Boa Vista everyday. The only cool thing about food is that there are ALWAYS bananas available to eat!!! And French bread. French bread and rice- my diet. The lady who cooks cannot read or write, so we can only order food a week in advance.

This family will also do our laundry, clean, and keep our kitchen stocked. 

While I'm thinking about it, I must documents culture shock. The people here eat very differently than I do. When we are on the mountain waiting for chimps, we often have lunch together. To eat the lunch, it is customary to eat with one's hands. This would be normal for me if we were eating finger foods like hamburgers or potato chips. But rather, we eat soft dough dipped in a pot of sauce or a big pot of saucy rice. The field guides all submerge their hands half-way into the rice or sauce pots to grab a bite... Then put their hands into their mouths to eat it. They lick their whole hand at one time to clean all the food off. Directly after that, they stick their fingers deep down into the dish for more. They also stir up the sauce with their fingers. I am having trouble with this custom. I know it is something to get used to; Cat seems to have gotten used to this during her many years in Uganda. But I struggle. 

Can I just point out that I'm about to die of hypothermia up on this mountain right now? I'm so cold. 

There are four girls here who are working up in the Nimba Mountains for Dr. Kat Koops. So, Kat Koops has been working to habituate the Nimba chimps for 10 years now. She is Dutch. She is AWESOME. She is so nice. And smart and funny and cool. I wanna be Kat Koops. I wish I had the chance to talk to her a little more.

But back to the 4 girls. One is from Chicago, one is from France, one from Texas, and one from.... Missouri I think. They are all older than me. The girl from Chicago went to Auburn, so that's cool. 

They work up there in the mountains, basically camping, for ten days straight. Then, they have a 5 day break. They walk and hike and climb and struggle up there.... And hardly ever see the chimps. Their job is so important!!!! I admire them. I wouldn't survive.

But really, I like all the cats here. There are three. Two humans and one real kitty. The kitty's name is Cacao. Lol which reminds me of Portlandia. 

I'm actually writing this three days late... But I have to tell you- I'm sitting on the mountain right now. The chimps are very close to where we are. We know that because they just left.... And because a single chimp is repeating a very serious alarm call! Why!? The guides all left to check on him/her. What the heck! 

Drivvvvinnngggg

Oops, a lot has happened and I haven't updated yet! Shoot. Well, let's talk about the journey first!

We set out on our journey across the ENTIRE COUNTRY at around 7:30. We had a nice 4x4 Nissan. Matsuzawa was in the front seat and Cat and I were in the back. The trip through the capital seemed to take forever... Especially because of the traffic and the roads were cray. There were no traffic lights... But every so often we would be directed through an intersection by a lady cop. That's a good job to give a woman. o_O

I was amazed by how early everyone was up and going! People here live by the daylight.

I played a little game where I counted silently to myself the seconds between each Barcelona soccer jersey I saw. The highest number I counted to was 60... And I only got past 30 twice. I don't know where these people get these jerseys from, but I want one. In between Barcelona jerseys were scattered several other world famous team gear. Chelsea, Arsenal and AC Milan are pretty popular here for whatever reason. 

One dude had on a shirt that said, "Once you go bald you never grow back."

Street vendors crowd the roadsides and salesmen weave in and out of traffic. SO MANY PEOPLE. Such a populated area. I loved watching all the little children in their school uniforms walk together, often holding hands, to start their school day. Their outfits were so cute. My first persuasive essay was written in Ms. Parker's 7th grade class. In this essay I argued against the idea of requiring school uniforms. I had an introduction, three reasons why school uniforms are of the devil, and a solid summarizing conclusion. I would like to revise the entirety of that essay because SCHOOL UNIFORMS ARE ADORABLE.

Although the urban trash situation is not as serious as India's, it is still pretty apparent. It's just a consequence of sticking so many people together so closely. It's not an Indian problem- it's a HUMAN problem. I just wanted to point this out because I know a lot of people remember my India blog, and I don't want any bad ideas attached to India specifically. Just- YOU through your trash away. Ok? And recycle. Make it socially unacceptable to litter wherever you are. OK SORRY, I'm done.

Back in the car, I'm snacking like hell because all my friends bought me snacks fort birthday. Usually I wouldn't think flaming hot Cheetos was a very acceptable graduation/birthday/Christmas present... But it's one of the best presents I got this year! SO VALUABLE! Especially because I'm so sketched out by eating from the street vendors :-/... And I seem to be the only one worried!

We drive and drive and drive... 

FINALLY we got out of the city!! I was happy until I realized that there was nothing more to look at, lol. Comparatively. 

We drove through some flat lands. Shrubbery and trees were plentiful. People were always on the roads... But I never knew quiet where they were headed because we would only sometimes drive through a town. These towns were much cleaner and nicer feeling than the capital was. They people lined the streets with food and items to sell. And of course, everyone stared at me. I locked eyes. It was less of an issue than it was in India; I didn't feel like the people's eyes were piercing my soul. Instead, they were just looking at me! Just wondering who I was and why in the world I was there. Children often waved. Women seldom locked eyes with me. But boys always did if they saw that I saw them.

The first place we stopped was in one of these little towns. Such a bustling town, too. This place seemed to be a meat-based town... So many of the cooks were chopping up ambiguous meats along the sidewalks. Matsuzawa found a little eatery with a table. I ate only a little... We had rice and meat, which we all shared from one large plate.

Then, we drove. I slept a lot. Until the road began to crumble, that is.

And it was SO BAD. It was SO BADDDD. Our driver was scared if nothing! He also thought our Nissan was an invisible tiny dirt bike!! So sir! Calm down! I bet we caught air a time or two. I guarantee it. We were FLYING down this crumbly road. We would I have 10 seconds if flat blacktop, then 4 seconds of serious off-roading agility tests. It was impossible to sleep. In fact, make sure you keep your head 10 inches away from the window because the 4 seconds of dirt were bound to project your skull into all of its surroundings. As I watched out the from windshield to see why on Earth this was happening, I saw that our driver was trying his best! Well, his brakes weren't being engaged... Lol but he was doing so well with the steering wheel! Haha! He was a pro! He was taking the best routes possible. 

Then it got dark. Which sketched me out because all the internets told me not to drive in the dark in West Africa. I was hoping we were going to stop soon. I was only a wee bit nervous.

But then we got to a hotel. It was AWFUL! Lol it was a sight to see. No lights or water. I had my own room. 

Oh! I forgot that this was my birthday day! So yeah, I had a birthday beer with everyone! That was pretty cool!

The next day- the same thing. We drove and drove. Though, this time- in stead of passing little towns, we passed villages. Teeny tiny villages. Itty bitty. Round mud huts, often arranged in a circle with a fire pit/washing area placed right in the middle. These villages were fascinating. They were little family-based communities, from the looks of them. No more than 20 structures, sometimes.

This was December 18th- the day I ate the very questionable egg sandwich. I didn't get sick from it, so no worries. But that may only be because I didn't eat but a third of the side without mayonnaise. We stopped for breakfast and sat down at a small table to wait on our sandwiches. We were outdoors and were close to the stove.... So this meant we could watch the girl cook the food. Bad. It was gut-wrenching. 

Step 1: Never wash hands.

Step 2: Pour an inch of meat oil into pan. (A literal inch.)

Step 3: Scramble up egg and pour onto meat oil.

Step 4: Do not wash hands.

Step 5: Dig down deep into the mayonnaise jar to fish out unrefrigerated mayonnaise with a mystery knife. Don't wash the mayo off of your hands or arms. 

Step 6: Apply mayo onto crisp French bread.

Step 7: Scoop egg+meaty gravy out of dirty pan and stuff into bread.

Step 8: Don't wash your hands, but apply a plastic bag around the sandwich for cleanliness, but in reality- it's covered in mayonnaise and meat oil.

Step 9: Transfer infection to customer. Oops, sandwich*.

I wish I coulda videoed this. It was awful. She made four sandwiches like this. All while running around to make coffee and do other things. As I squeezed the sandwich a little bit, oil POURED out of it. It was like a miniature oil waterfall. I couldn't.

Then we drove. Then we made it to the research station at Bossou. Voila! 

Conference and First Day

Today was exhausting! And intriguing! 

We left our hotel at 8am, probably. We drove in our taxis and arrived here:

We were attending a conference/symposium about isolated chimpanzee populations.

We sat down in the school's auditorium and watched as all the speakers got ready. Then, the Guinean students flooded into the room to watch. As soon as it was all ready, we stood as the Minister of the Environment of Guinea entered the room and sat down. Wow!

Then, all the speakers were introduced! And THEN all the international attendees were introduced! That included me! And the guy introduced me as Dr. Leigh Anna Young! Haha! It definitely sounded good. But maybe it was just the accent.

Matsuzawa spoke for a few minutes:

All the speakers spoke and all the questions were asked! Then, when we get up to leave, and a hoard of boys came up to Cat and I to take pictures with us. It was like India all over again. I don't really mind that sort of thing... But I felt bad because Cat had to use the restroom! (Sorry, Cat...FYI?)

So, once we leave those boys, we find a nice boy to help us find a restroom. He took us to... A very very unfortunate restroom area. As you open the door, the smell of urine slapped your face inside-out. It was bad. There were no doors, no lights, and no toilets. There was stinky water covering the entire floor. This scared me because I have a slight rip in my right shoe... And I was wearing SOCKS! And also, there was a man peeing RIGHT THERE in THAT STALL. As Cat is deciding she's going to take the chance, the peeing man finishes. When he turns around he immediately whisks us away and out of the bathroom! He said that we couldn't use that bathroom... But to follow him. So, we did. Through  offices and doorways. He takes us right up to a nice, doored, single-stalled, lighted, and clean potty room!! Wow! Thanks, mystery peeing man!!!

Picture of their campus:

 So then, the party/academic conference was over. We got in the taxi with Matsuzawa and left. You guys, Matsuzawa is amazing. He is so nice to me. So kind. He has taken me under his wing!! We drove down the road to the hotel and saw such things as, such as, maps, South Africa. 

Dr. Matsuzawa in the passenger's seat:

Please read the name of this shop. Can you see it? "Chubby Fashion"

I am pleased to report that the driving/traffic/road rules are not as bad as in India!!

Finally, we went on a walk with a dude who may or may not have worked at the hotel. He took us to buy a SIM card. THIS was an awesome adventure. I was scared, sure. But... I don't know, I knew I would be fine. I didn't want to flash my phone around on the walk... I'm not sure if that is unreasonable or not... But- I DID take one blurry photo! 

We took all kinds of back alleys and side streets. We passed many children who waved at us! I ALWAYS waved back. Haha, one little girl actually got hit with a broom for waving at us! It seemed like her mother thought she was harassing us. Nono, it's ok. 

We passed a huge soccer field... I wanted to take a picture so badly, but I didn't want to get left behind! 

This place is so interesting. 

Cat and I had a beer wit Dr. Matsuzawa... So, that was a highlight. In fact, it was the same brand of beer that we had in Brazil! Skol. Made me miss Boa Vista pretty badly. But at least Matsuzawa wanted to hear about my work in Brazil... Because I definitely wanted to talk about it!!

He talked to us a bunch. Great guy. Insightful and so, SO intelligent. 

And finally, we had dinner for 3 hours. Basically what I gathered from the dinner was that I am the youngest, least experienced, and least qualified person here. It kind of got me down... But I kept hearing Allison's voice in the back of my head saying, "Ya gotta start somewhere!!" Lol and I don't even know if she has ever said that to me before! I just know that's what she would say!!

I am listening to everyone so hard. I'm trying to just shut up and soak all the information in that I can. My ears hurt from listening so intently. 

Tomorrow morning at 6am we begin our two-day journey to Bossou. Also... Tomorrow is my birthday! 

Situation #1

First- character introductions!

Cat: Cat is a human who is looking out for me here in Guinea. She has travelled to Africa several times, though never to to this field site. She is very nice and calm and likable! Oh, and she's from Scotland. 

Matsuzawa: This dude is what it's all about. He is in charge. He is the leader of everything. He is from Kyoto, Japan. The main thing I have to say about him right now (because we haven't gotten to talk a whole lot yet) is that he smiles a LOT. Genuinely. It makes me smile... and not only because smiling is contagious. 

Now- to the story.

We board the plane from Paris to Guinea earlier than the large majority of the passengers. This is because Cat is Cool and has one of those Sky Gold Special Card things. So, we get on. We aren't sitting together, so as she stops to take her seat, I keep walking through towards the back of the plane. I find my seat and take it. Aisle!! Woo!

So, as I'm investigating the provided pillow and blanky- I hear some ruckus.

I look up and forward to see three cops charging down the aisle straight towards me!! It was super obvious that they weren't after me... Because they were carrying a full-grown man hotdog-style. The man was screaming and writhing back and forth! I leaned away from the aisle as they passed so that I wouldn't get kicked in the tooth by his flailing limbs! As the officials struggled to get him down the aisle and into a seat, I noticed that the man's hands AND feet were bound together by zip-ties. What the HECK was this dude so in trouble for!?! Is he dangerous? Did he try to get on the plane with something he shouldn't have? Like what!? Should I run away?? Uh, no- because how would I ever know the answers to any of those questions?

So I sat there, directly diagonal from this screaming/wiggling guy. As in, he was right next to the seat right behind me. 

The dude screamed and screamed. And wouldn't stop fighting back! There were 7 police on him! Meanwhile, I'm just chilling. Eventually I pull out some unsalted almonds to snack on. They had to put the guy in a spit mask!

It got weird when I started noticing that other people were coming aboard the plane... Geez, this dude is fighting all these police! Shouldn't we all be escorted out/saved from harm? Lol no!

So people started coming into the plane... This guy is making all the cops sweat. When the guy would scream, people would look back at him with faces painted with pure horror. Ok, not "pure." There was also some splashes of confusion. 

Oh, keep in mind that all of this is in French! 

So people are like wtf. I'm like wtf. Everyone is like wtf. And then this one girl starts REALLY being like wtf when she realizes that her assigned seat is right in front of the whole shebang! She raises hell, the officials start yelling, and I have no idea what is going on.

Luckily, that's when my neighbor arrives. Name: Cita. I get up to let him in, and guess what- he speaks English!! Yes!! He catches me up to speed! 

Cita tells me that the upset girl is an upset girl because she "paid thousands of dollars for her ticket and now she has to sit next to this dangerous mentally ill man." Oops.

This story makes complete sense at this time because a few moments earlier I witnessed a police officer (the who was in charge of straddling the dude to pin him down) actually unzipped the screamer's two layers of clothing in order to let his body cool down. That's oddly nice of you to do for someone who literally just head-butted you in the face 5 minutes ago.

So the guy was mentally ill. Was he scared of the plane? Was he just having a bad day? What was going to calm him down?

That's when Cita explains to me a rumor that the man was being deported. Whaaaaat. I couldn't believe that one.

But it became more and more clear that this rumor was true! The man was being deported!? All while we are dissecting the  situation, people are filing into the plane. This is when chaos strikes.

Lol that sounds dramatic... But I'm sorta serious! Everyone started screaming! And fighting with the cops, it seemed! I couldn't understand anything. Cita was listening intently, so I didn't wanna bother him too much. I kept hearing one phrase come out of one of the loudest ladies' mouth- "comme ça." Cita said her point was that Guineans don't stand up for each other. That's how they are. But here, they need to stick together! 

Everything was starting to make sense! The Guineans didn't want this man to be deported! I found out after we landed that the French have been getting weird about their deportation procedures, so this was real!!

Ok, to begin to conclude, the SWAT-lookalike team was called in. This whole situation made us an hour late to depart! We couldn't go into the air like that! One or two of the dudes came into the plane... But no one settled down. Meanwhile, official after official kept coming in to tell everyone to PLEASE calm down! 

I forgot!! At one point, a fancy looking dude and a pretty older lady came down from first class and were headin towards the raging deportee. Cita's face lit up! He said the guy was a member of parliament! He said it was the Foreign Minister of Sport! I don't know what his job usually is, but he seemed to think that today it was to calm the rager boy down. Didn't work.

Anyways, finally the captan said that they needed to leave. People finally stopped yelling and clapped when all the police got off the plane. This is what they looked like:

 

Then I guess we flew to Guinea.

That was fun.

We are at a hotel tonight. The drive up here was extremely interesting... Reminded me a little tiny bit of India. It's hot. We drove for maybe 20 minutes at around 10:00 pm.

The biggest difference that I noticed about the area was that it was so DARK. There just weren't a lot of lights! So many people... Darting in and out of traffic with and without a vehicle. People were selling all kinds of things next to the airport. This is going to be an interesting trip. 

Quick awesome update

Can you read that?

-LA