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!