I’ll share more details later, just a quick update to say that I’ve been accepted into an internship here, and since I don’t tend to do anything small, I opted for the longest stay of six months. What the what?!?!!!!
Yep. I will still be flying back to the U.S. as planned, arriving on February 2, but only staying a few days in order to re-pack for a longer stay and to take care of some business before leaving again on the 6th to return to Africa.
Crazy. Yet brilliant. Whee!
Author: stacyschatz
Yada yada yada
A Walk on the Wild Side
I’m coming up on the end of my second week in Antelope Park, and it’s going by far too quickly. Our days are full of various work activities, starting at 6:30 a.m. and wrapping up by about 6:00 p.m. My days have included lion walks, cub sitting, elephant walks, enclosure maintenance and cleaning, water refilling for the various enclosures, and helping out with whatever else needs to be done, such as painting and other maintenance. The lion walks are particularly active in the day and a half before their feeding (every three days at this age), where they engage in a fair amount of stalking of prey and make a valiant effort at trying to capture something. So far, Alika, the lone female of the four walking lions, has made one kill of a small mongoose that her brother, Africa, chased down.
New year, new place
Starting the new year in Africa is something that I won’t soon forget. We went to the Victoria Falls Carnival, which is a musical festival with fantastic bands, and had a great time. In between stage setups for each band, we’d sing a round of “black, white, brown, whatever” — an anthem of sorts to a common humanity across all people, and I loved it. It’s really something to be in this place and witness such unity; even if we have a long way to go to have complete unity world-wide, when I see things like this, it warms my heart and gives me hope that it’s possible.
Christmas in Africa
This was my first Christmas away from home, spending it with my international volunteer family, and it was a great time. It was fun to be in a place south of the equator, where the seasons are flipped from what I’m used to, and rather than having a cold holiday, it was quite hot. And it’s the first holiday that I’ve spent with lions, so that made it extra special.
Wildlife Adventures
It’s been another amazing week here, and I’m still in a bit of disbelief that I’m actually in this place that I’ve dreamt about for so long. Seeing just a small part of Africa has made me want to expore even more, and I’m so glad that I booked a full two months here, as it has allowed me to visit some of the other locations that Lion Encounter, ALERT, and African Impact serve, as well as fit in some adventures during our free time.
Under African Skies
It has been a life-long dream to visit Africa and see this amazing continent, ideally as a volunteer, rather than just a vacation, and so when I heard about this type of opportunity (thank you to Sylvia and Katherine), it was just too perfect to pass up. I started my planning earlier this year, all before my trip to Europe. My three weeks back in the States passed very quickly, and my journey to Africa was three flights across three days, leaving on Saturday, December 5th to get here on Monday, December 7th. The first week has been packed full of amazing experiences!
Next up: Africa!
This is my final week of preparation before I fly off to Africa to meet up with the volunteer organization that I’ll be working with for a couple of months! I hope to be able to post periodic updates here, depending on the reliability of internet connectivity. In the meantime, for those who are curious about what I’ll be doing, you can read all about the two programs that I’ll be working with in Zimbabwe:
Victoria Falls:
Antelope Park:
http://www.africanimpact.com/volunteer-projects/zimbabwe/hands-on-lion-rehabilitation-antelope-park/
WHEE!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s a wrap, Europe
A trip to the greater Naples and Amalfi area of Italy isn’t truly complete without a visit to Pompeii to see the ruins that were left after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. I took the local commuter train out to Pompeii and spent a quick few hours exploring the site, which is just massive. I also visited nearby Herculaneum, which is much smaller than Pompeii, but better preserved, and between the two, as well as all the other Roman ruins around Italy, you get this incredible look into what life was like for people at the time. It’s fascinating how the one thing that is a constant through the ages is community. It sounds obvious to point that out, but whether in ancient Roman times, or medieval times, or present day, the importance of common places for coming together is in every culture and society.
Southern Italy, Part I
It’s November 10th, and I’m sitting on a rooftop deck in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, in pleasant 70 degree weather. It seems that the locals are as surprised and pleased with the weather as the tourists, since it would normally be the start of their rainy season; I think Mother Nature realized after 25 years in Seattle, and even longer of wanting to come here, I was way overdue for a break, and deserved to have some nice weather in this beautiful setting. I knew chosing this time of year to visit this area was taking a chance, and I’m so grateful that it has turned out to be such lovely weather for my stay.
Northern Italy
I had originally intended to spend a little more time in northern Italy, both Milan and Lake Como and the surrounding area, but given the time of year, I opted to add Barcelona and Avignon to my trip, and sacrifice a little time from northern Italy. It was a tough choice, particularly to just have one day in Milan, as I really enjoyed the little bit of Milan that I did see. This was my fourth Airbnb stop, and it was a pleasure to meet the host and stay in her lovely apartment, which was stylish and comfortable. After getting settled, I took her advice to walk to the Duomo, rather than take the metro, which took me through a beautiful park, and then after walking for a while, I found myself in Piazza della Scala, mostly by accident. It is the Piazza with the La Scala opera house, and a very large statue of Leonardo da Vinci looking down at you with his artful eyes, toward La Scala. This piazza leads right into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is a very large and beautiful gallery of luxury shops and elegant restaurants and cafés, and is full of all sorts of eye candy. I exited through the south end, right onto Piazza del Duomo, the square with Milan’s incredible cathedral. It’s really quite stunning, both from the outside, and the inside, and of course I had to go to the rooftop, with its maze of spires, statues, and gargoyles. There are hundreds of statues around the exterior, at all levels of the cathedral, and it was challenging to try to capture the magnificence of it in photos. Another must-see in person.
spacyshorts 