Guilford Connects With Africa
October 13, 1983
"Today has been an overwhelming day! I climbed a peak that rose
to 15,400 feet plus. It was really a lot of work... Every once in a while
when I got near the top, I would turn around, the sight of hundreds of
feet between you and the ground makes your stomach jump and im
mediately you turn around and vow not to look back til you are sitting
on top, but you always do it again. I guess that's all part of the thrill of
the climb... And pretty soon the peak is in full view and you're almost
there. That's all you can tell yourself and ya feel like exploding when
you step over the edge and look up. For miles and miles and miles the
earth spreads... For those few minutes the three of us were really sit
ting on top of the world. We were higher up than most anyone in the
world would ever get. It was a funny feeling all the same, kind of like
this was something sacred and you were trusted not to abuse the
privilege. So I couldn't get my camera out, the picture could never
capture what I saw from there anyway. I think you're just supposed to
recall it in your mind and unless you work to see it from the top you
can never know the whole truth."
Debbie Chirtea spent the 1983 fall semester in Kenya on a National
Outdoor Leadership course.
Debbie said she wanted "to get away from Guilford completely,"
and go somewhere she "didn't know anything about." The NOLS
Africa program offered her that opportunity.
Debbie arranged to get biology credit with Dr. Fulcher and
sociology credit with Vernie Davis. For both she has had to prepare
reports on what she observed. She also arranged to receive one credit
from the sport studies department.
The first three weeks of Debbie's course were spent hiking and clim
bing the Burgumet route on Mount Kenya.
Debbie poses with Kibuyo women and children in Nard Muro.
September 30, 1983
"We hiked all day through the Bamboo... this Bamboo is about 40
feet high and you feel like an ant when you walk through it."
October 2, 1983
"Well, we stayed at the same campsite for another night because to
day we got rationed. 20 porters it took to get us all our food and climb
ing equipment.
"I just finished a class on the Giant Heath Zone. As we talked about
each species of plant, we walked until we found it. And then, we looked
as things were being said. And we saw it!...Onyargo was pointing out
different things and all of a sudden a cloud rolled up the hill as we were
standing there—Until you couldn't see the person next to you. We all
sat there in a daze because we watched it come right at us until it
enveloped our bodies. Onyargo said, 'that's good because it won't rain
now and it won't be so cold tonight'... He was right."
The group spent the next ten days on a safari through five of Kenya
national parks.
October 22, 1983
"The drive to Nakuru only took two and a half hours... People were
staring (as usual!) and the town knew the Mzungu had arrived. We
were given our baskets and the cook groups set out for the market. All
of us were a little hesitant, we didn't quite know how to do things. It
was time to try our Swahili out and get our fruit veggies for the next
couple days. The market itself was overwhelming. There is so many
colors and smells and sounds."
by Jennifer Park
A herd of giraffes fascinated the NOLS students on their first game drive.
"Nakuru Nat. Park... the site of Lake Nakuru, BIRD CAPITOL of
the world!! As we approached the lake, it was just amazing... as far as
you could see. The edges of the lake were pink from flamingos. In
terspersed with the pinkness were pelicans, herons, storks, cor
merantz, egrits and so many other kinds... The noise they make is
tremendous!"
October 23, 1983
Tonight we had a fantastic game drive... And what was most ex
citing was that we came upon a herd of giraffe... They just looked at us
as we drove up right next to them and turned off our engine... The eyes
they kept on us were both curious and cautious... We just sat there
mesmerized by their size and elegance."
The third part of the course was a chance for students to practice
leadership. Small groups planned and led their own routes through the
Loita Hills without instructors. Debbie's group decided to change their
planned route to spend more time with the Masai tribespeople, and
less time in the forest.
November 7, 1983
don't care what the instructors or other students think of our
trip... Everyone in this group is having an experience that I don't think
too many people in the world could match! We are being led through
Masai country by a Masai."
"His pace was most amazing!... I decided that part of being led by a
Masai was to go his pace... Francis was impressed. I think he said,
"How is it the Mtoto (that's what he calls me it means small child)
with such small legs can keep up with such big feet!"
"An older woman emerged from the boma (the mud and stick huts
the Masai live in)... we got the message to take off our packs and go in
side... this was it, the thing we risked going this way for was really
happening and the anticipation of what was to come was unbearable. I
continued on page 8
,* .5?, J** " v '\"
In Kenya's national parks lions do not pace small barred cubicles.
Guilfordain, February 22, 1984-
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