Wednesday, March 01, 2006
A Day in the Life...
So while most people will probably thing being a marine biologist isn't actually that much work, there always seems to be lots to do...I mean, sure it usually involves a lot of sand, sun, and sunscreen, but it's hard work nonetheless. I seem to be spending time between cruching numbers in the office and driving to fisheries landing sites along the coast, so...
(Also, pictures to come...yet again Blogger is slowing me down!)
A Day at the Office:
Work usually starts around 8am and its a strange day if I'm not up by 7am. Especially since Jake usually needs help in the mornings finding the best toy car to take to school and since I live in the toy room...So, after a light breakfast of coffee and cereal, it's off on the peaceful beach walk to work..Ha! Actually, fending off the various "beach boys" on the beach trying to sell me boat trips/safaris/giraffe carvings/etc. is enough to make me want to take a matatu! (Yup, that bad) In fact, getting hit on is really starting to get to me - nowhere is safe. But luckily all it takes it some snippy remarks in Swahili and they usually leave you alone.
The mornings are usually spent analyzing data for my fisheries project -- Christina and I are looking at 10-year trends in the fishery to see what management, if any, is needed. But the highlight of mornings usually come around 11am, when Jimmy, the guy who takes care of the office, always makes Kenyan tea around 11am. I use the word "tea" here loosely since Kenyan tea is mainly sugar and milk with just the tiniest hint of tea. (Once I tried to ask for it "black" at a cafe and they looked at me in shock. Then they look more relieved as they asked me how much sugar I wanted. When I said no to this too, the guy actually said "sweet jesus!" and my tea never ended up coming.) But very surprisingly, I'm starting really like Kenyan Chai now...I'm pretty sure all that sugar is addictive.
At lunch time (usually around 1:30-2pm when it's not so freakin' hot) we usually head down to the beach for some cheap Swahili food. After trying the menu, my favourite is "pojo", a lentil stew/curry thing with a chapati (a fried roti/bread thing, tasty!). If I'm feeling virtuous I may get coconut rice, but how someone could ever pass up oily, fried chapati-goodness is beyond me. Also, I'm quite proud of being able to order entirely in Kiswahili...and more importantly, have what I think I ordered actually arrive!
Then the afternoon is more data until around 5pm when we call it quits and I usually take a matatu down to the Nakumatt Mall and get my internet fix for the day. I think I might try to stop doing this every day, but it's so hard to get un-addicted to the internet or head home along the beach. If I go to the mall ("mall being used loosely, it's no Eaton Centre), I'll pick up a sandwich for dinner on my way home (it was tragic the other day when the German deli was out of bread!) and hop on a matatu to get home by dark. Nights are usually pretty chill, either reading outside trying to cool off outside (especially if the water's out and I can't get a shower) or working on fish stuff (by headlamp if the power's out). So nights usually depend on if there's water and/or electricity. But luckily even if there's no power, the Tuskers usually stay cold in the fridge so it's never that bad.
Field Work on the Coast Days:
For the last few weeks, Christina and I have been hitting the road to the South Coast every few days which is a great way to see the coast and get some fresh air. Trips down south can be anywhere from 2-3 hours, if not more when you factor in waiting for the infamous Likoni Ferry. Yup, that's the one the radio has been predicting is about to sink and you have to wait in line for at least 40 minutes to get on. Once we get on (Allah willing!), we roll down all the windows and plan the best way to swim out before buying water or cell phone minutes from the en-route vendors.
After a relaxing drive down the coast avoiding pot holes and goats, the big adventures start on the small "roads" down to the beach where the fisherman will come in with their fish. When we get to a landing site, we generally chat up the Mama Karangas (the women who will buy the small fish from the fisherman) while we wait for the tide to come in, and along with it the fisherman. The trap fisherman are usually the first to come in, then the nets, spears and hand line guys. If you're lucky, it will be staggered out so you don't have to run all over the beach after the fish. When a fisherman comes up, we'll attempt to convince him to let us measure his catch and we'll record what species he caught and how big they are. As the loyal scribe, I'll write it all down while Christina gets to play with the fish and measure them. Trying to track down all the catch will usually takes a couple hours, by which time we're hot, tired and sweaty.
Which makes it a perfect opportunity to grab a coffee at one of the fancy beach resorts up the road before tackling the ferry ride home. The hotel we stop at is on Diani Beach, one of the nicest beaches on the South Coast and it's quite relaxing to watch the kite-surfers fly by while sipping a cocktail or coffee (depending on our moods!) And their air-conditioned bathrooms are on my Highlights of Kenya list.
Then it's time to head back to town, which means braving the massive traffic of the Likoni ferry - we usually end up waiting in line for about 45 minutes, but it can be up to 2 hours. And once you finally make it onto the ferry, there's no time to let your guard down! The radio has been saying the ferry's about to sink any day now, so we make sure we have the windows rolled down and our hard-collected data in hand so we can swim off the ferry if necessary. And after that, it just gets more exciting with driving through downtown Mombasa in rushhour and avoiding the swerving matatus, people, tuk-tuks and goats that decide to leap in front of our truck. So all in all, it's never dull when we head to the coast!
Anyways, hope you enjoyed my "day in the life" -- it's always pretty busy around here but that's part of its charm. It's hard to believe I only have one more week left in Mombasa - time does fly. But then again, no rest for the wicked!
(Also, pictures to come...yet again Blogger is slowing me down!)
A Day at the Office:
Work usually starts around 8am and its a strange day if I'm not up by 7am. Especially since Jake usually needs help in the mornings finding the best toy car to take to school and since I live in the toy room...So, after a light breakfast of coffee and cereal, it's off on the peaceful beach walk to work..Ha! Actually, fending off the various "beach boys" on the beach trying to sell me boat trips/safaris/giraffe carvings/etc. is enough to make me want to take a matatu! (Yup, that bad) In fact, getting hit on is really starting to get to me - nowhere is safe. But luckily all it takes it some snippy remarks in Swahili and they usually leave you alone.
The mornings are usually spent analyzing data for my fisheries project -- Christina and I are looking at 10-year trends in the fishery to see what management, if any, is needed. But the highlight of mornings usually come around 11am, when Jimmy, the guy who takes care of the office, always makes Kenyan tea around 11am. I use the word "tea" here loosely since Kenyan tea is mainly sugar and milk with just the tiniest hint of tea. (Once I tried to ask for it "black" at a cafe and they looked at me in shock. Then they look more relieved as they asked me how much sugar I wanted. When I said no to this too, the guy actually said "sweet jesus!" and my tea never ended up coming.) But very surprisingly, I'm starting really like Kenyan Chai now...I'm pretty sure all that sugar is addictive.
At lunch time (usually around 1:30-2pm when it's not so freakin' hot) we usually head down to the beach for some cheap Swahili food. After trying the menu, my favourite is "pojo", a lentil stew/curry thing with a chapati (a fried roti/bread thing, tasty!). If I'm feeling virtuous I may get coconut rice, but how someone could ever pass up oily, fried chapati-goodness is beyond me. Also, I'm quite proud of being able to order entirely in Kiswahili...and more importantly, have what I think I ordered actually arrive!
Then the afternoon is more data until around 5pm when we call it quits and I usually take a matatu down to the Nakumatt Mall and get my internet fix for the day. I think I might try to stop doing this every day, but it's so hard to get un-addicted to the internet or head home along the beach. If I go to the mall ("mall being used loosely, it's no Eaton Centre), I'll pick up a sandwich for dinner on my way home (it was tragic the other day when the German deli was out of bread!) and hop on a matatu to get home by dark. Nights are usually pretty chill, either reading outside trying to cool off outside (especially if the water's out and I can't get a shower) or working on fish stuff (by headlamp if the power's out). So nights usually depend on if there's water and/or electricity. But luckily even if there's no power, the Tuskers usually stay cold in the fridge so it's never that bad.
Field Work on the Coast Days:
For the last few weeks, Christina and I have been hitting the road to the South Coast every few days which is a great way to see the coast and get some fresh air. Trips down south can be anywhere from 2-3 hours, if not more when you factor in waiting for the infamous Likoni Ferry. Yup, that's the one the radio has been predicting is about to sink and you have to wait in line for at least 40 minutes to get on. Once we get on (Allah willing!), we roll down all the windows and plan the best way to swim out before buying water or cell phone minutes from the en-route vendors.
After a relaxing drive down the coast avoiding pot holes and goats, the big adventures start on the small "roads" down to the beach where the fisherman will come in with their fish. When we get to a landing site, we generally chat up the Mama Karangas (the women who will buy the small fish from the fisherman) while we wait for the tide to come in, and along with it the fisherman. The trap fisherman are usually the first to come in, then the nets, spears and hand line guys. If you're lucky, it will be staggered out so you don't have to run all over the beach after the fish. When a fisherman comes up, we'll attempt to convince him to let us measure his catch and we'll record what species he caught and how big they are. As the loyal scribe, I'll write it all down while Christina gets to play with the fish and measure them. Trying to track down all the catch will usually takes a couple hours, by which time we're hot, tired and sweaty.
Which makes it a perfect opportunity to grab a coffee at one of the fancy beach resorts up the road before tackling the ferry ride home. The hotel we stop at is on Diani Beach, one of the nicest beaches on the South Coast and it's quite relaxing to watch the kite-surfers fly by while sipping a cocktail or coffee (depending on our moods!) And their air-conditioned bathrooms are on my Highlights of Kenya list.
Then it's time to head back to town, which means braving the massive traffic of the Likoni ferry - we usually end up waiting in line for about 45 minutes, but it can be up to 2 hours. And once you finally make it onto the ferry, there's no time to let your guard down! The radio has been saying the ferry's about to sink any day now, so we make sure we have the windows rolled down and our hard-collected data in hand so we can swim off the ferry if necessary. And after that, it just gets more exciting with driving through downtown Mombasa in rushhour and avoiding the swerving matatus, people, tuk-tuks and goats that decide to leap in front of our truck. So all in all, it's never dull when we head to the coast!
Anyways, hope you enjoyed my "day in the life" -- it's always pretty busy around here but that's part of its charm. It's hard to believe I only have one more week left in Mombasa - time does fly. But then again, no rest for the wicked!
// posted by Emily @ 5:11 AM 
