Serengeti-bound!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. The time just flies by here and days seem to melt together. I'll try to remember some highlights of the last week.
On Friday, we went to the Ngorongoro Crater, which is the largest caldera in the world. It was very cool, and we saw lots of great animals. We saw hyenas, buffalo, vultures, and 17 lions, among lots of other things. I got really excited about all the lions. Three of them were napping right outside of a rest stop bathroom.
I think it was Saturday when I went into Karatu to the Medical clinic with Kat and Erica, our Student Affairs Manager. We've had quite a jigger problem here at Moyo hill. Jiggers are small creatures that like to burrow into human feet, eat flesh and lay their eggs inside. I got my first one on Saturday, and it was partially under my toenail so Erica thought we should have a doctor look at it. Turns out the office was closed so we ended up taking it out back at camp. (On the topic of jiggers, I had my second taken out today. They're going to fumigate the camp while we're away in the Serengeti. We have a sheet up with everyone's jigger-count. I think Katie's winning with 14 total so far.) Anyways, after we tried to go to the clinic, we made a side-trip to a beautiful art gallery with comfortable couches and a fantastic view. It was nice to be able to relax for like a half-hour away from all the craziness of camp. But the best part was ICE CREAM. I've been craving ice cream (and any dairy at all) for this entire trip and this place had it. It was soooo gooood to have something cold and sweet.
On Sunday, we had a day off. Instead of studying for our upcoming exams, Blake, Barratt, and I decided to make a music video to Britney Spears' "Lucky." I managed to put it together on the iMovie program and it turned out pretty impressive. I unveiled it for everyone at dinner the next day.
On Wednesday and Thursday we had our exams in Environmental Policy, Wildlife Ecology, and Wildlife Management, so we spent the preceding days preparing. EP was the toughest, I thought, and the others were manageable.
Yesterday after our WM test, we all went in to the big Thursday Karatu market. It's where all sorts of vendors get together to sell their gear. It offered good practice for saying no to people trying to sell their necklaces and carvings. They swarmed all over. I did buy some small paintings and a maasai blanket. Then we went to the Happy Days pub to hang out for a little while.
Today we went into Rhotia to meet and interview the local water board for environmental policy. They deal with water appropriation and usage issues. Also, a group of us, who had previously been together for a field exercise in which we interviewed locals and had been invited to one of our subject's daughter's wedding, got to go briefly to the "send-off" party of the daughter. We sat and listened to some prayers, and heard some hymns (accompanied by a retro synthesizer), and we were fed a nice lunch. It's always cool to see local customs in action.
Another thing, I'm basically all set and signed up for a climbing kilimanjaro trip! It's going to happen. I'm going with Katie, her bf, Barratt, Seth, and I believe Leila. I'm very excited for that.
And now we are preparing for our five day expedition to the great Serengeti. It's going to be amaaaazing. Night and early morning game drives, camping among animals, bla bla bla. Very excited. I'll try to get an update up asap when we return.