Three and a half years ago I was contacted about a
chimpanzee project in Uganda. Working with chimps has always been something I
have dreamed of doing. At the time I had recently returned from working on the
blue monkey project Kenya. I decided that if I was going to do it, it would be
best to return to Africa before too much time had passed and before I
completely re-assimilated into a life with refrigeration, reliably fast internet, and instant gratification. In the end, a German woman who
studied bonobos in Congo wound up getting the job and I didn’t. Such is
life.
A few months later Jake and I met somewhere out in the
Mojave Desert and I quickly forgot about chimpanzees and the jungles of Uganda.
My life went in a direction I never thought it would; I left the Midwest for
the Southwest, traded primates and jungles for tortoises and deserts, and found
the perfect partner to join in my crazy adventures. Well, six months ago the
same job found me once again, this time in a different place, both in life and
location. They needed someone to join the project immediately for a period of six months. At one point in my life I was able to just drop everything
and run off to live in another country without much thought or planning. Unfortunately,
it’s not so easy anymore; I suppose that means I’m an adult now. Jake and I
were about to purchase a house, I had work commitments lined up for the fall,
and was to be the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding that September. I
knew I had to say no, but I couldn’t stop thinking about chimps, living in
Africa again, being able to do it over, this time with Jake. So that’s how I
got here, the seed was planted, sat dormant for years, and recently it started
to grow. We decided that with enough prior notice we could make it work. So
this fall Jake and I signed on to the chimp project for six months set to begin in early 2013. I blazed the trail and arrived just
minutes before the New Year, while Jake is set join me and the chimps in Uganda
this March.
When 2013 hit I had just passed my passport off to the
immigration official and without changing tone or looking up at me he said with
one breath, “how long will you be in the country, happy New Year.” I never
understand why, no matter where you are the people behind the visa counter are
always unnecessarily unfriendly. I smiled and replied; he stamped it and placed
it back on the counter without once looking up.
The rest of Entebbe and Kampala made up for the immigration
department’s lack of enthusiasm for the New Year. The streets were packed with
people. My taxi driver had to dodge drunkards left and right on the way to the
hotel. When we finally reached my hotel in downtown Kampala at 1:30 am the
party on the streets was still going strong. It continued all night long. I was directly off the street and even my ear
plugs couldn’t stop the celebrations. Early the next morning when I emerged
from the hotel everyone had disappeared. The entire city was a ghost town. Not
a single shop on the street was open. I passed only two people on what would
normally be a very busy street. I knew it was a holiday but where could all
those people possibly have gone so quickly? They were just here, outside my
window, screaming and yelling. I kind of felt lonely and longed to be
surrounded by those people who just hours ago I was cursing. The lack of open
businesses did not stop me from accomplishing the one thing I needed to do
though: find a quiet and quaint guesthouse and get some sleep. Shortly
thereafter, I checked into my new room and slept for the next 15 hours. When I
woke up the following morning the sun was shining, exotic birds were singing,
and I was just in time for breakfast.
Before proceeding to the reserve and the
chimps, I had to meet with the director of monitoring and research at the
Ugandan Wildlife Authority. Still a bit shaken from being transplanted in a new
country I was nervous and uneasy. They had the final say as to whether or not I
would be allowed to stay in Uganda and work as a researcher. We contacted them
beforehand, submitted all the necessary paperwork, but never received a response,
which is pretty typical. As soon as I introduced myself my letter was produced,
I paid my fees (which were a bit higher than expected), and was on my way. I
couldn’t help but wonder if they ever reject anyone after they have arrived.
That would really suck. I quickly shook that thought from my mind.
The very next morning I made the arduous but necessary bus
journey from Kampala to Fort Portal. We passed a bus along the way and at the
time it was right side up but I could tell from all the broken windows and
looks of horror on my fellow passengers faces that shortly beforehand it was
not. At that point I, along with many other people, double checked to make sure
my seat belt was fastened securely. Six hours later I was met in Fort
Portal by a short smiling Ugandan man wearing an Indiana University t-shirt.
Moses has been working on the project for years and he is currently the camp
manager, cook, and staff comedian. My bus arrived a few hours late and we were
running short on time so we did a whirlwind shopping tour, sorted out some
insurance business for the car we hope to pick up next time we make it to town,
and headed for the reserve.
It was 9:30 pm by the time we reached the guest lodge in the reserve. I had dozed off and completely missed the entire 70 some
km drive, except for the moment the car swerved and jerked to avoid the giant
Nile monitor lizard stretched across the road. At the lodge Moses frantically
searched for one of the staff to let us in so we could store our freshly
butchered meat in the fridge. Knowing that our camp wasn't equipped with
such frivolous appliances, I was kind of wondering what we were
going to do with 7 kg of raw meat when we bought it in the market, but I just
went with it. A fridge in the bush in Africa is hard to come by, but for a
lodge that charges over $400 a night for a single room it is a necessity. Someone
was finally roused from the staff quarters and they opened the door and gave us
access to the fridge. The staff, who have been having a grand time poking fun
at the chimp camp for lacking a vehicle, reveled in informing us that our
puny insignificant taxi wasn’t going to make it the final 3 km to
camp and then begrudgingly offered to give us and our load a lift.
Apparently, the road was a mess due to recent rains. My overweight bags and all
of our shopping minus the meat were unloaded and reloaded into the lodge’s open
safari vehicle and we took off down the muddy track to camp in the dark. We
were slipping and sliding, smacking the tall grass as we went, and flushing nightjars
along the way. One of the birds flew up from the side of the vehicle and hit me
right in the arm. Everyone got a good laugh out of that. I’m taking it as a
good luck sign and am hoping that the bird, like me, was not injured.
Upon arrival at Mugiri camp I was thrown directly into the
work of chimping. The first few days were spent battling jet lag, learning the
trails, getting to know the staff, unsuccessfully searching for chimps,
avoiding elephants in the forest, and mainly figuring things out on the fly
because the researcher I was scheduled to replace quit the project back in
October. The amount of emotions I have felt since arriving have left my
body exhausted and my mind confused! There is so much going on, so much to
learn and absorb, so many things to be cognizant of and avoid, and months of
records to go over and data to enter from the interim in researchers. It’s all
very exciting and terrifying and soon it will just be normal day to day life
for me. That’s what I love about life here, you are quickly and forcefully
thrown out of your comfort zone and once you accept that you end up surprising
yourself and enjoying every minute of it.
Hopefully soon there will actually be
stories of chimps to share!
By the way, National Geographic named Uganda as one of the
top tourism destinations for 2013 and we happen to have room for visitors at
Mugiri camp...
Happy New Year from the Pearl of Africa,
Corey
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