Zimbabwe?

Guess what I got to do today?!? I got to talk to Zimbabwe!!! Well, a guy in Zimbabwe, but still! Through skype, it was a little choppy, but it was super awesome! He was brilliant! He had a really cool accent and he was so kind it was amazing. He loved meeting us and was so amazed at our culture. It was really inspiring. I loved it.

So I walk into the conference room today, ready to take notes on any upcoming presentation, but the VP brings in his laptop, and I'm a little confused. They usually use the computer on the desk for a presentation. Then he gets on Skype and says that Doubt is online. And then I remember! This is the day that we are supposed to talk to the leader of the Bush Camp! And all of a sudden, I'm awake. Haha, and incredibly excited for today. Things start happening, and Renee comes back to call him. We try about 3-4 times to Skype him, while I was feeling awkward the whole time, wondering if it will ever work. And finally, on the last attempt, we hear his voice! It's a little choppy, it is Zimbabwe, after all, but we can mostly hear him, and Renee introduces him to us and he tells us all he can about the details of the Bush Camp. And then we get to ask him questions and a few people go up to the computer and have good questions for him. Meanwhile, we can't hear him, but he's typing to us because he can hear us. It's pretty funny, how we worked it all out. But it was an incredible experience, and one I'll never forget.

We learned a lot from this self-made man. And from his culture. They are so kind and loving and peaceful that there are never any fights in their tribe, they are always working together to achieve something. One time, a man who works at the Camp couldn't get his check from the Camp into the bank because the banks were pretty much out of money, and he didn't tell the director. When the director realized that this man was starving, he called a employee meeting and told them that they needed to tell him when they were starving. He changed his method of paying them and ended up paying them in rice and grains, etc. It was just one example of how little they complain and how grateful they are. It's kindof ridiculous to think this culture might not know Jesus. They're acting even more Christian than most of the healthy and privileged Christians in my life. It was an interesting perspective.

And one more story was that Xmas, another man that works at their Camp, was followed home by three lionesses. First of all, he was named Xmas because his parents received a gift for Christmas that said "For Xmas" and they basically figured they might as well name him Xmas because it was for him. So anyway, the lionesses. He rides his bike home from the Camp, to the village, about a 2 mile ride. It broke about halfway through and so he proceeded to lock it when he heard something behind him. He turned around and found three lionesses approaching him. He turned his bike in front of him and started banging it on the ground, so as to scare them. He proceeded to walk all the way back the .5 mile or so he had left, backwards. He continued to startle the lionesses by opening his phone and flashing it at them, and doing anything to break up the routine. They were so close to him, about three feet, and they even began vocalizing. But amazingly, gracefully, he made it to the village and survived to tell the story. It was so intense, and hearing him tell it is probably so much better then reading it second hand, but it was amazing to hear how close they are to nature in this Camp.

So that was my fantastic morning. After that, we set up for our conservation stations. The first three groups were Rhinos, Painted Dogs, and Orangutans, so I would get to go in the afternoon. So after seeing them all in action, and learning from not only their mistakes but everything (which was practically the entire thing) that they did right, we were free to go after lunch. So we set up our Okapi table in the shade right next to the Okapi enclosure. He was hanging out in the back, so we had a great opening line: "Have you ever heard of an Okapi?! He's right there!" It was great. We taught people all about the Okapi, didn't really have the chance to tie in conservation, because it's kindof hard, but mostly made people aware. It was fun for me because I got to teach people about something that I loved and knew a lot about. And while it wasn't too much of a message that we have to save the Okapi, it was more so random facts that will get people interested and make them want to defend the animal from endangerment, etc. I had a few random facts on hand, and loved talking to the children about it. While not everyone understood us, I think most people who stopped by took something out of it.

One girl though, was a little distraught that we had a real giraffe hoof. The biofacts we use are usually from animals that have passed away at the Zoo, and so this was an example. It was way cooler than any replica and we used it. But explaining that to little children is really hard, especially when you accidentally use the word died instead of passed away. She was so confused! Worried that we had actually killed the giraffe, and looked at us with these HUGE brown eyes while we and her mother tried to explain to her that we would never kill the giraffe, he was just old and donated his body to science. It was so awkward! And definitely a lesson in watching what you say. One of our words that we were not allowed to use, was "actually," because it implies that the person is wrong, and as soon as they feel wrong, they shut down, and that's definitely not how you teach people. But it's so incredibly hard to not say actually when you've been using it your entire life. So that was difficult, but it was definitely a good experience, and so much fun. It really inspired me even more to teach kids all about animals, because honestly, who doesn't want to know all about animals? I for sure do.

So inspiration comes in all different shapes and forms, and in different places. Most of mine has been at the Zoo this summer, but since that's where I've always wanted to be, I think it's almost perfect.


(This blog was written as if it were Thursday, June 7, 2012)