Truth be told, today was a long and uneventful day. We had class from 8 to 12 and then again from 2 to 4:30. It was at times unbearable and I had to fight every nerve in my body that wanted me to fall asleep. Luckily I made it through the day. That being said, I'll recap the past couple of days, trust me they were much more exciting.

Saturday was a pre-scheduled community service day! This time we ventured about 2 hours away from camp and volunteered at a mobile clinic ran by James, a doctor at the hospital in Loitoktok. He had a variety of stations set up for patients from the surrounding rural area. Stations included an AIDS testing booth, immunizations, family planning information, a pharmacy, weighing of small children, and deworming and Vitamin A supplements. I personally helped pass out deworming pills and Vitamin A supplements to children. Many children in this area and in East Africa in general are commonly exposed to worms found in drinking water. A tell tale sign of worms in the gut is the swollen belly of children who are in fact not chubby but under nourished.

We gave pills to tens of children, many who were shocked and scared to see so many wazungu (white people) in one place. There were many tears shed and I got plenty of kid drool on my fingers while placing pills in mouths, but it was a rewarding experience too. It made me feel very lucky to have the medical services we have in the US and also even more thankful that my health isn't compromised by a simple act like taking a drink of water. I'm also glad that I have an immune system that has allowed me to travel this far from home and remain healthy and happy.

Yesterday we left camp at 7:00 AM and headed to Amboseli National Park once again. However, the focus of the drive wasn't pure enjoyment, each vehicle had a certain portion of the park designated to them and passengers were responsible for taking counts of mammalian species. My car had the section of the park closest to the gate we entered at, so there wasn't a huge amount of mammals to be seen that close to the park boundary. Other groups were given the fortunate or unfortunate responsibility of counting wildlife in the large swamp areas…a task that is quite demanding when hundreds of each species congregate there.

Thankfully we all survived and seven hours later we got back to camp just in time for another excellent meal. Unfortunately our first major assignment on wildlife observations is due Tuesday so there wasn't much time to fully recover. At this time I'm happy to report that my assignment is done, so I'll be taking the rest of the night off!