How Time Flies...

Alright, well I have never actually blogged about anything ever before, so this is my first! Looks like I just lost my blogging virginity ;) Anyway, it's Saturday morning and I thought to myself, what a good time to blog about going to Africa. Of course, since I'm doing nothing else, I have a lot of time to just think, and lately I have been thinking a lot about my future. I mean, it's almost March already.. Spring Break is a couple weeks away, then after that just a few weeks, then finals, and then BAM!-- it's time to go to Africa. Then it's summer, which will fly by, then I go to D.C. and then one more semester and I graduate and it's time to start a new life-- yet I have NO IDEA what I am going to do. I guess that's the reason I am doing things like going on this trip to Africa, not only because I like to volunteer and like to travel, but also to help me figure out what I want to do with my life. It is just crazy how fast time is going- sometimes I want it to slow down, but then other times I think I just want to be done with school. I guess what I'm getting at is I am here in college, living the life no one else in my family has ever had the great opportunity to have and I am taking as any opportunities as I can to do things that I have only dreamed about in the past. I mean, who would have ever thought I was really going to go to see an actual African safari?! One thing that keeps lingering in my mind though is all these outbreaks of violence that is going on in north Africa- most recently in Libya- and I am just worried that that violence will spread to places like Uganda or Rwanda and then we obviously couldn't go on our trip. I try not to think too negatively, but I keep seeing that stuff on the news, so I think it sometimes. If anything, only the Uganda part would be cancelled-- Rwanda is too small and I think it's far enough away from all the violence that we wouldn't have to worry about it. Other than that, I am excited to go to a whole new venue that we refer to as the "third world"- hopefully it will change my life.

About 2 months to go!!

Our class is getting very excited about going to Rwanda and about what we will experience there. As an environmental science major I am very excited about the work we will be doing in the forest and with the school children.
One of the things I am most interested in is observing the forest habitat. The book we just finished (In the Kingdom of Gorillas) gave me an idea of what we will experience. I have been to Ecuador and Belize in the past and I would like to compare those ecosystems to that of the Rwandan forests. That is what I am most excited for!

**We could use your help!! Please take a moment to look at the items listed in previous blogs for donation. We would be grateful for any donation and can't wait to make a difference in the lives of the Rwandans in May .**

Our May Term group has been meeting every Wednesday at 5 to better prepare ourselves for the trip. We have been discussing both Rwandan culture and environment (as a main highlight of our trip will be learning and educating about the importance of environmental conservation). As Anna said below, we are currently in the process of asking Simpson (faculty, students, and staff) for donations. Hopefully we can get a good turnout. I think we are all pretty excited for our trip thus far!

As we prepare for our trip we will be collecting items to take and donate to the two organizations we will be working with. We will be volunteering our time to both the Art of Conservation and the Great Ape Trust which have ties to Des Moines.


Some of the items we are hoping to collect are:

-paint
-painter's tape
-paint brushes
-bars of soap
-toothbrushes/toothpaste
-girls sports bras
-boys jock straps
-running shoes
-duct tape
-artists pencils without erasers
-blank CDs and DVDs for recording

There is a donation box located in Dunn Library.

Checks can be made out to Simpson College with Art of Conservation or Great Ape Trust written in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to

Virginia Croskery
c/o Simpson College
701 N C St-ARMC Studio No. 5
Indianola, IA 50125

We are all very excited to be given the opportunity of a lifetime as we travel to Rwanda on this service trip. Thank you for all donations!