Blog

As the Student Affairs Manager at Moyo Hill Camp, one of the best parts of my job is planning non-academic activities for the students and providing a fun camp environment. The students this semester have been eager to participate in activities and explore the local community, making my job even more fun. Thanks to their enthusiasm there hasn’t been a single dull moment since the students arrived at Moyo Hill in Tanzania last week.

A group of students has already started a birding club and they have gone out several mornings each week to practice identifying birds in the area. Even students who never thought they would be interested in bird-watching have joined the birding club because you don’t even have to leave camp to see incredibly colorful and beautiful birds such as speckled mousebirds and sunbirds.

Photo: Jo Kelly

Many of the students have stayed very active since they arrived. Every morning a group of students goes running on the running trail outside of camp where they are greeted by kids walking to school, women carrying firewood on their heads, and men herding goats and cows down the road. Just about any chance they get, another group of students braves the heat and plays volleyball on our volleyball court at camp.

Photos: Shannon Kuzmick

Every evening the students have gone to a nearby soccer field to play soccer with local community members and SFS staff (even the professors and Center Director join in!).

Photo: Madeline Jackson

A camp-wide volleyball tournament is starting this week and ongoing Secret Santa activity has already begun. Countless games of cards and Banagrams have been played in the warm evenings, and several movies (of course including The Lion King) have already been shown on the projector on the newly-constructed covered porch.

On the first non-academic day of the semester I took the students out on hike in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We hiked to and then explored the “Elephant Caves” – an area where cliffside caves have been created by elephants and other mammals digging in the soil for essential minerals. On the way to the caves we passed a gorgeous waterfall and a troop of baboons!
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The semester is off to a great start and I can’t wait to plan more activities and adventures with the students!

Students exploring the Elephant Caves.