The Lapid-faced Vulture

Who is this ugly creature, you may ask? Well, this here, is the "Lapid-Faced Vulture", it is also the animal/bird/creature that I have been officially assigned (2 days till departure) by my prof to look out for while I am in Nairobi National Park, the Masai Mara and Elangata Wuas (which is located in the Rift Valley in Kenya).

So far this 5-day orientation has been such a crazy in-between way to get ready for this trip. It's a weird time because every day we sit in classrooms and learn about the trip we are about to embark on and all the places we are going to go and all the things we have to be careful about but IN 2 DAYS - I'll be getting on an airplane and actually going there!

This has been a very PROLONGED process of introducing me to the biggest trip of my life..so far..the anticipation is rising!!!

I'm also in a very in-between place in my living situation. I currently am living in the living room of my very own apartment and sleeping on my couch because there is a new subletter in my room to take care of the place while I am gone. Many of us on the trip at this odd point... wandering the streets of Montreal looking for a place to belong, in these last few days here.

Meet Jayde, my Aussie replacement :)

Sessions so far have consisted of language learning (Mimi ni Sheena), "risk management", course prep, internship-finding tips ..... and it just keeps going! There have been some really nice surprises along the way. Today, the 38 of us were invited to MacDonald Campus to have lunch in the home of our Prof  who heads up the trip where we received a home cooked meal, cooked by his wife!

I hope for and look forward to more intimate moments with these unbelievably passionate researchers and professors on this trip.

The most important people I have met during this orientation are my fellow program participants from across different programs at McGill and different regions of Canada and the world, all of whom are soooo ready for this adventure to begin!

One last thing - here is me with my full backpack! Whhhhhhhhattt up! (and YES, this is all I'm bringing with me. How did I do it? I DON'T KNOW):

I was a little nervous... :-s

See you in Nairobi!!!!!!!

The day before I left -- Sheena the Explorer ready to GO!