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Dear
Adrian
Firstly I must apologise for not
having been in touch sooner. I heard
from Jenni that you had been enquiring
as to how things were going for me
here and I did intend to write
straight away. Somehow, however, time
slips away amazingly fast at a very
slow pace, this being Africa (if you
know what I mean!)
I can't believe that I am well into my
second week here and although the
first week was a bit overwhelming at
times - the pressure to recognise and
be able to name 31 different chimp
personalities at times seeming immense
- this week is now proceeding at a
leisurely pace as opposed to being a
sort of blur!
I have been so lucky with my co-volunteer(s).
I put it like that because there were
initially three of us, now two because
our third one left after a week (that
was all she had booked for). So, here
am I at 70 spending all my time, free
and working, with Andy from San
Antonio (originally from St Louis,
Missouri) aged 24! He is a zoo keeper
in his real life, with primates as his
first love, apart from his girlfriend,
of course. (My eldest two
grandchildren are approaching 21 which
puts the whole thing into
perspective.)
Apart from Andy, there are two guides
who have been here for not much longer
than we have, both aged in their early
twenties. The reason I am going into
this detail is because if anyone had
told me that this is how I would spend
the last four weeks of my "swan song"
vacation (at least the third "swan
song", by the way) I would not have
believed them!
The amazing thing is that certainly,
on this occasion, this seemingly
mismatched blend seems to have worked
and the reason is because the project
we have committed to for this period
of four weeks has taken us over
completely. I am referring to the
volunteer component because the guides
are here for much longer than we are
and have different qualifications.
Nevertheless we spend a lot of time
together because part of their brief
is to organise us volunteers.
Andy and I are thoroughly enjoying our
very full days of chimp monitoring
and, surprisingly enough, the
'housework" part of the job which is
cleaning up the chimp enclosures every
evening. Andy has even gone so far as
to invest in a new rake for the
macadamia shells - which has made this
job much less of a chore. By the time
we have finished cleaning up we are
reasonably exhausted but have so much
going through our minds regarding the
events of the day, specifically
chimp-related, that we need to take
some recreational exercise. In my case
this is merely an hour's walk, with
camera and binoculars close to hand,
whereas in Andy's case it means a
gruelling run to keep him fit for the
marathon events he hopes to be
involved in once he returns to the US.
Our time here appears to be flying
and, at almost the halfway mark, we
are already wondering how, if
possible, each of us can organise to
return at some stage to follow up on
the progress of the chimp population
with whom we have become so involved.
The aims and ideals of Chimp Eden can
be described on paper (or any other
media) ad infinitum but until one is
involved in the project, as we are
being, it is impossible to appreciate
the dedication and hard work put in to
the whole project by the owners of the
reserve and the management of the
sanctuary itself. Thus we, as
volunteers, will leave here - I hope -
feeling satisfied that we have been
able to be a part, albeit small, of
this worthwhile enterprise.
Incidentally, there is no WiFi here
but the office staff take no time to
(e (ie speedily!) help volunteers
connect into the Lodge's system, which
is available 24/7. Thus the "net" is
not available in our bedrooms but is
in the main foyer of the lodge. We are
given more than adequate time off -
both to do any necessary shopping,
with transport provided, and to go
sight-seeing if we are prepared to
organise our own transport. Depending
on the standard of accommodation
booked, we have varying degrees of mod
con but, speaking for myself,
everything is as much or more than I
could have hoped for. We are fed well
and with plenty of variety three times
a day and, again speaking for myself,
what more could one want! Our laundry
requirements are taken care of
whenever we wish. Thus ßwe have only
the chimps to think about!
So, all in all, that is where I am at
as I come close to the halfway mark in
my stay here. I go to bed looking
forward to the next day and I really
do not want to look ahead to leaving
here, much as I am aware of my family
ties in Oz.
I am so grateful for your help and
encouragement leading up to my arrival
at Chimp Eden.
Warmest wishes,
Judy BW
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