Back to Reality

The end of July 2012 sadly marked the end of my time at UPP. Looking back, those 12 months went surprisingly fast but needless to say I will look back on it all with a degree of nostalgia. I could not have asked to spend a year of my life in a remote forest in Africa with cooler bunch of dudes. To Busoti, Msigwa, Shedrack, Mlela, Ndai and Joffrey I offer a heartfelt thank you for your endless diligence in the field, and patience whilst I consistently butchered your beautiful language. To Alex and Fiona, I express great gratitude for the opportunity to contribute towards all the great work being done by the Ugalla Primate Project and I wish you guys all the best with its continuation.

Sentimental photo 1: Alex, Msigwa, Shedrack, Fiona, Mlela, Joffrey, Simon, Ndai and Busoti

Sentimental photo 2: A rare moment of having both full time and part time UPP staff at camp with Samantha and Simon

Sentimental photo 3: Msigwa, Mlela and Myself at Gombe

As is probably obvious from the date stamp on this post, I am writing this nearly two years after having left the Issa forest and I'm pleased to say I maintain occasional contact with UPP's legendary staff and directors. The opportunities afforded to me by UPP have opened countless windows, through which I have navigated with the blundering luck of a goldfish, as I now find myself close to the finish line on my PhD. Crossing that imagined finish line will be the culmination of three years of hard work that began as a single email alerting me to a remote job opportunity. Since then, I've not looked back and it finally looks like the path ahead is starting to take a vague shape. I hope you enjoyed dipping in and out of my adventures and I hope you stay tuned for more to come in my spin off show 'occasional shenanigans of a zoologist/climber'!

Sentimental photo 4: Msigwa, Shedrack, Me and Busoti