Her first night on the Kenyan Mugie Ranch, Heather D’Angelo heard an unsettling roar outside of her tent. She waited for growls to become faint as she sat paralyzed and muted by fear. “I couldn’t even shed a tear because the lion would hear my tear drop, that’s how scared I was,” she recalls. “What did I sign up for?”

After a few frightening nights, D’Angelo’s fear melted into awe, as she experienced the adventure that Kenya had to offer during her study abroad trip with the Rutgers Primatology Field School. The Primatology Field School is a collaboration between the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Global Education (CGE) at Rutgers’ Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs. D’Angelo, the lone Rutgers University–Newark student, joined 10 other students from across the country to study primatology and wildlife ecology in Africa.

It was during an Internet search that she found the trip to Kenya and seized the chance to fulfill her desire to see the African wilderness firsthand. D’Angelo initially doubted that study abroad opportunities were available to RU–N students, but after a reassuring phone call from CGE, located at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, she was ready to get on the plane.

For one month, she trekked across the landscape with her classmates, professors, and locals who served as field guides.

“We had giraffes, elephants, anything you can imagine, surrounding us at all times,” she says. “You’re not staying in a dorm; you’re really getting hands-on field experience….literally in a tent on the jungle ground.”

D’Angelo admits the shock that she experienced when she was ripped from the comfortable amenities of life back home in West Caldwell, New Jersey. Showers and bathrooms were replaced by creeks and ditches. Pterodactyl-sized birds called Marabou Storks roamed the streets and darkened the skies. She learned to be wary of the plants and animals that concealed deadly poisons.

Her education expanded beyond the field studies and data collection to include lessons about ethnocentrism, poverty, and cultural mores. There were settings where wearing shorts was unacceptable, or villages that had one jump rope or soccer ball serving as the community’s entertainment. She adapted to the land and its citizens, even using the Swahili she had gleaned from YouTube videos and villagers to barter for souvenirs. 

“I’ve done a lot of traveling to other continents, other countries, but this was by far the most incredible experience leaving the country. It was life-changing really; it struck some kind of nerve inside me,” she says.

The Newark College of Arts and Sciences student (Class of 2015) was so influenced by her experience that upon her return she added evolutionary anthropology

 as a second major with psychology after developing a passion for studying the primates whose lives had intertwined with her own.

“…Sometimes eight hours a day, we would just follow the baboons around, sit, observe for an hour or so, jot down notes, collect data, and would just get up and migrate with them throughout the entire day,” she explains. “We remained a respectful distance with them, but there would be times when the baboons would be so close, and they would graze your leg or walk right past you.”

Her newfound knowledge and passion helped her get a job at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience where she currently works as a lab technician.

D’Angelo still shudders when she remembers the huge predators, creepy insects, or blistering heat, but one part of her trip stands out as the most difficult.

“The worst part was leaving. You develop such a close relationship with the other group members...it was very emotional and we clung together to form this very intense bond,” she says. D’Angelo said that despite the pain of separating, she remains in contact with almost everyone in the program.

She also remains connected with the Center for Global Education as a global ambassador for RU–N, discussing her experience and explaining the program’s benefits to students who have doubts and concerns about cost, traveling, or being away from their families.

“The whole idea of studying abroad is to get out of your comfort zone, get out of your little bubble and experience new things,” she said. “…experiencing life through others is crucial to our growth…actually getting to live amongst people, eat their foods, live next to them, sleep next to them, and really connect with these people is very important.”

To learn more about the study abroad program, visit http://studyabroad.rutgers.edu/.

 

 

Photo credits:
First photo: Kim Hockings
Second photo: Courtesy of Heather D'Angelo
Third photo: Courtesy of Heather D'Angelo
Fourth photo: Yesha Chokshi
Fifth photo: Courtesy of Heather D'Angelo