Afternoon all!
This morning, after breakfast, Hannah and I met up with Nardos to make sure we were all set with paperwork. Both of us signed our contracts for work and then we went to tea with her at the Zebu Club. She also offered us a snack, I chose to have the English Cake. It was a very thick slice of bread that also contained white raisins. Which, I did not know because I do not like raisins at all! Anyway, after picking out the raisins it was actually quite good but filling at the same time. Hannah and I actually skipped lunch because of our late tea-time with Nardos (it was already around 11 am).
After tea, there was a young boy named Amnen kicking a soccer ball around in the street. Hannah and Amnen started kicking the ball to each other. Eventually they made their way to the actual soccer 'courts' (it is a cement pad with both soccer nets and basketball hoops). I have to say, for how young Amnen was (I would guess around 7 or 8) he was very good! He had to leave so Hannah and I walked back to our Hostel and took in some relaxation before meeting up with one of Nardos' colleagues.
I would tell you his name but quite frankly I cannot say it nor spell it! He told us a little bit about the work here at ILRI and set up a time to get to know the security measures around the compound. Next, we walked to Sululta to see if we would be able to have someone take us to a museum over the weekend as well as find time to meet with IT to get proper wifi set up on our computers. A very nice man that works here in this building set up a time with the IT guys as well as time to visit the National Museum of Ethiopia on Sunday.
Also, my second supervisor, Dr. Olivier Hanotte, was back from his trip in London. He introduced himself and brought me to his office which is only a few steps from the desk of Hannah and I. He started out by asking why I had applied for the internship, why I had wanted to come to Ethiopia and ILRI, as well as why I had a passion for cattle, why I chose to raise Angus and Hereford and why I strayed away from crossbred cattle. As many of you know, cattle has almost always been apart of my background and I have grown to love it. I applied for this internship because 1.) I knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity 2.) I have a goal of working towards the end of world hunger and 3.) because I truly want to make a difference somewhere, somehow in this world. I chose ILRI as my preference place of work because of the work with livestock being done and the ability to work with livestock and the people to make a difference in Africa.
After speaking with Olivier, I am overwhelmed but also extremely excited. I have to say, he just radiates knowledge. Olivier and Tadelle are actually senior scientists working here at ILRI and I very pleased to be working with both of them. After asking me those questions, he began to tell me about the history of how cattle migrated into Africa and where the origins came from and where they are now. He shared with me the history of the Bos Taurus cattle coming to Africa first and Zebu (Bos Indicus) cattle coming later, though many believe it is only Zebu cattle present here in Africa. Well he talked about the crossbreeding that happened naturally as well as what is believed as selected traits by farmers within the Bos Taurus and Zebu cattle to create the cattle that are present today. Between the African B. Taurus and the African Zebu even today there is still 80% Zebu and 20% African Taurus bloodlines. That is the equilibrium that has been reached between the two different sorts of cattle. No matter how far these lines get from the origination they will always have the 80/20 lines because of their equilibrium.
As for my project, I will be working with African Dairy Genetic Gains. There is one other type of cattle present within Africa of a line that I didn't quite fully catch him say (with Olivier's accent it can be hard to understand him at times) is currently not at its equilibrium like the Zebu and Taurus. Because there is no equilibrium, there is no consistency to the production of milk in these cattle. With no consistency it can be hard to determine whether that cow will produce sufficient milk for farmers or if it will be in non-scientific terms, 'a dud'. This is what the African Dairy Genetic Gains is working towards, the consistency in this type of cattle. Olivier told me that when Dr. Tadelle returns we will talk about my project and set up a time for me to go to the fields and see the cattle with the equilibrium and the cattle that have not yet reached that equilibrium.
Now, I hope that I did not overwhelm you! I am actually so pumped to be working on this project. Dr. Olivier did give me some of his own research papers to read up on to get a better understanding of the cattle history in Africa. So, I have some reading to do by the end of this week. But, I am looking forward to getting out in the field and working!
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