Tanzania: Shalya Gulati

October 18, 2024

Program: SFS Wildlife Management & Wildlife Research, Summer

Shalya’s Major: Neurobiology

Shalya and three others looking out through the top of an open-roofed vehichle. They are driving through a flat landscape, with a tall mountain far in the distance. — All our expeditions take place in our safari cars. As students we spend most of our time standing up and observing the wildlife.

What was a memorable experience from your program?

The most memorable experience from my program is our expedition to Serengeti National Park. We were there for around five days and each day had a different activity scheduled to learn more about the wildlife in the park. Tanzania’s national parks do not have fences because of the Great Migration and their belief that the animals should be allowed to roam free. Our campsite often got visits from animals such as baboons or mongeese. The expedition to the Serengeti taught us a lot about what it would be like to be a local with wildlife coming into your living area and why wildlife management is important. It was exciting to see several species of wildlife in their natural habitat and study their behavior in a place that I had been wanting to visit for my whole life.

How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?

The class I took in Tanzania was about Wildlife Management and & Wildlife Research. It involved a lot of research, fieldwork, classroom, and community learning. Taking a class on this program was very different than taking a class at UW-Madison. Because it was a smaller class size than normal, we knew our professors and our fellow students very well. Our classes often included local trips to different places that were specific to the management or conservation technique or process we were learning about that day. We also had a lot of guest speakers come and present on specific animal conservation. Our expeditions to different national parks and game reserves always included fieldwork activities that related to the unit we were working on. Each activity was different but involved studying the wildlife in their natural habitat.

It was exciting to see several species of wildlife in their natural habitat and study their behavior in a place that I had been wanting to visit for my whole life.

A selfie of Shalya and two other students holding armfulls of tall plants. More of the same plants are around them, unpicked. — All our expeditions take place in our safari cars. As students we spend most of our time standing up and observing the wildlife.

What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad and/or during your time abroad? How did you work through them?

One of the biggest challenges I faced during my time abroad was homesickness. During the first week of my program I had a hard time settling in and was missing home and my family. I was able to work through it by talking with the other students on my program. I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was homesick and was having a hard time adjusting. Talking with them made me finally feel comfortable and allowed me to settle into life in Tanzania. I also talked often with my family and friends from home when I was able to. This helped me to still feel connected to my life at home but to also continue embracing my life in Tanzania.