Africa?

Last night I had this bizarre dream about doing research in a swamp in Africa. At some point in it, I was just trying to find something to eat, something I could stand, and what I found was sort of like prehistoric corn - it was HUGE and the kernels looked kind of weird, and there were these peach-colored squishy sort of disk things poking up here and there along the length of the 'corn'. Eternally grateful to the man who brought it to me, I took a huge bite just as he said 'be sure to pull out the leeches. They're poisonous.' The leeches being those peachy things. I'd already eaten practically a whole mouthful, and I was panicking, but the guy was already gone (he had been on his way out the door when he said that). I ran into the kitchen, and my grandfather was standing there. When I told him what had happened, he told me to eat salt - that would kill the leeches before they could suck up my blood from within. We were then trying to find a can of salt, but there weren't any! All we could find were those little individual packages of salt.
Then my research partner walked in, and something happened, but I don't know what. The next thing I knew, it was several years previous to the first part of the dream. I think my research partner and I were leaving - we didn't have the money to keep up the research, and she had a kid she didn't want to raise in the swamp, so we walked to the catwalk that led out of the swamp, turned, looked back (the sun was setting - it was actually really gorgeous - not like a "swamp" that we think of here in new england... more like a vibrant, GREEN marshland almost, but tropical), then turned to leave, and her daughter was GONE. We could see ripples in the swamp, but it was dark and murky and we couldn't see the girl - We couldn't jump in without a flashlight (the only way I can think to describe the swamp is this: it was like an iced over pond. You don't just jump in after someone, you have to fish them out because you run the excellent risk of killing yourself otherwise) so, I ran back to the research station to find a flashlight, but I could only remember where the flashlights of the future WOULD be - but they weren't there yet. So, I couldn't find a flashlight, and I was freaking out because the daughter was going to die (if she wasn't dead yet), and I couldn't help my research partner when she really needed me to help her, and well, obviously I didn't want the girl to die! But I couldn't find a flashlight!!!! Then, three people walked in - my research partner, her daughter, and some random man. At first I thought that the man had jumped into the water, but it turned out the daughter had run away to some judge's house (idk why there was a judge living in the swamp) because she didn't want to leave the swamp.
I guess we stayed to continue research, because the first part of my dream took place in the future.

Odd, indeed. At least I've stopped dreaming about fiances/boyfriends/soulmates. That was getting obnoxious.