Wednesday
My friend and Nieman Fellow classmate at Harvard, Barney Mthombothi, can't fathom how I could be away from the U.S. during such an exciting presidential election year. Barney used to show up Americans on our fellowship with his vast store of facts about U.S. history and its presidents. He didn't outshine us on purpose or with any hint of arrogance; he is just that smart and a tireless reader of history. He stays up until the wee hours in Johannesburg, he tells me, to follow political news from the States.
Today is one of those days I do feel the absence from the scene and an appetite for hours of TV/newspaper/political scientists' commentary. I tried valiantly to watch the video of Obama's speech on race in Philadelphia online, but it's not happening with these Internet connections in Gaborone. What could I do? I called up the transcript and read the speech on the NYT Web site, and it's one of the most remarkable, refreshing political speeches I have ever read in my years of following politics and politicians in the United States. It is monumental in the way it lays out our country's racial history from its earliest days through today. I can't say enough about its clarity, its incisiveness, its bluntness and its call to our highest aspirations as a country. I wish I had a carload of Obama bumper stickers. I'm finding in Botswana that they are treasured gifts for locals and expats alike. Obama's speech in Philadelphia, snippets of which can be found on African television, will make those stickers even more of a hot commodity.
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A magical flower
The guide squeezes this flower and it squirts water like a water pistol
Cathy and Joe Wanzala
They couldn't wait to paste the Obama sticker on their car
My main man
Ernest is my trusty cab driver who blasts music as we make our way through Gabs
Ted Thomas, man of intrigue and style
My friend, Ted, and his wife, Mary Ann, hosted a Safari Send-Off for me in Austin and treated me to a special mix of African music that already a UB student and a professor want to download.
1 comment:
Maria, I listened to the Obama speech live online, and it was even better to see and hear than to read. My favorite part: that he trusted the American people enough to listen to what he was really saying, trusted us to really think about our own fears and prejudices and doubts. It was the closest thing I've seen in my lifetime (an admittedly scant almost 29 years) to the JFK "ask not" or the MLK "dream" speeches or even the Michael Douglas American President press conference speech. Wish you were here to discuss over Thai food and wine, but am glad you are enjoying your new adventure. ~Amanda (P.S. I've become so addicted to your blog!)
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