Out of Africa

"If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?"

~ Karen Blixen

What beautiful scenery coats the canvas of the television screen like a fine watercolor or superb photograph. The wildlife and people seem as close to real as possible without ever really truly being real. And yet, the dramatic cinematography and extensive vistas offer a perspective of Africa and its landscape in poignant detail that is so amazingly moving we cannot wait to be surrounded by the very elements on the screen. To step through the television and enter into the savanna - the smell of warm dirt, so dry during that season that it floats into the air and coats houses, animals, skin, every surface imaginable; the blue of the sky stretching on and on and on with no end in sight; the sunset kissing the horizon, and perhaps for us one of the most anticipated, the panorama of lions, elephants, and giraffes from a hot air balloon. Watching this movie has augmented our desire to witness first hand the beauty of Kenya, and of this world. After completing the remainder of the packing, some final clothes to be ironed and folded, we will be ready to board the plane that will take us to Nassau, the M.V. Explorer, and the start of a grand adventure.

We are ready to return to school as the days in the month of August come to a close. The excitement of relating what we learn to the environment around us will be more rewarding than at our home campus. We have ordered, perhaps our final purchase for the trip, a book Megan has read in the Art Library at the University of Maryland College Park. It is by Gavin Younge, whom we will meet hopefully in South Africa called "The Art of the South African Township". Surprisingly, the Foreward to the book is written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu whom we will now have the pleasure of meeting as well. We are filled with excitement to all of the possibilities awaiting us.