Ships. Night. Passing. Whatnot

So Tuesday I went to Johannesburg for a conference that brought together economic officers from around sub-sarahan Africa. Pretty cool, and a good conference to boot. Colleagues from Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Chad, DRC, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Eritrea, etc. etc. etc. You get the picture. A bunch of people working in interesting and difficult places trying to do the kinds of things I'm trying to do here. So it was useful, and enlightening, and fun.

Plus, I stayed at the Sandton Sun hotel, which was nice, and was also attached to a mall that had a McDonalds AND a great place for falafel. It's the little things, ya know? And, I got to take the famous GauTrain from downtown Jo'burg to the airport. It was very posh.

I know Jo'burg has quite the reputation for, you know, outrageously high levels of violent crime. But in Sandton, where I stayed and where crime still does happen, you basically have to be aware and not do stupid things, just like in any big city around the world.

So anyway, I was in Jo'burg for 3 nights. And it was great. And now I'm home, having arrived last night at 9:00 pm. So this morning Katherine and Jack went to a birthday party, this afternoon Jack, Sam and I go to a birthday party, and tonight Katherine and I go to a masquerade ball to benefit an elephant orphanage in Kafue National Park.

Tomorrow we have a barbecue at 1:00 then are having people over at 4:00.

Monday Katherine leaves for a work trip and will be away for 4 nights.

We are overscheduled.

The view from our patio

in Luangwa.

Giraffe conference.


Elephant Parade

pretty much daily.

Anyway, looking at dates for a Nervig family reunion next June/July.

Ambulatory

The kid has skills...newly acquired and not yet mastered skills.

C'mon people

32 of you viewed this here blog yesterday. If each of you gave just $25 for the elephant charge, that would be 25 X 32 dollars which is probably a lot but I don't have a calculator nearby and my public education has left me bereft of math skills.

Anyway, it's for the animals. And the people. Because conservation means wildlife means tourists means jobs for people in communities around the parks means they can stop being very poor subsistence farmers means they have a stake in the future of those animals means reduced poaching means more wildlife and so on...so there Geoffrey.

$25 is just an indicative number. You are welcome to give multiples of that if you so desire.