Life of Wry

It’s been a full week — birthdays, political action (the usual), visiting friends (Carol, Bill, Tony, Jack), a nice hike, a horrible debate, nonstop political fretting….

With all that going on, I have yet to write about our two Mandela Fellows and the dinner we enjoyed with them about 5 days ago (I’m writing this on Sunday — while swinging in the hammock, listening to Bruce Springsteen, in a 98-degree light breeze — filling in a few missed posts).

So, Tuesday. We had our two fellows over for dinner. We learned about life in Zambia and Namibia, we learned about their jobs, we learned about the projects they are initiating as part of this fellowship. All impressive. I’m including photos from the evening, as well as a pair of biographical cards posted on a giant map of Africa — part of a display at Friday night’s Mandela Washington Fellowship reception — that provide a nice overview of Nalumino and Beauty.

The Friday reception was a very interesting, worthwhile two hours where we ate some typical African fare (rice, potatoes, cabbage, a chicken dish and spongy Ethiopian bread — interesting, all yellow); heard from officials, planners, sponsors and the fellows themselves. There was drumming, dancing and a lot of presentations. Pleased to hear Jim later say he really enjoyed it all and was up for hosting again next year. I’ll include some of those pics, as well.