Namesake

Well, it's my last day here in Africa, and I'm feeling quite blue about leaving. I'm not terribly surprised that Africa swept me off my feet just as I always thought it would. But I am a little surprised and really relieved with how much I truly enjoyed the work-side of the trip. I think I had always built up an experience like this in my head, and it really did exceed my expectations!! Of course, there were challenges (some foreseeable and many unforeseeable), but it was an amazing life experience in international research and scientific training, and I'm pretty confident Dad was right in projecting that I'll be back someday for more. I may have some more reflections as the days pass, but for now, I just feel so lucky that I had this opportunity and excited to be coming home to you all soon! Thank you all so much for your support and love along the way. This blog has been more fun to keep than I had anticipated, so thanks for following along. Here are some random pics that wrap up the Livingstone/VicFalls/Chobe circuit. I may post some later tonight with the Lusaka crew in them, but who can say...:)

Captions:
- Skulls at the entry point at Chobe National Park; Left to Right: Antelope/ELEPHANT/Impala/Kudu/Buffalo
- Microlight from the ground level (This was of the lady that took flight with Brian's vehicle after me. Her husband did also, and they flew close enough to wave to each other in the sky which I thought was cute, albeit, dangerous? Haha.)
- Bridge to the Zimbabwean side of Vic Falls
- Vic Falls from the ground level (Zambian side)
-Amazingly, there was a drink called "Under African Skies" that I found at a local hotel in Livingstone -- and it had my favorite local liqueur in it called Amarula Cream (made from the South African Marula fruit tree)! Of course, I had to give it a try, and it was delicious. For those of you who may not have drawn immediate connections about the origin of my blog's name -- the namesake is taken from a Paul Simon song in one of my all-time favorite albums (and another source of my curiosity with Africa in my early youth) - Graceland (featuring the South African band, Ladysmith Black Mambazo). If for some reason you haven't had the pleasure of listening to this awesome album yet, you should check it out right...now! :)