March ends and a new quarter begins

The first Stanford academic quarter is over and almost all the lovely students we met have gone home. All except four who have stayed to travel and take more courses here with the new students in the second quarter.

The African Genocide class I took has also ended. Our last seminar, where we revisited the definition of genocide, was held at Rhodes Memorial on a sunny wind-free day sitting around a table overlooking the city, far removed from possible genocidal atrocities. The five students taking the class ended the session with a spontaneous intense discussion re the complicated issues that the topic of genocide raises. A philosophically mind blowing experience that I was so lucky to be part of!

My son, Gareth, arrived with his girlfriend, Naz, from London on March 6th. It's been wonderful having them down the road, staying in a nearby guest house, popping in almost every day - a great treat for me.

The Farewell Dinner for the students took place last week at Moyo restaurant at Spier wine farm, about 35 kilometers from here. We all piled into the bus driven by Sipho Mpepho who has done nearly all the shuttling for the students. Of course I took photos and hope you enjoy them!

Here we are with our painty faces at the Farewell Dinner!