This is a post I wrote while we were in South Africa, but given the limitations on our access to internet (we were all forced off-line for a few days) I’m posting it now, after being in Ezulwini for two days.

We spent all morning in the Lion and Rhino park and I petted baby lions! They were very full, which probably accounted for their sleepiness, but made it a lot easier for us to touch them. We also had the chance to see rhinos, which are gigantic and fairly terrifying. I think we were lucky that they weren’t as close to us as the fully-grown lions, which were near enough to touch (if we had left the van, which we definitely did not). We also fed giraffes during our lunch break. Attached are pictures of Sonny Boy, who was very friendly and who apparently has a depthless stomach.

After returning to home base we had a crash course in how to use Photoshop. My first efforts at editing a photo are attached. Sonny Boy’s picture has been adjusted along the contrast curve; I also saturated certain colors and blurred out sections of the background. This program is so extensive—the potential seems to be nearly limitless, but it’s also probably going to take me a lifetime to learn how to use it well.

We also had a quick and extremely information-filled lecture on tuberculosis and HIV in preparation for our dinner guest (whose name I unfortunately can’t remember) who survived Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, which is horrifyingly difficult to accomplish. She and her husband, both of whom are doctors, were probably the most engaging dinner guests I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. I was very taken by her honesty; she didn’t shy away from explaining the stigma of TB in South Africa or hide her devastation and fears at learning of her drug sensitivity diagnosis. Although her story is both incredible in that she was able to leave the hospital after two and half months (compared to others who may be essentially quarantined for over a year) and frightening because it demonstrates that while anyone can catch this disease under conducive conditions, not everyone has the resources to survive, the most salient statement (in my opinion) was from her husband, who, when speaking about the South African constitution, said that its emphasis on health as a human right is essentially useless as long as people still lack the education to read the constitution. Everything from the night will stay with me, but that truly stood out.