My African Odyssey

My African odyssey has not been a journey to discover my roots or explore uncharted rivers or match wits with the animals of the veld. As I read books by Americans undertaking treks to their spiritual homeland or accounts of intrepid nineteenth-century English ladies arranging travels to Africa - such as Mary Kingsley and May French Sheldon, I am aware of how outwardly tame and wholly cerebral my own explorations have been (until just this past year). Yet the words “intense,” “exciting” and even “adventurous” come to me when I attempt to characterize the literary journey on which I have embarked.