Party Animals

We started today off with a long walk in our neighborhood, which includes many embassies and gated large homes of dignitaries, both foreign and domestic. It was a beautiful morning: sunny, warm, and summer-like. Later in the day we attended the jazz concert at the golf club. Today was special, as the Botswana motorcycle club was invited to attend. They arrived about 1/2 hour into the concert, spewing smoke with engines roaring. Here, as in our country, Harley is king. The typical burly bearded bare-armed denim vested look also is apparently required. The concert was fun and my colleague, Matt Dasco, a UPenn attending (from Houston) played tenor sax eloquently.
About 5pm we walked about 6 blocks to the home of Branco and Gordana Cavric (she is chief of medicine at PMH, unfortunately visiting family in Belgrade this week, and he is a UB professor of urban planning) for a Wildebeest and Oryx roast. Their friend from Serbia, staying with them, had hunted the animals in the Kalahari, and brought them back for stewing (along with ox-tail, pork, and goat). The stews were served with rice, peppers, and pop (maise prepared like dry cream-of-wheat), and actually were delicious. They had been stewing for 6 hours over a wood fire while the Yugoslavs (9 at my table alone) exercised their hepatic function with beer, wine, and other alcoholic consumables. We spent the evening re-fighting the Serbian war of the '90s, as we seem to do every time we sit down with a crowd of former Yugoslavs.
We also heard lots of stories about wild animals of the Kalahari and the Okovango Delta, which was fun and good preparation for our upcoming trips in late February and March.
I sat next to the Anglican Bishop of Botswana, who was asked to give the blessing before we ate. I was relieved they didn't ask me...the motsie might not have been well understood by the Yugoslavs. Barbara was at a table with all women, except an interracial couple, married in Moscow 40 years ago, who have found acceptance here in Botswana, where they have lived now for a long time.
Full of Wildebeest, we came back to our flat to prepare ourselves for the coming week.