Last night, with the telescope, I saw Saturn

Deja Vu: good morning from the lake. I'm at the southern tip, now, instead of up north where I wrote from 2-3 weeks ago. Have you seen a map, perchance, to appreciate this land-locked sliver of a nation?: bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia; monopolized by Lake Malawi, which takes up around a third of the country. Third largest lake on the continent, I believe they say. 

It's a small country, but there are tinier. Remember in 9th grade when we picked out of a hat the African nation we were to do a report on, and my fate was São Tomé and Principe? Excluded from most artists renderings of the continent and the majority of history texts: it was a challenge. I remember photo-copying page after page at a local library; the internet search still hovering low under the radar. 

I've been pensive, lately, if you hadn't noticed. Relatively inside my own head and alarmingly conscious of my own thoughts. It's protective sometimes to not be like this, to let thoughts baste unbothered. And imperative other times to let them be served, even if their insides are still doughy, like the buttered croissant(sss) I had for breakfast. 

I'm talking about "thoughts", kid, in case that got lost in the mumbo-jumbo.

I've put a lot off over the last 6 weeks, which I'll very well regret in three. There's a personal statement to prepare and an exam to acknowledge and other things out of my working brain's reach at the moment. I thought I'd proven to myself how glorious it is to get things done ahead of time, to not procrastinate, but some habits die hard. 

Today (and not three weeks from now), I'm slated to go snorkeling. I know a lot of people boast discoordinate, but I'm a special case. Swimming, real swimming, has always been a challenge. When I tried to do laps yesterday in the pool I closed my eyes (chlorine, to induce better imagination) and tried to emulate Michael Phelps. You know what they say about reaching for the stars.

What else can I say? Let's see. I'm with my parents for another handful of days and then the galavanting will cease. Then, there are three more focus groups to conduct, and work to be done with regard to our bicycle ambulance initiative. In the interim: I'll enjoy my time with my family. They've been entertaining, but not in a terribly reproducible way. My mother is constantly pointing out animals to me, which is only funny/complicated because 99.9% of the time she tells me to direct my attention at twelve o'clock. Well if I see them they're obviously right in front of me. 

Aside from that, my parents have been incredible in their appreciation and pure enjoyment of Malawi. They're falling for the people, the landscape, the relaxation, and the food. I believe in that order. 

I'm happy here, as I think is clear, but'll be happy to be back home as well. I think it has something to do with the fact that I know I'll be back here, one day. There's security in knowing I'm not leaving for good. Maybe it's a little premature to reflect on this. Now I'm going to get back to Oscar Wao.

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca 

PS: I could even see its rings.