Back in SF

We were able to quickly adjust to life back in San Francisco. You can tell because I am enjoying a local brew on the terrace - San Francisco's own Anchor Steam beer.

I am wearing the shesh we procured for the camel ride to Arouane (which - thanks to the internet, I am now an expert at wrapping), the shirt and pants that were a gift from Hamidou in Timbuktu, and the sandals from Dakar. My high-rise neighbors were probably wondering whether terrorists had moved in across the street.

We were delighted and surprised when the beautiful Alpha Sow ceramic pot we purchased in Dakar arrived undamaged a few days after we returned. We have had remarkably good luck over the years purchasing fragile art objects in 3rd world countries and shipping them home. In the process there is always a very nervous-making moment of handing over a large pile of cash and a hand scribbled address to somebody you don't know in a country you are unlikely to visit again. You hope that a fragile object d'art will follow you home unscathed, but suspect you will never see the object or your money again. Then it arrives. Much happiness ensues.

So far we have a perfect record.