Between courses I was able to take a sweet white wine tour of the Sauterne region in Northern France and a pilgrimage to Lourdes as well.
     In August, 1998, I went to the Philippines to give a lecture to a large  audience (more than 260) of faculty members,  graduate students  and   master   teachers  K-college from across the country on "Portfolio Assessment for  Composition Teachers."  It was hosted by the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, De La Salle University and Philippine Normal University (Graduate College of Education). This was a SRO presentation that generated excellent post-lecture discussions and another invitation to lecture. This was also a nostalgic visit to a country I had not seen  for twenty years!
Africa - Land of Contrast...
     Beauty - sheer majesty - is evident at every  turn in southern Africa.  Unfortunately, abject squalor is equally visible.  While the glorious sunsets, beautiful flowers, and incredible animals are captured in photos that record my experiences this summer, what will permeate my personal memories most will be the faces and actions of the people.
     Living - still - in the depths of poverty, the blacks in southern Africa have a remarkable hope.  While it appears to us they are in desperate straights, their smiles convey hope, their entrepreneurship inspiration. There are children everywhere  with beautiful smiles, tinkling laughter, children with eyes full of hope and hearts bursting with dreams. We visited an elementary school where over 700