Despite having the worst jet lag I have experienced to date (including two totally sleepless nights - thus I'm writing in the blog) I am doing incredibly well and couldn't be more pleased with the events as they unfold here. (Pictured left: Eli Lilly Dinner - (L to R) Dr. S. Seape, Psychiatrist from Private Hospital Soweto; Former Norwegian Prime Minister Bondevik; and Jim Ringer, MD of Eli Lilly and host for the evening.)The Tuesday luncheon provided an opportunity for Prime Minister Bondevik to share his personal story of mental illness, and I spoke about the Fellowship Program and discussed our efforts to sustain the program in South Africa.
A potential partner emerged from the meeting and is willing to hold additional talks.(Photo Left: At my dinner table, the Norwegian Ambassador to South Africa and me)
A quick drive through the city to pick up flowers for the breakfast meeting with editors enabled a quick tour of the private school for Boy's - St. John's. (Photo here). The lush landscapes of Johannesburg have taken me by surprise and are bursting forth with the rain that we are drenched in now. I am promised better weather when we arrive in Cape Town tomorrow.
(The South Africans have taken hospitality to a new level and are so embarrassed that the weather has been so poor in J-burg.)I was able to see former Rosalynn Carter Fellow Shandukani Mathagu, who at the last moment agreed to do a radio interview on Kaya FM due to a conflict so I could attend the Eli Lilly dinner. He will join us tomorrow morning as well.
Tomorrow I will see Claire Keeton of The Sunday Times, and Tamar Khan of Business Day - two more former Fellows.
My alarm will ring in an hour, and we are off running to an early morning breakfast followed by my interview on SAFM before we all run to meet a plane headed to Cape Town. It is World Mental Health Day (10/10)! You can read about it on the Carter Center website at http://www.cartercenter.org/news/features/h/mental_health/world_mh_day.html
It is all too exciting - maybe I shouldn't blame my sleeplessness on just the jet lag! :)
1 comment:
Rebecca, thank you for sharing these important moments with us! When you see Tamar, you might let her know that she is one of the featured fellows (her photo is on the Carter Center Web site home page) for World Mental Health Day: www.cartercenter.org. You're a wonderful ambassador on behalf of the rest of us.
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