The Undergraduate Center of Triton College is offering a travel and study excursion to
Kenya and Tanzania at the end of the school year in May, 2001. As a veteran of all the trips since
their conception in 1994, I can tell you this one will certainly take the cake. Not even the trip to
China last June, 1999, could possibly top this one. The tour companies Triton contracts with always do a wonderful job putting together these excursions. They are always planned to the minute detail and feature bi-lingual guides who are trained with a emphasis on
educating the participants.

        With the exception of the trip to China last year, all of the tours which Triton has been on
have traversed most of Europe. From London to Athens and from Sorrento to Rottenburg, the
excursions have placed us pilgrims at nearly all points of the compass in Europe. China was even
more spectacular. And every trip left us more informed than any of us could possibly imagine.

        But East Africa is destined to be by far the greatest excursion Triton will offer of them all.
There will be no castles, mansions, or archeological sites to visit. There will be no stopping for a
jambon fromage at a sidewalk caf‚ on the way to the next museum. The never ending vistas of the
Serengetti Plain will be our classroom now. We will learn about the herds of prey animals, herds
so large they carry the eye to infinity. We will learn about the predators, their faces buried in the
entrails of an unfortunate wildebeest. This magical place represents life and death in the most
revealing and spectacular way.

        Most importantly, we will meet and learn about the inhabitants of this part of the world. For
most, this will be a humbling and tolerance inducing experience which will change they way we
look at ourselves and the rest of the humanity.

     But there will be a local focus, too. Dr. Salzman will teach us from the writings of a local
boy, Ernest Hemingway, for whom Kenya was the "North Star" of his imagination. Our own
connection through Hemingway to the disturbing era of post-colonial Africa will challenge us to
our innermost core.

        East Africa never disappoints. It is safe, organized and comfortable. But the old romance of the
safari persists, and it is truly an experience we will never forget.  I hope you will email me with
questions or comments, and I hope you can go with us. My email address is on the Africa
mainpage.  Robert Palmer, January, 2000