"We did not fear the future...

...we shaped it". That is what President Obama said when the Health Care Reform was approved last sunday night, in Washington DC. It is estimated that 32 million more people will be able to access health services in the US as a result of this reform, once it gets fully implemented. A hundred years were needed to actually achieve this. And against all odds, Obama did get it done. Not bad. At all. Ted Kennedy must be smiling.

The sun always shines on TV...

...and in Washington DC! I can hardly believe it! Less than two months ago I was stranded here, in meters of snow, and today it is beautiful out there!

I read this great book last week, which the chicken recommended, called "The Philosopher and the Wolf" (Mark Rowlands). There is no big question mark about the main subjects of the story, since both of them appear in the title. While the story is compelling on its own, and beautifully written, the essence of the book is a philosophical reflection about life, death and the role of human beings and other animals.

After several courses on political philosophy during my studies, I never thought that I could find philosophy this attractive and convincing. This is one of the books that I will keep reading at different moments, and I suspect that it will give me something new to think about each time. I am on the road again, and did not bring it with me. But I will pick up this trail once I am back, to get some thought provoking quotes into the Cosmic Mouse Report.

Look at the stars...

...look how they shine for you, and all the things that you do... (Coldplay). Isn't it amazing how, even if we are far away, we continue to think about and feel deeply connected to the people we love? I would have loved to be with you at the Cold Play concert, Waldo!

Instead, I was still at Mont Fleur, in Stellenbosch, which has a place in history that certainly relates to the lines of Yellow. Around 20 years ago, this place was the silent witness for what came to be known as "The Mont Fleur Scenarios"--one of the first meetings among Mandela, the ANC (African National Congress) and the crumbling apartheid government, to talk about the transition.

It is usual to feel humbled in the presence of superior beings--and I am sure that is what it would feel like to meet Mandela. But sometimes you feel humbled just by thinking that the very spot where you are standing, is a place where historic developments happened.

The heat is on...

...in Cape Town. The first Cosmic Mouse Report came from a snow-covered Washington DC, when the "capital of the free world" came to a still stand because of the blizzard. As ironic as it might appear, a month later I am in Stellenbosch, close to Cape Town, also paralized--but this time by the heat. It is SCORCHING HOT! Today, offices were closed in the city due to the heat.

But it is beautiful! The mountains are breath-taking, the food is delicious and the pool is the most refreshing experience I have had in a long time!

The workshop itself is quite amazing. Some remarkable people fighting the good fight, mostly in African countries ranging from Nigeria to Zambia, to Tanzania and South Africa. When I see their passion and commitment to make health care available to poor and excluded communities, it makes me remember why I love this work.

That is enough of a reason.