The Oldest Woman in the World

…Potentially. The weekend before last, I was able to visit Homo naledi in person at the Cradle of Humankind in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa! To sound like a total tour guide for a moment: Potentially a primitive version of Homo erectus, Homo naledi was first discovered in 2013 and was fully excavated as of September 10, 2015. It has not yet been dated, but the cave in which it was discovered is approximately 3 million years old! It’s not every day that an incredible archeological discovery is made only 400 km away, so a couple friends and I packed up and headed out to Jo-burg to catch the last weekend of the exhibit. While there, we stayed with some lovely friends I had met at Yom Kippur services in Cape Town, and the whole experience was incredible!

Besides gawking at Homo naledi in Maropeng, the museum of human history, we also explored the caves in which the fossils were found! The Sterkfontein Caves contain an abundance of breccia, which is an especially good material in which to find fossils. Plus, the natural architecture was beautiful.

This past weekend, I did something I never thought I would do—I cut class to look go star-seeking. We found out that A United Kingdom, a movie about the love affair between Sir Seretse Khama (first president of Botswana) and Ruth Wilson, was filming in Mahalapye, a $5 bus ride from Gabs. So at 8 am we headed out, walked to the hotel where the stars were staying, and chatted with Rosamund Pike, AKA Amy in Gone Girl and Jane in Pride and Prejudice. Because when in Bots, right? And then we asked someone for the casting director’s number and offered ourselves as extras. Turns out they were pretty desperate for white people, so it ended up working out in our favor. We made about $60, got two free nights in a hotel, and had the chance to be in a movie! You can see me walking with my two children (!) in the background of one scene, and in other scene, I am sitting in a lawn chair while my children play tag. So those are my barely 10 seconds of screen time, but I assure you, they will be the highlight of the movie! Here’s me with some of my fellow extras, circa 1947.

Now I’m back, and school is finally picking up. All of my final projects are due in the next few weeks, so I don’t have any more exciting plans for a little while. Before I know it, though, classes will be over! Finals start the week after next, and then in December I’m off to northern Botswana and Zimbabwe! Until then, sala sentle!