Heard gunshots outside bedroom window last night… 11 of them, but they seemed far off. While standing on the balcony listening for more shots amid the responding cacophony of a hundred dogs, I saw a shooting star, and in that brief moment realized how small we are beneath the heavens. In Africa, as in elsewhere, senseless acts of violence are carried out and the dogs still bark, clouds still produce rain, and stars still fall.

Tonight, from the same direction as the gunshots, I hear the sounds of music, a wild party, people cheering. This is Africa.