(Mothupi, left, and Marshoff, right)

I normally try not to post pictures of myself above the fold (so I’d appreciate y’all not staring at my massive double chin and cheesy, nerded-out smile), but I had to show you who’s now become my favorite VIP meeting ever, even surpassing Jesse Jackson Sr. and Roger Clyne. Surrounding me in this shot taken in the parking lot of my college alma mater are Frances Beatrice Marshoff and Gertrude Mothupi, the Premier of Free State, South Africa and the Executive Mayor of Mangaung. The two were here with a delegation from Free State that’s seeking to drum up business in the United States, and they stopped at the school for a reception and tour.

See those women there? You are looking at two of the most fearless, intelligent women I’ve ever met in my life, emphasis on FEARLESS; not only are they government leaders, but they’re WOMEN who’re government leaders 12 years after a centuries-old belief system was dismantled. Think about that for a sec—12 years after apartheid was abolished, there are women running parts of the country. After the 15th amendment, how long did it take for a woman to get into any sort of power position here? (That’s kinda rhetorical, but if you know the answer, feel free.) (UPDATE: Leave it to Kaffy to actually tell me: Lookit)

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that it’s a wonderous thing to see women who command such respect.