One of the definitions of “serendipity” is the fact or occurrence of lucky accidents. This kind of fortunate accident, or serendipity, will play out in March with two events on the BSC Campus that focus on the Nile River.
BookTalk at BSC – March 8
On Sunday, March 8, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the BSC Library, Jean Rolandelli, Associate Professor of Biology, will lead a discussion of Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. This is the final discussion in the BookTalk at BSC 2009 series, Memories in Ink: the World Captured in Memoir.
Distinguished Scholar of the Humanities Lecture – March 11
On March 11, Clay Jenkinson, BSC’s Distinguished Scholar of the Humanities, and BSC President Larry Skogen, will discuss “Sir Richard Francis Burton and the Source of the Nile” as part of the Distinguished Scholar of the Humanities Lecture Series. That event will take place in the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium, Schafer Hall, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Both events are free and open to the public. Mark your calendar!
About the Book 
Down the Nile is Rosemary Mahoney’s story about her journey down the Nile between Aswan and Qena. Mahoney wrote that what she “wanted, really, was not just to see the Nile River, but to sit in the middle of it in my own boat, alone.” It took much more than rowing skill to accomplish this desire. In Down the Nile, Mahoney shares her adventure and her impressions of the people, the natural wonders, the culture, and the history of the Nile. It is a fascinating read.
About Sir Richard Francis Burton, 1821-1890
Sir Richard Francis Burton was an English scholar-explorer and Orientalist who was the first European to discover Lake Tanganyika and to penetrate hitherto-forbidden Muslim cities. He published 43 volumes on his explorations and almost 30 volumes of translations.
On Sunday, February 8, we will discuss the second book in the BookTalk at BSC 2009 series, Catfish and Mandala: a Two-wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew X. Pham. 
Read it! Read it! 