Israel, Egypt, and Tanzania
UMRA member Paul Letourneau takes us on a safari in northern Tanzania and Brenda Knapp-Polzin shares photos and insights from a 2023 family trip to Israel and Egypt.
Israel, Egypt, and Tanzania
Wed, Nov 20, 2024, 10am
UMRA’s next Armchair Traveler program will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 20, via Zoom. Paul Letourneau will take us to Tanzania, and Brenda Knapp-Polzin will share photos and insights from a 2023 family trip to Israel and Egypt.
“Our cruise to Israel and Egypt in August-September 2023 included my 92-year-old mother, Virginia, and my husband, David,” Brenda says. “We travelled from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and then on to Egypt, including Cairo, Gisa, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, and Aswan. Shortly after our return, Hamas attacked Israel. I look forward to sharing highlights of our trip and will try to provide some insights into the unrest and displacement of refugees from this region.”
Here is how Paul describes the two-week trip he and his wife, Carol, took with two friends in 2009, visiting five national parks in northern Tanzania: “In the care of our driver-guide Wilfred, we drove across the savannah and into bush and woodlands to see, up close, the large mammals and beautiful birds that are highlights of African wildlife. We also visited a village of the Maasai people, who lead a pastoral life herding cattle and goats. My images and short videos will provide a brief summary of our safari.”
A Zoom invitation will be emailed to all UMRA members a month before the program and a reminder will be sent a week before. I hope you can join us.
—Lynn C. Anderson, Armchair Traveler program chair
Upcoming Events
Meeting to plan books for next year.
There has been a lot in the news recently about the University of Minnesota Medical School, University of Minnesota Physicians, and Fairview Health Services. Please join us at breakfast on January 8 for a respectful and engaging discussion of their relationship.
The theme for January is great MN views.
52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust by William Alexander will be the selection for discussion when the UMRA Book Club gathers via Zoom for its first monthly meeting of 2026.
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When you are of Icelandic descent you can trace your ancestors back to around 1200 and sometimes further.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens.
Here’s another great opportunity to buy discounted tickets and join your UMRA friends to cheer for the Gophers when the Women’s Basketball team hosts the Purdue Boilermakers at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on February 1.
Join fellow UMRA members for a morning hike in Theodore Wirth Park to celebrate Groundhog Day on Monday, February 2.
UMRA’s special event for this winter will again be a celebration of brighter days and the approaching end of winter. We’ll have food, fellowship, and music provided by Urban Sound, one of the University’s premier student a cappella ensembles.
Family history with Jim Kurle. A tale of Swedish emigration to Dunn County, North Dakota, including my grandfather whose unusual relationship to several churches and religion in general was one of the reasons for his emigrating.
UMRA’s Cabinets of Curiosity tour on Thursday, February 12, will offer an inside look into the rich resources of the University Libraries Borchert Map Library. Map Librarian Ryan Mattke will showcase the treasures and innovations of one of the largest map libraries in the U.S.
Growing Up by Russell Baker.