Parade City

My birthday on Tuesday was/is conveniently a national holiday (Labor Day), which gave me time to unwind after the weekend camping and celebrate my quarter-century. I went out for drinks with the Johannesburg Fulbrighters in the afternoon and then went to Fourway's Monte Casino for dinner with Gerhard and family (Gerhard, Marlize, and girls saw The Phantom of the Opera being performed at the theatre in the casino). Monte Casino is a beautiful (huge) complex designed to look like an Italian village (Monte Cassino - get it?) - it includes a casino, hotel, theatre, and a "village" with restaurants and little shops. We went to a Brazilian/Mediterranean restaurant and had a wonderful meal, going for a mini-"passeggiata" (Italian evening stroll) afterward…It was a great birthday, not too overwhelming and spent with good friends/family.

My students started their teaching experience this week; I was/am assigned to four high schools around Johannesburg, where I'll go to conduct observations and reflect with the students (problem shoot, lesson plan, behavior management, et cetera). I visited the students at their schools on Thursday and Friday, impressed by the quality and beauty of the schools. Three of my schools are old British schools - with immaculate grounds, extravagant uniforms, and well-functioning faculty.  

The weekend was low-key, which I appreciated after a busy few weeks. On Sunday afternoon I went to a parade in Johannesburg … I'm still not too sure what it was for. Basically, the German Embassy sponsors the Goethe Institute (which encourages/sponsors German cultural exchange). The Johannesburg Goethe Institute has a space called the "Shoe Shop" which is a workplace for local artists. The premise, I think, is that walking has a large part of humans' lives and shapes who you are (I know, a bit "out there"). In any event, in order to celebrate the opening of the space they had a parade through the city and a braai (cookout) downtown. I went with Anna and Mariann (two Jo'berg Fulbrighters) - we (including a marching band) started at the "Shoe Shop" and walked through a lot of places that I feel nervous driving in. It was actually a lot of fun, dancing (as much as I can), and waving to onlookers. The 30 minute walk ended at a park in Hillbrow where a band and dancers performed and they had a cookout for all of the participants. Interestingly, we met the director for the movie I saw the Johannesburg Film Festival (State of Violence) and talked to him for a while; it was a unique crowd.

Birthday Dinner 

Getting ready to parade!

Goethe Institute - Creators of Shoe City