Braai

This weekend I went to my first official braai or "cookout" in Pretoria. A University of Pretoria professor who I met at Fulbright orientation and who works with the Fulbright ETAs in Pretoria invited the Johannesburg Fulbrighters (and a professor from Wits) to her beautiful home just north of the city. Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa, is very close to Johannesburg (40 miles or so). Interestingly, the two cities are starting to merge, as Johannesburg suffers from urban sprawl.

We put the coordinates in the GPS and set off, knowing that her house was complicated to find. Before arriving we made a quick stop at the grocery store (Spar) to pick up meat to bring to the braai. I've heard conflicting reports, but overall, I feel that the host of the braai provides everything except for the meat (not in all cases), so it's not odd for the host to ask people to bring meat to share (they grill it all together). Then, we continued, following our GPS…until it said that "we had arrived" but we had not arrived. We were told that the house is a "street inside of a street." Puzzled we asked for directions and were told to go to the end of the road. We arrived a massive gate, allowed in, and proceeded to drive through a lush, well-manicured estate (for those in Toledo - it was "Tremore" like but more grandiose). Thinking we arrived, we pulled up to a small home with the garage doors open, when all of a sudden a small Mercedes came up behind us, honked, and indicated that we should follow it (it was raining at the time). It took us up a hill to a large, modern, home…I guess we found the gardeners home. Having to close our mouths ("wow" factor), we finally arrived and joined the party.

The braai was wonderful - a lot of food and great conversation. I enjoyed seeing the Fulbright ETAs (I'm traveling to Botswana with them next weekend) and meeting some professors from the University of Pretoria. We casually watched the Johannesburg Golden Lions versus the Free State Cheetahs in rugby (Go Lions!), talked, and tried some traditional South African braai food. One professor (who is the epitome of "professor" white beard, khaki safari shirt, pipe smoking, and crazy tales about his travels through the bush) decided to initiate the "American guests" and brought all of us boerwurst - a special sausage, particular to South Africa. In any event, it was a nice evening and I enjoyed learning about the braai culture.

Traditional South African braai food:

• Pap - It looks like mash potatoes, but has a stickier tendency (how descriptive!) and is not potato. Typically you put chakalakah on top of it as a South African-style mash potatoes and gravy.
• Chakalakah - a spicy chili sauce that has a relish consistency
• Boerwurst - traditional South African sausage
• Malva Pudding - A cake soaked in a syrup, warmed, and served over ice cream. The custom is to also add custard on top.
• Ostrich Biltong ("bill-tongue") - jerky that is less salty (and not pumped with chemicals) than in the 'States

To continue with the food theme - on Sunday afternoon my roommates and I started our Sunday afternoon lunch, where one of us makes lunch for the group (I'm next week). I really enjoy talking to them and learning about South African culture, they have unique insights and I enjoy their comments when I tell them my own stories (and I, theirs).

           

Eternally full (well, you get my drift).

Braai 

Other Fulbright Scholars (research) in Johannesburg 

Roommate Lunch: Scott, Nelli, Andile, Nathan (left to right)

Nginguthisa (I am a teacher)

Everything is in full swing here; it is still a little hectic, but I am sure that in the coming weeks I will get used to the routine. We (Mariann and I) are working with many different faculty members and offices, which expands our presence on campus, but also makes planning a bit more difficult (each department tends to have its own schedule). At the same time, I am eager to become as involved as possible on campus, fulfilling the Fulbright mission and growing professionally/personally.

A few interesting progressions:

• I started attending a research class this week, taught by my mentor professor. I hope to develop my own research, either for a PhD application or for my own satisfaction.
• I'll be leading a research committee at the writing center. Basically, I'll facilitate a weekly meeting for graduate students where we look and critique research, conduct peer reviews, and introduce our own research. The hope is that students can solidify their own proposals and help move their Master's/Doctoral proposals along. 

The overall focus during my Fulbright is teaching the new literacies course, leading the research committee at the writing center, taking an isiZulu course, taking a research course, helping with two projects ("20 day course" and societal innovation), and trying to shore up my own research project.

This weekend I'm heading to Pretoria for a "braai" (b-ry) - a cookout - at a professor from the University of Pretoria's home. The Fulbright ETAs met her (the professor) during a welcome dinner at orientation; she invited all of the Fulbright Scholars/ETAs from Johannesburg and Pretoria. I'm looking forward to my first "official" braai; a test run for a braai that my roommates and I are hosting in a few weeks! 

eGoli (City of Gold)

It is hard to believe that I've been in South Africa for nearly a month, however, I haven't had too many weekends to explore the city (Fulbright orientation, moving, et cetera). I was looking forward to this weekend because the ETAs from Bloemfontein (University of Free State) and Pretoria (University of Pretoria) planned on coming to Johannesburg.

The ETAs from Bloemfontein were going to take a bus (~5 hours) to Johannesburg on Friday, but the bus was cancelled. No problem, they were going to come Saturday morning. Saturday morning rolls around, three hour delay, bringing them in mid-afternoon. Then before leaving they find out that the bus was going to go to Kimberley first, then to Johannesburg, adding three hours to the trip, arriving on Saturday night (Kimberley is in the opposite direction of Johannesburg and it would make them 20.5 hours late). Needless to say, they postponed the trip and will come sometime in the future.

Not needing to worry about the "fickle-ness" of buses, the ETAs from Pretoria took the Gautrain down (~45 minutes).  I picked them up at the station and we went to Melville, my neighborhood, sat outside, had a drink and planned out the day. After talking to a professor earlier in the week who also lives in Melville, she suggested that we go to the "Melville Koppies" - an expansive nature reserve in my neighborhood. We trekked through the reserve, which is attached to the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens. It is beautiful, a great place to picnic and enjoy the outdoors. After walking through the Koppies, we grabbed dinner at a French café in Melville before heading to "Soccer City" for a South African Premier League Soccer game (Marlize graciously had a few free tickets). We picked up Mariann (the other Johannesburg ETA) and a German friend we met on Friday night (she is staying with one of the professors and interning at the South African Broadcasting Company). Two teams from Soweto, the large township in the Southwest part of Johannesburg, were playing each other: Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows. I was excited to go to the game; the last time I was at Soccer City was for the World Cup quarterfinal (Ghana v. Uruguay) in 2010 with Gerhard and Marlize.

"What?" Moment: The tickets that Marlize gave us said that the game started at "20:15" with the gates opening at "17:00." So, we arrived at 19:00 and the parking attendant said something along the lines of "Hurry! The game already started." Although we could hear the vuvuzelas blowing, we did not think anything of it, and we casually walked to the ticket counter to buy tickets (I didn't have enough tickets for everyone). The 94,000 seat stadium had plenty of unused seats, so we found a nice section around midfield and sat down. Still not realizing it, we watched some performers and hypothesized that there was a game before the "main game" (maybe a lower-level team, like a "JV" squad). Then, the players started coming out…we all took out our tickets and compared. The new tickets, purchased at the stadium, said that the game started at "18:00" - differing from the tickets that I had (!). The second half started. We still enjoyed watching the game, soaking in the atmosphere, and Ben (Pretoria ETA) decided that he would join the "vuvuzela club." Interestingly, there are 16 teams in the South African Premier League Soccer, three of which are located in Soweto (Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, and Orlando Pirates). I joined the "Kaizer Chiefs" bandwagon (I'm their #1 fan!).

 Zulu: I started Zulu classes this week, sitting in ("auditing"), on two periods a week (~4 hours); I'm really enjoying the language. Unlike other languages that I've learned (attempted), most of the learning is through speaking and repeating, rather than reading and writing. I find learning a language in South Africa to be much less intimidating than in other countries because everyone speaks English, whether it is their first language or not. So, when I speak Zulu to someone and they don't understand what I am saying (due to my American-Zulu accent) I can ask them in English to correct me; I've been trying to speak as much as possible. Obviously there are many English speakers in other countries, but it is not assumed. For example, if I ask for directions in Italy and the person doesn't understand, switching to English for clarification most likely won't work. I find that people I speak Zulu to are very receptive; they either respond and converse or laugh and converse (not thinking that I would speak it - or laughing at my accent). Fun side-note: I greeting a security guard Sunday morning and we started talking. He stopped and said "Where did you learn Zulu?" I replied that I'm learning at university. His face lit up and he was amazed that I would try to speak Zulu, and complimented me on my knowledge (pat on the back to Scott).

Powerful Quotes: I was looking through old pictures of my trip to South Africa in 2010, which reminded me of these quotes that were in an exhibition at the "Cradle of Humankind" museum:

"A global human society based on poverty for many and prosperity for a few, characterized by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable." - Thabo Mbeki (former President of South Africa)

"Americans and Europeans spend $17 billion a year on pet food - $4 billion more than the estimated annual total needed to provide basic health and nutrition for everyone in the world."

Success!

Melville Koppies

Lake that feeds into the Emmarentia Dam

Swinging on the Willow Tree

Soccer City (FNB Stadium) 

Ticket from Soccer City - notice "Kick-Off 18:00"

Ticket - notice "Kickoff at 20:15"

Academic Week One

I really enjoyed seeing all of the students and the excitement surrounding the first days of school. I remember my first days of university, the unknown, the eagerness to meet new people, become involved, and perform academically. The course that I'm teaching met together for each session this week, giving the first-year students as sense of orientation. We had young South African authors come in to speak to the lecture; I enjoyed hearing their stories, as many were former Wits students.

Unsuccessful Part Deux: Monday morning, I woke up early and went to the vehicle licensing and registration office (my new favorite place!) before work. In South Africa, many businesses open early and close early (typically 7am to 3pm). I thought this was the final trip that I would make to the office, seeing that I had the correct forms; nothing could go wrong. Except for a burglary. I was waiting in line, when a motorcycle came speeding through the small pedestrian park situated on the property of the licensing and registration office. The man driving the motorcycle took his helmet off and proceeded to walk to the front of the line. Thinking to myself: "Who does this guy think he is?" He turned around and I saw a shiny silver badge. Oh. He announced to the crowd that no vehicle registrations were going to be made today - there was a break-in and robbery over the weekend. Before the office could reopen, they had to dust the office for fingerprints. Head down, I went back to my car, knowing that the battle had to wait yet another day.

Unsuccessful Part Three: I don’t meant to bore you with my troubles getting my car registered, but it's absolutely ridiculous! I apologize for my rant, if you care to, skip this paragraph :) ! I went to the car registration center on Tuesday morning, with what I assumed were the correct forms and supporting documents. As usual, I was bright and early, in the front of the line. I went to turn my registration form in and the associate told me that I first had to apply for a driver's license registration number (and corresponding license plate). I had to step out of line and fill out a new form. Went to the back of the queue to wait again. While I was waiting, an associate taped a sign explaining that no credit cards or debit cards would be accepted today, because their machines were down. I talked to a few people waiting in the line and realized that I didn't have as much rand as I needed for the registration. I ran back to my car, then went to a local bank ATM to draw money. Back in the queue. When I got to the window, a new associate was there. I proceeded to give him the forms. He examined my passport and visa, and then asked for proof of residence and employment (due to being a foreigner), which I did not have. Before I left, I asked the associate what all was needed to register and he told me that I would be "okay" after I got the two requested documents. Frustrated, but wanting to resolve the issue that day, I drove home to get my lease, a signed letter from Gerhard (landlord), and my Fulbright proof of employment. Back in the queue. After stamping each paper and making photocopies, the associate (the same one!) asked for two passport photos. I explained that he never told me about this requirement. He apologized and told me that I wouldn't have to wait in the queue after I got the pictures (wow, thanks!). I proceeded to go outside and a local had a shop set up for quick photos. Finally, he collected my documents and sent them to the supervisor. After waiting for the papers to be processed, the associate came out and told me that the supervisor wants a letter from the university (although I am funded through Fulbright). So: 1) Get a letter from Wits, 2) Return to licensing department and submit paperwork, 3) Wait three business days to be issued a license number, 4) Return to licensing department to collect number, turn in my registration, and 5) Get new license plates! I cannot even make this up!

Update: Things are "rolling" with regard to the car registration; I expect to have it all squared away by Friday afternoon (I won't bore you with the details)…it took some smooth talking, batting of my eyelashes, and then, in turn, some straight talking. After the experience, I feel like I know everyone in the office (the bright side, right?).

Botswana: Rather than write about my car, let me tell you what I am planning on doing with my car. This week, I talked to the other scholars in Pretoria, and Mariann, the scholar that I work with at Wits. We wanted to go to Gaborone (the capital of Botswana) for a weekend, seeing as it is only five hours away from Johannesburg. I plan on seeing other parts of the Botswana later in the year, but I also wanted to see the capital, and well, the distance makes it easy for a weekend. So, we booked the first weekend in March. The scholars from Pretoria will take the Gautrain ("gau" sounds like you are trying to hack something up from your throat - "ghaaa-train") down to Johannesburg and then we will drive to Botswana on Friday, March 2nd. We'll meet up with the Fulbright Scholar(s) that are in Gaborone and they plan on showing us the city!

Literature: From Jo'burg to Jozi, The White Tribe of Africa, Dog Eat Dog

For those book-friendly readers, I thought I would pass on a few South African books, in case you were interested. I read From Jo'burg to Jozi, The White Tribe of Africa, Dog Eat Dog over the last few weeks and I found them all very insightful, in their own unique way. To transform this blog into a literature review:

•  From Jo'burg to Jozi - A collection of around fifty essays and poems from South African residents (both native and foreign). It gave me a lot of insight into the feeling of the city; the neighborhoods, the security, the craziness of the city, and its rich (literally) history.
• The White Tribe of Africa - A nonfiction account of the Afrikaners in South Africa (recommended by Gerhard). Prior to reading, I had no idea about the history of the Afrikaner - only that they trekked across South Africa, proclaimed land, were murdered by native Africans and murdered Africans themselves. It gave me a lot of insight into their struggle, particularly with the English (read: concentration camps set up by the British during the Boer Wars). Although "Afrikaners" are polarizing, I thought it provided the necessary context to see the new South Africa.
• Dog Eat Dog - A novel written by a graduate of the University of the Witswaterand. It chronicles a student at Wits, from Soweto (the largest/most popular township in Johannesburg) and his struggles balancing his life in the township and school. It was helpful for me, as I need to be cognizant of my students' diverse backgrounds.

I also wanted to pass along a poem that I read this week:

Johannesburg Mines - by Langston Hughes

In the Johannesburg mines

There are 240,000 natives working.

What kind of poem

Would you make out of that?

240,000 natives working

In the Johannesburg mines. 

Lawn Bowling 

Learning about the game - the rules and the strategies 

Getting ready to bowl

From Jo'burg to Jozi

Great first week! I enjoyed learning about the campus, meeting my colleagues, figuring out my schedule, and getting my office in order. It is nice to get back into a "groove" of sorts, with a lot of my lingering questions answered. I attended a multitude of meetings throughout the week with the department, specifically with the cohort I will be teaching with (see last post), and with individual professors. I also volunteered to represent my department on three committees: library, website, distinguished scholar, throughout the year. Although they aren't the most prestigious, I'm interested in seeing the interworking of the university and making decisions that impact students/faculty/facilities.

The biggest challenge of the week was trying to weave my way through the variety of opportunities presented to me (and other Fulbright ETA). We were introduced to the entire division, explaining our background, and our purpose at Wits. Understandably, many professors from different departments reached out or were introduced to us. Although we are teaching a course, working in the writing center, and taking isiZulu courses, we still want to have a larger impact on campus (both for Fulbright's sake and for our personal/professional growth).  So I enjoyed every opportunity to meet with professors, hear about the opportunities in their office, and talk to them about their research. As the first week of school unfolds, I think the additional projects that I will be working on will become clear.

Overall, I've felt very welcome at the University of the Witswaterand and I look forward to this academic year. The faculty/staff have been helpful and have gone out of their way to make sure that we (Mariann and myself) feel welcome. They also got us involved right away, in many facets of university life.

Unsuccessful. On Thursday, I tried to get my car registration taken care of as well as get a South African bank account. The former should be easy enough, just take my "Vehicle Registration and Licensing" form to the licensing department, right? I made sure to get the office early (it opened at 7:30am) so that I would have enough time to get to campus before a 9:00am meeting. I trekked through the city and had difficulty finding the office. On their website and ten or so subsequent websites, they only listed cross-streets, not a physical address. This made it much more difficult to locate with my GPS, not to mention that the building wasn't at the cross street. I drove around the area, stopping in a petrol station and a library to ask for directions. I finally found the building tucked away, but unmarked. As one of the first in line, I entered the desk, took out my forms and asked for a new car registration. The teller nicely told me that I didn't have the necessary papers. When you sell/buy a car, both the buyer and the seller have to turn forms into the South African DMV. The seller already did that, last week, which officially meant that the car is mine. He replied that I needed the old (the seller's) registration. Defeated, I drove to campus and knew that this battle would have to wait for another day.

My second attempt of the day was opening a South African bank account. Marlize (who works at ABSA - a popular South African Bank - part of Barclay's Group) put me in touch with one of her colleagues, who in turn, called the local branch to let them know I was coming in (and to help me with this issue: temporary, non-resident, wanting a bank account!).  I wanted to open up an account after being killed by Bank of America's international fees. To make a long rant short, Bank of America has partner banks in other countries that Bank of America customers can use with no additional fees (except for the foreign exchange conversion). Unfortunately, Bank of America does not have any partner banks in South Africa. So, I get charged a fee each time I draw money from an ATM and then a percentage of the amount. So, to avoid fees, which over a year, really add up, I wanted to open an account. I marched into the ABSA, met with the customer service representative that was notified of my coming, and gave her my paperwork (passport, university ID, and lease). Apologetically, she informed me that ABSA has a specific form that the landlord has to fill out to confirm residency (a government regulation). With another defeat under my belt, I knew that this too, would have to wait for another day. Understandably, this is/was frustrating, but it's not a "South African" or an "African" thing - it just goes to show me that the DMV and banks are both not high on the "likeable" list internationally too!

Over the weekend, two of the ETAs from Pretoria came down and we met to go to the "1st Annual Johannesburg Film Festival," a three-day festival with a multitude of films.  There were two locations, one downtown, and the other in Kensington (a suburb close to Johannesburg), at the "Kensington Bowl and Tennis Club". Two films particularly struck me, The State of Violence and The Battle for Joburg. We attended the former, a feature film about a fictitious South African politician from Alex (a township). Although he was successful (and wealthy), moving out of the township, he had a scarred past. He murdered a man in the township during the freedom of political parties in the early 1990s. Seeking revenge, the murdered man's son murdered his wife. I know, I know, gruesome. The movie was about the man seeking redemption and realizing the revenge can destroy you (It was not as violent as I made it out to be). 

After the film, we were getting ready to leave, watching the members lawn bowl and two members of the club asked us if we wanted to try. Eagerly we agreed and she took us to the field, explained the rules, the technique, and let us try playing a game. It was a lot of fun! It's like "Bocce Ball" - but on a golf course green and about forty yards in length. We played for about an hour and a half, rapidly getting better and better. I was blown away by their hospitality and welcoming; another member stayed with us for our match, giving us tips and strategies, because the game is also very mental. In any event, it was a great cultural experience and we are welcome to come back any time!

On Sunday, I went out for a birthday lunch with Gerhard and family. Tasmin's (their youngest) birthday was on Wednesday (same as my dear Sister!) and they celebrated it over the weekend. Marlize's sister's family and her parents also came; we had a wonderful lunch at a local Mediterranean grille. It was really nice to be included in the celebration and I always enjoy spending time with them. 

Bedroom - looking out into living room

Hallway to bathroom kitchen (2 bedrooms on left, one on right)

Backyard

Wits

Haus Sagesse/University of the Witswaterand

Before I officially moved in, I wanted to make sure that my car was "good to go" and make some last minute errands. Gerhard and Marlize graciously hosted me over the weekend after orientation. Before I can register my car, I have to get a "road worthy test." Before I can pass the road worthy test, I have to have specific car repairs done/examined. In order to make sure that my car passed the "roadworthy test" I had to get the CV joint repaired and fix the "boot" license plate light. Gerhard and I dropped the car off Friday morning and unfortunately, it took the entire day to get both done (they weren't in a big rush). Their slowness gave me time to do laundry and unwind after the orientation. When the Gerhard, Marlize, and the girls got home we all went for a swim and relaxed in the jacuzzi! 

On Saturday I spent the morning taking my car to get new front tires, registering with the insurance, and getting a "roadworthy test." I didn't know what to expect with the roadworthy test - I was hoping that I didn't have to get other repairs (unseen) done before the car was officially registered. I arrived at the testing center and had to produce my passport. The mechanic saw that I was from America and was ecstatic, telling me about his trips to Atlanta, Florida, and the Bahamas. Another mechanic walked around the car, drove it on a platform to test the breaks and then walked underneath the car. Meanwhile, the first mechanic followed me outside and talked to me about his travels. I showed the utmost interest, knowing that he would sign off on the papers (not to say that I wasn't interested). The test took less than 10 minutes! I then spent part of the afternoon cleaning/waxing my car and making it feel "new". Rewarding myself with a job well done I took another swim with the family before a storm came. The weather pattern in Johannesburg is very tropical - it often storms in the afternoon. Johannesburg is known for its lightening storms, they take them seriously here; there have been a number of deaths and less seriously, electric/cable/et cetera affected. I really appreciate the lack of humidity and overall the weather is quite nice (even in the winter). In any event, in the evening Gerhard and Marlize went to Pretoria for a dinner at one of Gerhard's colleagues' homes. I took the girls out for "take out" - KFC (South African style) and then we watched Despicable Me (animated), played fingerboard (a billiards-like game), and looked at pictures of the family.

Sunday was the big move-in day! I packed the car, had breakfast and set off! Although I really enjoyed staying with Gerhard and family, it was time to be on my own and start the scholarship (well, officially).  A few of my roommates helped move me in and I unpacked most of the morning.  I enjoyed meeting my roommates and learning about their diverse backgrounds: they are graduate students at University of Johannesburg (near my house and University of the Witswaterand), from Zimbabwe, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. I picked up Mariann, the other Fulbright ETA at Wits, and we ran some errands (cell phone for her, pharmacy, groceries). She's living in university housing and trying to find an alternative quickly; the university charges an exorbitant amount for little space/amenities. I spent the later half of the afternoon cooking meals for the week, talking with the roommates, and getting everything organized.

This week was my first official week at the University of the Witswaterand, I spent the beginning of the week getting everything organized for classes on Monday (13 February). It took some time to set up my office, receive my ID badge, register for internet/get my email address (scott.fry@wits.ac.za), get a parking pass, recreation center pass, and meet my colleagues. This week is registration for the students; I have meetings and other duties to get ready for classes to start on Monday. I'll be teaching a course on literacy strategies, a module for first year education majors, with around 600 students. They all attend a lecture once a week, which is taught by a senior professor. Then the students are broken into 12 tutorial groups (taught by twelve professors) - I'll be teaching one of the tutorials. The tutorials meet four times outside of the lecture during the week. I'm also going to be involved in conducting research with professors (yet to be determined, I'm meeting with a few professors this week), working in the writing center, and taking isiZulu language courses! The campus is quite nice and it's "homey" - excited to see it full of students next week.

One of the books I'm reading, From Jo'burg to Jozi, is a collection of short stories, anecdotes, and poems about the city. I was struck by this quotation:

"Already Jozi, the continent's big apple, should lay claim to be the capital city of Africa, if such an idea makes sense. True, Lagos has more people, but the general area around Jozi, with eight million people, is richer. Africa's Manhattans is a square mile or so of a city suburb, Sandton. Nairobi or Kinshasa are more central in Africa, but greater Johannesburg is the heart of the continent's economy, employing one in eighth of all South Africans with formal jobs. Oil money aside, the largest chunk of foreign investment in Africa comes through South Africa and its businesses, most of them in and around Johannesburg."

Library

My House

Name: "Wisdom" (in French)

Office! :) 

The Beginning

After an eventful week the "move" is starting to feel more real and I am enjoying settling into my new surroundings. Gerhard and family arrived back on Sunday after their weekend holiday. In the afternoon I went with Gerhard and Marlize to the Benoni Rotary Garden Show, an annual fundraiser for the local Rotary Club. Families opened their gardens throughout the city for the show, which I found fascinating. The vegetation in South Africa is beautiful and not just because when I left US/Rome it was winter. South Africans, for the most part, take pride in their gardens. I enjoyed seeing the different varieties of flowers, ferns, and trees. Sunday evening I made dinner for the family, Italian with South African ingredients: tuna pasta, broccoli, caprese. It was a small gesture to demonstrate my thanks to them; I don't know where I would be without their help and guidance!

Before leaving for orientation in Pretoria on Monday, Gerhard and I picked up my car. He had to go into work at the University of Johannesburg before we planned on meeting the seller, so I went with him. I appreciated seeing the university - the many similarities to American universities and the many differences. Also, we had to go to the bank to withdraw the cash (or "loot" as Gerhard called it). It was a powerful (and anxious) feeling taking the necessary money out, especially since R100 notes are typically the biggest you find and the "loot" looked more substantial than it really was (R100 ~ $12).  After a smooth transaction with the seller (a paper company), I drove the car back to Gerhard's…it was a blast! The car is a fun drive and it was exciting checking out all of the "bells and whistles." After I took the car back, Gerhard took me to the airport, where I met most of the other scholars and the Embassy arranged transportation to our hotel in Pretoria. We had a group dinner at a nearby restaurant and it was nice to catch up with everyone. I met the other scholars in June, when we had a Fulbright orientation in D.C. There are nine other scholars, with two scholars in five cities (Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Stellenbosch, and Port Elizabeth).

We started our "orientating" on Tuesday, where we met our contacts at the Embassy and they arranged school visits in one of the townships, Alteridgeville, around Pretoria. Although we all have different tasks in our respective cities, it was important for us to gain some insight into the South African school system. We first started a high school and monitored two eleventh grade classes. It was nice to interact with the students and ask them questions about their learning. Afterward, we traveled to a primary school in the same township. The principal gave us an overview of the school, her challenges, and the programs that they have in place. We broke off into groups and I observed a third grade class. They just started learning English two weeks prior and were learning about verbs. I've never seen such an extraordinary teacher; her ability to interact with all 45 students, make the lesson fun/interesting, use a variety of "checks for understanding," and communicate with them was astounding. A few observations:

• Students in primary/secondary school are called "learners" with "students" reserved for university students
• "Teachers" are held in higher regard (in my opinion), which I think contributes to the culture of respect
• There are many languages spoken at the schools, with English being a second language (or third, or fourth). In the primary school we visited students were taught in either isiZulu or Sepedi (Northern Sotho) and started learning English in third grade.           
• Class sizes are huge. I had 34 students/class my first year of teaching that I thought was a lot. Most of the classrooms had over 40 students, with some classes with 80 students.

Wednesday was focused learning more about education in South Africa on the macro-level and getting situated with the Embassy. We met our contacts at the Embassy (again, just a reminder, I am not a US government official), received a press briefing and a security briefing. Afterward, a representative from the Department of Education came to talk to us about education in South Africa (broadly), which helped to provide a lot of necessary context to observations and prior knowledge. Overall, I felt that the orientation helped me better understand my Fulbright purpose and the educational/cultural atmosphere in South Africa. We had a group dinner in the evening at "Moyo" - an drum café and braai (grill) restaurant. The teachers, principals, university contacts, and Embassy contacts we worked with the previous two days (and subsequently, the rest of the year) joined us for a final dinner before we go to our respective locations. The restaurant was a lot of fun; we watched and participated in a drum performance, danced (or I attempted to), mingled, and had a wonderful spread of grilled food.

Orientation ended with a half-day on Thursday, after we would all depart for our respective cities/locations (University of Pretoria, University of Witswaterand, University of Free State, township high school in Stellenbosch and township high school in Port Elizabeth). We had a great session presented by Leketi Makalela, a prominent professor at University of Witswaterand (and my advisor) about state of education in South Africa. It is a thought-provoking topic and interesting to see the parallels between the US and South Africa. Along the same lines, the wife of Ambassador Gibbs came on his behalf and wanted to meet with us because of her background in education. Interestingly, she has known Wendy Kopp (founder of Teach for America) a number of years. She spoke about the initiatives of the US Mission in South Africa to aid with education development.

At the University of Witswaterand I will be working with another Fulbright ETA, Mariann - we both rode back to the university with Professor Makalela. I enjoyed learning more about his background, getting his perspectives, hearing about his research, and getting a "feel" for our position at the university. He gave us a tour of the campus, showed us our office (!) and introduced us to faculty that we would be working with. The campus is beautiful and I look forward to exploring it more. We met with the Dean of the School of Education and she is eager to get us involved in the university's many capacities, particularly teaching and research. After orientation Marlize picked me up and I went back to their house for the weekend. I still have some car-related errands to take care of, which will be easier in the suburb (especially since I have the guidance of Gerhard/Marlize). Again, they’ve been incredible to me and I cannot thank them enough. I really value their insight and I learn so much from their many perspectives and experiences. I'm due back at the university next week; it is orientation week for the students and we'll spend time getting acclimated and preparing for the following week. 

Drumming before dinner to work up an appetite!

Gerhard's office at the University of Johannesburg

Deal (car buying)!

Leading the drumming session

Walking to Moyo restaurant

Alteridgeville Secondary School

Fulbright ETAs

Looking out over the township

Grade 3 English Lesson

Pretoria

University of Witswaterand

University of Witswaterand

University of Witswaterand

My Building - Lesending Block