2nd Semester Begins

Classes began this week and it was back to life as normal, yet I was in the daze from the trip. It was nice to get back into the classroom and continue with the course, meet my new students, and introduce them to my methodology for running a class.

On Friday, in anticipation for my trip to Zambia and Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls, I got the Yellow Fever vaccination; little did I know that the side effects would plague me throughout the weekend. Rob and Ben (Pretoria) came down on Saturday and we met up with other Fulbrighters - Anna, Ryan, Sandeep, and Nellie at Gold Reef City, an amusement park in Johannesburg (they also have a convention centre, casino, and hotel). I went to Gold Reef City with Gerhard, Maike and Tasmin when I visited in 2010, particularly to see the gold mine that they have in the amusement park (it was one of the largest gold mines in Johannesburg at one point). This time, however, we were focused on enjoying the other amenities of the park - the roller coasters and amusements. We started with the biggest ride of the park, the Anaconda (like Cedar Point's "Raptor"). Not an avid roller coaster fan, I was there more for the company, so I went along with it. The ride ensued, looped, dipped, twisted, spun, and we returned. Walking toward the exit, I start swaying to the left and then to the right, not able to walk a straight line. I felt dizzy and needed to sit down. At the time, I was confused because I usually don’t have problems with roller coasters (not to say I have a "steel stomach"); I sat out a few of the other twisty, jerky rides slowly recovering. What I came to realize Sunday, when I was still dizzy, was that dizziness is a common side effect of the Yellow Fever vaccination (a live immunization)…at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

A fascinating episode happened to one of the Fulbrighters, Nellie, who went to sit next to one of the other Fulbrighters in the front car of a rollercoaster. As everyone else was strapping in, she noticed that waist bar (the only safety bar) didn't work. The attendant had not noticed (he didn’t check) and was going to send the car, but before he could, Nellie had to bring to his attention that it was broken, to which this he said "oh, yeah, its broken". I spent the rest of the day wondering about the mechanical trustworthiness of the roller coasters. Now, I don’t mean to be the ignorant American, but in amusement parks in the US, they post a schedule of inspection and maintenance for the public to see (and even then are their still accidents). "T.I.A." I guess? After dinner, we all ordered take out and went to Anna's house, a beautiful, modern behemoth of a home on top of the hill in Brixton (the view overlooks the city). She's fortunately subletting from her boss's ex-boyfriend, the former head of Standard Bank (one of the largest banks in South Africa). We sat by the fire, at our take out Chinese, and socialized. It felt like a scene out of Garden State, where a group of friends are sitting in a huge mansion that seems out of place (in some way).

Literature Review: A book that I am reading and cannot seem to put down is Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, a book about Mormonism, fundamentalist Mormonism and religious killings in the 1980s. Krakaeur does an incredible job of discussing the origins and history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, its beliefs and practices. I want to avoid being political, but I found the book to be extremely informational and eye-opening… let's just say in a shocking and not so positive way.