Not
an "earth-shaking" week by any stretch of the imagination. On
Thursday, Francinah and Sara, my supervisors at the State Department (they are
both "Regional English Language Officers" ), came to Wits to talk to
Mariann, Professor Leketi, and I about Fulbrighters for next year. Since this
was the first year for ETAs at the University of the Witswaterand and in
Johannesburg, they wanted to get insight into our experience so that it runs
more smoothly next year. We talked about the obstacles we faced both at the
university and Johannesburg itself, suggesting solutions for the new ETAs. One
point that I emphasized was the need
to have a car in Johannesburg. Understandably, the Fulbright Commission cannot
expect the Fulbrighters to buy a car, but they should know that their grant
will be much different (and more complicated) without a car. The State
Department does not endorse Fulbrighters using "taxis" (private
mini-buses that run routes throughout the city), because they are quite
dangerous. With no real public transit in Johannesburg, how can they expect the
Fulbrighters to get around? Sure, having a car has presented many headaches and
additional expenses, but it makes day-to-day life much easier and I've been
able to a lot more traveling around the city/country.
Friday
was Gerhard's birthday and Marlize invited me to dinner with the family, a
surprise for Gerhard. I hope Gerhard wasn't offended that "I" was the
surprise - it's quite a letdown (joking, of course). We went to
"Fahrenheit" a wonderful seafood and grill restaurant, sharing a
delicious meal and we enjoyed reminiscing from our recent trip (it was the
first time I saw them since I left with Giulia). After dinner, we watched the
opening ceremony of the Olympics, all four hours of the discombobulated, and
less-than "awing" production. Slight vent: We stayed up until 1:30am
to watch the entire ceremony, particularly waiting for the lighting of the
torch. I found the ceremony to be less than fluid and the overarching theme,
missing. For example, it started chronicling the humble beginnings of the UK,
through the industrial revolution, and then jumped to music of the 60s, 70s,
80s, 90s, then had a production about the NHS, literary characters, and finally
the Artic Monkeys covered "Come Together" with people riding bikes
with bird wings on the their backs (I hate when bands try to cover The
Beatles). Moreover, the scene with the Queen being escorted by James Bond, then
skydiving into the stadium was more than corny (glad though, that they at least
highlighted James Bond). We didn't have commentary to the ceremony, which may
have given us more insight into what was going on (or the purpose), but I found
it "off key" focusing on parts of English culture that aren't as
important/central to the Olympic. Plus, when you highlight the Industrial
Revolution (and imperialism), you're drawing a fine line…. I thought that they
would've introduced the countries by former colonies (i.e. Commonwealth vs.
non-Commonwealth). Bad joke? Too soon? In any event, we enjoyed commenting at
the ceremony and battling our drooping eyelids.
An
exciting new development: Giulia booked her flight to spend Christmas in Toledo
this week. It will be the next time I see her (140 days, but who's counting?)
and I'm eager to show her around my home/spend time with my family. We're
planning on going to Chicago for a weekend and hopefully Columbus too. I, too,
booked my flight to Rome (29 December) this week - I'll be heading back to Rome
with Giulia to live/work with her before we move to London next summer.
Ngiyahamba!
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