Scott Fry: Strikebreaker Extraordinaire

Never a dull moment at the University of the Witswaterand; it was a short workweek, with a campus-wide lecturer/academic staff strike on Thursday. Classes were cancelled and we were encouraged to go picket outside the main campus building. I decided to "break" the strike and go into work… as Gerhard said, "… the protestant work ethic is taking its toll". My students turned in an assignment a few days prior and it was nice to have a quiet office to work.

On Wednesday, I went to a pub quiz at the post-graduate bar on campus with the Fulbrighters - Ryan, Anna, Nellie, and Micah (honorary Fulbrighter). Per usual, after three rounds we were in the lead and seemed to be coasting toward the finish line, when we were hit with questions about South African "sport" and fell apart. We ended up finishing in the top third (not sure if we were 3rd or 4th), but we enjoyed it nonetheless. My excuse: I am not South African nor am I a "hermit" graduate student (with long hair, oily skin, and thick glasses).

This past weekend I went up to Pretoria to celebrate Ben's (Fulbrighter) birthday. Nick, a Fulbrighter from Bloemfontein, came to Johannesburg on Saturday morning and we drove up to Pretoria in the early afternoon. Nick, Rob, Ben and I decided to go to the pool hall to shoot some pool and quench our "thirst" before dinner. We walked to the taxi depot (for the lack of better words) and told the taxi drivers where we wanted to go. After explaining where the pool hall was, the taxi driver led us to his car. As we walked toward his car, the quality of the taxis deteriorated from old Mercedes, to reliable Toyota, to the "Alitalia" painted Fiat 131. For some reason, probably because its an Italian car, the driver painted on the Alitalia logo (classy, right?). We stuffed ourselves in and the driver went to turn the ignition. Nothing. He tried again, nothing. After a few more attempts, he yelled out of his window to the other taxi drivers for a push. We slowly started going and the mighty Alitalia Fiat took off. Unfortunately, the pool hall was closed, so we went to Hatfield Square, a hip, piazza of bars/restaurants and quenched our thirst. A few other Fulbrighters joined us for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and we went back to Hatfield to continue the birthday celebration. It was nice to spend time with the other Fulbrighters and see Pretoria again. Nick and I headed back to Johannesburg on Sunday night and he took the bus back to Bloemfontein on Monday. Great weekend!

Exciting news: I booked my flight to Port Elizabeth from 13 September - 16 September. When I was in Port Elizabeth with Giulia last month, we stayed at Raymond and Sylvia's (dear friends of the family who grew up with my Grandmother/her family). We discussed the possibility of taking a trip to East London, King Williams Town, and Frankfort/Braunschweig (My great-grandfather served two churches in the Eastern cape, one in Frankfort and one in Braunschweig). Raymond and Sylvia, interested in going back to see their childhood home, organized the trip and welcomed me to join them. I am really looking forward to going, it will be an experience that I will cherish forever. I grew up hearing about "Frankfort" and "Brauschweig," with my Grandmother glowing as she shared her childhood memories; it will be incredible to visit myself, another chapter of my self/familial-discovery.

A South African Jam