Arriving in Jo'burg!

Bathroom scale to make
 sure suitcase weight
is under 50 lbs.

Preparing for departure involves much more than attending the Fulbright Pre-Departure Orientation. At that, they take care of your head. They prepare you for state department policies, they let you know how the embassies and consulates will work with you, and they talk about the countries’ good and bad habits. After that orientation meeting, preparing for departure is all about the heart, with the exception of your luggage which is a judgment mixture of sentimentality and necessity.

Teaching at SILV.

I traveled just a few days after I was in Las Vegas teaching with a few friends for the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas. Of course I was busy up to the last minute.

The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg was absolutely packed. We had a choice of about 50 movies to watch, TV, documentaries and so on all for free—so I did a bit of movie watching, including “Invictus”, they story about President Mandela’s pulling the country together using the Springbok rugby team. Morgan Freeman played Mandela. He sure looked the part.

OR TAMBO - Johannesburg airport was beautiful and very organized. On the way out to greet whoever was picking me up, I saw the famous Vodacom phone booth and decided against stopping to get a cell phone. The line was about 60 feet long with lots of shouting people crowding the harried Vodacom employees. I continued through, and found the school had hired a driver in a Macdonald’s emblazoned taxi to pick me up. He held a card with my name on it and I hopped into his McDonald’s (Yes, the Golden Arches!) Cab and we were off. (Along with 3 suitcases…)

One of the gates for pedestrians who have an
electronic strip on their campus ID card which
they swipe in front of a laser reader
to unlock the turnstyle.

The housing is behind manned gates for vehicles, and everyone snaps to when a car drives up. Warren (Head of Drama at Wits School of the Arts) even seemed impressed with the security. And, since the university is in one of the largest cities in the world, the environment is noisy. I did see a cat slink up the front steps of the building, so either someone has a pet or we have feral cats.

I spent a bit of time unpacking. The apartment is really pretty sterile. This university apartment comes basically furnished, but no bath towels or shower curtain. I figured I would buy those things after I arrived and in the mean time, I could dry off with a t-shirt. I certainly did not want to pack towels. The flat is extremely similar to what Roger and I stayed in when he was doing research in France at Nanterre. 

Nicely labeled hazardous materials area.

I walked around a bit and came across this fantastic door complete with hazardous materials signs. It is a great study for scenic artists. I also see new and interesting birds, like this pair of Hadeda Ibis (Pronounced "haw-de-daw." )

Hadeda Ibis near Girton Hall on the Education Campus
of  Witwatersrand.

I am learning by leaps and bounds where and what things are, and all of that. I’ve been toured through the theatres by the heads of the technical departments, and met my design counterparts after they arrived from working at the Grahamstown Arts Festival. At this point, school had not yet begun. The most unexpected bit of advice and help came from one of the international volunteers at the Drama for Life center, Inzzi. Inzzi is a gentle and outgoing dreadlocked woman who seems to know everyone. She volunteered to walk with me the few blocks down the road to the Pick ‘N Pay grocery store.  We shared a sorrowful laugh over the cheese selection which was not European. I bought the cheddar, and it was awful.

The Department of Drama's senior designer, Sarah, designed costumes for Shaka Zulu the musical. She invited me to go with her and her design students to see it and have a tour backstage. It was fantastic. We were able to spend some time comparing design notes regarding how we work, too. Below is an image from the playbill designed by Propaganda Studios which I hope captures the total Zulu essence Sarah captured in her costumes.

Sarah Roberts designed the costumes for the musical
Shaka Zulu currently on at Pretoria's State Theatre.

And for something outdoorsy, I went with Carrie (the Operations and Production Manager) and her dogs to a dogpark. It was nice to get out into the air a bit, and stretch my legs. The dogs were hugely funny. Someone with a remote controlled toy truck was buzzing them. For Nelson Mandela's birthday, I joined Carrie and her friends in a city park clean-up since Mr. Mandela asked everyone to do a bit of community service.

Alice is greeted by a joyous bigger dog, and both are
about the be suprised by the toy truck.

On a serious note, we in the Drama Department at Wits are embarking on a South African Season with nine apartheid plays in two weeks. Important people like Ariel Dorfman the Chilean-American author and human rights activist have come to the Wits Theatre to speak about the impetus and spirit of that time in history. I'll tell you about the South African Season in a few days....have to dress rehearse the shows first!

Fulbright to South Africa

This blog is not an official Department of State website, and the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the Department of State.

The fact that last November I named this blog “World by Design” was far-seeing. Nearly a year ago, I worked hard on writing a Fulbright project proposal. On August 3rd I submitted it using WiFi from the porch of The Silver Plume, a general store in the little mountain town of Pitkin, Colorado. I urged my references, who had a few days more time, to get their portion submitted, as kindly as I could. I waited.

First Approval

In October, my Fulbright buddy Allen Scott received notice that his Fulbright proposal has been officially recommended by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars Peer Review Committee for the award. Now his papers would be forwarded to the Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy in Poland for further consideration. My notice of good news or bad news had not come yet. I was concerned, but I got the mail the next day, and was thrilled to learn that my proposal, too, had been selected to move forward. My Fulbright buddy and I shook hands. My husband started to worry and believe that I could really be chosen to do a Fulbright in South Africa!

My overused phrase during the next months was, “Has the mail arrived?” The waiting for the final assessment is excruciating! After the host Embassy looks at your proposal, it recommends it or not for final review by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. I must say, that all of this very intense scrutiny made me nervous. I was sure I had spelled everything correctly, and that my sentences said what I thought they said, and that I used no slang or unwarranted lingo…

Being Selected

My Fulbright buddy received his selection notification first, by email. I earnestly congratulated him of course. I figured that my notice of good news or bad news would come later as it did before. Unbeknown to me, mine had actually been delivered to my rural mailbox where it sat through a terrific rainstorm. The next day, my husband brought in the mail and was certain that the CIES envelope contained a rejection, since it was slim, and not an email as my Fulbright buddy’s had been.


I gently opened the envelope, and my husband turned away as I read it, ready to turn back and comfort me if I was too disappointed. I read the letter. I sat down hard on the nearest chair with my mouth open in an “O”. I was selected for a Fulbright. I was astonished. My husband rushed over, thinking to comfort me after reading a rejection but I said, “I got the Fulbright.” He was amazed and not altogether happy but extremely pleased and proud. He read the letter through several times, and let out a loud “Whoop!” and gave me the best hug ever. We made dinner, then, but I can’t remember what it was.

Fulbright Buddy and Family Readers

I’d like to say a word about having a Fulbright buddy. We are from the same university, the same college, but different departments. We were ruthless, and often politely shook our friendship to the core making sure that each other’s wording was exactly what we thought it meant, and that we had covered exactly everything our project proposals demanded. We proofread, and suggested alternative sentences to help the word-count. His style was very different from mine, as it should be, but beyond that we were very critical readers of each other’s proposals. I had others read the proposal beforehand as well, but to share the writing with someone who wants the same outcome as you, well, that is precious.

It is a good idea to use other readers. I naturally chose my husband. He asked the hard questions, double checked that I had hit every required topic, and also proofread my proposal. His efforts did two things. First, we knew together that the proposal represented a possible future, and what an 11 month Fulbright would mean to us. Second, my husband is a mathematician, and stoutly aware of grant writing procedures. He double checked that what I wanted to do was clearly explained and supported.

Approval of the Medical Report

The process of being selected, by the way, is only a small part of actually being a Fulbright grantee. There is a plethora of paperwork, a maze of tasks, and a lot of worrying.


The medical report was the biggest log-jam until May. It was sent in late April to CIES who turned it over to their doctor who reviews the status of my health in comparison to the tasks I am likely to perform in South Africa. Of course I am a healthy individual, but there I was, waiting again. The CIES doctor is extremely busy right now, with nearly 300 medical reports to look at in a matter of weeks. I wouldn’t want that job. Without medical approval, the Fulbright stops dead in its tracks. Scary thought. I was extremely anxious about getting the medical paperwork cleared, because that is so important to becoming an actual Fulbright grantee. Medical clearance arrived, and I next waited on the financial statement needed for the treaty permit visa.

In a Nutshell

I have always loved the ways in which all cultures design expression of their values and issues and how their stories are told in live performances. Now I have been given the opportunity to spend nearly a year really getting to know the current world of South Africa as expressed by its theatre.