EMBASSY OF THE U.S.A. INVITATION...

The email read Embassy of the United States of America, Pretoria, South Africa. It was an official invitation for me, John Davidek, to attend a dinner in honor of the Participants of the Fulbright SA Teacher Debriefing Workshop. I couldn't stop looking at that official Department of State seal on the invite: a real honor for the four of us! It would be fun to get together again and chatter over our respective assignments, brag about students who refuse to address us as anything other than "sir." I know my school is one of the best in Gauteng--can't wait to compare notes with Ron, Pat, and James!

We'll be dining at the home of Mrs. Mary Ellen Koenig, Cultural Affairs Officer and Mr. Robert Koenig, in Pretoria. We have all been there before; they invited our group while we were still novices to South Africa...just barely having deplaned at Johannesburg International Airport. This will be a very special evening! Hmmmm, maybe the Koenig's have a converter I can use to recharge the battery in my digital camera? Would it be against protocol to request such a favor at a dinner in our honor? I'll simply explain that if I don't get a recharge I won't be able to document this special event. We'll see what happens...

Transportation might be a problem. Remember my getting lost driving to school? Imagine the difficulty for someone driving to Pretoria from Van Riebeeck Park--that someone being someone who can't negotiate a 15 minute drive from home to school. I am hoping the embassy folks will send a driver my way. Such service, I'm told, is not uncommon when it pertains to such official functions. We'll see what happens on that one too...