First Year Experience Reading Project: Fall 2011
Student Study Guide
Life Safari by John Strelecky
Welcome to the Florida Gulf Coast University First Year Experience Reading Project! Every year at FGCU,
first year students and many faculty and staff, including your Composition faculty, Orientation Leaders
and the Resident Assistants in Housing, join together to read a common book. This project is designed to
help students begin their academic journey at FGCU by asking them to prepare intellectually to join our
community of learners. Further, a key goal of the project is to begin to introduce students to FGCU’s
nine learning goals; they are at the heart of all our academic programs. The reading project for this year
provides a foundation for meeting FGCU Learning Goal #3: An Ecological Perspective, which requires
the following actions:
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Know the issues related to economic, social and ecological sustainability.
Analyze and evaluate ecological issues locally and globally.
Participate in collaborative projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and
environmental issues.
The First Year Reading Project asks that all Composition I students consider this concept in relation to a
work of contemporary literature, this year’s selection is Life Safari by John Strelecky.
Fall Semester Composition I (ENC 1101) Assignment: Before you begin to read Life Safari review the
study questions below with care. As you read the book closely, make notes in the margins and highlight
passages that you find important. Consider these ideas as a way of preparing to join the campus and
classroom dialogue in the Fall. During the first weeks of the semester, students will be required to work
with the text in their Composition I classes. The Study Guide Questions below are intended to get the
wheels of thought turning in preparation for this work and for upcoming conversations about this text.
Study Questions
1. Brainstorm a list of all of the things that inspire happiness or joy in your life. Then divide your list
into two columns: Man-made (a new iPhone or skateboard) vs. Natural (a dear friend or a
breath-taking vista). Does anything surprise you about the ratio of man-made to natural things
that bring happiness to your life?
2. Please take some time to complete the following statement by filling in the two blanks.
Complete the statement with as many answers as you can come up with. It is crucial that you
write down everything that pops into your head. Don’t worry if your answers make sense or are
possible. Just write down everything that comes to you.
If_________________________ I would ___________________________.
3. According to Mick, the man working behind the desk at the hotel, Africa’s “Big Five” are
elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and buffalo. What are Florida’s “Big Five?” How has this list
changed over the last twenty years? If you are not from Florida, what are the “Big Five” in your
home state? Have you seen a change in that list in your own state?
4. In many ways, Life Safari is the story of one young man’s rather unique experience with the raw,
natural landscape of a mystical land. This experience changed him in a number of ways. In fact,
Jack writes that Africa was “powerful enough that it has remained a permanent part of my soul.
After all, I almost died there. After all, I found my life there” (Strelecky 1). Think about your own
interactions with various environments (be aware that a cityscape is an environment just as is a
Gulf beach). How have these interactions helped shape you as an individual?
5. Mick explains to Jack that MaMa Gombe understands the “energy of Africa” (Strelecky 20).
What do you think Mick means? How would you describe the “energy” of Florida or that of your
home state?
6. As a first year student, you are probably spending a good deal of time thinking about your
academic goals. What is it you hope to accomplish as a university student? Beyond that, what do
you hope to accomplish once you have completed your academic journey? What factors might
have an impact on your ability to meet your goals? Who are the people you might turn to for
support? Do you already know them, or do you have preconceived notions about who they
should be? Keep in mind that when Jack first meets MaMa Gombe, he thinks her too old and
frail to offer him the guidance he seeks. In fact, “[he] doubted she could last a few weeks of
traveling, let alone many months “(Strelecky 14). Now, with that in mind, who might be your
Who’s?
7. What are your “Big Five for Life?” What are the five things you want to see, experience, or
accomplish before you die? Would you then consider your life a success? Do you see your “Big
Five for Life” changing as time goes on? What factors might cause you to re-evaluate your “Big
Five for Life”?
Contact Information
Linda Rowland, Composition Program Director
Email: Lrowland@fgcu.edu
Office Phone: 590-7254