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U.S. Fulbright

U.S. Fulbright

Learning About Mexican Migrant Culture and Photography – A Fulbrighter’s Story, By Kathya Maria Landeros, 2007-2008, Mexico

August 24, 2011

My Fulbright adventure began with a three-day orientation held in Mexico City. It was not only an introduction to this dynamic city but also an introduction to my colleagues and fellow Fulbrighters. Assembled in Mexico City for the orientation was a diverse group of scholars, artists, scientists, researchers and business professionals. Our fields were equally diverse and included agriculture, anthropology, ethnomusicology, painting and sociology, to list only a few, and yet we were all united by a common interest – Mexico.

My research took me to Mexico’s central states where I photographed migrant culture in an area with high rates of historic migration. As a first generation Mexican-American, it was a familiar topic to me, but I had never lived in Mexico as an adult. Previously, I spent three years photographing Mexican-American culture in the United States, but now I wanted to see how migration had changed the towns’ landscapes to and from which many people migrated over several decades. Some of my fellow Fulbrighters were also interested in immigration research, and this allowed me to learn more from my peers.  In addition, I enrolled in a class on local and regional development at the Universidad de Guanajuato, my university affiliation.  The course gave me an opportunity to discuss with the professor and local students how underdeveloped areas prompted their populations to migrate to Mexico’s urban centers and to the United States.

There were several things I did that made my stay more enjoyable and helped me to feel like I was part of a community. I participated in local “talleres,” or workshops, and learned about some traditions such as making sugar candy for the Day of the Dead celebration. I tutored a student interested in photography and even tried my hand at tae-kwon-do. I quickly decided martial arts weren’t my thing, but I had to appease my curiosity after walking by the class, day after day, on my way down to the “mercado” or market. I traveled frequently to local communities, and my affiliations often helped with my initial introductions to them. Other times, I had to introduce myself to strangers, meet people on the local bus or in eateries and “pensiones,” and do my research on the ground. I can’t be shy as a photographer, but it also helped that many people were so welcoming – inviting me, a stranger, into their homes and allowing me to document their lives. Reflecting on my time in Mexico, I realize that it had been important for me to plan my Fulbright proposal meticulously on paper. The opportunity to photograph some events occurred only once, such as the winter holidays and “fiestas” when migrants return to their hometowns. Yet my plan of action would not have succeeded had I not been curious to learn from those around me and open to some degree of serendipity.

I also see that my time in Mexico was instrumental to my creative and professional growth as a photographer. Currently, I am enrolled in an MFA program in photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design where I am still working on projects that involve migrant culture. The Fulbright Program allowed me to dedicate myself, for the first time, entirely to this photographic endeavor. Imagine being given the opportunity to practice your craft on a daily basis. Prior to this, I had held many odd day jobs, balancing my photographic aspirations with the reality of having to pay for rent and other household expenses (not to mention film in my camera). I know many artists in similar situations and it is easy to get discouraged. The Fulbright Program was a much-needed affirmation of my photographic skills and an opportunity to pursue my project.  Aside from my persistence in working on my project, there were many things that I felt were stacked against my favor and that initially kept me from applying for a Fulbright. I was not a recent college graduate. I had changed my career path in my mid-twenties to pursue photography and was self-taught. I was only beginning to develop my resume as a photographer. I was fortunate, however, to have a dear friend who encouraged me to apply and made me realize that the Fulbright Program could offer an opportunity for professional development – especially in the creative and performing arts. I encourage those who are in a similar situation, those who share some self-doubt, absolutely to apply.

My advice to applicants applying for a study/research grant (including artists and writers):

  • Start the application process early and don’t be discouraged by it. The application can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be if you give yourself, and others assisting you, enough time. It doesn’t hurt to contact references and potential affiliations early on and ask for initial support – even if it is only to inform them of your interest in applying. Giving yourself ample time allows for more time to edit and revise your application and to ask for support. Questions are sure to arise.  If you are currently enrolled in an institution, or even a recent alumnus/na, the first person you should contact is your Fulbright Program Adviser.  As you get deeper into the application process, you should also feel free to contact the Fulbright U.S. Student Program Area Managers with any country-specific questions.
  • Attending an information or guidance session is extremely useful in getting an initial grasp on the proposal process and program requirements and will help you to identify and avoid common mistakes. There are also many online resources you should consult and may find helpful, such as the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website, this blog, podcasts, webinars and videos.
  • Cover the five Ws and one H in your proposal (who, what, where, when, why and how). This sounds elementary, but your project needs to be spelled out clearly to reviewers. You have two pages to convince them that what you are proposing can be done in an academic year, so make every word count.
  • Similarly, be sincere and specific about your intentions. The best proposals convey a sense of why the project can and should be carried out in the host country, and why you are the person to work on the project.
  • Affiliations that are well-researched have the potential to offer you much needed support, especially considering how quickly time will pass during your grant period.  They will serve as a point of entry for your research or to your local community, and it is in everyone’s best interest to have well-defined goals and expectations.
  • Remember that the Fulbright Program is about building mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other nations. It was helpful for me to read about Senator J. William Fulbright and the program’s history. Think about the fellowship as an exchange: an opportunity to contribute something positive to your host community in return for the hospitality and generosity that you are sure to receive.
  • Lastly, don’t give up if you don’t receive the Fulbright on the first time. Many people I’ve met applied several times before receiving a grant. There are many resources to help answer questions about the application process, including the folks who work for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, me and the other Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors. Good luck!

Top photo: Kathya Maria Landeros, 2007-2008, Mexico (center), in San Gertrudis, Mexico with some of her photographic subjects

Middle photo: Partial overview of Guanajuato’s buildings nestled in the mountains

Bottom photo: Kathya Maria Landeros, 2007-2008, Mexico, walking through a common “callejon” or narrow street, in search of a place to rent during her Fulbright year

To see more of Kathya’s photos, click here.

Questions for Kathya about her Fulbright experiences?  Feel free to email her at KLanderos.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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U.S. Fulbright

Community Engagement and Mutual Understanding in the Netherlands, By Nathaniel Bastian, 2008-2009, The Netherlands

August 15, 2011

My Fulbright grant was unique in that in addition to being sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, it was supported by the Netherland-America Foundation (NAF), an organization seeking to strengthen the bonds between the United States and the Netherlands through exchanges in the arts, sciences, education, business, public policy and historic preservation.  As a Fulbright-NAF Fellow, I wanted to actively participate in community-wide events that maintained and fostered ties between the Netherlands and United States.

One such event was the 64th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony held at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial. Located in the village of Margraten (roughly six miles from Maastricht), the cemetery is historically significant because of its location near the famous Cologne-Boulogne highway built by the Romans and used by Caesar, Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Hitler.  As a military officer, I found this battlefield cemetery site, and similar sites such as Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, fascinating because of the critical roles these battles played during World War II.

As both a Fulbright Fellow studying at Maastricht University and a U.S. Army officer assigned to the U.S. Embassy’s Defense Attaché Office, I specifically supported this event to help connect Dutch locals with fallen American soldiers’ family members.  During the ceremony, I escorted American World War II veterans and listened to a plethora of their war stories.  Additionally, I mingled with numerous Dutch leaders, politicians and business people from the surrounding area.  From my participation in the Memorial Day Ceremony at Margraten, I directly experienced the principal purpose of the Fulbright Program – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

During my grant, I also had an opportunity to participate in other Dutch-American sponsored events hosted by organizations such as the Dutch Fulbright Center and the U.S. Embassy in The Hague.  Although each event was different, they all enabled me to represent the United States and the Fulbright Program in the Netherlands.  As a Fulbright grantee, my involvement with Dutch communities not only enriched my life but also helped to promote the United States’ diplomatic goals.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is unlike any other fellowship, scholarship or grant offered nationwide because it allows participants to: 1) learn about foreign cultures and customs while developing language and leadership skills, 2) study and conduct research in any field of study with foreign professors at international universities (or with organizations, conservatories, labs, studios and non-governmental organizations – make sure to check the individual country summary requirements before applying), 3) assistant teach English, and 4) serve as U.S. cultural ambassadors.  Not only will your Fulbright experience be highly rewarding to you both professionally and personally, but you will be able to share the knowledge you gained as a Fulbrighter with everyone you connect with throughout your life.

Middle Photo: Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial

Questions for Nathaniel about his Fulbright experience?  Feel free to email him at Nate.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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U.S. Fulbright

Back in Japan for the First Time: My Fulbright Experience, By William Bridges IV, 2009-2010, Japan

August 10, 2011

“I can’t believe you know so much Japanese but you don’t even know this,” my friend Toshi, a native Tokyoite, laughed.  His tone fell somewhere between incredulity and friendly lampooning.  The “this” that I had yet to learn was some wild gesticulation that looked something like the way I imagine a rooster would perform a Shakespearian soliloquy.  Toshi was doing an ippatsugaggu, or “one-shot gag,” a single action performed typically by Japanese comedians.  And ippatsugaggu, to borrow the Japanese articulation, hayaru, or spread like contagion: you would be hard pressed to live in Japan—to watch a little Japanese TV, to look at ads on the subway or to have a conversation with a group of friends as Toshi and I were doing now—without encountering the latest ippatsugagu.  Incredulity was, for Toshi, the only logical response.  I was ten years into Japanese studies and hadn’t seen something that one could spot after living in Japan for ten minutes.

How is it that my studies had deprived me like this?  Toshi was right. I had never seen poultry performing Shakespeare.  Explaining this gap in my knowledge takes me back to the beginning of my decade-long exchange with Japan.  I’d had three extended study abroad trips to Japan and had lived in the country for a total of more than two years.  Each trip was under the auspices of stellar study abroad programs.  My Japanese had, thanks to the remarkable administration of these programs, improved exponentially.  At the final review of each of these programs, however, when the director would meet with all of the graduating participants and brainstorm ways to improve the program for incoming participants, someone would inevitably pose the following critique: we didn’t have enough contact with “real” Japanese people.  Our Japanese had improved, but we hadn’t become a part of Japan.

I’m sure my lack of familiarity with contemporary Japanese popular culture must have caught Toshi off guard during our time together.  I met Toshi during my fourth trip to Japan – when I was a Fulbrighter.  He was a teacher at a local nursery school and invited me to volunteer there.  Toshi’s father, the director of the school, was initially worried about having a non-native speaker as a volunteer.  After hearing that I was a Fulbrighter, his father, convinced that I “would be the ambassador to Japan in no time,” was more than welcoming.  The director’s support of the Fulbright Program was certainly a two-way street: my time as a Fulbrighter was the first time I’d been affiliated with a program that actively supported, encouraged and lauded community-building and international educational exchange.

Toshi and I were talking with a group of teachers and volunteers after the nursery’s track-and-field day when he deployed his ippatsugaggu.  Putting the event together took (almost) as much energy as the kids put into the competition, and Toshi repaid the volunteers with his unique brand of good humor.  I appreciated the thought—and the lesson in pop culture—but becoming a member of the school community as a Fulbrighter was all the reward I needed.

  • Try to write narrative application components in a way that is accessible and engaging to multiple audiences.  Application evaluators come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from American academics to host country entrepreneurs.  Crafting an application that speaks to multiple strata of readers is essential.
  • One way to ensure that your application is suitably accessible is to garner feedback on proposal ideas/application components from a variety of readers: professors, former Fulbrighters, family members, et cetera.  Fulbrighters are known for their intellectual curiosity and commitment to cross-cultural exchange.  Anyone who possesses these characteristics that you know and trust is a potential good source of constructive criticism for your application materials.

Photo: William Bridges IV, 2009-2010, Japan

Questions for William about his Fulbright experiences?  Feel free to email him at WBridges.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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U.S. Fulbright

A Homecoming to the “City of Heroes,” By Dahlia Gratia Setiyawan, 2008-2009, Indonesia

August 3, 2011

I’ve come to admire and enjoy so much about Indonesia since my first visit there in 1999 on an undergraduate semester abroad. Accordingly, returning on a Fulbright grant to conduct dissertation research on Indonesian migration to the United States was in many ways a homecoming. And, as every homecoming is often filled with new discoveries as well as pleasant familiarities, this one met — and then exceeded — my expectations.

My Fulbright year began in November 2008 when I arrived in Jakarta to obtain my research permits with the help of the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF, Indonesia’s Fulbright commission). After completing these preliminaries and enjoying some time getting acquainted with the city, I was off to Surabaya, the nation’s second largest metropolis, to settle in and begin my fieldwork.

As I soon discovered, Surabaya is an especially exciting place in which to live and conduct historical research. Named the “City of Heroes” in honor of the valiant efforts of its citizenry during the Indonesian National Revolution, traces of the past linger on amidst a rapidly changing urban landscape. Places such as Tanjung Perak harbor, a working port since pre-modern times, the centuries-old ethnic residential settlements known as kampung, a diverse array of still-proud colonial-era buildings, and a wealth of archives, libraries, and museums make Surabaya an ideal site for an historian of any era.

In seeking to analyze episodes of Indonesian migration to the United States, I immersed myself in the city from which so many recent migrants originated and collected their stories. I spent time engaging in a variety of activities. Document hunting at the municipal archives and the Yayasan Medayu Agung library, recording former migrants’ original oral histories and conducting interviews with U.S. Consulate General staff in Surabaya, all yielded outstanding dissertation materials.  Upon reviewing each of the sources I gathered, I’m reminded of the kindness and generosity shown to me during my fieldwork.

Beyond my research connections, additional encounters produced some of my most meaningful Fulbright moments. As a visiting lecturer in the Department of History at Airlangga University, my affiliate institution, I became part of a remarkable community. In appreciation and exchange for the University’s sponsorship, I co-taught seminars, mentored undergraduates, and helped organize an international academic conference on urban history. My colleagues’ unrivalled encouragement and support (and good–natured teasing about my Indonesian pronunciation) as well the opportunity to engage with an extraordinary group of students, are memories I continue to cherish. Off campus, volunteering as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Consulate General brought me in contact with school children, journalists, and policy makers with whom I talked about life in the United States, Indonesians in America, and my Fulbright experiences. Representing my country in this capacity was truly an honor and has piqued my interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career.

My year in Indonesia prepared me not only to start writing my first dissertation chapters, but to also take on the next chapter of my life. Whether my next travels are to Indonesia or to somewhere entirely new, I’ll be able to transform any journey into a visit to a home away from home by drawing from my Fulbright experiences.

Tips for Prospective Study/Research Applicants:

  1. Design a feasible project and communicate your plans clearly in your application. When working on this step, ask: Can I reasonably carry out these plans within the parameters of the grant period? I found it helpful to envision and describe my project in terms of phases, each with some specific goals, and detail how I planned to accomplish each of them.
  2. Be proactive in reaching out to potential affiliates. Actively seek out affiliations by taking advantage of resources at your disposal, be they contacts at your college or university, online Fulbright resources, or other fonts of information. Once you come up with potential options, don’t be shy about getting in touch and inquiring about the possibility of an affiliation.  Most organizations will be very happy to hear of your interest!
  3. Make the most of your affiliation(s). Once abroad, the organization(s) with which you are affiliated present a great opportunity to gain immersion in the country and culture in which you’re living. Spend time getting to know the people there and volunteering when and how you can. Not only will you achieve the grant objectives of increasing mutual understanding and promoting cross-cultural awareness, you may even gain some new friends and receive a good deal of research support.
  4. Be open to exploring. Whether it’s taking tips from local scholars on lesser-known research sites, allowing for variations in your schedule, or even trying different foods, don’t be afraid to step away from your proposed project agenda now and then to explore and experience new things.

Photo: Dahlia Gratia Setiyawan, 2008–2009, Indonesia (second from right), with her colleagues in Airlangga University’s Department of History

Questions for Dahlia about her Fulbright experiences?  Feel free to email her at DSetiyawan.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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U.S. Fulbright

The Lollipops Crown Music and Arts Initiative: Empowering Disadvantaged Youth in Morocco, By Mohsin Mohi-Ud-Din, 2009-2010, Morocco

July 18, 2011

As last year drew to a close, I could not help but feel a longing for what had transpired during my Fulbright grant.  I missed the kids I worked with from three orphanage centers in Morocco.  From the Darna Association, by the beautiful cliffs looking out to Spain from Tangier, to the kids at the Dar Lekbira Association, near Mehdi beach in Kenitra, to the open spaces of Bensaliman, where I worked with young Moroccan artists and the Ministry of Youth on a U.S. Embassy-sponsored event.  I missed the dirt in our hands, the kids’ enduring spirits, their old eyes, their youthful energy and contagious smiles.  Most importantly, I miss their brilliance and creativity.

In Morocco, my Fulbright project used the arts to empower disadvantaged youth on a micro level as a means towards improving the United States’ relationship with the Muslim world on a macro level.  The project became the Lollipops Crown Music and Arts Initiative.

I had applied for a Fulbright grant three times.  On my first attempts, it was difficult to overcome the disappointment of rejection, but with each successive try, I became increasingly aware of what I wanted to actually do.  More importantly, I designed a project that I truly believed in — regardless of whether or not I received a Fulbright grant.  In my application, I designed a blueprint for an endeavor that meant more to me than simply getting the grant.  The project sought to make an impact in a Moroccan community.  From that basic premise, I was able to get local support from orphanages in Morocco. That grassroots support was vital to the project’s implementation and to winning a Fulbright grant.

Once I was awarded a Fulbright grant, I had a limited idea of what I was getting myself into but I knew why I was going to do it.  First, as a Muslim-American, I thought it was important for Muslims in the West to go to developing Muslims countries, live and work in them, learn from them, and share skills as means of fostering mutual understanding between one another’s societies.  Currently, there seem to be increasing fissures between Muslims in the West and Muslims in the developing world.  These fissures will only inhibit the greater Muslim World’s ability to silence extremists and for societies to progress spiritually and intellectually.  Secondly, I thought it essential to use the arts to bridge the East-West divide between non-Muslim-Americans and Muslims in the East.  Thirdly, I wanted to show how the arts are one of the few existing avenues to deconstruct myths held by different social classes, religions, countries, and cultures.  The arts show us that no civilization is monolithic.  They demonstrate that there is no one way to be Muslim, no one way to be human, and despite our diverse paths, the arts can unify us.  The arts remind us of the collective humanity to which we equally belong.  Lastly, I wanted to showcase how the arts can empower disadvantaged youth who otherwise have no space to address and express their grievances, dreams, and where they want to be.  I wanted to create a space for creative and critical thinking as well as innovation.  Spaces for such development are lacking for many youth in developing Muslim countries.  This fuels a toxic combination of helplessness and humiliation that exacerbates today’s cultural and geopolitical challenges.  As I have discovered, the talent, creativity, innovation and drive are there.  Yet the outlets, resources, and most importantly, the state and societal support, are somewhat weak.

Through the Lollipops Crown Music and Arts Initiative, we were able to create a pilot youth arts education program that enabled disadvantaged children in Morocco to write, direct, film, and act in their own short stories about their hardships and dreams.  The initiative additionally led music workshops teaching kids how to read music.  I partnered with the U.S Embassy in Rabat in leading music workshops for the Ministry of Youth in Bensaliman .  My band, Zerobridge based in NYC, led a tour of workshops for Arab youth across Morocco also sponsored and organized by the U.S Embassy in Rabat.  The project left its mark in the culmination of a widely attended screening of all of the kids’ short films at the beautiful and historic Cinéma Rif Theater in Tangier.

When I left Morocco over a year later in March 2010, the last kids I saw were my group from the Dar Lekbira Orphanage.  They were the first group of kids I met and worked with, so it was only fitting to say goodbye to them last.  They changed my life, and from what they told me, the arts initiative gave them a little something to look forward to and confidence to hold on to.  The initiative instilled awareness in them that there are spaces within us that are meant to be discovered: be they spaces for creativity, spaces for innovation, or even spaces for forgiveness.  We cried together as I left.  The kids pulled lint, coins and bracelets from their torn clothes and gave them to me as mementos.  I will never forget them and the films, music and connections we created and discovered.

One of the toughest things I have ever done was to turn my back to the orphans and leave.  As I walked at night on a dirt road, I saw their faces pressed against the windows.  A train roared by to break the silence.  There was a full moon in the Kenitra sky.  The next night, I’d be looking at the moon from a plane.  And it was in this parting moment that it hit me.  Through the Lollipops Crown Music and Arts Initiative, we moved mountains.  Despite the frustration, hunger, drugs, poverty and the broken families these orphans live every day, the creative spark and love we discovered through the arts helped us to overcome helplessness and hopelessness.  We rose above them.  Music, film, and art are avenues for true listening, understanding, and empowerment.  As a Muslim-American who worked in Muslim-Arab country, I can say that the arts, not just politics, are real diplomatic tools in which the U.S. should continue to invest.  The Fulbright Program, and its support of artistic projects, is so vital because it enables cultural and academic spaces to be created: interaction through people-to-people diplomacy, eye-to-eye, drum-to-drum, brush-to-brush, pen-to-paper, and hearts-to-minds.  Programs for educational and cultural exchange, such as the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program, continue to provide a platform from which meaningful relationships with other nations and people-to-people diplomacy can be achieved.  The street kids, social workers, artists, and Moroccan people changed my life.  Together, through my Fulbright project, we moved more than mountains.  The Fulbright Program and State Department helped us to do this.

This summer, I will continue engaging in the cultural diplomacy started during my Fulbright project and implement a similar project for youth at an orphanage in South Asia’s embattled region of Kashmir, India.  The orphanage is called CHINAR.  These workshops will work on eroding the trust deficit between America and the Muslim world through arts education, empowerment, and communication.

Here are some tips to think about when starting your Fulbright application for a study or research project:

  • First, think of a project that relates to enhancing educational exchange or cultural diplomacy between the U.S .and other nations.   It should be something you are passionate about and something that will enhance your career.
  • Identify a country that has a specific need for your project idea or research interests.
  • Your Fulbright project does not have to be strictly limited to development or academic research.  The Fulbright Program welcomes applications in all fields of study – including the arts, professional fields and sciences.
  • Research and share your idea with institutions or non-governmental organizations that are in the country you’d like to work in.  Securing a host affiliation is best done well in advance of finishing your application. Once you are awarded a Fulbright grant, plan to be flexible and patient in getting your original idea off the ground.  It took me months to get the results and access I needed. It takes time to build trust and partnership networks.  But, if your project is something you believe in, you will get there!
  • If you don’t get the Fulbright, do not be discouraged.  I applied three times!  I tweaked my idea several times and grew more passionate about implementing the right project at the right time.  Don’t give up!

Photo: Mohsin Mohi-Ud-Din, 2009-2010, Morocco

Questions for Mohsin about his Fulbright experiences?  Feel free to email him at MMohi-Ud-Din.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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U.S. Fulbright

Teman Selalu/Friends Forever, By Sierra Carter, 2008-2009, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Indonesia

July 11, 2011

When I first arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia, as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant I expected to visit the local zoo, learn Bahasa Indonesia (the national language), and become familiar with my new home.  I did not, however, expect to learn how to swim, hike to a waterfall, or encounter people who were genuinely confused about my nationality.  All of this happened — and so much more.

I also met people who changed my life forever. My host family treated me like a daughter and thoughtfully answered my questions about Islam and holidays such as Ramadan and Idul Fitri.  They also taught me about Indonesian culture and cuisine.  Women in my host community shared beauty secrets and lured me, kindheartedly, into getting a makeover.  Family friends whisked me away via motorbike to experience the sights and sounds of Surabaya.  Nevertheless, none of this happened overnight.

When I first arrived, I was often mistaken as someone from Papua or Africa, but never from America.

Word gradually spread that an American—an African-American—was in town and teaching at a nearby school.  That cleared up some confusion.  Residents came to understand that I wasn’t being disrespectful when I did not speak. I simply did not know how to respond to their questions, but I soon learned.

Despite having no background in Bahasa Indonesia, students constantly challenged and encouraged me to learn more and more about the language until I got better.  I demanded the same of them when it came to learning English.

One student in particular kept me on my toes—Ela Munica.  She was a quick study and was always ready to learn more.  When Ela invited me to her home, she introduced me to her English protégé, an eight-year-old girl who lived in the neighborhood.  While there, Ela confided that she was prepping to apply for a scholarship to study in America.  When I left Ela’s home that evening, I was quite inspired by her generosity and continuous drive.  I still am.

Prior to leaving Indonesia, Ela insisted that we go golfing.  I was an awful golfer but Ela did not seem to mind. Then it dawned on me. Every time I taught, I felt more capable and confident in my abilities.  Rarely was I caught off guard when it came to doing something that came naturally to me.  The same standard applied on the golf course.  Ela was the expert; I was the amateur.

To this day, Ela and I continue to keep in touch.  I taught her a thing or two in the classroom and she showed me that while there’s plenty to be taught, there’s so much more to learn.

My advice to future Fulbright English Teaching Assistants is to invite questions.  Be respectfully inquisitive during your Fulbright grant.  Through posing genuine questions and answering them thoughtfully, deep understandings can be reached.  Lastly, be open to teaching, but always be open to listening and learning.  This can lead to invaluable experiences for you — and everyone you meet.

Photo: Sierra Carter, 2008-2009, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Indonesia, hops on a motorbike with her student Ela

Questions for Sierra about her Fulbright experiences?  Feel free to email her at RCarter.AlumniAmbassador@fulbrightmail.org.

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