Schuyler, Author at Fulbright Student Program Blog

Finding My Home in Tula

February 17, 2016

Sarah Owens, 2015-2016, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Mexico

Today, in celebration of Reach the World’s fifth annual Traveler Talk event, we are sharing an excerpt from Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) to Mexico Sarah Owens’ online journal describing her initial experiences of settling into her new life as an ETA in Mexico. Sarah is also a current participant in Reach the World’s Traveler correspondent program, which through a partnership with the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, connects U.S. elementary and secondary school classrooms to ETAs during their grants, and helps students and teachers to develop the knowledge, attitudes, values and thinking skills needed for responsible citizenship in a complex, culturally diverse and rapidly changing world.

My room in Tula now feels a lot more like home. I moved into a building near my university almost five months ago. The building is called a “hotel,” but many people rent rooms like an apartment building. I have my own bedroom and a connected bathroom, which I like because it makes me feel like the room belongs to me. I brought photos and decorations from home to remind me of my friends and family. When I get ready in the morning, I look at a photo of my sister and me from when were six and three years old. This keeps me from feeling homesick during my Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Mexico. Being homesick is when you miss being with your family and your friends in your hometown. If you’ve ever gone to a sleepover or an overnight camp, you might have experienced homesickness.

Something I really like about where I live is that university students also rent rooms in the same place. The people who rent rooms share a living room and a kitchen. These areas are our “common spaces.” Since there are other students here, there are people to talk to when I get home from work. I am used to living with other people since I lived in the dormitory when I was in college. Having other people living nearby makes it easier to make friends.

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U.S. Fulbright

Learning about Home—from Abroad

February 16, 2016

Brandon Tensley (far right), 2012-2013, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Germany, with one of his fifth grade classes at Realschule Stadtmitte in Mülheim an der Ruhr

In honor of Black History Month, we are re-posting Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Germany Brandon Tensley’s article, in which he describes what it was like being a black American teaching English in a German primary school while also encouraging fellow black students to study abroad and “tell America’s story” of diversity from the unique perspective that only living in another country can provide.

Most of the time, I’d hear them before I’d see them.

“Are you the teacher from America?”

I’d spin around, and there’d be a knot of students, their shyness trumped by their curiosity, hungry to confirm the rumor floating around about an Ausländer—foreigner—on campus.

“That’s me,” I’d say, laughing. “And who are you?”

But they’d rarely be interested in talking. A moment later, I’d have about a dozen tiny fists, clutching bits of paper, waving in my face.

“Your autograph!” they’d demand. I’d comply, and they’d make off with their new bounty.

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Foreign Fulbright

Fulbright: A Love Story

February 14, 2016

Fulbrighters Tobi and Mariana

Our Fulbright Programs started with a Fulbright Gateway Orientation. As with any event these days, there was a Facebook group so that grantees could meet and find people who were going to our same host university. Tobi and I met there. We were both going to be studying at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and we started talking online. It was great to meet someone who was going through the same things as I was, and it was comforting to know that I would already have a friend in the city that would be home for the next two years.

August 20, 2012 came fast. It was the day I was to fly from Mexico City to Jackson, Mississippi for my Fulbright Gateway Orientation. It was an exciting time, and I was thrilled to meet so many other grantees. Tobi and I met after the first orientation session, when everyone was just standing around meeting new people. Suddenly, he came up to me and said, “You’re Mariana.” I remember thinking to myself that I really liked him when we went to a Mexican restaurant later and he asked me what to order. I suggested a popular beer cocktail called a Michelada. I didn’t think he would like it because Germans have a specific way they like their beer and that is with, well, just beer. This cocktail had everything from lime juice to hot sauce—he liked it. Success!

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Foreign Fulbright

Fun with Microscopic Living Creatures on Fulbright

February 11, 2016

Seanghuoy Ho, 2012-2014, Cambodia examining antibacterial compounds’ efficacy against the bacterial community known as “biofilm” in the laboratory at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

In honor of the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are re-sharing Cambodian Fulbrighter Seanghuoy Ho’s post about her journey towards becoming a microbiologist, the research she conducted during her grant at Rutgers University, and how she plans on sharing her work back home in Cambodia.

When I was a little girl, I once watched a science program on TV in which I saw people wearing long white coats and goggles, holding long, round tubes. The tubes contained cloudy solutions and the people were viewing these solutions under machines called microscopes. I learned from that TV show that those solutions contained bacteria and that they were living creatures. Bacteria come in different shapes and colors, and need food, oxygen and specific temperatures in order to survive. As a kid, I was excited to learn more about these tiny creatures, even though at that time, I had no clue as to why people would want to study them. I dreamed about becoming a scientist one day and conducting research on these wonderful, tiny living things.

Now, thanks to a Fulbright Foreign Student grant, I am a master’s degree student in microbiology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Since my childhood, I’ve learned a great deal about microbes, specifically bacteria. I realize that I mostly saw bacteria on TV when they caused an outbreak. The majority of bacteria, however, are harmless and even beneficial to human beings. Antibiotics, chemical compounds produced by particular bacteria and used to treat many diseases, are one typical example of their benefits.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright

Highlights from the 2016 Atlanta Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

February 10, 2016

A core pillar of American life – from the boroughs of New York to the districts of Los Angeles – remains volunteerism. Through the act of giving back to the local community, participants embrace various kinds of service, build strong relationships, and impact society in innumerable positive ways, both large and small.

The 2016 Atlanta Fulbright Enrichment Seminar, held in Atlanta, Georgia, embodied this ideal of civic duty, in tandem with exploring U.S. electoral processes and traditions, from February 4-7, 2016. Over four engaging days, the 133 foreign Fulbrighters convened to explore U.S. political values, participated in a range of volunteer activities throughout Atlanta, and truly put “Democracy in Action.”

The Fulbright Program drew on the wisdom of Kerwin Swint, PhD, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, to guide and inform student discussions. A reputable writer and author, Swint’s work on electoral politics, media studies, and political history has been published on the BBC, Slate, and The Wall Street Journal.

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U.S. Fulbright

A Lao Experience through Fulbright

February 8, 2016

Michael Bayyouk, 2014-2015, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Laos (far left, first row), with his sophomore English class students at Savannakhet University in Laos this past summer

I first heard of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program while I was a teacher in New York City. I had one of those “This is what I’ve always wanted to do!” moments and was soon applying through my graduate school, St. John’s University. My first application was declined, but I was told by my Fulbright Program Adviser to reapply next year. I’m very glad I took his advice!

My experience in Laos through the Fulbright ETA Program was beyond anything I could have prepared myself for. Even with the intensive, pre-service Fulbright training, there were plenty of lifestyle adjustments to be made. The learning curve included driving a motorbike while eluding aggressive stray dogs (good thing I had had my Rabies boosters), understanding and ordering a completely new menu of foods, and attempting to communicate through a very tonal language.

Fortunately, I was not alone in my assignment and was accompanied by two other Fulbright ETAs, Jessica and Mysee. They would be the closest and most reliable forms of support I had during my program. Collaborating with my Lao co-teachers, staff, and faculty was professionally and personally stimulating and beneficial. We became friends and I was invited to their family dinners, events, weddings, and holiday parties. I learned the most about Lao culture this way! There is a fun game that we would play called Kato or Rattan Ball. It’s like volleyball and hacky sack combined!

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