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Walking in the Shoes of a Deaf Italian: A Deaf American in Italy

December 14, 2016

Sheila Xu, 2016-2017, Italy, attending her first visit at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a Fulbright event

Italy is one of the top vacation destinations in the world. The whole country is an outdoor museum, steeped in ancient history and customs. The food and weather are world-renowned. Even spoken Italian has a musical rhythm to it. One would think moving to Italy would be la dolce vita, or “living the sweet life”.

However, living in Italy on a Fulbright grant as a deaf person (Cochlear Implant user with both oral and sign language skills) certainly has its own trials and tribulations. I came to discover that the experiences and perspectives of a typical deaf Italian and American are very different. One notable difference is our languages. In the United States, American Sign Language (ASL) is the language of deaf Americans. But almost nobody in Italy knew ASL! So, it was time for me to learn Italian Sign Language, or Lingua dei Segni Italiana (LIS), so I could communicate with deaf Italians. In fact, I am proud to say I am now able to give a presentation in LIS to an audience of LIS signers when giving seminars about the American Deaf culture and its people.

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Foreign Fulbright

It Starts with the Application: Reflections from a Montenegrin Fulbright Visiting Researcher

July 4, 2016

Vladimir Leposavic, 2014-2015, Montenegro, giving a presentation at the Institute of International Education Washington, DC office

In 2014, I was selected to spend an academic year as a Fulbright Foreign Student Visiting Researcher, representing Montenegro, in the United States. My basic goal was to conduct research in international human rights; more specifically, on the international legal protection of minorities at the American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Moreover, I also had an opportunity to participate in a pre-academic summer program at the University of Kansas; consequently, my Fulbright experience started early in summer 2014.

As a PhD candidate at the Belgrade University, I had already been working on topics such as the international legal protection of national and ethnic minorities which is, in spite of its European origins, also a global phenomenon as well as a political and legal issue. Millions of people are living outside of their home countries or in so-called kin-states. The start of the Second World War was justified by the need for protecting one minority, but ended in the horrific extermination of another. In today’s world, more than five-thousand national or ethnic groups live in just about 150 states. In addition, some social experiments show that, even in situation of random grouping, more than 75% of group members tend to engage in different types of discriminatory behaviors toward others. These facts illustrate the social and scientific need for dealing with the subject of inter-group relations and minority protection.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright

Highlights from the 2016 Philadelphia Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

May 12, 2016

In the city of brotherly love, 125 Fulbright Foreign Students from over 60 countries gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May 5 – 8, 2016 to explore U.S. political values and traditions, the electoral process, and the current presidential campaign.

Tom Healy, a member on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, provided inspirational remarks at the opening dinner held at the Independence Visitor’s Center. Mr. Healy was appointed by President Barack Obama in July 2011 to the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which oversees the worldwide Fulbright Program.

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U.S. Fulbright

The Land of the Unexpected

March 1, 2016

Peter Pellitier, 2014-2015, Papua New Guinea (left), poses for a picture with young friend while studying coral reef resilience in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, the much too accurate national slogan is “the land of the unexpected.” Every morning, I awoke assured that my day would be far from boring, simple or easy. Encountering sharks, witnessing assistants maimed by venomous fish, and dealing with missing boats are just a few of the research challenges I faced while working abroad as a Fulbright U.S. Student in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea.

Working in the exquisitely bio-diverse land and seas of Papua New Guinea, the Fulbright Program provided me with the adventure and cultural experience of a lifetime. Swarms of fish flashing over the obtuse angles of coral 35 feet below the turquoise surface of the Coral Sea will forever be burned into my memory. The country is truly a biologist’s playground.

My research examined the ecological drivers of coral reef resilience to climate change, especially the functional role of Parrotfish in the reef ecosystem. A significant amount of my Fulbright project was spent diving and collecting data in the remote islands of New Ireland Province to understand this phenomenon. Some Parrotfish eat algae that can smother the reef, while others eat the coral itself. All functions are thought to be critical for coral “rejuvenation.” Understanding how Parrotfish and the reef interact is critical amid the two-pronged threat of ocean acidification and warming ocean temperatures that endanger coral reefs.

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U.S. Fulbright

Journey to a Sacred Capital: My Fulbright Year in Morocco

October 26, 2015

Armaan Siddiqi, 2011-2012, Morocco, stands in the historic Tin Mal mosque in the High Atlas Mountains. The mosque, an architectural feat and current UNESCO world heritage site, was constructed in the twelfth century during the Almohad Dynasty to commemorate its famous ruler, Mohamad Ibn Tumart.

After navigating a series of sinuous allies in the sprawling labyrinth that is the old city of Fez, I finally arrive at my destination: the ornate shrine and mosque of Moulay Idriss II—the patron saint of Fez and son of the first ruler of Morocco. I breathe a deep sigh of relief: finally, I’ve found it! I tiptoe in, allowing the sights and sounds of the shrine to wash over me. I find a quiet corner and begin journal entry #1: “This is but the first of many sacred sites I aspire to visit while researching Islam in Morocco this year…”

Rereading the above excerpt, written four years ago as a wide-eyed Fulbright U.S. Student researcher in Morocco, fills me with immense nostalgia and gratitude; my Fulbright experience was, without any exaggeration, one of the most formative experiences of my life, personally and professionally. In delving deep into Islamic history and theology for my research, I not only deepened an understanding of my project (which examined the relationship between Muslim piety and Moroccan politics) but I also realized the tremendous diversity of Islam, and my fellow Muslims.

Living in Morocco as an American Muslim of Pakistani origin made for particularly interesting encounters. Casual conversations with Moroccans, other students and travelers from around the world routinely transformed into profound and passionate discussions on race, faith and politics in the U.S. and Middle East. Little did I realize then that these impromptu conversations would also contribute greatly to my research. Indeed, some of the greatest lessons during one’s Fulbright year arise from the most coincidental circumstances: a chance encounter with a Moroccan-American expatriate at an ATM machine in Fez, for example, led to an afternoon of hearing spooky djinn stories from his childhood with another Fulbright friend researching Moroccan folklore. Through my host institution—the Sidi Mohamad ben Abdallah University of Fez, I was connected with very helpful faculty and students who further enriched my research and invited me to collaborate with their exciting projects.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project Participants

May 13, 2015

The U.S. Department of State selected the following six Fulbright Foreign Students to participate in the third Millennial Trains Project (MTP) voyage across the United States — leaving from Los Angeles, California on May 21 and ending in Washington, DC on May 31— as an enrichment component of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. The Fulbrighters will join 19 American riders on the MTP journey to gain an in-depth understanding of life in the United States and to strengthen their skills in leadership, social entrepreneurship, and communication.

Meet the six Fulbright participants:

Saja AlQuzweeni is a Fulbright Forieng Student from Iraq completing a Master's in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Saja Al Quzweeni is a Fulbright Foreign Student from Iraq

Saja Al Quzweeni is a Fulbright Foreign Student from Baghdad, Iraq, currently pursuing a master’s in environmental science and policy at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Saja’s MTP project is an extension of research she completed last year at Growing Power, a nonprofit organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that works in urban agriculture as an approach to increase food security in lower income and food desert communities. Small plots of land are used for intensive growing to offer healthy, affordable food to inner city communities, while merging agriculture and wise environmental practices to revitalize urban areas.

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