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Playtime in Port Elizabeth

May 20, 2016

Thalia Patrinos, 2015-2016, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to South Africa, with her incredibly entertaining Circle of Life team leaders, including Duncan, Mishka, Pieter, and Danny

By day, I am a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Paterson High School in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

By night, I am a hula hoop teacher, circus performer, and fire dancer.

My hobbies may seem eccentric, but they offer opportunities for endless exploration, healthy exercise, and incredible cultural connections with students and audience members.

I began the journey into circus arts during my first year of college six years ago, and I have never looked back. My side career in the teaching and performance of fire and flow arts have taken me to festivals in Hungary, theaters in New York City, and classrooms here in South Africa.

We all need a little bit of playtime in our lives, whether we are children or adults. We need to be encouraged to have fun, let loose, and get lost in something, and all it takes is something as simple as a hula hoop to get us there sometimes.

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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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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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