there'sanappforthat

baaaaahahahahhahaha. hahahhahahaa. So glad to hear someone else pretty much have the same experience I did!

congratulations!! high five!

hahaha, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels like this. I spent a semester in Germany (well, three months. Our semesters didn't overlap very well). The summer before I went to Germany, I lived with my sister and did an internship in the town she lived. All summer long, she had to calm me down and remind me why I wanted to go. I can't tell you how many times we had the discussion where I told her I wanted to back out, and I didn't know what I was thinking. She kept reminding me how awesome it was going to be and that I would be okay when I got there. The worst anxiety, by far, was the day my exchange group made it to Germany, and met our host families. We had been on the plane ride, and then met up in the airport, to take the train together. As we were coming down the escalator from the train station, and I saw the families standing there, my heart was pounding like a freight train. I have never had such an intense bout of "What the heck was I thinking?!" As in that moment. Of course, everything was amazing and wonderful!! I could not have asked for a cooler host family! One of my friends even managed to get put in a really crazy family and had to be relocated, but that's another story. So, really, I was lucky to have been assigned such a cool family. There were a few times that I would be out in town, and someone would stop me on the street and ask me something. Usually directions or something. My first reaction to someone talking to me was "Oh God! Someone is asking me something in German!! Don't be an idiot!" Then I would not have actually heard what they asked me, so I would ask them to repeat what they said. At that point, the realized I was not a native speaker and would repeat it in English. That was always a bit disheartening. I didn't finally start feeling comfortable in those sorts of situations until about 2 or 2 and a half months in. By then, the semester was practically over. I was so sad to leave at that point, because I was finally starting to feel like I was getting somewhere with my language skills! Sorry for the rambling. I have a hard time being concises, in writing.

Ha! I know! And if I DO , by some miracle, get it, I know my first thought is going to be, "HOLY SHIT! I HAVEN'T USED MY GERMAN IN YEARS! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!" I did that the last time I went to Germany; started panicking and wondering what I was thinking. It was awesome and totally worth it. I just have to keep working on my German, though.

Every email I get that isn't from Fulbright (all of them, obviously..) makes me want to throw my phone across the room. A little melodramatic, I know.

Heh, hope so too. Maybe I should go get some chinese for lunch. THe last time I looked to a fortune cookie, hoping to get some good news about making it past the second round, it said something to the effect of "Still no data". WTF fortune cookie?! But i guess it was apt.

Seriouisly considering disabling Groupon emails for the time being...............

Ugh. Don't want to think about it. I would think that, the sequestrtation would not have any possible effect on Fulbright until the next year tho. Would they not already have devoted a set amount towards the Fulbright fund? Let's hope anyway.

They had better.

Yes, I am. I thought Fulbright said specifically, that you can't do work on the side for money?

That sounds reasonable. I'm talking like.. in the thousands. Like the cost of an undergrad study abroad trip.

What's the application fee?

Well, I can't speak for Torrid, but any time I have looked into internships abroad, you usually have to pay an arm and a leg to do it, rather than getting paid. That may be where the disbelief stems from.

Wow, thanks for the lengthy response! I appreciate your thoroughness. And if that comes across as seemingly sarcastic or snotty or something.. It wasn't meant to be! I genuinely appreciate it! I am applying for an ETA to Germany, and there was not the option to apply for a critical language award. I would jump at the chance to do some sort of language course before the ETA starts. I have taken plenty of German, but it has been unused for a number of years. I am trying to study on my own, but nothing beats a classroom environment. I suppose talking to my FPA would be my best bet. The head of the scholarship department at my alma mater was also a huge resource for me while applying, so I will definitely ask her as well. I'm sure she would be able to point me in the right direction, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask you folks, as you all seem pretty well versed in this area!!

I was actually meaning the "little grants" like Rotary, when I asked. So those types of thinks would not change your stipund for Fulbright? Do you know where a good place to look for other options like this would be?

Thanks, that answers my question. Seems that getting another scholarship/grant would be unnecessary.

14 consecutive days at a time, or total? I hope to make lots of small trips around Germany/Europe, over weekends and such, if I get accepted. I was wondering if it is acceptable to find additional funding for those types of things. Or if there are even grants/scholarships available for that kind of thing.

What exactly is the DAAD study scholarship.. could it be used in conjunction with the funds received from Fulbright, or is it just something else entirely? Which leads to another question I have been mulling over: In the Fulbright application, it asked if we were applying for any other scholarships. Would it be frowned upon to apply for another scholarship after the fact? As in, additional funds for additional traveling or what have you while overseas with a Fulbright? I don't even know if there are any scholarships/grants that do that, are there?

Heh. That seems like it would kill the battery. THankfully, I don't have finals, but it sure is making it hard to concentrate at work.

Also, you had short blond hair, with multi color sections. You don't do you? Because if you do.. I think I may have just had my first psychic experience ever.

YEah i agree on meeting up at the orientation I had a dream about going to it a month or so ago. Torrid was there. Hopefully that is a good sign for us.

Hahhaha. I was doing that yesterday. I'm actually trying to be productive today. I was checking on my Iphone so I just kept repeatedly dragging my finger down to refresh.. Instead of doing it every 2 seconds, I just check every 20 minutes or so.. It is quite horrible.

Thanks Man.. they really do seem to be running ahead of schedule. Switzerland made there announcements towards the end of April last year!

Man, I feel really gipped. I never hear anything from my FPA's and I never get any kind of newsletter! Hm. Maybe if Switzerland is announcing in early March, Germany will too!

ah thanks