secretlyismaili
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Posts posted by secretlyismaili
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Speaking of which...I need someone from China to promise to go to the Chengdu panda reserve and take pictures and post them!! Going there and holding a baby panda is at the top of my bucket list!!!
OMG!! Such a great idea...I think holding a panda might just be all the therapy a person could ever need in this life. Pandas are such noble creatures. If I do end up going I will make sure to go to Chengdu and then check out the pandas. I've always sort of thought about them as the manatees of the land - just big soft lovable slow-moving and, sadly, vulnerable creatures.
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China folks, have you thought at all about the possibility of getting awarded a Chinese governmental scholarship (which I think we all had to apply to) but not getting the Fulbright? That just occurred to me. Like you'd get a scholarship to still go and do a year of study at the institution but more like a normal student. Any knowledge about this?
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Yea, that one caught my eye as well. I would say Chinese undergrads have all the fun, but I'm not sure that's strictly speaking true. I had to be boring and just go with 'modern and contemporary Chinese history.' I'm trying to do amicro-study on the grassroots rural reforms that started around 68, especially rural healthcare, and then the reforms of the reforms from 83-89. It's also my thesis topic, so so far I've just been reading entirely too many People's Daily articles from the Cultural Revolution. It would definitely be nice to get a chance to do interviews for a change. And I say the 'bleak and dusty' north, but I'm actually trying to do my research on the north face of Taishan. Still not quite Nanjing, but it would definitely make my stay more interesting. What's your international history project?
That's cool, change at the local level is a fascinating thing to look into in China. I went with international history because I'm looking at transmission of Islamic knowledge between inner Asia, India, and China in the MIng. A lot of the Islamic literary production was based in Nanjing, and they have faculty working on it so I thought it would be good to be there. But hoo boy I need to get some practice with speaking before I get to China. Been too long.
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Hurrah for all the Germany people. Rewarded with a grant or not, you all put in a valiant effort which most don't dare to attempt. The camaraderie on this forum has been great and I think the fulbright administrators would be proud of the spirit of mutual support. May we all do great things in the coming year! But oof still another 25 days to wait. Thankfully I have quick trip to Tucson for a conference that I'm not prepared for to occupy my braaaains. Must...regain...concentration... Or just not resist the daydreaming. I have pretty much decided not to be a person til I know. Case in point: just bought a $10 beer at an airport Chili's. take your time, China.
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Wait, are the pre-orientation dates different for each country? While it would be GREAT to get a Fulbright, I'm not too keen on potentially missing out on my last week of college...
Don't know, mine are June 21-23. Same?
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got passport photos for the extra China application stuff today...I'm a relatively average looking person but of course the photographer finds a way to make me look like a stoner pedophile terrorist. hopefully they judge me with a different standard of beauty.
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Shandong Daxue. I apparently have some sort of masochistic love for the bleak, dusty, hard-drinking North. On the plus side my intended affiliated prof has offered me his apartment while he spends most of his time in Nanjing. You?
Also, I seem to remember being taught in an undergrad class that even Chinese heaven is run by bureaucrats. Apparently you could end up in the wrong place from a clerical error, hence the burning paper money.
I like your reasons for liking the North, and that's really nice about your professor. I actually hope to be in Nanjing. So you're in Asian Studies at UT? What are you working on? And what did you end up choosing from that very interesting list of all the official Chinese majors? I kind of wish that I was in a position to go with "Marxist ethnic theory and policy" but I think the one I chose was "history of international relations between east Asian countries" though it's possible my understanding of that phrase is different from what it actually practically means in schools. I also like the fact that we are applying to be "senior scholars" on the government scholarship form. Assuming we'll be the same age as the grad students there, that sounds a little off, but hey, if I end up with a business card that says that I'm not going to complain to anyone.
It's going to be all the more maddening not to get picked after all this extra paperwork, for sure...
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Aaawww Thanks! Seriously, that's a lot of alternates! I have an evil hope that the accepted's start dropping like flies from a non-permanent, non-malicious reason. Like they all suddenly decide to get married and move to the Caymans instead of taking the grant :-).
FYI: I contacted the Middle East person at IIE to see if I could find out where I am on the alternate list and she said she was prohibited by IIE from telling me. I suspect that goes for the rest of you, though I believe the Hays people can find out.
Also some folks were asking about the TB tests for ETA's: I know in the case of France this is taken care of in country at no expense to you save getting to the clinic. So do check before you shell out any money on examinations. Remember most exams not preformed in a host country are not valid, that goes for America as well.
Ah! Yes I wish there were some perfect way that those offered the grant get some other wonderful offer and the alternates would all get in. That way the general happiness would be maximized.
The mention of TB testing and Jordan in the same place reminds me of having to submit to an AIDS test in Syria when I was at Damascus University (which recently suffered a shelling attack by the regime forces...irhal ya bashar). I just hope the facilities for testing are less questionable than the ones there. ya amirah anti bta7ki 3arabi? shu biddak btadrusi fil mamlakat al-hashimiyya?
Happy Easter everyone. Here's hoping no one has any bad April Fools' experiences re: Fulbright. And please no one try to perpetrate any here...! Nerves seem to be fragile.
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China research applicant here. The wait alone is miserable enough, but slogging through all this additional paperwork before even being accepted feels downright cruel. Only one more month (hopefully).
Agreed. The extra paperwork reminds me of the fact that even in Chinese hell everything is run by bureaucrats and I'm sure there is plenty of paperwork to slog through down there. Where do you hope to be affiliated?
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Really bummed for the Jordan people! Stay strong, amirah. Everyone I know who was applying for the Jordan grant also got alternate status. Jordan why you so stingy?
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Full grant to Germany! Woo!
Way to go! Congrats! here comes the deluge...
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Ironically daydreaming is the only thing that gets me through the day...though it will be all the worse if I don't get it...oh well.
Yeah I expect to be daydreaming straight for the next month. As for cocktails, I find a nice straight dose of Maker's has been an effective cure, especially in the company of friends who aren't constantly asking if I've heard one way or the other. Unfortunately the Chicago-Cincinnati-New Orleans-Cincinnati-Philadelphia-Chicago roadtrip I am in the middle of has offered plenty of time to imagine myself prancing through the wilds of northwestern China!
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I have never played Civ V, but my boyfriend loves it. I'm not a huge computer gamer anymore. I prefer the Wii or Xbox!
It's all good. I still play a game or two every once in a while, though I actually don't think my wife has ever played a video game other than the couple times I have gotten her to play Goldeneye. I hope someone is doing a Fulbright, or wants to do one, about gaming culture - like the sports aspect of it in Korea, or neo-Zoroastrianism in Iranian-developed games (Garshasp is cool), or ... there are a million things I could think of that would rule to research related to video games!
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I know that feeling. Just seeing everyone's signatures on this darn board, I keep thinking, "What am I doing here?"
That reminded me that I have too much crap written for my own and that it's probably annoying to look at. That application process is over with, anyway, so why keep that around.
Once again, best of luck to everyone and hoping to see some more good news up on this board soon! And, yeah, Sim City is great but what about Civ V, people?
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Ha I feel that way all the time! My friend linked me to this the other day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome
Haha that rules. Never heard of that before, but it sounds legit. But now I'll be dreading exhibiting symptoms of the "Dunning–Kruger effect."
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Is there a way to search through this forum? I forgot to respond to someone and feel like a really jerky guy. Also: to the Japan scholar at Wisconsin: sorry. And it turns out that I won't be heading up there for the LCA program though every time I visit Madison I get swept away in fantasies about living there.
In other news, I popped in to the office of the Fulbright advisor here on campus. She's gotta be younger than I am (and cute) , and I'm even at the low end of the age spectrum for my MA program. She pretty much said don't worry about the sequester/funding cuts - but that it might be something to worry about in future years. What was that Bill Gates quote from this morning? Capitalism means male baldness treatment research gets more funding than malaria research? That sentiment resounds especially poignantly here.
I finally gave in and made an NPR donation today. It's the last day for the pledge drive here. Same out there in the rest of the world?
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The number of India applicants went down too:
243 / 58230 / 66211 / 50 -
Ok, so coming back to the Fulbright, but not on a current topic precisely, I was just struck by how few people apply overall. I realise the application is pretty intensive but I have applied for or been involved in other grant processes and I don't know that it is really that much more excruciating. I found this list of Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Students by Type of Institution, 2012-13 and I am really struck by how few people actually apply. In a quick search I see that U. Mich @ Ann Arbor has over 42,000 students and yet they only have 141 applicants?! I think thats kind of amazing and puzzling. I know that the quality of the FPA can make a difference but still that is quite a disparity.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't want any more competition :-) but I really can't fathom why the numbers are so very low for such a prestigious award.
woo Chicago! ahem. You're right, that is sort of odd. And I found it interesting that, specifically for China, the number of applicants has decreased pretty dramatically in the last few years - from 174 to 164 to 130. Also, the number of awards has been steadily increasing - from 47 to 55 to 60. The only way I would make sense of it is the application being made prohibitively extensive, but again I agree with you that it's not that much more intense than, say, a FLAS application. I'll be trying to come up with a theory for understanding this....
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That's fantastic! I guess that would explain your presence in Kolkata, bastion of communists. ;-)
(Kerala is good in that way too...)
I would be in Nanjing if I get the Fulb, though I plan on traveling heavily through the Northwest - Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and of course Xinjiang to dust off the ol' Uyghur.
Did you just apply individually for that, like was this outside of the Fulbright application? Man I need to do that next year.
Congratulations! What do you think you'll do?
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Just got an email from IIE Beijing with paperwork to fill out for my *potential* host institution.
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Your proposed host institution participates in the Chinese Government Scholarship Program (CGS). Under the agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Education that governs the Fulbright program in China, the Fulbright Program is able to nominate a certain number of Fulbright candidates for tuition waiver scholarships under the CGS program every year...it is required that all Fulbright grant candidates who are requesting an affiliation with a host institution that participates in the CGS Program submit their affiliation applications through this channel.
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There's also a comprehensive list of majors offered in China. Some of the ones that are tempting me to sign up for just out of curiosity: National Defense Economics, Leather Chemistry and Engineering, Ethnic Law, Intelligent Decision-making & Knowledge Management, and Sericulture. Tons of other interesting-looking stuff. I guess it's a list of all gov't-approved majors.
I notice that out of all the 69 different econ majors none of them has anything to do with Marxism, though two of the law majors are Marxist Theory & Ideology Education and Marxist Ethnic Theory and Policy.
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Also... I'm actually from Ohio, studying in Kentucky! So yes, all of the above. Crossing my fingers for you all
Ahh cool. Cincinnati is my home and native land. I thought I'd edit that from Midwest to Tristate since I've faced Kentuckians' ire before for lumping them in with the Midwest...they're the South, dammit! It is true, though. Congrats on Oesterreich! That is one city I would love to live one day.
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Haha, you are in Kentucky? Maybe i'll come down and share one with you because I could sure use one too! I'm in Indiana!
Yes indeed! Maybe some bourbon. Maybe both!
Ohio boy here! Maybe we can all get together at the geographical center of the
MidwestTristate and have a Fulbright forum denizens' party. And toast to ecoponophobic's recent success! -
Yes it is wonderful! I have been twice!
Indian Theology of an Islamic sort...something like the local Sufi traditions, the Sikhs, the splinter Shia groups and the Mughal heritage etc? Sounds like it would have to bring in Pakistan as well...like the Aga Khan, Ismaili's etc.
I will be conducting my research at local temples devoted to a Shakti, for example, Kali. Hbu? what is your project?
To be thorough I'd bring in all those things you mentioned. Unfortunately I have limited brainpower so I have to keep it limited. I am actually applying for a China grant, but it is to study intellectual commerce between China and India in the 16th-17th centuries. My core interest is Chinese Islam, and people usually think about Islam entering china through Central Asia, but I am working on Sufi teachers and ideas in China that are of Indian origin (you're right, Mughal-era Sufism). I'm looking at how "teachings from India", aka Buddhism, worked as a trope in China in the way Buddhism was theorized about and how that determined the ways India, Islam, and Indian Islam were talked about in "mainstream" Chinese texts of the time. (I also look at central Asian Sufism but it's kind of dangerous to combine the words "Uyghur" and "Islam" when you are asking Chinese bureaucrats for money.)
But I might be able to return to Kolkata this summer! I stayed slightly south of Jadavpur university inan area called Ganguly Bagan. Where have you / will you stay there? Such a remarkable city. And my lovely wife hails from there.
Fulbright 2013-2014
in The Bank
Posted
Here's hoping we can all put this waiting business out of mind at least til Monday. Sike- impossible! Luckily I have been traveling a lot for pleasurable business (not what it sounds like...it's for work, but fun) so time is passing more quickly than it otherwise has waiting on an answer. I feel like time is suspended, like I'm witnessing myself in a perpetual state of waiting not knowing the future.
Question: for anyone hoping to rely on interviews or human subjects, would you do the IRB (independent review board) through a school, or through Fulb? Or do we have to?
Wow...Dallas your horrible airport music is just compoundig the sense of absurdity