rosecoyote

I just sent an email to admissions, though the office is closed now. If they respond, I'll post. My experience with calling Cal, though, is that they generally seem a bit overwhelmed so I'm not expecting an immediate response. It might be more efficient to call tomorrow...

I applied to the PhD in Literacy, Language and Culture too. If I haven't heard anything yet, does that mean I probably did not get in? I Saw someone posted a rejection after contacting the department directly...

I was interviewed last week - got notified via email today that I'm on the wait list and they will send out a second round of admission decisions (if anyone declines) by March 15th. There were 12 people admitted to the Curriculum and Instruction PhD program.

I heard from Richard Harris - he's also who responded to confirm he received the press release form. I'd originally sent the press release form to a Ms. Murphy, but when I checked the page the contacts were different so I resent it to Mr. Harris.

Wow - it only took three days to be medically cleared once I submitted the form! That was fast!

I am glad you are feeling better and that your elbow is healing Really hoping that you get it - you've been so supportive to everyone on this forum, and your project sounds amazing. Fingers crossed!!

Seriously - I don't post on here very much, but I keep checking to find out about MozartGirl! Congrats to everyone who received the award, and condolences to those who didn't. It really is such an honor to have made it this far.

Thank you so much, Secret Ninja! I spoke with someone from GeoBlue, and their policies seem reasonable, but I will have to get some kind of gap insurance between when I leave my job and when I leave the country. Otherwise, the rates jump up a couple hundred dollars. Who did you call at Fulbright? Thanks again. Dealing with the insurance stuff is such a headache!

I wonder if anyone can answer this question about the medical form: The form asks if I'll be covered by insurance while abroad. My current insurance will be ending when I take a leave from my job, and so I will get travel insurance - but I don't have it yet. I'm confused about what to put on the form. Also - does anyone know of cheap travel health insurance? Thanks!

Has anyone else looked at the Medical Clearance Form? I don't remember when I was vaccinated. Do doctors have that information on file? I've moved so much, I can't remember who to contact. . . .

Accepted for Bulgaria!!!! So excited - and totally unprepared to get it so early in the morning! The P was in the subject line, by the way. Congrats, Mike!!!! I am totally looking forward to meeting you and everyone else going to Bulgaria! Do'vizhdane!!!

I'm totally with you, though I think the waiting is getting just a little easier this week. I have to act as though I'll be at my job next year, because I don't want to count on something as competitive as a Fulbright, so I'm meeting my possible AP students for next year and trying to get a creative writing elective brought back now that CA's financial situation has improved since the financial crisis. But my coworkers ask me every day if I've heard - I feel almost guilty that I have nothing to report! I emailed Eileen late yesterday afternoon and she responded this morning. Maybe the quick turn around is good sign that we will find out soon? Hope so!!

I really hope we all get to collaborate together! Persona - your experience teaching in South Korea sounds fascinating, if not all together ideal. As a public school English teacher, I see my students constantly compared to their international competition - I know that South Korean schools are considered second only to Finland. (I have my doubts about the validity of those comparisons, however, since I believe they discount cultural differences and inclusivity rates that obviously factor heavily into the data, not to mention the subjectiveness of the actual assessments. And I'm loyal to my students, knowing that their intelligence and creativity far exceeds what is measured on standardized tests.) I would love to hear your take on it, as an American teaching in the S. Korean system. Also - for what it's worth - I broke down and emailed Eileen O'Malley, too. She said: "I hope to be able to receive approval to move forward with notification for Bulgaria soon unfortunately I don’t have a timeline that I can confirm at this point, but I expect sooner rather than later!" So it sounds like decisions have already been made!!!

"Something I've been wondering about: what do you know about the Fulbright International Summer Institute? I know it takes place in Bulgaria, and it seems like a lot of grantees to Bulgaria go... but does Fulbright like, pay for us to attend?? Because it also looks kinda $$$." Oh my goodness - excuse me for writing so much! I thought they changed that program this year, and it's only for Research Fulbrights? It looks amazing, but my understanding was that they do a two week or so orientation for ETAs in Bulgaria in September before we start teaching. . . .

That sounds really interesting. I was hoping to put together an after school creative writing program - or contribute to an already existing one - to get the young people to shares their stories online, ideally. Maybe if we both get accepted, we can put something together for both our schools. I think that some Fulbrights in the past worked together to create an online journal of student work, and it sounds very rewarding for all those involved. . . . I have been teaching high school English for a few years now - American literature and also a rhetoric and composition course. My FPA thought that I may have too much experience to apply for the ETA and suggested I go full research, but after a lot of deliberation I decided that I really felt more drawn to the ETA program. I have not taught ESL specifically, but my students are VERY diverse in pretty much every way imaginable. I think I am a little older than most ETA applicants (I'm 33), so that's my other concern. I was so excited to be recommended - I had pretty much convinced myself that it couldn't happen, despite my genuine passion for all things Bulgarian. As far as grad school, I am working on a second Masters. Right after undergrad, I got an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, then I started teaching, and now I'm studying International Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Human Rights Education. (It's a mouthful!) I've focused half of my studies on equitable curriculum development, which is cool because I can immediately implement things into the classroom and see how it goes, and I have some good clout in my department at the high school - so now we're all teaching units on human rights But the other half of my research has been focused on post-communist societies in Eastern Europe, and how the transition into capitalist democracies has impacted educational practices and social justice issues, particularly socioeconomic inequality. Along the way, I started learning Bulgarian (inspired, in part, by some amazing Bulgarian students in my AP English class), and really fell in love with the language and history and culture. (Have you read Vasov's "Under the Yoke"? It's the seminal Bulgarian literary work, about a failed revolution when Bulgarians were suffering under Ottoman oppression. I found an English translation this summer randomly when I was on a road trip at Powell's Books in Portland. It really helped me to understand better the historical consciousness of Bulgaria. Excuse me for going on - especially if you're already familiar with this! Your ideas about national identity made me think of it. ) Anyhow - it is really so delightful to "talk" to another Bulgarian hopeful. My friends think I'm kinda nuts for checking my email (a million) times a day. Again - I really hope we find out - tomorrow, ideally! - that we are accepted!!!