persona_in_foro

@lposmanick @Danski @Keme@malubra Hey, all you Korea Boren people! My intention is to go to Sogang's language program for my fellowship starting in August. Have any of you already applied and been accepted to Yonsei? The application deadline for Sogang is only about a month or 6 weeks before the start date of each session, so I figured I'd wait and see if I won the fellowship. Now that I have, I'm a little unsure how to proceed. (It doesn't help that Sogang's website is pretty bad). I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences so far with Yonsei. @JjjuliannnI've been all over the western Balkans and Bulgaria, but haven't made it to Moldova yet! I could not get over how absolutely gorgeous it was everywhere I went in the Balkans. Definitely apply for the Fulbright!

I don't even know what a Groupme is, haha... I got the fellowship and look forward to hopefully meeting some of you in DC! Congratulations to everyone! (Yes, even those of you who didn't receive the acceptance email - you made it this far!)

I've been looking through some of the recent posts on this forum and now I feel compelled to share some unsolicited advice. I'm guessing I'm probably older than most of you posting here, so I'm just going to assume the position of everyone's 선배 ("sunbae" - a Korean term for those older/more senior than yourself). Applying for the Boren, or one of the similar awards like it that provide the chance to spend time abroad and engage with foreign cultures, is itself a statement of interest and an indication of willingness to commit to at least a part of your career in public sector/international service, etc. That passion for service does not end if you do not get the award (if it does, you had entirely the wrong motivations for applying.) Even if you are a senior/in your last year of graduate school and this is your last year of eligibility for the Boren and some of these other awards, this is NOT your final/only chance to pursue those passions. Of course, you are all aware of this on a logical level, even though it may not *feel* like this on an emotional level (believe me, I've been there.) Consider this: if you listen to the stories of any given handful of Foreign Service Officers, they will say they transitioned into the foreign service from all sorts of backgrounds (one of the more memorable I recall was a former air traffic control specialist or something like that). A large majority had one or more prior careers between college and entering the foreign service. Not one of the dozen or so FSOs I've met in person mentioned they were a Boren alum. What do you do if you don't get the Boren? You don't freakin' stop. You apply for jobs in federal, state, or local government; at nonprofits; or the private sector. If you can get jobs in your preferred country/region of interest, or a job that deals directly with your area of interest, more power to you. If you can't, that doesn't mean you can't remain engaged. Read. Read the news, blogs, and/or scholarly articles pertaining to your country/region of interest. You were looking forward to meeting and forming friendships with foreign nationals? Reading literature from that country is the next best thing. (If English translations of literary works from your Boren country are not easily accessible, more reason to seek them out and signal to US publishers and media companies that American audiences are indeed interested in non-Anglocentric stories.) If you leave in or near a city with a consulate for your country, see if they host or sponsor cultural events open to the public. If you're amenable to doing to the teaching English abroad thing, try doing that, even if no such opportunities exist in your Boren country or region. While I had a ton of complaints about my own experiences teaching both in Korea (where I've applied for the Boren) and in Europe, it provided me the chance to work at a foreign workplace and earn income to allow me to more freely explore the culture of the places where I lived - and to travel further afield to nearby countries as well. Twenty-year-old me, who had never been abroad, would have been shocked to learn that in a few short years, I would be standing in front of classrooms of children and teenagers - and on different continents! While I think I've moved on from teaching, I can appreciate the personal and professional growth I gained from it. What do you tell your letter writers if you don't get the Boren, as @Sarahpennies asked a while back? You don't say, "Sorry I let you down. *List of apologies for personal deficiencies.*" Nah, dude. You put yourself out there in applying for this, and your letter writers believed in you enough to vouch for the value to be gained for yourself, the Boren Awards program, the United States, and your host country should you be granted this opportunity. So, you thank your letter writers for taking the time to write and send your recommendation. You explain to them how you will continue your interest in and engagement with this country and/or language. They know it's basically a game of chance in who gets an award and who doesn't. They will appreciate knowing that they attested to your sincere dedication to learning about other cultures, and that you will be undeterred in exploring this interest moving forward. Finally, keep in mind that, by doing what we are doing, we are disproving the stereotype of Americans as arrogant, insular, and disinterested in the rest of the world. While it may be difficult to remember depending on what circles you run in, the very act of applying to such opportunities is a privilege that few can even imagine. True, there are a lot of Americans for whom Las Vegas passes as an exotic travel destination, but I think there are a lot more who would like to travel or study foreign cultures (but can't, for whatever reason) than acknowledged by popular discourse. Our very engagement with the wider world, and sharing some of our knowledge and experiences with others, bridges an important gap.

If this would help anyone to feel better, I live in DC, within a few miles of the Boren office, and can report no letter from Boren in my mailbox this weekend. (Though I understand that such close proximity to the Boren office does not translate into quicker delivery of mail, because that's not how USPS works)

Not getting the second budget email probably just means that they were satisfied with what you submitted the first time around.

I made the mistake of looking up this forum and signing into my long-dormant GradCafe account - now I'm feeling that anticipation anxiety! To answer @hamaur's post above, I'm applying for a fellowship for a year in Korea and I received the second budget email from BorenAsia. They wanted me to correct one small item in my budget. I was a Fulbright ETA in Eastern Europe in 2014-15. IIRC, they were over a week late (compared to prior Fulbright application cycles) in notifying those accepted. So based on my anecdotal experience, I am expecting them to be late again, haha. Relax, everyone.

Rosecoyote, I teach in a private business, not in an actual "school." Thus, I have a very incomplete knowledge of the Korean educational system. But yay for the Fulbright! I am so stoked to be able to have the chance to teach EFL in an "actual school" now!

I've been accepted as well! My email came at around 10 pm Korean time, and then just before going to bed, I decided to check my email.... Didn't go to sleep for a while after that, haha. Congrats to all!

Hey, venus in jorts and rosecoyote! I'm also a recommended applicant to the Bulgaria ETA, and reading your posts have encouraged me to stop lurking and join the forum My own proposed side project also involves creative writing and literary magazine-type things. (I was an editor at my college's lit magazine). If by good fortune we are all accepted, I would love to collaborate on any project. To be honest, I literally crave the chance to teach creative writing.... I currently teach at a language school in South Korea (not for much longer), but unfortunately the business I work for is one of the more unfortunate byproducts of globalization and the ascendancy of English as a lingua franca. I'd feel far fewer moral compunctions teaching English as an agent of American soft diplomacy than as an amplifier of terribly outdated and ineffective corporatized education models. Luckily, if I get the Bulgaria Fulbright, my fellow Fulbrighters will be people who want to use their teaching experiences to contribute something positive and relevant to their students' lives. Let's do something awesome. Now, all that's left is to be accepted.... As regards the FISI, it appears they are no longer providing the funding for ETAs to attend. There used to be an ETA-only course in the FISI schedule that I assume constituted orientation for the ETAs. There is no mention of an ETA course in this year's FISI schedule. Some of the FISI courses look fascinating, however, and I plan on attending even if it means paying money out of pocket. As for the waiting, we can do it. As they say at my alma mater: Bear Down! As they say in Korea: 화이팅! (Fighting!) Best of luck to everyone! 풀브라이트 화이팅!