shadymilkman

For Fulbrighters in the East Asia & Pacific region, someone started a travel exchange group on Facebook. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/157443094342748/#!/groups/157443094342748/

I'm almost positive that they won't pay for her. You can look up the conference hotel to see what regular rates are, and then divide by two. I plugged in numbers a few days ago out of curiosity and it looked like ~$260/night, so half cost would probably be around $130/night.

I agree, it really is a pain for West-coasters going to Europe. The long flights and layovers BEFORE crossing the Atlantic are not my favorite. One more reason why it's better to head to Asia, I guess. And SF, Portland, Seatle, and Vancouver is a fantastic string of cities. Only downside is that flying to Asia always requires me to fly from Portland to one of those three other cities first.

I received an e-mail today confirming my medical clearance (I put it in the mail from Oregon on 4/26). I had e-mailed Jonathon Akeley last week about it because I wanted to have my clearance done before I let my school run publicity, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it (the clearance e-mail, however, came from someone else).

I'm going to try to take as little as possible. Basic toiletries, a couple pairs of clothes, a good supply of my usual vitamins/supplements, a few books, and my laptop (probably). There's no reason to bring too many things. As far as formality goes, it depends on the country, but keep in mind that most countries require more formal dress in educational settings than you might be used to. I know this is true in much of SE Asia where students often wear uniforms. I expect to be wearing a nice shirt, slacks, and a tie every day as an ETA in Thailand. However, if you don't have all the formal clothes yet, I would NOT recommend running out and buying them before you leave--you should be able to get very nice clothes in your host country for a fraction of the price you'd pay in the States (for instance, I've been offered tailored suits in Bangkok for 60-80US$, with a few extra shirts thrown in). For women in particular, this will also ensure that dress clothes fit with local norms as clothes showing shoulders, chest, legs, etc. may or may not be acceptable, depending on the culture.

Wow... that's... interesting. I'm not a China applicant, but I do know that your school is not notified of your Fulbright acceptance/rejection--only you will know, and it will come from IIE/Fulbright. The acceptance letter generally comes in a large manila envelope and will have all the official letters and the medical clearance form.

Congrats! I'll message you my contact details. Now on to the joys of medical clearance... hopefully all goes well there. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having any problems though, so probably not much to worry about.

Thanks! I have you heard on yours yet? Keep us posted!

I received my acceptance letter for Thailand today (ETA). For the spreadsheet, I'm the 'Anon' under Thailand. Here's the rest of the info: Current Address Notified 4/19 Postmarked 4/13 Large Manila Envelope

Just gives my letter a chance to catch up on its way to Oregon. Really hoping it makes it here today...

The program manager is Jonathon Akeley. You can find his contact info on the Fulbright site.

For anyone applying to Thailand, I was informed by the East Asia program manager today that notifications went out earlier this week. Shouldn't be long!