Fulbright 2013-2014

[ilovewesties]

I got that as an alternate as well... Although I got offered to be considered for a different country? 

Did anyone get a phone call like that? 

[nfnsprite]

I was thinking about some things this morning in regards to the process. I wish they (IIE) would do a couple of things: First, send out an exit survey about the process. Not a survey about the wait time, but about how the information could be explained better on the website. Secondly, do continued-ed training for the advisors on campus. I wish my advisor had been able to explain the budget portion of the application better. Especially since budgets played a much bigger role than anyone could have guessed this year.

 

I am still hopeful something else will come along. I sent emails to my host university and have heard nothing back. I am trying not to read anything into it.

I think an exit survey is a great idea.  Same with the continuing ed.

 

I am still hopeful that you will get bumped up from alternate!  I think it's still a really good possibility!

[ep1181]

Can someone tell me when the deadline is to accept offers for Africa? Alternate still waiting! 

[CrystalDee]

I think an exit survey is a great idea.  Same with the continuing ed.

 

I am still hopeful that you will get bumped up from alternate!  I think it's still a really good possibility!

I would think that IIE would want to make the experience/process better.  The more information the applicants have going in, the better the outcomes will be, I think.

 

You are too sweet! I can't imagine anyone turning down a spot to Estonia. It's such a wonderful place. I wish those that made it well, envious that I am, I hope that meaningful research comes out of their time there.

[suntaoran]

Is there any way to get around that?

 

How does one really push the non smoking thing?

Do they have electronic cigarettes in China? Would that be the more polite way of saving face?

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It was a problem for me because I was already a smoker and I had recently quit. I'm also a pushover. It's not going to be a huge face-losing endeavor if you insist that you don't smoke, especially if you actually speak Mandarin, which I didn't. The main problem is that rejecting an offer of a gift is the normal way to respond to hospitality in China, rather than an actual indication that you don't want it. But it's meant to be a friendly gesture, so if you make it clear that you don't want it, they're not going to think you're rude. Their whole goal in the first place is to make you feel comfortable. Worst case scenario, they'll give you cigarettes to smoke later and you can just toss them or give them to a friend. I wouldn't advise an electronic cigarette though. I never saw one in China and it will probably just attract tons of attention, which you'll be getting plenty of already.

 

One piece of advice though about drinking: if you're not willing to get very (VERY) drunk, don't drink at all (at least in professional contexts). If you just say from the get go that you don't drink, no harm done. But if you drink some of the time, or in moderation, then you WILL lose face when you turn down offers of toasts, especially as a man.

[there'sanappforthat]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It was a problem for me because I was already a smoker and I had recently quit. I'm also a pushover. It's not going to be a huge face-losing endeavor if you insist that you don't smoke, especially if you actually speak Mandarin, which I didn't. The main problem is that rejecting an offer of a gift is the normal way to respond to hospitality in China, rather than an actual indication that you don't want it. But it's meant to be a friendly gesture, so if you make it clear that you don't want it, they're not going to think you're rude. Their whole goal in the first place is to make you feel comfortable. Worst case scenario, they'll give you cigarettes to smoke later and you can just toss them or give them to a friend. I wouldn't advise an electronic cigarette though. I never saw one in China and it will probably just attract tons of attention, which you'll be getting plenty of already.

 

One piece of advice though about drinking: if you're not willing to get very (VERY) drunk, don't drink at all (at least in professional contexts). If you just say from the get go that you don't drink, no harm done. But if you drink some of the time, or in moderation, then you WILL lose face when you turn down offers of toasts, especially as a man.

Drunk in professional contexts? LOL.

[suntaoran]

Drunk in professional contexts? LOL.

 

Oh goodness, don't even get me started, lol

[moregraceful]

ALTERNATE TO ACCEPTED!!!! Funding opened up and I'm headed to Vietnam!

 

[nfnsprite]

ALTERNATE TO ACCEPTED!!!! Funding opened up and I'm headed to Vietnam!

 

Congratulations!!!

[der Träumer]

Long time lurker here! I want to first say that through my trolling I've concluded that this is actually the nicest group of strangers I think I've ever seen interact with each other. Especially online where I feel like all the anonymous jerks usually come out. Clearly Fulbright picked their finalists well! That being said, someone seriously needs to sit the person down who didn't flat out accept CrystalDee and give him or her a serious talking to. 

 

Now, all cheesy stuff aside, has anyone heard anything new from USTA Austria? I'm an alternate and trying to decide what to do since sitting on my hands and playing the what-if game is driving me nuts. Also, for any past Austrian USTA alternates (for any award, really), is it at all helpful to email Jurgen and ask about position on the waiting list or reaffirm interest? Thank you in advance for any and all help! 

Jurgen just sent the Principals an email last week with more information on the visa process. The Commission is sending us our Official Letter of Acceptance and the Bestätigung (this week via snail mail) needed for the application for residence visa. They want everything (application, medical, background check, birth certificate with apostille) filled out and submitted to an Austrian embassy or honorary consulate by July first. Getting everything is time consuming so I am willing to bet that Alternates will be notified this week or next. If you get bumped up--which I'm fairly confident you will--let's join the bandwagon and set up a Facebook group for Austria USTA!

[there'sanappforthat]

ALTERNATE TO ACCEPTED!!!! Funding opened up and I'm headed to Vietnam!

 

Ahh!! Awesome!!!! I am so, so happy for you!!

[there'sanappforthat]

Oh goodness, don't even get me started, lol

No, please do.

[rtlc06]

ALTERNATE TO ACCEPTED!!!! Funding opened up and I'm headed to Vietnam!

That's amazing!! Congrats!!

[rtlc06]

Stupid question: how do you formally accept your award? I received the acceptance email on Monday and nothing else... Does that part come in the mail?

[medizumbacist]

Stupid question: how do you formally accept your award? I received the acceptance email on Monday and nothing else... Does that part come in the mail?

I also haven't gotten any of the snail mail info I've been promised...and I found out about 3 weeks ago now :/

[moregraceful]

Thanks for all the congratulations! I had mentally accustomed myself to the idea of getting a job and staying in the States for a few more years - in other words, I told myself I was rejected - when this email came from out of the blue. I was told that funding opened up for the country and that there would be room for more applicants. Gosh, I'm so freakin' happy!

 

By the way, for any other alternate applicants still in limbo, the email came from the regional director and he asked me to give him a quick call. I found out that I was accepted via phone, and the official email was sent out an hour later.

 

[rtlc06]

I also haven't gotten any of the snail mail info I've been promised...and I found out about 3 weeks ago now :/

Did you accept yet?

[woodendress]

Jurgen just sent the Principals an email last week with more information on the visa process. The Commission is sending us our Official Letter of Acceptance and the Bestätigung (this week via snail mail) needed for the application for residence visa. They want everything (application, medical, background check, birth certificate with apostille) filled out and submitted to an Austrian embassy or honorary consulate by July first. Getting everything is time consuming so I am willing to bet that Alternates will be notified this week or next. If you get bumped up--which I'm fairly confident you will--let's join the bandwagon and set up a Facebook group for Austria USTA!

There is already a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/434901306592385/

[der Träumer]

There is already a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/434901306592385/

Look at that. Shame on me for not knowing.

[daisusaikoro]

I am in the fear stage. I think that it is because I have not have the opportunity to travel abroad, and I am rather shy. My academic advisor keeps telling me that a Fulbright will "change you in wonderful ways" and to just go with the flow. I'm hoping that these new experiences will help me become more confident in my research! Just think about it--working with researchers in an international scale! So scary, but so exciting! What scares you right now?

What scares me is that I was a Teach For America member and moved away after undergrad and it was miserable. Miserable. And a really failed experience on my part. The fear is that this could be similar to that experience but amplified as I'll be in China. Houston may be different from NYC but it's not China.

That and my great grandmother is my only real familial network, 91, and leaving her alone (again) is worrisome.

Oh and I guess because there are so many unknown variables... though life wouldn't be an adventure of we knew where each step will take us.

[suntaoran]

No, please do.

 

I secretly wanted to, haha.

 

Drinking culture in China is the opposite to what I'm accustomed to in the States. The drinking age in China is 18 but kids just... don't really drink. Not a lot of them. Definitely not any parties on the college campus where I was, beyond the occasional "let's hang out on the quad and eat snacks and drink soda" kind of party. When I did see people drinking, they were adults, and more often than not elderly. But even that wasn't super widespread.

But then, a couple times of year, my workplace (a university) had banquets where all the administrators and teachers got together. Some of the most formal people I've ever met. And they all just got trashed. Most of the time, Chinese people drink by taking shots, no matter the alcohol. Traditionally it's hard liquor called "bai jiu," infamously translated as "white wine," even though it's actually 55% grain liquor that tastes like death. But they also take shots of beer. I was lucky because my school was trying to "westernize," which meant in addition to the death liquor, people were also taking shots of expensive red wine, which is a lot more manageable. But I would still get the president of college and chairman of the board of trustees walking up to me several times during these banquets and toasting me with bai jiu. And in turn, I'd sneak up on the table where all the higher ups are sitting and toast all of them.

 

On Chinese New Year, after one such banquet, I was invited by one of the administrators to go sing karaoke with all the higher ups. They brought more bai jiu and some pretty expensive bottles of whiskey. We sang Backstreet Boys and some traditional Chinese music. By 10 o' clock, the official photographer had passed out on the couch, so... and I hesitate to mention this, I'm so embarrassed .. my friends and I took his camera and took pictures of me sitting next to him pretending like I was licking his face. While this was happening, I heard this high pitched giggle coming from next to me, and I turned and it was my immediate supervisor, a dour 50-year old Chinese woman in charge of the international office. And she was laughing so hard she was crying.

 

When I woke up the next morning, I was certain I was going to be fired. Deported. I'd never been more embarrassed in my life. But I went into the office and everything was fine and no one ever made mention of that night again. I later learned that in China, being drunk is an acceptable excuse, for the most part, for inappropriate behavior. If you do something that offends someone, you can say "Oh sorry, I was drunk" and that's fine.

 

So strange. When I had two beers at a bar on a Friday night, I'd have students walk up to me and ask "are you okay? why are you drinking so much?" But then apparently getting blackout drunk with your boss at an official function is okay. 

 

Sorry for clogging the board with stories of China. Congratulations to moregraceful (and hopefully other Vietnam alternates?) for getting the grant!

[there'sanappforthat]

I secretly wanted to, haha.

 

Drinking culture in China is the opposite to what I'm accustomed to in the States. The drinking age in China is 18 but kids just... don't really drink. Not a lot of them. Definitely not any parties on the college campus where I was, beyond the occasional "let's hang out on the quad and eat snacks and drink soda" kind of party. When I did see people drinking, they were adults, and more often than not elderly. But even that wasn't super widespread.

But then, a couple times of year, my workplace (a university) had banquets where all the administrators and teachers got together. Some of the most formal people I've ever met. And they all just got trashed. Most of the time, Chinese people drink by taking shots, no matter the alcohol. Traditionally it's hard liquor called "bai jiu," infamously translated as "white wine," even though it's actually 55% grain liquor that tastes like death. But they also take shots of beer. I was lucky because my school was trying to "westernize," which meant in addition to the death liquor, people were also taking shots of expensive red wine, which is a lot more manageable. But I would still get the president of college and chairman of the board of trustees walking up to me several times during these banquets and toasting me with bai jiu. And in turn, I'd sneak up on the table where all the higher ups are sitting and toast all of them.

 

On Chinese New Year, after one such banquet, I was invited by one of the administrators to go sing karaoke with all the higher ups. They brought more bai jiu and some pretty expensive bottles of whiskey. We sang Backstreet Boys and some traditional Chinese music. By 10 o' clock, the official photographer had passed out on the couch, so... and I hesitate to mention this, I'm so embarrassed .. my friends and I took his camera and took pictures of me sitting next to him pretending like I was licking his face. While this was happening, I heard this high pitched giggle coming from next to me, and I turned and it was my immediate supervisor, a dour 50-year old Chinese woman in charge of the international office. And she was laughing so hard she was crying.

 

When I woke up the next morning, I was certain I was going to be fired. Deported. I'd never been more embarrassed in my life. But I went into the office and everything was fine and no one ever made mention of that night again. I later learned that in China, being drunk is an acceptable excuse, for the most part, for inappropriate behavior. If you do something that offends someone, you can say "Oh sorry, I was drunk" and that's fine.

 

So strange. When I had two beers at a bar on a Friday night, I'd have students walk up to me and ask "are you okay? why are you drinking so much?" But then apparently getting blackout drunk with your boss at an official function is okay. 

 

Sorry for clogging the board with stories of China. Congratulations to moregraceful (and hopefully other Vietnam alternates?) for getting the grant!

baaaaaahahhahahahahahahahahahaha. lmao.

That is priceless! It sounds like you probably have a lot of similar stories. My favorite part of the story was you singing Backstreet Boys with coworkers.. and the little Chinese lady laughing herself silly.

That sounds AWESOME. Truly, truly awesome.

[ilovewesties]

I secretly wanted to, haha.

 

Drinking culture in China is the opposite to what I'm accustomed to in the States. The drinking age in China is 18 but kids just... don't really drink. Not a lot of them. Definitely not any parties on the college campus where I was, beyond the occasional "let's hang out on the quad and eat snacks and drink soda" kind of party. When I did see people drinking, they were adults, and more often than not elderly. But even that wasn't super widespread.

But then, a couple times of year, my workplace (a university) had banquets where all the administrators and teachers got together. Some of the most formal people I've ever met. And they all just got trashed. Most of the time, Chinese people drink by taking shots, no matter the alcohol. Traditionally it's hard liquor called "bai jiu," infamously translated as "white wine," even though it's actually 55% grain liquor that tastes like death. But they also take shots of beer. I was lucky because my school was trying to "westernize," which meant in addition to the death liquor, people were also taking shots of expensive red wine, which is a lot more manageable. But I would still get the president of college and chairman of the board of trustees walking up to me several times during these banquets and toasting me with bai jiu. And in turn, I'd sneak up on the table where all the higher ups are sitting and toast all of them.

 

On Chinese New Year, after one such banquet, I was invited by one of the administrators to go sing karaoke with all the higher ups. They brought more bai jiu and some pretty expensive bottles of whiskey. We sang Backstreet Boys and some traditional Chinese music. By 10 o' clock, the official photographer had passed out on the couch, so... and I hesitate to mention this, I'm so embarrassed .. my friends and I took his camera and took pictures of me sitting next to him pretending like I was licking his face. While this was happening, I heard this high pitched giggle coming from next to me, and I turned and it was my immediate supervisor, a dour 50-year old Chinese woman in charge of the international office. And she was laughing so hard she was crying.

 

When I woke up the next morning, I was certain I was going to be fired. Deported. I'd never been more embarrassed in my life. But I went into the office and everything was fine and no one ever made mention of that night again. I later learned that in China, being drunk is an acceptable excuse, for the most part, for inappropriate behavior. If you do something that offends someone, you can say "Oh sorry, I was drunk" and that's fine.

 

So strange. When I had two beers at a bar on a Friday night, I'd have students walk up to me and ask "are you okay? why are you drinking so much?" But then apparently getting blackout drunk with your boss at an official function is okay. 

 

Sorry for clogging the board with stories of China. Congratulations to moregraceful (and hopefully other Vietnam alternates?) for getting the grant!

 

Yeah... Japan's like that too, a little. Not like "Oh, I was drunk" and it's an excuse, but even if you get trashed at a work going out thing, they don't really talk about it the next day. 

[Ph.D.H20]

CONGRATS TO ALL THOSE JUST FINDING OUT...I.E. CHINA, TURKEY, ETC. 

 

I havent been on in while. Sorry to those who got alternate! Hopefully more funding will open up and you too will be on your way! Stay positive. 

[holternick]

Are Luxembourg and Switzerland the only two Western European countries left waiting to hear?