Fulbright 2009-2010

[hurricaneb]

Rachel Holskin is out of town until Wednesday, 5/27; you should try calling her office and see if one of her assistants has any more information.

[MGMTRoX]

For anyone that applied to egypt, I rcvd a manila envelope with a letter enclosed congratulating me on my selection for a fulbright award to egypt with a medical form enclosed. The letter is dated May 13, 2009.

I wish you all success.

[brockusaurelius]

MGMTRoX,

Congratulations to you! I also received my manila envelope for Egypt as well today...very exciting! (For all you still waiting, good luck to you--I'm in Ohio, so if you're on the west coast, it should be there soon)

I was curious about your thoughts on one line within it, though...where it says that receiving the award is still contingent upon receiving official research clearance from the host country. I was under the impression that this stage was already completed?!? Am I mistaken? Have they really not heard back from the Egyptian Government yet about clearances? Anyway, in the midst of my excitement I just happened to notice that and it caused me pause in my celebration.

At any rate, I look forward to meeting you soon. Are you ETA or Research grant? Did you apply for CLEA as well?

Again, Congratulations!!!

[MGMTRoX]

MGMTRoX,

Congratulations to you! I also received my manila envelope for Egypt as well today...very exciting! (For all you still waiting, good luck to you--I'm in Ohio, so if you're on the west coast, it should be there soon)

I was curious about your thoughts on one line within it, though...where it says that receiving the award is still contingent upon receiving official research clearance from the host country. I was under the impression that this stage was already completed?!? Am I mistaken? Have they really not heard back from the Egyptian Government yet about clearances? Anyway, in the midst of my excitement I just happened to notice that and it caused me pause in my celebration.

At any rate, I look forward to meeting you soon. Are you ETA or Research grant? Did you apply for CLEA as well?

Again, Congratulations!!!

Thanks man (or madam). Congratulations to you too. I am in the midwest as well. That line definitely muted my celebrations. The ambiguity of the letter alarms me a bit. But who am I to argue? I am sending this med clearance form ASAP.

I applied to the CLEA as well. Havent heard anything from them. Do you know if you get a rejection letter from them? Or do they just leave you wondering whether a family member threw out the letter in the trash?

[rinairy]

Thanks man (or madam). Congratulations to you too. I am in the midwest as well. That line definitely muted my celebrations. The ambiguity of the letter alarms me a bit. But who am I to argue? I am sending this med clearance form ASAP.

I applied to the CLEA as well. Havent heard anything from them. Do you know if you get a rejection letter from them? Or do they just leave you wondering whether a family member threw out the letter in the trash?

????? ????!!

Jordan CLEA recipients received email notification (I got the email before the manila envelope...). Maybe Egypt does this the same way.

See you in DC!

[lambissson]

I'm a substitute teacher this school year. I was talking to another sub today and it turns out that she just declined a France ETA because her parents wanted her to start earning money. So there's still hope for the alternates!

This is from a current Berliner ETA and thought that some of you might find it interesting:

In the paychecks, they prorate, so in September, as you probably won't start until the 8th or 10th or something, you'll only get about 3/4 of your monthly pay. And in terms of when you get paid... They told us to bring enough money for the first 4-6 weeks. I didn't get my first pay check until October 31 (2 months into the grant). That kind of hurt. Be prepared for that.

The 12 hours thing varies by school. I have some friends in former East schools who will get yelled at if they try to teach more than twelve hours; it is absolutely forbidden. I also know some people who are taken advantage of and are working way more than they should. It really depends. In my school, I have a set schedule of 12 hours, but during some weeks I work more (extra help, conversation courses, requests from other teachers to teach certain topics, etc.), and sometimes it's less (exams during normal meeting times, etc.). It really varies.

In Germany, as I'm sure you know, the concept of teaching assistants does not exist, and the Fulbright Kommission and the PAD do not provide any training for the schools or teachers. Most of them have no idea what to do with us. Again, here, people's experiences vary by school. One of my friends teaches full lessons and substitute teaches (not officially allowed). Another one just sits there. All the time. I am in the middle. Some of my teachers are control freaks and/or do not know how to use me (despite lots of suggestions) and I am more or less another student (at least I feel like I am). Some team-teach with me, or let me run my own conversation courses, writing workshops, and speaking/pronunciation sessions. These are awesome. I have one teacher who splits her 32-student class with me; we each teach the same thing to smaller groups in separate rooms. It really is a mix.

When you're working at your school, you basically need to communicate a lot, offer ideas and suggestion of what you can do, and make your own position. From the collective experience of all of the Fulbrighters I know, the school won't really do it for you. I don't mean to discourage you at all. I have really loved my Fulbright experience, but the Fulbright Kommission/PAD didn't really tell us all that beforehand. It would've been nice to know.

As for teaching materials... I brought a ton of newspapers, maps, etc. that I haven't used at all. I would ask your Betreuunglehrer(in) what he/she would recommend. Each school has different supplies, and a lot of them use different textbooks covering different materials, so you really just need to see what your specific school/teacher needs/has/does. That being said, the kids in my conversation class loved looking at American (teen, fashion, etc.) magazines that I brought in for them when we did the "Teen Magazine" unit in their book (you can buy all of these in Berlin though), and personal photos were a big hit/ great conversation starter with all of my classes. They don't even have to be American photos... I brought some from trips I've taken and used them to talk about travel/different countries/geography, etc.

[nlm17]

Alternates, don't give up hope yet!!! I was just notified that there is another opening for an ETA in Mexico. I can't believe it! Hang in there!!! Each and every one of you still have a chance. Best of luck to all!

[top5678]

Alternates, don't give up hope yet!!! I was just notified that there is another opening for an ETA in Mexico. I can't believe it! Hang in there!!! Each and every one of you still have a chance. Best of luck to all!

congrats!!! did they contact you via phone?

[aireater]

Is anyone else having difficulty using the Rearden travel site for booking travel to the pre-departure orientation. I'm trying to book train tickets, but I don't even see an option for this. The email from IIE said that Rearden could be used for plane and train accommodations, but I only see an option for plane travel.

[nlm17]

congrats!!! did they contact you via phone?

Thanks top5678!!

They contacted me via phone and e-mail. I am corresponding with the Mexico Commission now through e-mail.

[top5678]

Thanks top5678!!

They contacted me via phone and e-mail. I am corresponding with the Mexico Commission now through e-mail.

awesome!!! congrats again!!! did iie contact you first, or the comission? hopefully i'll hear something soon also!

[throwaway]

Is anyone else getting their stipend via direct deposit? Any suggestions on banks that don't charge too much for foreign currency exchange fees/other bank fees? This is for India although I'm sure some other people will get paid the same way.

[emilyd86]

Does anyone know if the Egypt ETA decisions have been sent out along with the research notifications? I am on the west coast and have yet to hear anything ...

[katieo]

Congrats everyone! And Hi to the all the Fulbrighters going to Egypt-- looking forward to meeting up with you guys!

I finally received good news from the Egyptian commission on Monday... talk about a brutal wait! And yesterday I received an email confirming my government clearance which took some of the stress away. The medical clearance form is kind of ridiculous/intense.

Does anyone know any details about the grant-- how much the stipend is, for example, or whether it covers any tuition if you are doing grad work? Also, does anyone know anything about pre-departure orientation in DC?

[emily.hagemeister]

Does anyone know if the Egypt ETA decisions have been sent out along with the research notifications? I am on the west coast and have yet to hear anything ...

I still don't know anything either, Emily. I get the feeling our time is coming, though! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[rinairy]

Congrats everyone! And Hi to the all the Fulbrighters going to Egypt-- looking forward to meeting up with you guys!

I finally received good news from the Egyptian commission on Monday... talk about a brutal wait! And yesterday I received an email confirming my government clearance which took some of the stress away. The medical clearance form is kind of ridiculous/intense.

Does anyone know any details about the grant-- how much the stipend is, for example, or whether it covers any tuition if you are doing grad work? Also, does anyone know anything about pre-departure orientation in DC?

You can find lots of information on the orientation here:

http://fulbright.state.gov/orientation/af-nea-sca

I would register now. The commission should send you an email soon telling you to register anyhow and how to buy your plane ticket.

Congrats! See you in DC.

[katieo]

thank you so much. that's very helpful!

[emilyd86]

shouldn't they be sending them out at the same time as the research grants! so annoying! I might call Jermaine again today...

[katieo]

has anyone heard about CLEA to egypt? or have they only sent our research notifications?

[ladolcevita]

Hi All,

I'll be going to Berlin on the Fulbright Journalism Award. Is anyone else doing that program or going to be in Berlin? Maybe we could collaborate on housing.

[livhappy]

Are any other German ETA's being placed in Hessen?

[MTrice]

Hey all,

I'm starting a "completely unofficial" blog of Fulbrighters to record our joint experiences for this coming year. It'd be great if I could have people participate from all around the globe to share your stories, pictures, and activities.

I'll be in the UK and several fellow UK Fulbrighters and UK students coming to the US seem ready to jump into the project. I really hope some of you might consider helping as well.

The site is [ www dot thefulbrightreport dot com ] and you can email me with any questions via the forum or at [ mt35 @ txstate dot edu ]

Good luck everyone and congrats!

-Michael

[ladolcevita]

For those placed in Berlin, Germany, join the group on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9 ... 961&ref=mf

[igbass]

Hey all! Congrats to everybody who got a Fulbright so far! Just found out I got a creative arts grant to Egypt in creative writing. Looking forward to meeting you all in DC! I was checking out the registration page for the orientation and it said we could request roommates. Any Egypt Fulbrighters interested in rooming up to chat up about Egypt and whatnot? Haha I'm so ridiculously excited!!!!

[katieo]

Hey all! Congrats to everybody who got a Fulbright so far! Just found out I got a creative arts grant to Egypt in creative writing. Looking forward to meeting you all in DC! I was checking out the registration page for the orientation and it said we could request roommates. Any Egypt Fulbrighters interested in rooming up to chat up about Egypt and whatnot? Haha I'm so ridiculously excited!!!!

yeah totally-- if you are a girl! lol. i signed up on Friday-- request me if you want!