Fulbright 2009-2010

[igbass]

Haha I'm not a girl But we'll all be introduced anyway. Do you know what institution you'll be associated with? And what's your project?

[katieo]

yeah i am just doing grad work at american university in cairo--- the international human rights law masters program. i am so excited. what about you??

[igbass]

I'll be working with the Department of English at the American University in Cairo, writing a book about Palestinian refugees in and around Cairo. I got a student grant as opposed to a scholar/research one, so I'll probably still be taking Arabic or something at the school. I'm pretty excited :-) Only the new AUC campus is WAY out of town (as opposed to the old campus, which is right downtown and in a perfect location). But that's okay, Cairo is one of my favorite cities and I'm really lookin forward to going back.

[katieo]

yeah i haven't been to cairo in 3 years-- i can't wait. and my classes will apparently still be at the old campus which is nice since i love downtown. your project sounds brilliant! i've been doing some undergrad research on palestinian refugees-- i spent some time in the west bank in 07 and just loved it. i cant believe you got government clearance for that! that's really good. we'll have to discuss in D.C.

[igbass]

The whole clearance thing took a bit of creative wording :-) Also, it's all fiction, as opposed to political commentary or anything like that, so I get a bit of freedom going that route. I would love to go to the west bank. I've heard it's difficult to get in?

[katieo]

no not really if you are american-- just be wary of getting the israeli stamp, which can mess up any plans you might have to tour around the middle east. if you are doing research you can apply for a second passport to avoid the stamp issue. getting in to gaza is a whole other story-- pretty much no one gets in right now.

ahhh i can't wait for egypt!!

[igbass]

Yeah, I've already got the Israeli stamp, so I'm out of luck with that. Might just have to apply for a new passport. I guess I could always just tear the israeli stamp out Yeah, I've heard Gaza is locked up pretty tight. Though I hear there is an underground tunnel across the border...guess I could always try and find that lol.

So what were you doing in Egypt before? Just traveling, or doing research/studying? I've been twice before, but just as a traveler. Did the whole scuba diving thing and then just toured the highlights--Siwa (my favorite), Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, etc. etc.

Do you know much about the in country orientation in Egypt? I haven't gotten any of that information yet. Like: when are we supposed to arrive? Do we fly over independently or together? I'm trying to get my medical checklist sent in so they'll approve it and give me all the info or whatever, but all those tests take a while haha.

[katieo]

yeah i'm having exactly the same problem with the medical clearance form... it will probably take at least another week to get all my tests results back. argh. super annoying when i want to know what is going on!

i think we fly over ourselves--- since i assume some peoples' grants may start sooner or later. but i dont have really any other info--- i didn't even know about the orientation in dc till i found this site. haha. its a somewhat frustrating process.

i was in cairo for about 4 months in 2005 interning with an NGO in shubra al kheima. it was great but i didn't get to see much else of egypt so i am hoping to go a little early and tour around before classes start in september.

[igbass]

Yeah, it's definitely a frustrating process.

The IIE website says that there is an in-country orientation in Egypt, so I got the impression that we all have to be there at the same time to participate in that. But it's just a one-line statement with no explanation, so really I have no idea what it's about. I guess we'll find out all the info in DC? Though I certainly hope we know all that info before the end of June haha.

[MGMTRoX]

The orientation will be held in DC from June 24 to June 26, per email response from Jermaine Jones. No one going to Egypt has received information regarding the orientation. We will get it in the next "couple of days or weeks", according to Jermaine. Nice guy this Jermaine. And very prompt with his responses.

[katieo]

yeah i agree Jermaine is lovely.

"couple of days or weeks"---- the orientation is in less than a month! do they ever expect us to book plane flights?! lol.

[igbass]

Here is the line from IIE website:

Fulbright grantees should arrive in Egypt in late August or early September to participate in the in-country orientation. They must also attend a pre-departure orientation in Washington DC during the summer of 2010.

Which leads me to believe that there are two orientations.

[sunbean8]

yeah i agree Jermaine is lovely.

"couple of days or weeks"---- the orientation is in less than a month! do they ever expect us to book plane flights?! lol.

All of your expenses for the orientation in DC will be paid for by Fulbright; they will book your hotel room and you will reserve your plane ticket through them. So while waiting to hear on the orientation details is annoying, booking later is not going to lead to greater costs on your part. Given that you already know the dates and can plan for them, I'd not worry too much about when Fulbright sends you the orientation information.

Lovely series of waiting games, this whole thing.

[shelby20709]

For all the Egypt ETAs still waiting, I contacted Jermaine Jones and he said that they are waiting on security clearances from the Egyptian government. He sounded like they were also very frustrated and would send them out as soon as possible. This was on Thursday, which is the end of the Egyptian week, so I'm guessing they would be able to send them out this week, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't send them until next week. So frustrating! He also told me that there is an orientation before the regular orientation that will be on the 22nd and 23rd, so if you are planning your summer keep that in mind. Hope that is helpful! It's good to know that there are people waiting with me...let me know if you hear anything!

Shelby

[emilyd86]

Thanks Shelby! I'm waiting as well... but hopefully we are nearing the end! what month is the orientation in?

[aireater]

.

[qes]

So, has anyone found a good way around the Fly America Act? If it were just me going, I wouldn't care since Fulbright will cover the whole thing for us, but I want to travel with my husband & baby, and Fulbright doesn't pay for them. Flying with Scandinavian Airlines is about $750 per person, roundtrip (we're booking to come home in December for Christmas, that's why its so cheap -- already checked and the commission will gladly cover that instead of the "final" trip home). The cheapest American carrier (Continental) is about $1000 per person. Kind of a pain in the neck. SAS sometimes codeshares with United, but not on these flights (grr!)

I emailed the Fulbright Commission in Sweden (since they seem responsible for this stuff), but I'd like to get your collective wisdom on the matter! :-)

[zacharylamel]

So, has anyone found a good way around the Fly America Act? If it were just me going, I wouldn't care since Fulbright will cover the whole thing for us, but I want to travel with my husband & baby, and Fulbright doesn't pay for them. Flying with Scandinavian Airlines is about $750 per person, roundtrip (we're booking to come home in December for Christmas, that's why its so cheap -- already checked and the commission will gladly cover that instead of the "final" trip home). The cheapest American carrier (Continental) is about $1000 per person. Kind of a pain in the neck. SAS sometimes codeshares with United, but not on these flights (grr!)

I emailed the Fulbright Commission in Sweden (since they seem responsible for this stuff), but I'd like to get your collective wisdom on the matter! :-)

Is SAS a Swedish carrier, or from a different scandinavian country? For my grant to Belgium, I had to follow the Fly America Act or fly with a Belgian carrier. You might have that same benefit.

[Chelsey.Boggs]

Hello, I am also waiting on news regarding the ETA slots for Egypt. I must say I am relieved to find I am not the only one still waiting. Hopefully we will hear soon!

[Johanna]

Do any of the German ETAs (or researchers?) know if we're supposed to fill out all those insurance forms? The Fulbright-Kommission sent those circulars with all those forms, but only said to send in the registration for orientation and passport photos. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything...

[aperson]

I was awarded a research grant to Ecuador. Has anyone else going to Ecuador heard anything about where/when our orientation meeting will be??

[Dreams]

Congrats to those of you ETAs to Cameroon, South Africa, Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Apparently there only 30 of you total and you will be first to your respective regions if I am correct. Your specific orientation will be on June 23, and the pre-departure orientation should be on June 24-26.

[thiticalcrinking]

Would anyone be interested in making a facebook group for German Fulbrighters this year? It might be easier for us to get through all of this paperwork together! : )

[Johanna]

Would anyone be interested in making a facebook group for German Fulbrighters this year? It might be easier for us to get through all of this paperwork together! : )

If you make one, I'll join for sure. I definitely need help navigating the paperwork...

[klb5]

i'd join as well. that would be easier than sifting through all the various conversations about different countries on this post