Fulbright Orientation

So, last week I attended the five day long Fulbright orientation in Washington D.C. I even received a t-shirt...now I know it is official (wink, wink).

I arrived in early on Sunday, July 21, and my cousin picked me up from the airport.  All I had to be concerned with that day was checking in at the hotel (the Loews Madison) and registering, other than that, I was free to do as I pleased.  What I ended up doing was hanging out with my cousin for the afternoon as she painted her new condo.  It was fine with me; we had a chance to catch up since it had been a long while since we had last seen each other.  While registering for orientation, I ran into two of the other Fulbright ETAs to Georgia and the four of us decided to all go out to dinner together.  We decided upon a really nice Russian restaurant where we all splurged a bit on our dinners.  It has been a while since I have gotten to have and enjoy Russian food; I ordered shashlik (kebabs) and borscht.  It was delicious.  Say what you want about the supposed blandness of Russian food...I love it.

Loews Madison Hotel 

Monday started bright and early.  No longer am I much of a morning person, and waking up before 8 am is a bit of a struggle for me.  However, that morning, I was fueled by excitement.  Breakfast began promptly at 7:30 and I settled in with two of the Georgia ETAs, a professor going to Azerbaijan, and another going to Ukraine. At 8:30, the director of the Fulbright Program and several other bigwigs welcomed all of us to DC and congratulated us on having received Fulbright grants.  We also heard the Assistant Secretary of State, Ann Stock, speak. To back up just a little, this orientation was specifically for those of us who are headed to Eastern Europe and Eurasia (excluding Bulgaria and Russia, who have in-country orientations). Fulbright hosts orientations for several different regions throughout the summer when the countries do not have their own Fulbright Commissions.  After the introductions, we broke off into smaller groups to listen to regional experts.  It was there that I happened to meet a law professor from the University of Montana who will also be traveling to Georgia this upcoming year.  Back in May, after having seen my name in UM's press release, he contacted me via email and has offered to be a connection in country should I ever need it.  It is interesting having another representative from UM going to Georgia; I had never met him during my years in Montana.

Following lunch or before lunch, now I cannot quite recall, although I do not think it especially matters, we all sat for an hour learning about our health benefits and about documenting our experiences.  This was not too exciting, but it was necessary, and cleared up some things.  My favorite part of the orientation came next, and that was the "country sessions." Along with the three other ETAs going to Georgia, there was one student researcher, three scholars, a Fulbright representative, and two alumni: an ETA and a scholar.  We spent the next several hours going over what to expect, discussing potential problems/difficulties, and talking about slew of other very practical information.

Finally, after sessions ended for the day, us Georgia Fulbrighters - the students - took off and explored DC.  We ended up walking past the White House and other federal buildings, strolled past the Washington Monument, which is under construction after an earthquake damaged it in 2011, and finally ended up at the Lincoln Memorial.  The Memorial truly is a marvelous structure and it is hard not to feel a little bit patriotic standing on the steps where Martin Luther King, Jr. once stood giving his "I Have a Dream" speech.  We also saw both the World War II and Vietnam Memorials.  Afterwards, we had dinner at a Peruvian restaurant.  The food was good, but service was not especially great - oh, well.

The White House

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Tuesday was more of the same, but definitely still useful.  Over the last couple weeks, after receiving a list of possible placements in Georgia, I had felt a growing nervousness about possibly being placed in a small town/village.  I spent a long time at lunch talking with the ETA alumnus from Georgia about his experiences living in a village and he really helped me to alleviate my anxieties about such a placement. In a weird twist of fate, it just so happens that an intern for the State Department, who was attending the orientation (for reasons unbeknownst to me) had been to Georgia with the Teach and Learn with Georgia Program (which is sponsored by the Georgian government) and had lived in a village not far from one of the possible placements (and my first choice). He gave me his contact information and the contact information of Georgians in the area in case I have any questions and concerns.  It was great.

Now bear with me, I have two more days to get through, but first - Tuesday evening.  Three Georgia ETAs, including myself, plus an ETA to Moldova, went to the National Museum of American History on the National Mall.  I broke it off early and caught a cab to my cousin's place so we could go out to dinner together.  It was nice hanging out with her and catching up with her.  She really has been an encouragement and an inspiration to me over the last couple of years as I have worked on planning my life after college.

Julia Child's kitchen at the Museum of American History

Wednesday was the start of ETA (English Teaching Assistantship) workshop aspect of the orientation.  The student researchers and scholars departed late Tuesday, leaving only the ETAs for a crash course in teaching English as a foreign language.  Wednesday was tedious.  We spent ten hours in the hotel without so much as a moment to step outside for a break and a breath of fresh air.  Unfortunately, I spent the day perpetually tired and went through at least half a dozen cups of caffeinated black tea.  Wednesday evening, the Georgia ETAs trekked out to the National Mall and attempted to visit the Museum of Natural History.  It was closed.  We were released from sessions at about the same time all museums in the city close.  We sat on the steps of the National Archives for awhile, chatting, before walking aimlessly in search of food.  We zeroed in on an Indian restaurant and the food was delicious. That night, I took off on my own and captured some of the federal buildings at night.

Dwight Eisenhower Federal Building

Thursday, all the ETAs split into groups, Georgia was paired with Moldova, and we had to create lesson plans to present to the whole group.  It went well and was far less dry than Wednesday, because we were actively engaged.  The lessons ended up being quite humorous.  After sessions ended, we had a brief time to relax before it was time to head to the airport.

Friday, once back home in Illinois, I finally learned where I would be placed in Georgia.  This upcoming year, I will be living in the small mountain town of Keda in the Adjarian region, only 30 miles from the Black Sea and the resort city of Batumi. I am very pleased - it was my first choice! With this information in hand, I was finally able to book my flights to Georgia.  September 8th is the day I leave the States! From today, that is only a short six weeks away.

Keda, Georgia (courtesy of the Adjarian government website)

Until then! 

Why Georgia?

After years of studying Russian in school and studying abroad in Russia for a semester, I have been asked countless times the question, “Why Russia?” Often, I stare for a moment in silence, contemplating the answer. As far as questions have gone, this one is not the easiest to pinpoint, at least in its origins. I have no doubt that I could probably talk for half an hour or more (probably far more) about “why Russia” now, after having learned so much, and after falling in love with the country and its culture. Similarly, now that the news has spread that I am going to the Republic of Georgia on a Fulbright teaching grant, I have gotten the question again, but this time it is “Why Georgia?”

First and foremost, my interest in Georgia and the Caucasus was born out of an interest in Russia, even though, at the time in 2004, my sights were set relatively firmly on Germany. Russia had always been present in the back of my brain as my interest in other cultures began to develop. I loved history, especially contemporary history and nothing sparked my interest more than World War I and World War II. I was particularly interested in both Germany and Russia's role in these wars. As far as Georgia and the Caucasus are concerned, the event that captured my interest started with the horrific tragedy of the Beslan School Siege in 2004 in the semi-autonomous Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania. A year after that event, I began writing a story about Russia and decided I wanted to have a character come from the Caucasus and so I began to research the region. Since then, I have never looked back.

When I entered college at the University of Montana in 2009, one of my Russian professors mentioned to me the Fulbright Program. At the time, I had not really considered Fulbright to be an option for a number of reasons. For one, I just did not think I had the academic chops to make it; secondly, I was fairly certain I did not want to teach; and thirdly, although you could conduct research which I absolutely love doing, my perceived lack of competitiveness held me back. The amount of self growth that I experienced in college is a whole other topic all of its own, one that I will not go into here, but can say is integral to me winning a Fulbright Fellowship. I chose Montana because I thought the mountains would give me the chance to find myself and to become the person I was meant to be. It took hard work, determination, and help from professors, family, friends, and Missoula to make the progress that I did both academically and personally. At the start of my senior year of college, after having spent a semester in Russia, my professor again mentioned Fulbright to me. This time, my attitude was far different and far more positive and I decided to apply.

Another reason that is so integral to the “Why Georgia?” question is my career interests. Since high school, I had been interested in working as a diplomat, with an emphasis on geopolitical analysis with a specialization in Russia and the Caucasus. College only helped to expand that interest to also include cultural analysis. My professors helped me to understand how important culture is to a society and how it lays the political foundation in that society. People have asked me many times why I decided to major in Russian language and literature, and not political science, and I explain to them my reasons. Through courses I took and research in my own time, I incorporated the Caucasus into my studies. During my senior year, I had the fortune to be able to write a research paper on the history behind the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Writing and presenting on this topic was a dream come true for me and gave me the confidence that I had made the right choice in applying for a Fulbright teaching grant to Georgia. The opportunity to go to Georgia will give me the experience, skills, and credibility on the region when I enter a career in the future.

An important aspect to include, that goes hand in hand with my career interests and simple love of learning, is the chance to learn a new language and improve on another. Georgian is the official language of the Republic of Georgia. The language is part of the Kartvelian language family and is related to no other language in the world. Their alphabet is comprised of thirty-three letters and is one of the oldest alphabets in the world. Just those facts alone are enticing to me, but also enticing is the fact that having a knowledge of a regional language will help me to better understand the region. I say this will help me understand the region better despite the fact that in the span that the Caucasus Mountains stretch, five hundred miles from the Black Sea to the Caspian, well over one hundred languages are spoken. However, it is a step in the right direction. So, this summer, before I embark on this adventure, I am teaching myself Georgian. I hope that by the time I arrive in Georgia in what I assume will be September (I have not yet been placed), I will have memorized the alphabet and will be able to have a basic vocabulary with the ability to speak some survival Georgian.  In addition, since Georgia once belonged to the Soviet Union, that not only will my knowledge of Russian come in handy, but that it will improve while I am over there. Time will tell.

This is a long post but there are two other reasons I have for choosing to go to Georgia and simply put, they are natural beauty and roads less traveled. Georgia is a country roughly the size of South Carolina and is composed of breathtaking natural beauty. The mountainous geography of Georgia and the culture of Georgia are inextricably linked. I have always felt a special, often spiritual connection to the mountains and I have always been intrigued by cultures and peoples of the mountains. The fact that many people in America do not know that this country and region exist is another reason why I am going there and why I want this area to be a part of my career. Too often, when I have told people of my plans, they look at me curiously and say: “Atlanta?...Well, I suppose their English can be improved.” I want to end statements like this; I want people to know the beauty of this region; I want people to know its culture, its history, its languages, and its contribution and importance in the world.

So, there you have it, in not so many plain terms, about why I chose Georgia. It is hard to say for sure what will happen in the ten months that I am over there; I am sure some of these reasons will both change and evolve for the better.

 In closing, I do wonder, as a fellow Fulbright Fellow to Bulgaria pointed out, if anyone ever asks the question, “Why France?”

Expect a lot more to come in the months ahead.