Hey y’all!
So this morning I woke up after a long, long week. Sunday I got very sick. I slept all of Sunday and all of Monday. I had to call off work Tuesday and Wednesday. I had a fever, nausea, aches, and pains. I also couldn’t eat much because of the nausea. It was just not fun. I went back to work Thursday but, man, was it a hard day to get through. I had to take an extra break because I was feeling so dizzy. So I was not looking forward to today. Another 8 hour shift while not feeling super great. I couldn’t fall asleep because of nausea last night so I set my alarm for 10:30am so I could sleep in. I didn’t have to be at work till 2 but if I got up at 10:30 I could take my time getting ready and not rush and push myself. So at 10:30am I woke up to my blaring alarm, stretched my arms and, per usual, I grabbed my phone to check my email before I got out of bed. I woke up to 20 emails. About normal. Mostly “junk” that I can’t bring myself to unsubscribe from (like living social, groupon, academic newsletters, etc), two letters from my dad, and an email titled “Fulbright Application Status (P)” I nearly peed in my bed I was so nervous. So I deleted the 17 junk emails. Then read the two emails from my dad. Then took a deep breath… then another deep breath. Then opened the email. First I saw the top of the email which was my full address and “Dear Ms. Tannenbaum,” and then BAM the word “Congratulations” jumped out at me. You know that thing you do in public when you feel like you’re going to scream? You cover your mouth with your hands as if to say “Oh! My! God!” … I did that. Even though I was just lying in my bed with my Mr. Sunshine kitty. I could not believe what I was reading. I then read the rest of the paragraph:
“Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student award for 2013-2014 to Indonesia. Shortly you will receive a letter from the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board with further details of the award. This letter will be sent to the mailing address listed in your application and noted above.”
Holy Moly!
I read it twice. Just to make sure it was real. Then I started crying uncontrollably. Not big, ugly sobs. Just tears flowing from my eyes without stop. I then read the whole email and immediately called home. Not even knowing if anyone would even be home yet. It was 10:50am at this point Hawaiian Standard Time. Luckily my dad was home and I got to share the joy with him. Then called my sister, aunt, grandma, my friend Rachel, and then finally got a hold of my mom when school was out. I also emailed my advisor during this phone call madness. I then cried some more. Finally got out of bed and danced around in the shower for a while.
At 2pm I got to work and got to tell all my lovely friends at work I got the grant. They were all so happy for me and I got many hugs and high fives. It was wonderful. It is so nice to work with people who are so wonderful and supportive. I do think I jumped and twirled around a bit too much during the day because by 8 o’clock I was not feeling so hot again. I wore myself out. Now I am home again after closing up shop, eating dinner and my celebratory cheesecake, and reading the email over again about 4 times to make sure I am correct and I did indeed get a Fulbright Scholarship. Whoo.
So. For those of you that don’t know a lot about Fulbright I’m going to give you a bit of a run down about the program. As for exact dates and details of my program I have to wait for the package the mailed me via snail mail. So more updates to come later on that. What I do know is I will be going to the area of Jogjakarta, Indonesia for ten months. I will get an apartment in Jogjakarta around the University Gadjah Mada, who I will be partnering with for this project. I will travel to cities around Jogja, most likely by motorbike, to interview the female puppeteers I am studying. However the headquarters for my whole operation will stay in the big city with access to internet, libraries, and (of course) yummy food! Onto the award!
The general Fulbright started with Senator J. William Fulbright who proposed to the US Congress to use surplus war property to fund the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science.” It was signed by President Truman in 1946. So it has a decent history. It is the largest exchange program in the United States that offers funding for students (and at-large or as they describe it “young professionals”) to take part in international graduate study, research, and (for the English Teaching Assistants or ETAs) teaching at the primary through University level in 155 countries. The Fulbright awards about 1,800 grants a year in many differing academic fields. The range of Fulbright alumni is vast including foreign ambassadors, congressmen/women, judges, journalists, artists, professors, and others. John Lithgow (actor), Philip Glass (composer), Renee Fleming (opera singer), Joseph Stiglitz (economist), Melissa Block (NPR host), Gabrielle Giffords (congresswoman), and Sylvia Plath (writer) are some famous Fulbright recipients. 43 nobel prize winners have been Fulbright scholars as well! It is terribly prestigious to be a Fulbright scholar. It is kind of a big deal. A really freakin’ big deal. The full research grant is considered in the top 5 scholarships in the US, including the Rhodes scholarship. Again, I am in shock.
My reward is the Fulbright U.S. Student Study/Research Grant. For this grant Fulbright works with around 140 countries and each applicant designs their own project. Which I have of course. My project involves, basically, following around three women for 10 months and documenting their lives, histories, training, performances, and societal views about their lives, histories, training, and performances. YAY. I know for a fact this award comes with round-trip tickets to Jogjakarta and funding that covers room, board, and “incidental costs” (which I will find out more what that means soon) based on the cost of living in Indonesia. Also accident and sickness health benefits are included. It will say more in my packet about book allowances, tuition coverage, and orientations. It does not cover in-country travel so I am on my own to get my motorbike or pay for cars to drive me about. However it is Indonesia so that is not that expensive compared to everything else I am getting! So, generally a big freakin YAY.
*YAWN*
Now I am going to bed. I’ve been kept awake by pure adrenaline and joy for the past few hours but now my body is shutting down. Love you all and I just have to say a BIG THANK YOU. You are my rock and my motivation to keep moving. I have hit some very low lows and very big bumps in the road in the past few years. It is you people that have kept me going. You have provided such wonderful role models for me to grow up with and such an amazing foundation to ground me even when I thought the world was ending. I love you all and can never thank you enough for all you give to me and for how much you believe in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Love to you all. Thank you, Mahalo, Spasiba, Merci, Arigato, and Terima Kasih.
A Christmas Tree in Asia 