Fulbright

It’s incredible how much can happen in 24 hours. Yesterday evening I got an email from the director of the Fulbright program in the Asia-Pacific countries (where I applied). He said to contact him as soon as possible in regards to the status of my Fulbright application. I practically had a panic attack, but had a faculty meeting so I had to contain my nervousness about what this could possibly mean. I initially thought they might want to send me to another country that didn’t receive enough applicants. During the meeting I couldn’t focus one bit, and Fernando (the English teacher) asked what I wanted to do for the rest of the meeting…I told him honestly I just wanted to call the program director for the Fulbright and I ended up explaining the situation to him. I told him I wouldn’t know what to do if they offered me the grant to either Indonesia or another country, since I already signed my contract with Korea. He very calmly explained to me that it’s not a hard decision. Since I’ve wanted the Fulbright for a long time, I should accept that and see what steps I need to take to end my Korean contract. He really saved me from losing my mind and by the end of the conversation I felt much better. He then told me about the many places he’d like to show me in Sao Paulo and also offered to take Michelle and I to the beach in Sao Paulo where he has an apartment. There’s a holiday towards the end of June where we have a 4 day weekend and he said he’d be happy to have us there. His kindness and enthusiasm to show me around has already helped me more than he will ever know.

Anyways, back to the Fulbright. The last I heard from them was that I was rejected, and that was the last I expected to hear from them. I moved on with my life, found a job for the fall, and that was that. I talked to the director this afternoon and he informed me that the English Teaching Assistantship program in Malaysia had unexpectedly tripled this year and they are looking for applicants to fill those spots. He said the Fulbright commission in Malaysia has looked over my application and offered me the grant. I would go from January 2012 to November 2012. I told him that I already made plans for the fall, but would love to accept the offer. So, I have until the end of the business day tomorrow (Friday) to call him back and let him know my decision.

I honestly thought it was going to be a hard decision to make, but after he explained the situation to me, I already knew my answer was going to be yes. I’ve known about the Fulbright for a few years, and always knew I wanted to apply to go abroad after I finished my Masters degree. Even though I was initially rejected, I’ve been given a second chance and there’s no way I will pass this up.

Of course, the problem arises with my contract I signed to teach in Korea. I feel horrible about having to end it, but hopefully it won’t cause too much of an inconvenience because they haven’t paid for my plane ticket or made arrangements for my visa yet. The recruitment team I worked with was extremely helpful, and I hope I don’t burn any bridges with them. Teaching in Korea is still an option, but just not in the immediate future like I had planned.

In terms of Brazil, I couldn’t be living any better. I booked both plane tickets to Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguacu. Michelle and I will be going to Foz do Iguacu from June 17-19 and then Rio from July 1 – 4. I can’t wait!!

Today I didn’t attend any English classes. The director knew my situation with the Fulbright, and there weren’t any English classes to attend anyway. The past few days I’ve been with Fernando in the middle school English classes, and also with Christina who teaches the elementary school English classes. I will start to teach the middle school classes next week. Also, after Michelle comes, we will be holding conversation classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We’re not sure how many students will attend, but should find out soon when all the permission slips come in.