Thank you Senator Fulbright

I've just returned from Washington D.C. after an invigorating week at the Fulbright Orientation for scholars traveling to North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It was truly awesome, and now I'm even more pumped for my trip to Bangladesh. I'll try not to yap about it too much, but a few thoughts on the program:

1. My "cohort" is truly fantastico (if I do say so myself--wink wink). Among the group there were Rhodes scholars, Harvard grads, activists, world-travelers, and generally bright people. The best part was that every single person in that room had serious leadership qualities. It wasn't a roomful of nerdy geniuses who were work-horses but socially inept. Everyone there was the kind of person that would come up to you, introduce themselves, shake your hand, and ask about you, and maybe even crack a few jokes in Arabic. I felt honored to be among them (though I'm still convinced that I may have been selected due to some administrative error during the application process or something).

2. The orientation really stressed cultural exchange and mutual understanding more than the research. One program officer said that it wasn't as important to "have perfect data" as it was to interact with people, volunteer, and generally be a personal diplomat. They explicitly told us that we were not to be mouthpieces for the U.S. government or its foreign policy (praise Allah), but rather human bridges between people here and people abroad. The most important part of our Fulbright experience, we were told, was when we returned home to educate Americans about other countries and cultures...especially crucial for the region of the world we're all going to. In the past, war has been the only way most Americans learn their world geography.

3. I met the two other students traveling to Bangladesh. Katie, who comes from a small town in Wisconsin and is married to a Bangladeshi man, is really cool. I got a chance to meet her Mom (hilarious) and sister as well. She has a really unique perspective on Bangladeshi culture through the eyes of an American Bangladeshi "bo"(wife). She also has some mad Bengali language skills. Keisuke, a Cornell grad from L.A., is a true-go getter, but he knows how to have a good time. It was totally his idea to take a picture with the three of us in front of the NPR building in Washington, spelling out the letters N-P-R with our arms. I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun traveling the world all together.

4. I got to spend some time with friends from the past as well. I met up with Austin and Jillian two nights in a row, and as a surprise bonus, got to meet up with Freddy Blavin as well. It was a treat. Fredo, as usual, tried to bite my "sausage fingers," as I simulated dunking him into a large tub of BBQ sauce (I always joked that he resembled a chicken McNugget in high school).

Saturday night I got to hang out with Beth and her buddies from High School. They are so funny that my sides hurt today from laughing all night. They remind me of Christie, Peggy, Meghan and myself (tear). I love having friend clicks, I ain't gonna lie.

That's enough for now. Don't worry...plenty of gushing about my fellow Fulbrighters to come. Tah-tah.