This past week a lot of pre-departure planning things
finally fell into place. My flight to
China is now officially booked. I’m
leaving on July 12th with my friend Fran who is doing Teach For
China. I’m super excited to travel with my
friend. I think it will make the travel
anxiety a little easier to deal with. I
also got my visa! Another piece of good
news is that my partner for my work in Guizhou is set. She’s from Sydney and has some experience
teaching in China. From our skype
conversations, it looks like we’ll get along really well, and I’m excited to
work with her.
I also had a really nice graduation party this past
weekend. It was lovely to spend time
with my close friends and see some of my family. I also got to witness my cousin’s daughter
Veronica crawl for the very first time!
The feeling that I’m a Fulbright scholar is also finally
starting to sink in. That’s why I’m in
Washington, DC, by the way. I’m here for
3 days for a preorientation program.
Looking at the schedule we don’t have much free time… I wish there was
some time to go out and see all the famous things here, but I don’t think I’ll
even leave the hotel much. *sigh* It’s ok though. It’s great to hear from past and future
Fulbrighters and I’m learning a lot by just talking to the people here. We’ve also gotten to hear from people like
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy
and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine, and I just got back from a dinner reception
at the personal residence of China’s Minister Councilor of Education, Professor
Maotian Fang. I feel so honored to hear
these wonderful and important people and to hear them speak personally about
issues they feel strongly about. It’s
all a bit overwhelming, but at the same time, meeting all these people has
filled me with new energy and enthusiasm to face the challenges to come!
Days left in the states: 14 (that’s a scarily low number…)
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