The Fulbright

I have been repeatedly asked "How did you get a Fulbright?", which seems as logical place to start as any. The short answer is, obviously, you apply for one. The long answer is a little more complicated.

First, two of my English program colleagues at the University of Maine at Augusta, Ellen Taylor and Lisa Botshon, had had Fulbrights at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. They encouraged me to apply, and honestly -- a term or academic year away teaching in a different part of the world: why not?

Second, you check the opportunity listings that are published online on the Fulbright program website. They are published in February, and they list all the places and disciplines that various countries are looking for. The goal is to find a match, to locate a place that might want whatever it is  you do. Because I very broadly teach literature, I had plenty to choose from, though I teach primarily British literature, and many of the listings specifically ask for American literature. This makes sense; after all, the program is designed to place Americans in other parts of the world. (For those of you who didn't know, the Fulbright program is administered by the U.S. Department of State. Fulbrighters represent America abroad under the auspices of the State Department.)

I focused all over the world, but European listings had the most interest in people who teach literature. (I'm not sure why, but there it is.) Latvia turned out to be a good fit -- I'll write more later on why it was. So third, you make contacts in the country for schools that might be interested in hosting you. I was lucky in that Latvia had a contact person at the U.S. Embassy in Riga, the capital, who served as a liaison to various universities. For many listings, this is not the case, and you need to write to schools directly and ask. This is frankly a lot of work, though it's fun looking at school websites and considering whether or not you might be a fit for the place.

As it turned out, two schools in Latvia had contacts: Liepaja University and Daugavpils University. The chair of the English program at Daugavpils was on the ball, and we emailed back and forth for a week about how I might serve the program. She finally asked whether or not she should arrange a letter of invitation from the University's rector. Well! It looks as if this is going forward! I said of course, and a letter was in the e-mailbox in 48 hours. Not all postings require a letter of invitation, though some do, but it is in any event a good thing to have.

Fourth, you fill out the long application form online. Altogether, my application consisted of about 40 pages, which is a lot of material for a review team to slog through. It included what you might expect, including a lot of basic information; a curriculum vita, or academic resume; 10 pages' worth of sample syllabi; a statement of purpose (more on that in another entry); and three letters of recommendation. I asked people who knew my international teaching: my colleague Lisa; my colleague Jason in Slovenia, with whom I'd worked in a course that combined our classes in a virtual classroom; and my old grad school friend Marcy, who runs a summer program in Harbin, China, that I taught in the summer of 2011. The application is due at the end of July.

Fifth, you wait. First cuts are made in the fall, and candidates are informed around January whether or not they will continue. I made that cut, and then got the notification from the Fulbright Commission in April that I had been selected to go. Oh happy day!

Sixth, it starts sinking in what you've committed to, and you start planning. I'll have more to say about that in later entries. Suffice to say at this time that I am well beyond panic mode, having faced the fact that I am leaving in five days to go to Daugavpils, Latvia, for five and half months. It is happening, whether I am prepared or not. I mostly am. I hope.