Now that you have passed this little test you can imagine just a bit of what we faced when we arrived Wednesday in Washington DC for our Fulbright briefing and preparation time. Americans who were just returning from their Fulbright experience are here, as are scholars and students who are preparing to go out. Some were on the field, in these named above countries, for nine months, some shorter terms; some are going out in a month, some in the spring. Each returnee with a story —one about police in Slovenia, one about small sea creatures off the Croatian coast, one about classes in Albania, and each grantee who was preparing to go out this year had a plan…
Our preparation was partly general—from security issues (the greatest danger is automobile accidents) to tax issues to how to contact the embassy to be sure to bring boots for the winter and be careful with the water. It was also partly country specific, that is each country group met separately to share questions and experiences. Since Albania is a small and seemingly insignificant country, our group was small—Nancy and I plus one returning scholar and wife, and one returning student, and one other outgoing scholar and wife and two outgoing students. The discussion and sharing was very helpful and many questions were answered. Probably the most helpful bit of information was simply: you can’t anticipate what you are getting into as a scholar, the people there probably don’t know what will happen, so be prepared to flex! We are still having trouble knowing when school begins in Tirana, but we gather the people there do not know either—and once decided it will change. Such is academia in another country, and that is OK since Nancy is great at being creative and flexible anyway…
Friday we finish our orientation and head off to Greensboro. Thank you for your prayers and interest in our world—a world that is very big, very interesting, and a world of which you are an important part.
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