Fulbright

Before I go any further, I feel like I should explain what the Fulbright is and how this blog fits in with the mission of Fulbright.

            The Fulbright Fellowship was started by Senator J William Fulbright. After World War II, Sen. Fulbright saw a great need for there to be greater understanding between countries. For this reason, he petitioned Congress to start the Fulbright program. The Fulbright—funded by the State Department—gives students and teachers the means to go to a foreign country in order to conduct research or teach. It is the hope of the Fulbright program that in doing so Fulbrighters will gain deeper insight into the culture of that country and that the people of that country will learn about the real, non-stereotypical United States from the Fulbrighters. In short, the Fulbright seeks to promote understanding between countries so that conflicts/wars like WWII can be avoided. As Sen. Fulbright once said, "The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship."

            There are generally two types of Fulbright fellowships—Research and English Teaching Assistantships. Research fellows propose some project that they’d like to research while in the country. Fulbrighters in Spain are doing everything from researching bladder cancer in Spain (related to the issues with smoking in Spain) to the idea of masculinity and the art of Flamenco. I’m in Spain as an English Teaching Assistant—which is pretty self-explanatory. I’m going to be the “authority” on English and give the kids an authentic accent to listen to. I’ll teach my students about American holidays—such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day—none of which exist in the same way here in Spain. They’ll hopefully pick up some of my accent (though some people would disagree whether they should pick up my Minnesota influenced accent…).

            My reasons for writing this blog are twofold. I want to keep in touch with everyone at home so they know what I am up to while I’m gone. Logistically-speaking, there is only one of me and many of you. Furthermore, in keeping with the mission of Fulbright, I’m hoping to share with you all some of the things that I am learning about Spanish culture so that you might also learn more about Spain and its people.