Within the past few weeks I was notified that I received a Fulbright grant to Uruguay. I could hardly believe it. Really, I didn't think that it could be real. I had applied to Argentina way back in the fall of 2007 through Shippensburg University even before I applied to graduate schools. I made it to the final round and then got a letter saying that I was not accepted. Bummer. I managed to put that disappointment behind me; thinking it wasn't meant to be. Then, I got word that funding may open up in Uruguay in February of this year, almost a year and half since I had originally pored over the (lengthy and detailed) application. Not much later, the assistant director for US student programs of the International Institute of Education told me that I was offered the grant. Seriously? That was my first thought. Seriously?
Of course I want a Fulbright grant. It's a FULBRIGHT grant. People don't turn those down. People dream of these sorts of things.
The craziest part however, is that the grant starts in mid-March, not more than a few weeks away. I have to leave mid-semester here. My department is amazing though. They found someone to teach my courses, solved my tuition remission, and are working with me to figure out what I want to do regarding the courses I am taking. I am so thankful for their dedication to helping me realize this dream. Seriously? How often does a Fulbright grant fall into one's lap. That just doesn't happen.
But then again--maybe it does.
