Ah ha!: Recognizing cultural variability – Ruth Stotter – Thailand 2016
The first night I was at Mahasarakham University in northern Thailand, members of the Western Languages and Linguistics Department faculty took me to a restaurant. We sat around a large table with platters of artfully arranged and delicious looking food in the center. Waiters put food on our plates. No one moved. Everyone was looking at me — and […]
The Wonder of a Wordless Mutual Understanding – Karen Peirce – South Korea 1993
As a Fulbrighter to South Korea, my primary responsibility was teaching English to middle school boys. Most of the boys had never met a non-Korean person before and were curious to learn more about me. There was little time during the school day to have informal conversations, but some sent notes to me in the […]
Sleep Can Wait – Christine Powell – Singapore 2019
I’ve always been a runner, so shortly after arriving in Singapore (Jan.2019), I joined a local running group. They were training together to run a marathon- a 26.2 mile race across beautiful Singapore at night. The shared experience with my team was a great way to get to know the island nation, connect to others […]
Folk Art from Shaanxi Province, China, shared in Nyeri County, Kenya – Mary Nix Hollowell – China 2013
Three generations of Fan Gao-qis lived inside the compound. Fan Gao-qi Sr. was a small, dignified man, who wore a white button-down shirt. He welcomed us to his home, then ushered us into a first-floor room that served as an art gallery. The walls were completely covered with bright paintings. Some were just canvases. Others […]
Tokyo Golden Week Trip – Paul R. Keys – Japan 1991
My most memorable Experience in my GARIOA-Fulbright, Nissan Grant, Senior Research Grant, housed at the Japan Women’s University, was a trip via Bullet Train and boat to a Japanese island (forget the name now) a very traditional Ryokan. The trip was arranged by friends in Japan. It featured robes, traditional meals, and a small Kotatsu […]
A Humble Exchange of Gifts – Barbara Ellen Thompson – Vietnam 2014
Mr Huang lived in a humble dwelling made of sheets of corrugated iron next door to our house in Hue, Vietnam. He had a small red plastic table and four matching chairs in front of his house. Whenever my husband, Don, and I passed his home he would insist that we sit down and join […]
A springboard for learning to travel – Edward T Ordman – Australia 1974
Shortly after my Ph. D. I engaged in some correspondence about a mathematical paper I’d read, which led to a one-semester post-doctoral research Fulbright to Australia in 1974. I was able to give lectures up and down the Eastern part of Australia, at several universities. While I’ve never seen a formal list of the “far corners […]
Animated China – Tom Gasek – China 2018
I was awarded a five and a half week Fulbright grant to teach animation in northeastern China in the city of Changchun. I was hosted by the Jilin Animation Institute (JAI), one of the very few private institutions that concentrate on the arts in China. As an animator, director, author and teacher, I was excited […]