Fulbright Final Report

1. Discuss specific ways in which the Fulbright experience supported or facilitated your personal and professional development.
It is nearly impossible for me to understand how much this experience has impacted me personally and professionally at this point in my life because I am still immersed in it and the ending seems surreal.  However, from the tip of the iceberg that I am able to see, I know the ripples and repercussions will spread far into my future life in ways that I cannot even begin to imagine. At the moment, I have noticed specific changes in the way I understand and communicate with people, in terms of word choice, body language, and patience with language or cultural differences. I also have a hugely increased interest in linguistics, phonetics, expanding and maintaining my current level of fluency and striving to learn more along with also pursuing knowledge of other languages.  I gained invaluable experience in my professional life working in all kinds of different settings, environments, age levels, education levels, really just an unimaginable combination of situations over the course of my time in Uruguay. I can honestly say I could confidently work and potentially thrive in nearly any work environment I would encounter after this experience.  It has made me expand my comfort level in classrooms to the point where I am now able to walk into nearly any level and work with a group of students for at least one class period with no prior preparation.  The experience I have had also made me reflect back on what being a citizen of the United States means and how we are perceived in the rest of the world. I realize how privileged my upbringing was just having the opportunities allotted from living in a first world country, but I have also become more interested in learning about our history of and current actions in foreign policy.

2. Discuss activities, apart from research or study, in which you participated during your grant period.
One the main activities outside of the program I became involved in was the frisbee team in Montevideo.  Part of my original side project proposal was to investigate different types of athletic activities available to women, so joining the frisbee team made sense in that regard. I was also desperate to make some Uruguayan friends, and the frisbee team was an awesome way to do that.  I could never have imagined how joining the frisbee team here would have positively influenced my experience here before, but it made such an incredible impact. I had never competitively played frisbee before in my life, but it did not matter. I still instantly had an amazing group of friends to hang out with, travel with, ask cultural questions, and practice Spanish.  I am so thankful for the openness, graciousness, patience, and support of the frisbee team. I can honestly say that my experience in Montevideo would have been much less fun, educational, and my Spanish would not be as good if I had not found them.  I would not have my Uruguayan family.

3. Recount occasions on which you addressed or spoke to local audiences, participated in cultural or professional meetings, or wrote for local publications.
I participated in a few cultural or professional meetings during my time here, but not a lot of them were extremely formal. One of my goals during my time here was to try to make the students and professors feel comfortable enough that they could openly ask me questions about the people and culture in the United States. Therefore, I regularly made an effort to bring up and present or talk about topics in classes or staff meetings to start conversations. I also presented to groups of teachers more than once in a more formal sense in order to discuss topics in education and share ideas. I did not write for any local publications.

4. Comment on ways in which you and/or the Fulbright program may impact the way that the people and society of the united states are perceived abroad and on mutual understanding between the US and other nations and their people.
 I have  already begun trying to explain the scope of how this experience has changed my own perspectives, but trying to grasp how the program and your own actions have  influenced the views of the people with whom you have  interacted is another  matter entirely. I usually tend to drift through life under the impression that I'm not a particularly interesting person to encounter when walking down the street. After all, what have I done that is particularly interesting or useful on a global scale? Besides the skills that inherently accompany living abroad, possessing a seemingly unquenchable wanderlust, and being able to communicate in Spanish, I really do not possess any particularly useful skills or attributes. So I was more than slightly baffled when many schools and teachers (outside the ones I worked  in regularly) requested me to come talk to their English classes. What could I possibly say that they would want to hear, that would be profound and interesting? After a few visits, I realized I actually had two characteristics that made me more interesting than I had previously believed. One, I was a foreigner, and two, I was a native English speaker. Let me explain why this was significant. First, it is not actually that common to meet foreigner in Uruguay, especially in the interior, where my first placement was. Therefore, the majority of students never had the opportunity to meet and talk to someone from another country. My class visit would be the only impression of the United states they may ever have outside of the Simpson's and Friend's episodes (that the entire country seem to watch). I tried my best to dispel as many stereotypes as I could on those visits. In addition, English is a mandatory course taught at all high schools in Uruguay. I now know and believe more than ever from my own experiences learning Spanish that it is invaluable to have a native speaker resource in language classes and programs. Therefore, it was always a great opportunity for the students to hear a native accent and have the chance to hear about the culture from the perspective of someone who has actually lived in a country where English is spoken. From the perspective of Fulbright, it's an awesome accomplishment to have the ability to break some of the common stereotypes that seem to always exist about "Americans." For example, I have heard many times that we are very "cold" (because we do not kiss each other to say hello and goodbye), that we eat McDonald's must of the time and are overweight, and that the majority cannot speak another language. The first stereotype was not often asked about because I would always greet the teacher with a "beso" as per the Uruguayan custom. Second, the students could plainly see that I was not obese and when I spoke of my dislike for McDonald's and habit of going running on the rambla that stereotype broke down even more. I would politely slip into Spanish to explain to the students that it is actually possible for us to learn other languages. After that initial interchange, the students and I usually could get a pretty interesting conversation going about a mix of customs that exist in Uruguay and the United states. I would almost always leave my email address either directly with the students or at least with  the teacher, and I heard more than once from excited students who had more questions that they did not have time to ask in class. In conclusion, having the opportunity to be that "interesting" foreigner who comes to talk to you classes and dispel some stereotypes hopefully have v the Uruguayan population a better impression of the population that shares the continent to the north of them.

5. Please comment on any aspect of the administration of the Fulbright Program.
 I felt like the Fulbright commission was helpful and supportive as far as they could be, but there seemed to be a disconnect between the commission and the work we were actually trying to do in the field. In addition, there seemed to be an even larger chasm between the field work we are trying to do and the involvement of the embassy, the Fulbright commission beyond Uruguay and IIE. I personally encountered a lot of less than desirable situations working with the mentors I was assigned by Fulbright, both in the interior and Montevideo. At first, I tried to deal with the problems myself since I could not easily meet with the Fulbright mentor while in the interior. However, during the second half of the grant period, I outlined much more clearly what I did and did not want to do in classes, among with some lesson plans, ideas for classes, and preliminary schedules. These proposals seemed to be well-received and then seemed to be promptly disregarded. I had conversations with my mentors about the procession of events during the beginning, middle, and toward the end of my grant period, but I not feel like I was ever really taken seriously or the mentors I was working with just preferred to use me as their own kind of personal office assistant or class babysitter. The commission was supportive, but I honestly think my time would have been more useful and effectively spent if I had simply done a lot of my own leg work in finding classes, teachers, and schools within to work.

6. Did your maintenance allowance adequately cover your living expenses?
No. I foolishly thought moving to South America would be cheap and that I might even be able to save some money. I was able to make do and break even while living in the interior of the country, but I was forced to utilize practically all of my own personal savings just to survive in Montevideo. The Fulbright commission recommends to live in the safer neighborhoods of the city, which also tend to be by far the most expensive in terms of rent and utilities. About sixty percent of my monthly stipend goes just to pay rent in a mediocre apartment I share with two other Uruguayan girls. Then I'm left to try to sort out the high goods and transportation costs with what I have left over. If I ever want to travel, go out with friends, or buy anything besides food at the feria or grocery store, it comes out of my own pocket. Obviously, I think one of the most important parts of the culture is to travel and spend time with Uruguayans outside of class, so I squandered most of my own savings to fully experience the culture. It seems a little ridiculous that the Fulbright allowance does not even partially cover expenses such as going out to eat with friends, taking a Spanish class, going to the gym, buying a coffee, or buying a new shirt.

7. Comment on your social and cultural adjustments, and describe any challenges and/or problematic intercultural situations.  Also comment on the benefits of your grant in terms of personal and professional growth.
I thankfully did not encounter any extremely problematic situations in terms of cultural or social misunderstandings. However, it is pretty difficult to make friends or find a sense of belonging, especially upon arrival. The feeling is then repeated halfway through when we switch placements again. I ended up living with a Uruguayan family for the first placement (great experience) and two Uruguayan girls the second time (experience I would prefer to not repeat). One of the things I've noticed about Uruguayans is that most of them already have preexisting friend groups that they've had for years and are not keen on changing. As a foreigner just passing through, it is not easy for them to justify including you. However, if you can somehow find an in to one of these groups, it will be a great experience. In most cases though, the people who you will end up spending the most time with will be other foreigners... which is also how I found myself wishing I knew more French and German several times during my time here. In terms of personal and professional growth, this experience has been beneficial because I have learned a lot about myself while also becoming much more independent. I also now have much more of an appreciation for Latin American people and culture: I drink mate, I love dulce de leche, and the best steak I've ever had had been from asado.

8. Please comment on your career plans and how the Fulbright grant has affected and/or altered them.
I have a scholarship which requires me to teach high school chemistry for four years in the United States, but I honestly know that my career will not be to permanently teach high school chemistry. Fulbright has changed my perspective and who I am, and I know I want to pursue a different career path. I am just still not sure what path will be. I am currently applying for a variety of internships to complete before I begin teaching, I have a meeting with a representative of the embassy later this week, and I have been doing some soul-searching in hopes of at least figuring out what field I might pursue. I honestly just know now more than ever that I want to do something that involves traveling and languages, if I can. I want to make a difference and leave my mark on the world, and Fulbright was the first stepping stone and opened the first door to allow me to pursue that dream.

9. How much language training did you have before the grant period, would more language training before or during the grant would have been helpful?
I studied Spanish in middle school, high school, college, and studied abroad for a summer in Buenos Aires. Therefore, I had a relatively strong Spanish background coming in, but I still had trouble adjusting to living and working. I would have found it extremely helpful to take Spanish classes during the grant period. I tried to find some classes I could either sit in on or someone who could tutor me, but it was impossible for me to find the type of course I needed for free and I did not have funds to pay for Spanish courses. I asked my host mom and friends to help and correct me with vocabulary and grammar, but most of them could just tell me whether I was saying things correctly or not and not tell me why. Therefore, I would highly recommend having the opportunity for future Fulbrighters to take language classes before or after arrival if possible. I think it would be extremely helpful.

10. In what ways do you think your language abilities have improved or changed during your grant period?
When I arrived, I could communicate on a very basic level, and my spoken Spanish was not fluid at all. Now, after months of presentations, essays, projects, meetings, text messages, emails, and conversations, I can communicate very well with almost anyone. I do not think of myself of fluent because there are still so many things I say incorrectly, but I have reached and maintained a basic level of fluency.

11. Please describe briefly your study or research program. Discuss the adequacy of educational facilities and the availability of research materials. Were you able to complete your work? Were you able to implement any innovative ideas?
I am not sure if I misunderstood the goals of the Fulbright program or if I just had some bad luck working in the schools, but I was unable to work in the capacity that I wanted to during my time here. I felt like my time was more devoted towards completing menial tasks and doing one-time class visits (with essentially the same introductory presentation).  I was under the impression that we would be co-teaching classes, coming up with ideas, building curriculum, opening the minds of students, expanding horizons, etc.  I was able to do a little of that, and tried to grasp it and savor it every time I did get the chance, but I honestly felt like a lot of my time was wasted due to lack of coordination, organization, and apathy.  For example, I would often come to classes because teachers would ask me to (or would ask my mentor to ask me) so I would show up on the correct date and time, but without having communicated with the teacher ahead of time because I was not able to due to either a lack of contact information or lack of response.  Once I was there, the teacher would tell me a topic and I would have to try to invent a forty minute to one hour class off of the limited knowledge I had for example about womens suffragism in Britain, Martin Luther King, or "Art." If I had known the topic even the night before or an hour before I could have planned something and at least been organized, but showing up and learning the topic afterwards seemed to be a waste of everyones time.  I also traveled to a school two hours away several times because that was when my mentor would tell me to come only to arrive and have no English classes to attend.  I finally decided to coordinate on my own with other teachers and come on different days when there actually were classes, but there was about a months loss of productivity.  The previous year in education was also difficult because there were so many strikes.  The other ETAs and I had periods of time where we could not work in the schools where we were assigned.  I wish there had been more options of volunteer activities that we could get involved in during that time period or there would have been a way to communicate directly with some of the students to organize a conversation club outside of class.  Overall, I felt like I should have been more adamant about finding one or two teachers who would be willing to co-teach and implement ideas with me who I could have worked with consistently.  Then I could have still done the one-time class visits, but I would have had some concrete placements as well that would have allowed me to at least make a valid attempt at realizing my potential.

12. Describe your host affiliation(s). Comment on your professional relationships with 
(a) the host affiliation
The schools and institutes always seemed receptive enough to my presence in the school.  It also varied between the prinicpal not actually knowing that I was there or being super thankful I was there.  I never had a bad experience dealing with the actual institution, though.

(b) Deans or department heads
I did not interact a lot with actual department heads of English.  Usually, I worked directly with the teachers.  The department heads seemed nice enough when I met them, though.  I worked directly with some of the inspectors, but not enough to accurately describe having a prefessional relationship with them.

(c) faculty associate or supervisor
I had some interesting experiences with my advisors.  What it comes down to, is most of the time the teachers are overworked and underpaid.  It is already hard enough for them to do their several jobs with out the added stress of having a native speaker who wants to meet, plan, take more time, and disrupt the flow.  I understand that many times, it was more of a stress for the teachers to work with me than a relief.  When I was actually able to plan a class ahead of time and able to carry it out, I was extremely excited and grateful.  I formed great relationships with a few teachers who I might continue working with while back in the United States.  It is inspiring to see teachers still thrilled to work and inspire students when they are so overworked and underpaid.  However, there were also several occasions when I stopped going to placements due to a lack of relationship.  At first, I would try to keep working and make those relationship develop and work, but in the end, I realized it was better to devote my time to other endeavors.

13. What advice could you provide about conducting research or study in your host country that could also apply to future grantees? (For example: academic, language, research.) 
I would advise future Fulbrighters to try to get involved in as many activities and schools as possible at the beginning, then elect a few with which they can continue and dedicate most of their time. I would have done a lot more leg work  at the beginning getting to know schools and teachers outside of my placements to try to get the most out my grant.  I feel as though my placements limited me because by the time I figured out that they were not working, I did not have enough time to begin an entire new placement in earnest.  I would also advise future Fulbrighters to try to find something or someone outside of Education to keep you sane.  I turned to sports and groups of friends or family, but you have to have something else to do to occupy your time and take your mind off of work.