The Packing Has Begun

One month and one week until I board my plane for Sao Paulo. To say I’m excited is an understatement, but it’s also mixed with nervousness and apprehension. It really kicked in mentally yesterday that I need to harder on my Portuguese, which was followed by a long afternoon session of watching The Office while copying down Portuguese phrase and verb translations. Everyone says that immersion is one of the best ways to learn the language, and I hope they are right. Swapping from Spanish to Portuguese has been a lot more of a challenge than I expected, especially with the verb conjugations.

Meanwhile, I’ve begun my packing pile, and I’m putting aside items that I know I will want for my adventures. I booked my flights through AirCanada, which allow for me to bring TWO seventy pound bags without any fees! This may seem like a lot, but it’s also going to hold everything I want to bring for nine months of living and teaching materials. I’ve heard from some of the alumni that one of the key elements, really for anywhere that you are traveling, is to bring lots of deodorant. I’m not sure if it will be like when I was in New Zealand and they had spray deodorant, but I’m not making that mistake again!

Since it’s a long holiday weekend, I decided to take some time to try and figure out my knock off GroPro and its gadgets. I ended up scoring an awesome deal on the camera, a waterproof case, a bike mount, and a helmet mount during the holiday sales. Messing around with the accessories makes me SO excited to try them out in the ocean and on a bike ride. I’m hoping to spend my few days between arriving in Brazil and the start of orientation in Santos on the beach and exploring the city.

PS. Yes, that is a picture of my beautiful soon to be home, Londrina, on my computer. Looking up photos of the lake, botanical gardens, and such in town are making me even more excited!!

Correcting Misconceptions

My teachers used to always say- if you have a question, then somebody may have the same question. While applying for the Fulbright ETA position I believed a lot of misconceptions. As I begin to prepare for leaving and have started talking to the other Fulbright Fellows, I’ve started to see a lot of the corrections to these misconceptions, and I wanted to share. If you’re considering applying for a Fulbright then this may be helpful!


1. You have to be from an Ivy League school to be accepted

When I began my first skype call with the twelve other Fulbrighters who would also be placed in my Brazilian state, Parana, I was intrigued to hear where each of the students were from and had attended University. To my surprise, most of my co-teachers did not attend an Ivy League University, only one did. All of us current Fulbright ETAs for Brazil also have a Facebook group, which is by far one of the most helpful things in this process, and I took a peek to find out where others had studied. I thought that I would be the only Fulbrighter coming in with a University name not instantly recognized, but instead I found the opposite. Although I’m still intimidated by how intelligent some of my new acquaintances are as I talk to them, it is very reassuring to remember that by winning the award we are all one group of nerds excited to teach and travel.


2. You need to speak the language fluently for the country you are applying to

When I had first applied for a Fulbright I aimed to travel to a Spanish speaking country. I took Spanish throughout high school and into college, mixed with the fact that my mother is fluent, and this was my go-to second language. Some countries for the Fulbright require or recommend a language evaluation, and if you have any proficiency or beginning level understanding then I would recommend completing an evaluation, which includes reading, writing, and speaking portions. Once I began to apply for Brazil I was very apprehensive that I would be rejected because I did not know Portuguese. Each country provides a description of the ETA general recommendations for applying to their country, and Brazil listed that a proficiency in a romance language was suggested. Moral of the story is that I ranked as high intermediate for my Spanish levels, and I was able to submit these scores for my Brazil application. There are other factors when applying and you shouldn’t be intimidated out of applying just because you’re unsure that your language proficiency will meet their ideals.


3. You need to be an English or Education major to qualify

As I scanned through the other Fulbrighter’s facebook pages for their universities, I also took note of their majors. I had been under the assumption that only TESOL, English, and Education majors apply for an ETA position. Instead, I found majors such as: Anthropology, Business, English, Portuguese, Spanish, International Relations, International Media Studies, Sociology, Neuroscience, Geography, and Linguistics. This is just to name a few!



4. You need a 4.0 to be considered

One of my biggest hesitancies when applying for the Fulbright was that I wouldn’t be considered because I was not from a “top name school” with a 4.0 GPA. Although I ranked high within my class, I never achieved the perfect GPA, but this didn’t hinder me. If anything, I think the more crucial aspect to worry about it sculpting a great essay for the application, and really taking the time to great several drafts that work through your ideas.



5. You can only apply your senior year of university

I expected that a majority of the Fulbright winners would be like me, just graduated from their bachelors degree and entering the real world. After starting to talk to my co-teachers though, I’ve found a mix of recent graduates, graduates who started working for a university, graduates who joined the workforce already, and other graduates completing additional research and fellowship opportunities. Each Fulbright fellowship has its own start and and date. For example, my Salisbury University friends began their adventures abroad in the early fall, but Brazil ETAs follow the Brazilian academic year from February through November. In between graduating in May and leaving in November I have been working as a recruiter for the Salisbury University Office of Admissions, and now as a substitute teacher by my home. Depending on what life throws at you it’s not too late to apply, and sometimes it’s better to have some work experience before applying (just like graduate schools suggest).

Flights, Shots, Oh my!

It is official- the year the of the Fulbright has begun. I started off the beginning of the season by obtaining some of my shots, buying my plane ticket, and receiving my funds! One of the things that I thought would be easiest to plan actually ended up being one of the more daunting tasks. The commission instructs Fulbright Fellows to buy our tickets round trip, which makes sense in theory, and the price to buy one way is almost equivalent to that of a round trip ticket! What makes this tricky is that you don’t know when or where you will be when you want to leave. A bonus of the Fulbright system is that they provide the funds for the ticket, but they do not purchase it for you or limit you to a specific date for return. This means that I allowed myself to arrive a few dates prior to orientation, and I leave about a week after the teaching placement ends. Taking a shot in the dark, I booked in and out of the Sao Paulo International Airport, and I figured that the ending of my journey can lead me back to this airport, and continue onto the USA.

Another task that I expected to go more smoothly- vaccinations. This process may have been a bit smoother if there wasn’t currently an international depletion and shortage of the yellow fever vaccine. The commission suggests that we prepare for our time in Brazil by getting three shots: yellow fever, hepatitis A, and Typhoid. The Hepatitis A and Typhoid can both be could at local CVS pharmacies and minute clinics, and some work with insurances to cover the cost. Yellow Fever on the other hand, has been a challenge to even find within New Jersey. After checking the CDC website, I found several viable options to call and ask. To my surprise, two hours worth of calling led to find that only one place on my list only still carries the vaccine, which is their main office in Central NJ. All other clinics and doctors offices that I called had run out a year or two ago. Being the penny saver that I am, I tried to avoid going to a travel clinic that doesn’t accept insurance and charges over three hundred dollars for the vaccine, but this is turning out to be the only option. It’s better to be safe than sorry when adventuring abroad for nine to ten months.

The moral of the story is- I’m glad that I began my search for the vaccines early, and I recommend doing so to anyone looking to go abroad. Don’t forget that some local pharmacies provide some travel immunizations, and this may save on some costs that you could incur at travel clinics. I’m stoked to have my plane ticket booked, and it feels surreal looking at the ticket! I can’t wait for the year of the Fulbright to be in full swing.