This week I found out I was accepted to participate in a Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar in India! I was late getting home from work and found a big manila envelop in my mailbox from the US Department of Education. While I was opening it I realized it must be something about Fulbright and, just like college acceptance letters, I figured that the big envelop was probably a good sign. I ripped it open the rest of the way and saw the acceptance letter, information about my fellow travelers this summer and a copy of my application document with comments from the reviewers. I was actually very impressed with the critiques of my application from the reviewer. It showed that they had read it thoroughly and had very useful insights that I think will be valuable as I find out more about the expectations of the program and the curriculum products we will have to submit.
For any of you familiar with Moslov's hierarchy of needs, I am starting at the most basic level in my stressing about the trip..Will there be toilets I know how to use? I have a fear of public toilets in general so non-western toilets really stress me out. In spite of my previous experiences abroad (Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, etc), I have been very fortunate to avoid any unfamiliar territory in this delicate area but I am concerned that I might not be able to be as successful in India. (If you know the show "Monk", picture Monk dealing with the same situation and you will get a feeling of how stressed I am about this situation.) I found a "how to" website about this topic: http://www.pbase.com/jtodhunter/indian_toilet . I can't say it helps me to calm down at all. How long can one's body healthy-ly avoid going to the restroom? Is 5 weeks possible? ;)
I have a couple of travel books picked out for my trip but could not get to the store today to purchase them due to snow. I made it across the street for my decaf-Venti-white-chocolate-mocha-with-extra-white-mocha but the roads were too bad to go anywhere else. When I got back home, I searched Starbucks' website and was disappointed to see that they had not yet made it to India. Perhaps I should wean myself away from my beloved drink before I go. On the other hand, Starbucks might be in India by this summer considering how fast they continue to spread.
I celebrated last night by watching "Bride and Prejudice". I plan on purchasing some "Bollywood" films to get more in the mood as it gets closer to my trip. I have also started checking out the State department's website on travel advisories and the CDC's page on vaccines/medicines that I will need. I guess I will have to take Malaria medicine again. I took some on my trip to South African and when I returned I watched an hour long special about the complications some people have had with it. I am hoping that the medicine works well with me on this trip since it is a longer period of time.
I am thrilled about the trip and am sure it will be an incredible experience. It still seems too good to be true (in spite of my concerns about toilets) and I can hardly wait! Wow! I'm going to India!! (Now I just have to hope that the US Department of Education didn't make a mistake about giving me an acceptance letter.) ;)
