Exciting news!

Last night I received a phone call while half asleep. I stumbled around the room, silenced the phone and tried to go back to sleep. The rest of the night I tossed and turned...dreaming that I alternatively had gotten, and then hadn't gotten the Fulbright dissertation grant.

This morning, I woke to the following in my email:

"On behalf of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB), I am pleased to congratulate you on your selection for a Fulbright Award to Brazil. The FSB is the Presidentially approved 12-member Board responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the Fulbright Program ....

Your selection for a Fulbright award is, in itself, an achievement for which you can be justly proud. However, please bear in mind that there are several more steps to be accomplished before you become a Fulbright granttee These include ...obtaining research clearance... medical clearance,,, required visas.

As a grantee you will join the ranks of distinguished .... heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, university presidents, journalist, artists, professors, teachers...

At which point I did the following dance:




of course, no one can match Hammer, but that's why he's a somewhat washed up 90's rapper, and I have the choice of being a Fulbright scholar....

Wait...the choice? "You might not accept it"....Yup, it's true...as you may know, I also received an NSF (which supports equipment, of which my research requires). In addition, I have also applied for a total of 4 more major grants that I am awaiting notification (because you never know what will work out)-((Fulbright Hays, Wenner Gren, EPA Star, SSRC).I should probably hear from those by late April, early May at the very latest.

So, why might I not formally accept the Fulbright? Well, I'd love to, but I'd ideally like to wait until the end of the month as there's a somewhat larger picture here-FB-Hays has spousal and dependent support (and as you might know, Jo is pregnant with our first child, both of whom will come to Brazil-and so the extra money would be very helpful) and EPA Star is for 3 years of funding, but doesn't allow one to hold other grants concurrently....oh , to be in the position to have to say "no".

At which point I return to the Hammer dance (but thankfully won't subject you to its gyrations).