less than 2 weeks until departure

So much has been happening in the past few weeks! I have felt a little like the proverbial chicken...

The woman who is renting my house has arrived and appears to be a lovely sort of person! She is a Fulbrighter from South India, who is here in Winston-Salem to conduct research on stem cells that will help her complete her doctoral work. I am enjoying getting to know her and am feeling quite confident about leaving my house and furnishings in capable hands.

I have sold my car and banked the money until my return stateside. I am borrowing my daughter's car, which is also up for sale now. She and I will be relying on public transportation in Bucharest and for our forays around the country and greater Europe.

I have spent wonderfully heart-warming times with many of my friends who are expressing good wishes and a bit of sorrow over my impending departure. It is genuinely humbling to realize what I have meant to people and how much I will be missed! This experience encourages me even more to stay in touch via all the ways at my disposal. It has also been fun to receive small gifts of gadgets that may well be useful for travelling: lightweight bags that fold or stuff into very small volumes; a good quality oven thermometer (see my very first post in this blog!); lightweight fanny pack; headlamp; and others. The good news is that all these gifts are small!

Even my university came through with a gift, of sorts (after all it still belongs to Pfeiffer and I will have to return it at some point) - they have provided me with an IPad. It has been lots of fun getting acquainted with the Apple technology, to which I am a newbie. Amanda has thrilled in teaching me as she knows WAY more than I do about this tool. I have downloaded a few e-books, audiobooks, and podcasts for use during travelling and also as teaching resources. Lots lighter than the actual books themselves!

And that leads me to the topic of packing... For at least a month now I have been setting up piles of things that I definitely want to have and other piles representing the 'nice to have's. This weekend I have been working at getting all of these piles into two suitcases, only to realize that it is NOT going to happen! So I have started jettisoning stuff. At one extreme, I take 4 suitcases and pay big bucks in excess luggage fees (by the way, I did do my research and learned that excess fees by the airline is still the least expensive way of sending anything over there) and tipping porters. At the other extreme, I take only my passport, Ipad, and credit card. I am hoping that without too much stress or angst I can find the happy medium between these extremes. I am still vacillating on which items are those that are most difficult or expensive to supply there in Bucharest. I have read the blogs of a number of Fulbrighters, but did not see in any lists of "wish I had not bothered to bring this" or "I am so glad I thought to bring that" (with the exception, of course, of the oven thermometer!). So I will try my best to remember to write such a post once I get over there and get settled in...

As I post this it is 11 days and 3 hours until departure!!

On assimilating and accomodating

A key concept in cross-cultural connections and diversity management is the continuum of assimilation to accommodation.  To what extent does one assimilate into an 'other' culture versus wanting or expecting others to accommodate?  This seesaw is evident here in Winston-Salem, for example, with the growing number of business signs and official sources of information written out in Spanish (an accommodation) along with provision of English as Second Language (ESL) classes to help Spanish-speaking folks assimilate to the dominant culture.  I teach and observe this concept in action regularly and yet it was brought to the forefront of my thinking this past week.

I had the opportunity to home-host two high school students who were part of the Ben Franklin Transatlantic Fellows program based at Wake Forest University.  The program brought together 68 young people from Europe and the US to focus on international relationships.  These students, who are among the best and brightest from their respective countries, spent 4 weeks together learning, discussing, and acting on aspects of constitutional law, nature of democracy, human rights, educational systems, etc.  For ten days I hosted Fatima from Azerbaijan and Roma from Charlotte NC.  Fatima is passionate about sharing information about her country and customs and is equally enthusiastic to learn about America.  Roma is a first-generation American and ethnically Indian.  We had great discussions on religion (representing as we did Islam, Hinduism, and Unitarian-Universalism), food preferences (one who ate no pork; one who ate no beef, and one vegetarian who ate no meat at all), educational systems, and concerns about the future.  I was reminded in a very close way how easy it is to take some practices and beliefs for granted and how difficult it is at times to put one's beliefs or practices into words.  Why do Americans have so many choices, for example?  I did my best to accommodate to some of their preferences and they did their best to assimilate to many of mine.  I enjoyed learning from them and they seemed to enjoy learning from me.  There is so much I could say about the experience, but I will leave it with this thought:  I am renewed in my own awareness of being in learning mode when I move to Bucharest.  I am newly excited about the prospects!

 I have now confirmed my flight arrangments!  Amanda, her dog, Ralph, and I depart on Thursday September 6.  We will pass through Munich on our way to Bucharest.  Finding a flight that minimized travel time for all of us, but especially keeping the dog in mind, took some doing!

Independence Day



As I have been talking with folks about my plans, I often get the question, "Why Romania?"  As corny as it might sound, I wanted to go to Eastern Europe because I believe it to be a place where folks don't take their freedoms for granted.  On this Independence Day I am grateful to live in a country where I have the luxury of taking my freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to move about, etc. for granted.  I have been known to speak out against our government and I am a member of a minority religious denomination that takes to heart the principle of separation of church and state.  Today I choose to reflect on this country - what I like about it and what I don't like - and not be blase' about my ability to criticize, for example.  The time I spent in Hungary in the 90's doing health care consulting allowed me an opportunity to work with people whose memories of oppression were fresh.  I think it is healthy and critical that we Americans give ourselves a chance to see the world via other perspectives.  That is definitely one of the reasons I am going to Romania.

I have not been idle the past month as preparations continue.  I have definitely rented out my house - and this is a cool connection - to a woman from India who is coming to Winston-Salem also on a Fulbright award.  I like that idea of symmetry.  We will overlap here in the states and I will have a chance to get acquainted with her.  So I am still working on packing up personal belongings and deciding what gets stored and what goes with me to Bucharest.  It is nice that the Fulbright Commission spells out that some portion of the funding is for 'relocation' expenses because I am pretty sure I will be going over the weight allowance for luggage.

I have narrowed down travel plans but have not yet locked into purchasing tickets.  I have decided to take daughter Amanda with me when I go and we will take her dog at the same time.  Having them with me limits some of the options for travel, but there are several personal reasons why this makes more sense than an earlier plan to have them come later.

Several of my colleagues at Pfeiffer have provided me with textbooks to send ahead of time.  I think I have a pretty good supply of Organizational Behavior and Communication texts.  My conversations with Diana, my contact at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, are definitely tending toward my teaching in those areas principally.  I am also looking forward to discussions and course content in the topic of managing a globally diverse workforce, a topic especially dear to me.

Last week I attended the national conference of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, in Atlanta, GA.  While there with 13,000 people from all 50 states and from 83 countries!, I picked up a number of new ideas and approaches to teaching.  Some of these I have already started sharing with my summer term classes.  Other material will hold until I get to Romania.  There were two women from Bucharest registered, but I was unable to connect with them, despite a couple of attempts on my part.

Happy 4th of July!  I will be celebrating by watching fireworks this evening.

Preparations

For me anticipation is an important part of any travel opportunity.  I was pleased this past week to receive a Handbook from the Romanian Fulbright Commission with all sorts of tidbits in it designed to help me prepare for this adventure.  I would like to share a few of them:

• There is a suggestion to pack a "survival kit" for the first few days, including peanut butter (or another easy to transport favorite food), towels, and toilet paper - among other things - to give me a chance to learn the local markets.  It is true I love peanut butter and had already been wondering what favorite foods to take.  While I am open to many new foods and eating experiences, I am vegetarian and I also do not eat sugar, so I will need to learn where I can find lots of freshly cooked vegetables.
• I may send up to 160 pounds of books and teaching supplies via diplomatic courier service, but they will not return same.  If I want them back, the shipping costs come out of my own pocket.  I am guessing this is an indirect way of suggesting I donate materials to the host University...  It is all right with me, but I may need to contact some of my colleagues and maybe even my favorite textbook rep to see if I can acquire some additional books and materials to make this worthwhile.
• I was a little taken aback by the phrase "Life is different here, and some families have found flexibility is needed to adjust their lifestyles to the environment."  My reaction is not that i disbelieve the statement, but that it seems to me to be blatantly obvious.  I chose to apply to a country where I believe things will be very different and I am looking forward to to opportunity to learn about the Romanian culture and to learn about myself as I do.
• It is recommended that I bring an oven thermometer with me as the stove in my apartment is not likely to have a thermostat.  That seems like a useful thing to know!
• and many more...

I am greatly appreciative of the resources being made available to me as prepare for this grand adventure: there are people in both the US and in Romania with whom I have contact; there are websites with useful information; and I am being sent a contact list of former Fulbright Scholars, so we might get in touch.  Each time I read over the emails sent to me I am reminded of additional resources I have not yet checked out.  I do enjoy the anticipation!

The ubiquity of English in higher education

I just read an interesting article that is quite relevant to my planned experience: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17958520.  The Politecnico di Milano, a leading unisersity in Milan, Italy, "has announced that from 2014 most of its degree courses - including all its graduate courses - will be taught and assessed entirely in English rather than Italian".

When I applied for my Fulbright award, I knew that I would be able to teach in English (although I certainly plan to learn enough Romanian to get by in daily activities).  I count myself lucky to not be required to learn another language sufficiently well to teach or learn in it.  In my application I commented that I believe the experience will improve the empathy I have for the Pfeiffer internatioanl students, those for whom English is not their first language.

"There are a growing number of degree courses taught in English in Scandinavia, northern and central Europe.  Nic Mitchell, founder of De la Cour Communications, which specialises in European higher education, says there are more than 4,500 university courses now being taught in English in continental Europe."

Do not take your education or your language abilities for granted!

Advance notice & prep

My travels to Romania are still a few months off, but it seemed prudent to begin my blog and let folks know the address...  I have been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and will be teaching in Bucharest, Romania for the academic year 2012-13.  I am currently a professor at Pfeiffer University, teaching Organizational Behavior and Human Resources in the Graduate School of Business.  I will be teaching (in English!) the same sorts of subjects to both undergrads and grad students in Bucharest.

Beginning this blog is also a means of allowing myself to express some of the mixed frustration and excitement I feel. I am very excited and grateful that I am being granted the opportunity to live abroad as an ambassador of the United States and of Pfeiffer University!   It was well over a year ago that I began the application process.  The last 4-6 months of waiting for the decision were emotionally hard.  (I was trying not to get my hopes up too much, but so very much wanted to be selected.)  Now that I know I am going I am anxious for details!  And that is the frustrating part...  I am still waiting for details like exactly where I will be, how much they will pay me (important for some of the details I need to take care of here at home), and when I can go...

In the meantime, I have had my physical (I am quite healthy, thank you!) and hepatitis vaccine.  I also decided finally to have my cracked tooth crowned - something I'd been putting off for a couple of years.  I am making plans to rent out my house and to update my will.  Nothing like foreign travel to help one stop procrastinating!

Speaking of which, I have other tasks to do...