Fulbright Foreign Student
Newsletter

A Fulbright Family

My Fulbright experience was decidedly going to be a family experience. Driving from Peru to Baltimore with my husband and two little girls (Vineeta and Sevilla, then 3 and 5), I arrived – nine months later - one hour before the orientation to my Master's program at Johns Hopkins University. Proof that nothing happens without a deadline, I suppose.

Completing some 80 credits in 11 months was going to be a challenge, but we all survived it! Vineeta and Sevilla quickly became the mascots of the School of Public Health as they were involved in every possible special event on campus. The family proudly attended the presentation of the culmination of my year’s work on HIV, Abortion, and Family Planning in Zimbabwe.

Radia Daoussi, France, 2005-2006

Driving up north this time, the 'Fulbright Family' went to Toronto in the summer of 2006 to attend the International AIDS conference, where the Vineeta Foundation (our small NGO) had been selected from over 400 others to prepare a program on the oral history of AIDS. Initially crafted as a radio program, the project evolved into a documentary where Vineeta and Sevilla asked their very own unscripted questions to the crème de la crème of the HIV/AIDS prevention and scientific world. Their interaction with people living with HIV and AIDS was funny and fascinating. Please Talk to Kids about AIDS is dedicated to the memory of Wendy Klag, late wife of the Dean of the Hopkins School of Public Health.

Screened at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and George Washington University, the film generated debate and new sense of hope that if we could overcome our own taboos, embarrassment, and prejudices (as children do), the fight against AIDS could be won.

Craig McClure, Executive Director of the International AIDS Society made a special trip from Geneva to raise awareness on the role of the AIDS conferences. His Excellency Celestin Niyongabo, ambassador of Burundi, and his wife attended the screening as well. Ambassador Niyongabo moved the audience when he said that he and his wife were proud to represent their nation and their family in fighting this disease. Understanding, so dear to Senator Fulbright, plays a crucial role in overcoming the pandemic that defines our time.

Over the miles and years as a family, we have realized that leadership is a tremendous opportunity to save and change lives, to take action, leave a legacy and inspire others to do more. Leadership isn’t leading others; it’s inspiring others to lead. As a family, we have inspired many around us, and I cherish that more than any other academic or professional achievement. We’ve shown young students that there is no career versus family dichotomy. That you can include your family in everything and they must, of course, come first.

It was a delight to meet J. William Fulbright’s real family; his wife, Harriet Mayor Fulbright. At a reception in Washington, she explained that a new documentary depicting her late husband’s life and work was finished and soon to be released. We took a picture of her and the girls, and now we really feel part of the Fulbright Family.

Photo of the Month

Pilar Gonzalo, Spain, 2006-2007

Photo All Photo of the Month submissions must include the grantee's name and country in the Fulbright Photo Gallery comments in order to be considered.  Please click here for more information.

My Fulbright Impressions

Hello, everyone! My name is Victoria and I’m a Fulbrighter at the University of Houston. I’ve been in the U.S. for more than half a year by now so I guess I’ve got something to tell you.

So many things have happened since I arrived on the 29th of July, 2006. To start, a few words about the Gateway Orientation in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was a really unforgettable experience with 56 people from 32 countries getting a chance to see someone they could only read about in Geography or History textbooks. I believe we all had a lot of fun socializing and, frankly speaking for me, this was the best part of it. I hadn‘t traveled much before I arrived in the U.S. and getting to know people from all over the planet, with all their cultural and social peculiarities, made me understand better who I am and realize how diverse the world we live in is.

Victoria Fedulova, Russia, 2006-2007

After that, things went well; we had an orientation at the University of Houston where I made some friends and then more later at the Residence Hall. I eventually didn’t feel that lonely anymore. In fact, there was no time to feel lonely. I should say international students at the University of Houston are very well taken care of. At the beginning, we had a tour around Houston. It's a beautiful city, with its high skyscraper downtown outline, trees, parks and fountains and bright blue sky -- a lot of sky. We attended football games, had all kinds of parties, went camping (between the studies, of course, not instead of them!).

For Thanksgiving, we went to Dallas where I met another Fulbrighter I had met in Nebraska, Marek Filinger with whom I later went on a trip with. We had a real Thanksgiving with turkey, television and good old movies. We felt like one big family.

“Hey, what about studies?” I anticipated the question. Sure. This part is no less exciting but… My advice to lazy students; don’t even think about applying for the program if you’re not planning to work hard and that’s that! I had 4 classes (i.e., 12 hours) and enough to keep me busy all the time with readings and papers. The classes themselves were really interesting, very informative and some things I learned enabled me to look at certain points from a new perspective. I got all A’s at the end of the term, which makes me quite content with the way I worked.

My winter break started with a trip around Texas. I had a wonderful traveling companion, Marek. We were able to see many things: we went to museums, art galleries, visited theaters and historical sites. We even had a ghost tour in San Antonio. There were strolls along the beaches of Corpus Christi and Galveston, and camping in one of the Texas State Parks (in fact, we visited four State Parks). We climbed the Enchanted Rock (it was an easy climb but I‘m not much of a real mountain climber, I confess). We investigated some beautiful caves. Later (I was on my own by then), I visited New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, DC (WOW!!!), and Santa Fe. I’ve seen the New Mexico mountains, the famous Nuclear Energy Museum in Los Alamos and the International UFO Museum at Roswell. But it would take me too long to describe all my travels which were, of course, exciting and unforgettable (and educational, by the way).

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