Fulbright U.S. Student
Grantee Newsletter

i(nspiration)Pod

It was 18 months before I finally introduced my iPod to the iTunes store. Until then, my Nano was just a miraculous little device that could compile 20 CDs into one. Its podcasting potential only became clear to me when I began preparing for an interview with Nobel Laureate and Fulbright alumnus Muhammad Yunus in Guatemala City last December.

I arrived in Guatemala two months early to work on my Fulbright project. I was still juggling preconceptions, misconceptions, and my “reality” when Alomgir Hossain, from the Grameen Bank, invited me to meet Professor Yunus.

Fiona Laurie (2007-2008, Guatemala) with Pedro Marroquin, the coordinator of the Tejidos Cotzal Cooperative in San Juan Cotzal, Guatemala

My Fulbright project aims to demystify core business and marketing concepts for Guatemalan backstrap loom weavers, most of whom are Maya women. By receiving training about their place in the textile value chain, weavers can make more informed business decisions as they develop relationships with organizations that supply and market their materials.

A major component of my initial research for this project has been developing an understanding of the successes and failures of organizations doing similar work. I have also tried to capture information about the problems NGOs face with regard to cultural differences and market weaknesses. Coupling podcast lectures with my fieldwork has not only increased my understanding of development issues, but may also help reduce the digital divide for weavers with indirect access to this information.

Making a wealth of digital media freely available to the public is part of the process of universities redefining their roles in the Information Age. Top schools are less reliant on building walls of exclusivity; instead they are emancipating information from the ivory towers to become more socially relevant by touching real people in real situations. People around the world are benefiting from this liberation of knowledge and wider access to quality information.

In my research in Guatemala, podcasts give me access to perspectives and advice from successful social entrepreneurs, professors, and organization leaders. I have learned that small but good ideas scaled up on a national and international level lead to major industry changes. Influenced by such examples, I am modifying the training modules I deliver to microcredit organizations, NGOs working with weavers and weaving cooperatives.

Our generation is inheriting so many serious problems, and often it can feel like there is nothing that can be done to ameliorate them. Yet, there are also great opportunities at this moment in history; an excellent example being the democratization of knowledge through new media such as podcasting. The intimidating realms of business, development and poverty are whittled into digestible sound bites. However, it is not just information that is more accessible. Check out some Fulbright Program podcasts and you will hear many examples of ordinary people making radical changes for the better. Inspiration is just a download away. 

Embracing the Nature of Trinidad and Tobago: A Visit to the Asa Wright Nature Center

Clare Washington, 2007-2008, Trinidad and Tobago

Asa Wright has one-bedroom, air-conditioned cottages that can be rented overnight, for the weekend, or longer. All meals, coffee and tea are included. A delicious punch is served about an hour before evening meals.

I went to Asa Wright for a weekend away from city noise about two weeks into my grant. There are no television sets, no Internet access and limited cell phone connectivity. This was the perfect place for me to concentrate and organize notes from my research on the role female Caribbean and American slaves played in some major uprisings, revolts, and rebellions.

I didn’t know I would develop an interest in nature at Asa Wright. I began by photographing the different array of colorful birds as they flocked around the feeder, fluttering from tree to tree. Before leaving Asa Wright, I was obsessed with taking bird and lizard photos, as well as photos of the beautiful rainforest. I asked many questions and watched evening slide shows and documentaries about the nature center.

The most unusual animal I saw on the grounds was the Agouti (pronounced Ah-goo-tee). The Agouti looks like a mixture between a huge rat, kangaroo or rabbit, and a squirrel. Having no fondness for lizards or other reptile-like beings, I was brave enough to snap a photo of the Tegu lizard. I learned that this huge lizard was more afraid of me than I was of it. They only emerge during the daytime. Below is a photograph of the Tegu lizard, taken right outside my cottage.

I also saw four Toucans through a telescope, but was only able to take photos of a few species like the Corn Bird, different humming birds, the Silver-Gray Tanager, the Green Honey Creeper, and the male and female Purple Honey Creepers.

This was a true learning experience for me, one that had little to do with my Fulbright research, but one that has helped me appreciate the total culture of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Sky Dances with Joy in Taiwan

As I look out the balcony of my apartment in Yilan, I am overcome by my love for this small city in the Northeast corner of Taiwan. Fireworks light up the night sky, their majestic boom reverberating throughout the city. I think about my students wandering through the night market with their parents, enjoying the warm, dry Friday night. The plum rains are expected to start soon, after which the blazing, humid Taiwan summer will officially start. It’s best to take advantage of nights like tonight.

Jean M. Rose, 2007-2008, Taiwan ETA

My return to my main school on Thursday was equally emotional. As I entered the first grade classroom, one girl turned around, saw me, and ran up and gave me a hug. Soon 18 little pairs of arms were reaching up, trying to grasp me, their joyous voices in chorus saying “Good morning, Teacher Jeannie!” The older students showed even less restraint, some of them having taken me into their confidence on friends, family life, and the pressures of school. A few refused to let go of my arm until they had told me everything that had happened during the four weeks I had spent at my co-school. I found the school basically the same. During cleaning time, the third graders still come into the English room, turn on the music, and simultaneously dance and sweep the floor.

Every day this week presented in perfect clarity why I love my life in Taiwan. I have never felt so loved and appreciated. As the time draws near for me to return to the United States, I find myself enjoying my life here more than anything I have ever done before. My students, friends, and co-workers all color my life, like the fireworks in the distance bursting with merriment. Tonight, even the sky dances with joy in Taiwan.