Fulbright U.S. Student
Grantee Newsletter

Promoting Mutual Understanding with an Eye on Disability: A Snapshot of a Fulbright Experience in Canada

Andrew Levinson, 2010-2011, Canada, enjoying a Canadian Fulbright moment.

My Fulbright research focuses on comparative public policy in the Province of Ontario and in New York.  I have learned firsthand about navigating the public, universal, Canadian health care system and the limited, private system.  People with disabilities, like me, have to learn about the various programs available to them.  My research seeks to provide that information.   

During my Fulbright grant, I have frequently used the transit system in Toronto and in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  For those who don't own a vehicle, public transportation is as essential as public health insurance is for people who don't have private insurance.  In my travels, I have discovered the wide-ranging accessibility of local subway stations and bus lines, which promotes the integration of people with disabilities.  Such accessibility can serve as a model for many New York cities and towns.   

I have also had a chance to be an educator.  As a counter-opinion in my Critical Disability Law class and as a guest speaker in an undergraduate Geography course, I was able to give an American perspective on contemporary disability issues.  Students at York University have shared their unique, Canadian perspectives with me as well.

Through my interactions with students and professors at York University, I have learned that concern for the preservation of human rights is woven into the fabric of everyday Canadian life and that they view themselves as unique, not simply as an extension of the United States.  As an American, I had always thought of Canada as being inundated with American culture and media.  I never thought that Canadians might hold some differing opinions about aspects of American culture, such as our federal government's socioeconomic and foreign policies.  In other words, the Canadians I've met have expressed a strong sense of national pride and patriotism.   

While it may seem that I was not as informed about Canadian national identity as I would have hoped before my arrival, I've received feedback from my peers at York University that Americans may, in fact, know more about the Canadian political system than one might expect.  It seems that Americans and Canadians have much to learn about each other.  From my time in Canada, I've learned that international educational exchanges, like the Fulbright Program, do help to eliminate stereotypes that peoples of the world have about each other.        

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program has not only allowed me to affect change abroad by changing attitudes and perceptions, but it has also involved me in a policy change at the provincial level.  While researching at the Archives of Ontario, I recently identified and pursued the need to create more accessibility for visually and physically disabled patrons.  My request for a policy change brought together the Archives of Ontario and Library Accessibility Services at York University for the purpose of upgrading accessibility at this government facility.

To comment on and interact with other Fulbrighters about Andrew Levinson's article on the Fulbright Community on State Alumni, please click here.      

Negotiating What It Means to Be an Indian-American in Nepal

Swetha Ramaswamy, 2010-2011, Nepal (right, in green sweater), interviewing carpet weavers

Before my arrival, I had not considered the impact of being an Indian-American in Nepal, a country noted for its linguistic and geographic diversity, in addition to some rather sensitive political and cultural ties with India.  Pragmatically, this meant that by my second week in Nepal, there was one statement I had memorized and was able to recite in Nepali without hesitation.  “I was born in America, so I am a citizen.  My parents came to the United States from India for college, but my grandparents and extended family are in South India.”  Negotiating cultural conceptions of what it means to be American on a daily basis has influenced the manner in which I have conducted my Fulbright research.  During a field visit to Nepal's southern Tarai region, I was asked where in Sunsari, a Far Eastern district, was my village.  A fact, of whose truth my informants were convinced, until I introduced myself in Nepali with an indelible American accent.
 
Interviews have been a collaborative process.  Despite my parents' experiences, I am shamefully unaware of the procedural details, making me a disappointing resource for the migrant workers who I have been interviewing.  Nevertheless, my interviewees have relayed enthusiastically their own experiences, understanding that our collective goals are the same: to improve issues facing female migrants.  Many women who leave Nepal for work make their way through or to India.  We have compared notes on the similarity of foods and differences in language between Nepal and India, lighter topics that sometimes evolve into discussions about the fear many women have of not being able to communicate properly and negotiate a simultaneously foreign and familiar environment.  Being Hindu means opening myself to personal questions ranging from the sensitive caste query to a less delicate though pressing issue of whether I intended to marry an Indian or Caucasian man.  Such questions have been followed by knowing head nods and equally serious answers on changing family life in Nepal. 

More and more women have chosen to leave their children with their extended relatives in hopes of finding better, gainful employment in Kathmandu or abroad.  After some time, our conversations finish with, “Oh we are so similar!”  A point accompanied by a look of disbelief, as if an American, and especially an Indian-American, could be so interested in the nuances of Nepali traditions.  And while my background does add a level of confusion to any and all social and professional interactions in Nepal, I have learned that tapping into that difference is one way of turning suspicion and confusion into a strong foundation for a rewarding academic and experiential exchange. 

To comment on and interact with other Fulbrighters about Swetha Ramaswamy's article on the Fulbright Community on State Alumni, please click here.