I’ve always been pretty happy as a graduate student in entomology, crazy as it sounds.  I was making a career out of my love of nature and was surrounded by beautiful and fascinating organisms.  But it was my love of foreign travel and linguistics that actually prompted me to apply for a Fulbright Fellowship, and I can without hesitation say that it is the best decision I have ever made.  Through the Fulbright program I was able to combine my scientific research interests with my curiosities of other cultures.  This is one of the most satisfying connections that one can make.  Make the time to apply and follow through with the process, I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.
 
I spent my time in Malaysia at the beautiful Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), a top-notch government research facility with beautiful forest trails that are open to the public.  This facility afforded me the ability to interact with both local scientists and the public.  While in Malaysia, the United States went to war, tensions with the rest of the world were at an all-time high, and to top it all off, the virus SARS was sweeping through Asia.  As a fair-skinned blond girl, I have to admit that I really stuck out and was at times scared.  But I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.  Not only was I happy and productive, but also the world situation led to interesting conversations and camaraderie with many people.  Even with all of the obstacles, I had an incredible time in Malaysia, a Muslim country.  My officemates and friends are people I keep in touch with to this day.  Their warmth and hospitality are unparalleled.  Please don’t let international conflict detract from applying for a Fulbright.  If anything, this is the time to apply.  As a Fulbright Fellow, I felt honored to be a scientific ambassador.  I spoke the common language of science with researchers throughout the country and Southeast Asia.  It is so worthwhile to recognize and embrace these commonalities during times when the world seems so disparate.
 
This scientific camaraderie greatly benefited my research and I love having life-long collaborators across the Pacific.  We had many adventures together in the field, like the time some colleagues and I followed the beating of drums in the jungle while out collecting ants.  We stumbled upon a ceremony with some locals sacrificing a goat.  They invited us to share in their banquet served on banana leaves, and I quickly forget about the little trail of ants I was following.  This type of experience is what the Fulbright experience is all about.  Several of the village kids even showed me some interesting bugs they had found near by.  Collaboration can come in the form of a university professor or an excited, barefoot little kid.  An excitement and openness about that experience is what every Fulbrighter should embrace.
 
So go, apply, enjoy, and discover a new world.  You’ll be amazed at how much you learn about your academic specialty from others and even more about how much you learn about yourself.  I have been back in the States for a year now, and not a day goes by that I don’t longingly look at my photos of Malaysia.  Discover your own research and personal abilities…apply for a Fulbright!
 
Good luck!