Hello everyone! It's not very often that I start a topic (preferring to lurk around and make snide comments is really more my style...), but I thought I would announce that I just got a letter in the mail saying that my application for the Fulbright was accepted!

For those who don't know what the Fulbright is, it's a research grant for students and educators. There's two programs for students, an actual research project or teaching English abroad. It's a pretty prestigious scholarship.

I will be going to Azerbaijan (yeah, I didn't know where it was either) in September 2008! I am doing a research project on government corruption and oil revenues! Ill be there for a year, and I will hopefully start graduate school in August 09. We'll see about that.

OK, thanks for reading this post! I am just super excited and I am sort of blathering to everyone about it.

Congratulations to you, Kim!


Aquilla

A rare moment of agreement with Aquilla.

for Kim!

Wow! That's fantastic, Kim. Congrats!

What an incredible experience this will be for you.

What language do they speak in Azerbaijan?

*golf clap*
Well played Kim! This is very excellent and by proxy YOU are now very excellent! Congrats! I assume every who knows you is beaming with pride!
*golf clap*

Well dome Kimpossible. Congratulations. I hope it goes really well for you.


(Mrs P, they speak Azerbaijani)

Moif is correct. It's also called Azeri, which is what I prefer because it's waaaay easier to say. It's a Turkic language. I've read that people from Turkey can understand Azeri, but there are some false cognates.

That's actually part of the reason I got the award. The US offers a "language learning grant" in addition to the Fulbright for students/researchers who are interested in learning languages from areas of US interest. These languages are generally not widely spoken (except for Russian and Hindi, imo): Azeri, Uzbek, Punjabi, Arabic, Tajik...

And thanks to everyone else who commented. And BA, it's so true. This means that I am excellent.

Congrats- how wonderful! Do you know Russian or Turkish> I have many Azerbijani friends, ask me anything!

I don't know Russian or Turkish. But I will be attending an intensive summer course for Azeri, and hopefully that will give me a little bit of the basics.

And tell me all about Azerbaijan! Like, how do I find an apartment?

Sweet! Congratulations!

Wow, thats phenominal! I was just reading up on it here. Whats your Undergraduate/graduate area of study?

CONGRATULATIONS, KIMPOSSIBLE!!

But Azerbaijan?!?

Wasn't Paris or Bejing or hell, even Detroit, available?

Congratulations, best wishes, and much admiration for your adventurous spirit.

Political Science (of course!) with a minor in English Writing. Ill be researching government corruption and the oil industry.




Thanks. And actually, the reason I picked Azerbaijan was for pretty strategic. The Fulbright gives out a certain number of awards per country, and the countries in Western Europe are statistically impossible to get, e.g. Germany gives out 90 awards, but hundreds of students apply, so the chances of getting the award are super low. However, Azerbaijan (and the Caucasus region, including Georgia and Armenia) gives out 10 awards per year, but last year only 28 students applied. So my chances of getting the award are significantly higher.

Congratulations, KimPossible!!!! This is most excellent! Good strategy on the location choice. I'm sure you'll have experiences that will last your lifetime. (You can always visit Europe later )

Congratulations Kim! That's quite an acheivement!

Well done. Best of luck to you in a difficult locale.

Congratulations!!!

Wonderful news. I just looked back and realized you've been posting here at since November of 2002. You've come a long way since then! Great work, kim.

Please, if at all possible, keep us posted while you're over there. I'm not in a position to travel much so I live vicariously through all of you here at who do.

Jaime, of course. Itll definitely be an interesting experience, as Azerbaijan is a Muslim country, and has heavy ties to Iran. I am hoping I will be able to visit some of the other countries in the area, but I think getting the visas may be difficult.