I would equate my experience leading up to the travel component of Fulbright much like the pandemic – just not knowing what was happening. At first, in D.C. when we all met, I was heading to Columbia. I was super excited about that as I already knew Spanish, it was the neighboring country of where I had served in the Peace Corps and the travel would occur during the summer most likely so I could avoid all issues with my principal of asking for time off. Perfect. Not only that, but my husband could also join me afterwards and we could explore the country a bit ore and then head to Ecuador. Then, the pandemic hit, and travel was delayed and delayed and – I thought – most likely forgotten just like my 2020 high school graduates. When I received the first email stating that travel was back on and that I was now going to Morocco. Again, trying not to get my hopes up and now thinking about negotiating the time off with teacher shortages, etc. I waited. I prepared. I read about the country and culture. …and I got excited. Form after form to fill out and finally, I was sitting in JFK airport waiting for the cohort to arrive! Not only had the time arrived and I was on my way to Morocco, but I was pushing myself to another level. As an individual, I had been overly cautious when it came to COVID. I had not entered a restaurant in years now and our family had met in a driveway to celebrate Christmas two times in a row. Here I was traveling on an international basis!
My cohort members seemed fabulous – how lucky was I to spend time with people like this? It was great to meet, interact, and spend time with passionate (and funny!) educators from around the country! A few were in my Columbia cohort, so that was nice to see…but over the course of time, I find that I have something in common with each one of them – a love of coffee, common acquaintances, love of content, and sense of humor, amongst others.
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