Washington DC Orientation

Our "Big" Orientation in Washington DC was July 29^th – Aug 2^nd. I have to say, this was the best thing that Fulbright could have done for us. Everyone got to meet their exchange partners and AnnaMaria from the Hungarian Fulbright Office was there. We were able to have some really productive meetings with our exchange partners and alumni (Thanks Ryan for all your insight!) as well as some informative sessions with professors about teaching and living abroad. I really felt like I walked away from this week with my questions answered and feeling as prepared as I could. Note: this doesn’t mean not nervous about the first day standing in front of 15 Hungarian students – it just means as prepared as possible. Here’s hoping that will translate into being prepared enough to not make an utter fool out of myself! On the topic of being nervous – everyone keeps asking me if I’m getting nervous about leaving and I can honestly say no. I feel like I have such great people supporting me, from IIE, to Nora, my mentor teacher in Hungary, to my friends and family back home, that everything will work out.  

One of my favorite parts about this Orientation was the “Cultural Celebration” that each country group had to put on, on Thursday night. The Mexican and Indian teachers wore traditional clothing and danced and sang to traditional music – very neat to see! The Czech Republic and Hungarian teachers had great info about their country’s heritage. And then there was us – the US teachers. True to form of American’s we were putting the finishing touches on our “performance” as we were starting it. We did a thing with the US being a melting pot, then moved into some stereotypes of the different regions of our country, and finished with our grand finale – American dancing! YouTube “The Evolution of Dance” – it is just one guy on stage dancing to popular American songs over the years . Then imagine 13 uncoordinated teachers trying to mimic him. We made it to The Worm and then decided the audience had probably had enough.

I was also really happy to get the chance to go back to DC. I hadn’t been since 8^th grade and it was nice to walk around the city and take a bus tour to some of the main attractions. I wish I had another couple days to spend here because there were lots of things I wanted to see, but didn’t get the chance. It truly is a beautiful city.

This picture is all of the teachers (and some of their families) who are participating in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange from the US, India, Mexico, Czech Republic and Hungary in front of the Capitol Building in DC.