Caroline Elkin \u201815<\/p>\n
Russian and International Studies Major; 2015-2016 Research Fulbright to Kazakhstan)<\/p>\n
If they haven\u2019t yet, I guarantee that the Russian Department professors will tell you about Fulbright. You will be invited to events to learn more about these fellowships, and then your professors will bring it up again. If you are like me, you will nod solemnly while thinking, \u201cI don\u2019t want to teach English, and I\u2019m not one of those super-academic types.\u201d You will walk out of Bosler believing that Fulbright may be great for other people, but certainly not for you.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what I thought, and I was wrong.<\/p>\n
I changed my mind in late April, in Moscow. The email made the same subtle hint about Fulbright as usual, but instead of envisioning weird-smelling libraries, I thought of what I liked: wandering around the city by day and digging through Russian websites to learn more about the landscapes around me by night. I wasn\u2019t trying to \u201cdo research\u201d or \u201cbe academic.\u201d I was just getting really excited and working really hard.<\/p>\n
I blinked and saw the word again. Fulbright. Fast forward through a year of essays, feedback, and waiting, and I was selected to go to Kazakhstan. Another year later, I\u2019ve worked in archives, presented at fancy conferences, studied a new language, and encountered lots of inspiring people (scholars and normal human beings alike). I\u2019ve had fun, worked hard, tried new things, and made myself very proud.<\/p>\n
If this sounds like something you\u2019d enjoy, I highly recommend applying for Fulbright. Since other people also make this recommendation, I\u2019ll modify it by addressing some reasons you may not want to apply for Fulbright.<\/p>\n
For a long time I believed \u201cacademia\u201d meant \u201cabstruse literary criticism about depressing Russian novels.\u201d It doesn\u2019t. Think of a research Fulbright as a chance to spend ten months obsessing over whatever you\u2019re obsessed with\u2014in my case, Soviet-era architecture and ideas of nature\u2014in order to figure out ways to keep obsessing over it. Because focusing on one topic meant I could work with so many people, from universities to architecture studios to journalists, I found many more ways to explore what motivates me.<\/p>\n
The research Fulbright also entails a lot of independence. Your relationship with your host institution is yours to control, and nobody is demanding term papers from you. While this can scare some, I\u2019ve seen many different personality types thrive in this environment. You don\u2019t have to live in a library to be a Fulbrighter; you have to be a person who wants to interact with other people and is capable of expecting things from yourself.<\/p>\n
While not everyone dreams of a PhD, I think these qualities of being excited about something, knowledgeable enough to pursue it further, and willing to share your knowledge and learning process with other people are much more common. Yes, you are a potential researcher.<\/p>\n
Moreover, you have the opportunity to be excited about this topic while gaining a much more nuanced view of the former Soviet region, as well as some culinary delights, stunning landscapes, and all the other attractive things in life. At first I struggled to imagine myself anywhere other than Moscow, but as I learned more about Almaty\u2014and especially once I ended up there\u2014I realized that Kazakhstan, and Central Asia, is a fantastic place.<\/p>\n
Kazakhstan has large, livable cities (Almaty has nearly two million residents, yet I lived within a block of numerous landmarks) with bazaars full of produce from Uzbekistan, Korean salads, everything you ever needed to furnish your apartments, and horse heads for that Godfather feel. I spent most weekends developing a newfound love for mountain hiking or hanging out with my friends\u2014incidentally, perhaps due to a tradition of openness and hospitality, it\u2019s very easy to meet and genuinely befriend people in cafes or casual settings. Russian will help you get around, and may be the only language you use, but you\u2019ll be able to learn very different languages too.<\/p>\n
For me, another benefit of Almaty was the ability to get things done. Significantly fewer foreign researchers compared to Moscow meant that I had more attention from scholars and librarians; it also means that you have more chances to work on special projects. For example, I translated a full-length article, led a few workshops at one university, and co-organized a two-day conference at another. While you shouldn\u2019t expect special treatment, there\u2019s nothing wrong with putting yourself in opportunity\u2019s way.<\/p>\n
That said, it\u2019s not so much about where you choose as the reasons for which you choose it. I\u2019ll confess that I settled on Almaty more of practicality (Russian-speaking, politically stable, not freezing cold) than passion but fortunately ended up loving it. That reasoning is too close to the belief that all post-Soviet countries are alike. The tools you gained in Moscow will help you adjust; they do not exist for you to build a copy of a different world.<\/p>\n
On that note, I hope not only that you take a second or third look at Fulbright, but also that you seek out other ways to do whatever excites you and to learn new things. You might want to investigate the Critical Language Scholarship in order to spend time in many other post-Soviet countries. Or, to kick off the new semester, you can look for ways to explore new things. Walk around Carlisle. Try a new activity. Talk to your professors and Google things till you find a research topic that\u2019s genuinely intriguing. Without those last three, I wouldn\u2019t have applied for Fulbright, and that is one of the best decisions I\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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