My Fulbright stay in
San Diego lasted for four months and it is hard to grasp the entirety of
experience that I’ve got. Perhaps the easier way to tell about it is to divide my story
according to Fulbright goals.
The basic goal of the
Fulbright was twofold: to get academic experience while being a cultural ambassador
for my country. It is amazing how those two modes of stay worked perfectly in
my case. As I lived in the very heart of San Diego (downtown), every day after my
work I was able to enjoy countless outdoor activities – sports, beaches, hikes,
etc. Evenings were dedicated to movies, books, glimpses of the night life of
San Diego and, of course, reflection.
At National University
I met many friendly colleagues who helped me during my first steps in online
education. Surprisingly, I was able not only to watch others working, ask questions
and get information, but actually to design an online class and teach it under
the great supervision of prof. Paul Majkut. It is true that I have got compliment
letters from all (!) of my students. This was certainly a great encouragement for my ambition to learn
how to teach online.
Although the first month of my
stay was pretty tough (perhaps because of all the paperwork that needed taking care of--banking, lease, social security number, etc.), later I got into a rhythm and found time for my next
academic goal – research. National university provided me with all resources
needed, thus I could work on my research on online education in humanities. I
will present the results of the research at a conference in March and eventually publish the presentation in English.
These were my
formal academic goals, but I also want to tell you how much I loved being amongst the
people of San Diego in many creative ways. As I am an avid guitarist, I looked to continue playing in California, and we
formed a temporary band with other professors at National and played three gigs
at a retirement home, Christmas carol at the university and at the gathering of
San Diego musicians. Great pleasure! Another great event was organized by San
Diego Fulbright panel – we had a nice dinner, music and warm talking in one of
the +Balboa Park venues
During all those
events I was able to share my experiences with many great friends (students,
professor as well as city folks) who also gave me a lot of excellent advice. Thanks to them. I visited most interesting areas and museums in San Diego and travelled
California (six national parks – from the desert sands to mountain ice!) for a
week. I lived downtown, so always felt the pulse of the city, but also found my
solitary refuge with great books and movies as well. I can confidently say I am happy and looking forward to the
future – I have determined to tie my life with Fulbright opportunities.
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