ABOUT THE BLOG
I know I will be kicking myself down the line if I didn't find a way to document my experiences as a Fulbrighter in Malaysia. So here goes nothing. Please follow along as I attempt to blog about my experiences throughout the year.
What is a Fulbright Scholarship?
In 1946 United States senator William J. Fulbright created Fulbright as a program of international educational-exchange. Today Fulbright offers grants to graduates and graduate students in over 140 countries worldwide under the U.S. Department of State. During the course of their grants Fulbrighters “meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, and the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.”
Interestingly, the Malaysian Fulbright program was recently expanded when President Barack Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak decided it would be a good idea to do so over a game of golf!
I am placed in SMK Bukit Payong (Umbrella Mountain), which is a secondary school in Jerteh, Terengganu. It is pretty rural placement filled with rice paddies, with beautiful beaches not too far away.
For those who know me outside of Pitzer, my nickname in college was Pebble and quite literally everyone called me it. Hence, the reason for the name of the blog (credit to Dalton).
All of the background photos on this site are taken in Malaysia by my talented parents. Feel free to check out their website: www.twohansens.com
*This blog is not an official Department of State publication, and the views expressed and information presented in this blog are my own and do not represent the Fulbright U.S. Student Program or the Department of State or the Fulbright Commission or the host country, Malaysia.