I just received the sad word that my Fulbright application was “non recommended”, which means that it will not be sent to Ireland for consideration by their selection panel. While I’m disappointed I’m not really surprised; the scholarships are highly contested and I’m certain that the applicants that they selected were deserving. Unfortunately they provide no feedback whatsoever, so I have no way of knowing what the strengths and weaknesses of my application were. Not that it matters much. My daughter will be a senior in high school in the 2008-2009 year (the next Fulbright cycle), and we both would prefer that she be here for her senior year. She and many of her classmates have been together since their preschool days at P?nana Leo O Hilo, and I wouldn’t want to deprive her of spending her last year together with them.
I still have an application in at University College-Cork, and am awaiting word on that. The feasibility of studying there has dropped tremendously, though. I’m less inclined to go deep into debt to fund a year in Ireland or England, though if I am able to get some financial support it might still work. My eyes are glancing toward Aotearoa again, specifically the University of Otago. The exchange rate is much more favorable there (for US citizens) than it is in Europe, and the ethnomusicology faculty there have been very encouraging.
