Fulbright orientation in D.C. was useful and informative. A representative from the State Department's security team gave a lecture on staying safe in the Middle East--a lot of commonsensical stuff, including tips on avoiding identity theft, not looking like a high roller, varying one's daily routine, etc. Also had a video conference call with staff from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, who filled the Lebanon contingent (four of us) in on some details regarding visas and travel.
Made time to have some fun in the city. Dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl, made famous by great chili dogs as well as a mention in Kwame Kilpatrick's notorious text messages (and, subsequently, Jon Stewart's R.Kelly-esque parody of the Kilpatrick scandal: "Ben's Chili Bowl, a place for love"). Walked the monuments after dark, rode the Metro, took in several Smithsonians and the surprisingly cool Postal Museum (great place...check it out sometime). Was terribly disappointed by ACKC, a "cocoa bar" and chocolate shop that sounded great. Prices were ridiculous, even by D.C. standards, service was awful, and the goodies tasted mediocre. Avoid.
Stopped in Youngstown on the way down and the way back and got to enjoy a nice 4th of July picnic in the hometown. Fun.
2 comments:
Congrats on the Fulbright! (how did you fit rhet/comp into Fulbright categories?) Best wishes as you wrap up the preparations!
Thanks Susan. A lot of the Fulbright awards are "discipline open" and I checked "language and literature" when prompted to fit my application into a category. Would be nice if rhet/comp was an official category, but certainly you can fit a rhet/comp-ish project into the existing machinery.
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