So last weekend I got my visa for Japan. I got all my paperwork together (an application form with a photograph, a letter from Fulbright, my grant authorization form, photocopies of all the documents, and my passport) and then drove an hour up to San Francisco. I got there at 11:00, and the checklist Fulbright had sent me said they closed at 12:30, so I had plenty of time.
...of course, when I finally made it into the consulate, I found out they actually closed at 12:00.
...and then I made it to the desk:
Guy: Where is your second application form?
Me: Um, right there. *presents the photocopy*
Guy: No, we don't accept photocopies.
Me: Uh...
Guy: Where's your resume?
Me: Uh...I don't have one?
...so that was why I wound up running around like a maniac until I found a FedEx and then paid $15 for a single photograph and then hand-copied my application. And then I had to go home and write up a resume. Moral of the story: NEVER TRUST CHECKLISTS. Also, always bring a second picture.
Fortunately, the visa pick-up went much more smoothly. The visa is very shiny and has pictures of cherry blossoms on it! It looks pretty cool.
Still no word on my housing, which is vaguely worrying. Hopefully I'll hear something soon.
Six weeks 'til departure!
Showing posts with label Fulbright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fulbright. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Hello!
Greetings!
If you're reading this, you probably already know me. If you don't know me, I have to wonder how you found this blog, but no matter.
I'm setting up this blog, because I'll be in Japan on a Fulbright next year. People keep telling me, "You should get a Facebook so we can stay in touch!" so I've decided to start this blog instead. BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.*
A bit about me:
I've been studying** Japanese for four and a half years now, first at Foothill College and then at Brown University. My Japanese is pretty okay, although it has kind of been slipping recently because I haven't been having to read as many sketchy Japanese websites for my thesis. Deep down, I am a giant nerd, and not so deep down I'm still a giant nerd. Also, I tend to type blogs in the same way that I speak, which is to say with a lot of digressions and randomness and italics and RANDOM CAPITAL LETTERS.
Also, my nickname is "Calamari," but I'll respond to "Cal," "Squid," or any variation thereof. Thus the title of my blog.***
Also, normally I will be all anonymous on the internet and only write under a pseudonym, but given that with an only mildly competent search engine and 30 seconds of your time you could figure out my full name, my previous school(s), where I'll be doing my Fulbright, and what my field of study is, I feel like the secrecy is a bit silly this time. So, HELLO, INTERNETS. If you feel like figuring out everything Google can tell you about me, you're going to find some really interesting stuff. Including a physics site in Russian. I don't know.
A bit about my Fulbright:
I'm basically extending research on my thesis, which was about Shinto, how it's adapted to modernization, and whether we can even call it a religion. I've just found out that I'll be studying at Nanzan University in Nagoya. I would write more here, but you'll hear/read so much about this project over the next year that you'll get sick of it eventually.
What I am doing at the moment:
Waiting to find out when I'm leaving for Japan.
Waiting to find out who my advisor is.
Waiting to find out whether I need to send Fulbright these ten forms electronically or print them out, fill them out, and then scan them in.
Listening to 「昼の星」over and over and over again because apparently hearing it in every episode of Fractale wasn't enough.
That's all for this time, I guess. Dunno when I'll post next, but my posts will probably be incredibly sporadic until I reach Japan.
じゃ、ね！
*If you know me well, you saw that coming and didn't ask me to set up a Facebook. You also know that I have an affinity for footnotes.
**OH GODS, THERE'S A BABY SCORPION IN MY LIMEADE. Oh, wait, no, it's dryer lint. Still, I have to wonder how that got in my limeade. And why I thought it was a baby scorpion, since we don't have scorpions here. Sorry, that was kind of random.
***If you can't read Japanese, the title is "Fulbright ika." Ika (pronounced as it's spelled if you speak Spanish or as "eek-uh" if you speak American) means "squid" or "cuttlefish."
If you're reading this, you probably already know me. If you don't know me, I have to wonder how you found this blog, but no matter.
I'm setting up this blog, because I'll be in Japan on a Fulbright next year. People keep telling me, "You should get a Facebook so we can stay in touch!" so I've decided to start this blog instead. BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.*
A bit about me:
I've been studying** Japanese for four and a half years now, first at Foothill College and then at Brown University. My Japanese is pretty okay, although it has kind of been slipping recently because I haven't been having to read as many sketchy Japanese websites for my thesis. Deep down, I am a giant nerd, and not so deep down I'm still a giant nerd. Also, I tend to type blogs in the same way that I speak, which is to say with a lot of digressions and randomness and italics and RANDOM CAPITAL LETTERS.
Also, my nickname is "Calamari," but I'll respond to "Cal," "Squid," or any variation thereof. Thus the title of my blog.***
Also, normally I will be all anonymous on the internet and only write under a pseudonym, but given that with an only mildly competent search engine and 30 seconds of your time you could figure out my full name, my previous school(s), where I'll be doing my Fulbright, and what my field of study is, I feel like the secrecy is a bit silly this time. So, HELLO, INTERNETS. If you feel like figuring out everything Google can tell you about me, you're going to find some really interesting stuff. Including a physics site in Russian. I don't know.
A bit about my Fulbright:
I'm basically extending research on my thesis, which was about Shinto, how it's adapted to modernization, and whether we can even call it a religion. I've just found out that I'll be studying at Nanzan University in Nagoya. I would write more here, but you'll hear/read so much about this project over the next year that you'll get sick of it eventually.
What I am doing at the moment:
Waiting to find out when I'm leaving for Japan.
Waiting to find out who my advisor is.
Waiting to find out whether I need to send Fulbright these ten forms electronically or print them out, fill them out, and then scan them in.
Listening to 「昼の星」over and over and over again because apparently hearing it in every episode of Fractale wasn't enough.
That's all for this time, I guess. Dunno when I'll post next, but my posts will probably be incredibly sporadic until I reach Japan.
じゃ、ね！
*If you know me well, you saw that coming and didn't ask me to set up a Facebook. You also know that I have an affinity for footnotes.
**OH GODS, THERE'S A BABY SCORPION IN MY LIMEADE. Oh, wait, no, it's dryer lint. Still, I have to wonder how that got in my limeade. And why I thought it was a baby scorpion, since we don't have scorpions here. Sorry, that was kind of random.
***If you can't read Japanese, the title is "Fulbright ika." Ika (pronounced as it's spelled if you speak Spanish or as "eek-uh" if you speak American) means "squid" or "cuttlefish."
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