Fulbright made it possible for me to be in the US and be exposed to new cultural experiences.
This residency has been a really great chance to get to know Vienna and feel the energy here.
The opportunity to be immersed in that experience was inspirational for my own work... My Fulbright experience gave me the confidence to move forwards with this project with courage and determination knowing that I have the support of my new animation community.
I was able to play the amazing organs in Austria and at the same time travel with our pop group and become thoroughly immersed in Austrian culture. The experiences I received in Austria continue to shape the way I perform, teach, and direct.
As is often the case with choir, everyone was very friendly and did their best to make me feel welcome. Being a part of the choir, of course, helped me learn the dialect better; but in a much more important way, it made me feel like I was a part of the community.
"As Mark Twain said, 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…' Surely, the best way that we can work to break down stereotypes and mutual misunderstandings is through living abroad, experiencing other ways of life, and directly interacting with people whose backgrounds and experiences differ from our own. This is one of the reasons that the Fulbright Program is so important."
"The research I do on the song contest and the teaching I do back in the United States would not be possible without the lessons I learned through the Fulbright Program both as a student then and as a scholar today."
"Ich war bereits äußerst gespannt, ob mein erstes „Thanksgiving-Dinner“ in Amerika Ähnlichkeit mit den unzählig gesehenen Szenen im Fernsehen hat und ich auch tatsächlich die Klassiker der amerikanischen Küche und einen riesig gefüllten Truthahn zu erwarten hatte..."
"As a direct result of my Vienna study, I completed my Stanford University dissertation on, and performed five of Mozart’s Concert Arias..."
"I received a second year term... which enabled me to start performing there as a singer as well as study."
"This year proved not only to be the basis for a whole new perspective on academics, music, the arts, on life, but also paved the way for my future. Without having had this international experience from which I learned about a new culture, perfected a new language, was introduced to new ways of thinking, I would have never become the open‐minded, tolerant, internationally involved academic and artist that I have become."
"I was extremely fortunate to received the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Humanities from the Institute for Theatre, Film, and Media Research in 2007. I taught hundreds of students from all over the world in German, while researching a book titled 'A Cultural Chronicle of the Weimar Republic.' "
"The Fulbright award has given me an important launch into my new research project and extended my professional network. I learned a great deal about Austria and Vienna, in particular, and about my own culture."
"Das Jahr meines Lebens!"
" ... I had a wonderfully rich year at the Art History department in Berkeley. Not only academically my time there was a big success, but I also met brilliant other scholars from different fields. I am still in contact with many, some became close friends."
"In retrospect, now in my mid 80's, I am extremely grateful to the Vienna Fulbright Office for having granted me such wonderful opportunities, not only at Universität Wien but also in experiencing the wonderful city of Vienna."
"It would be fair to say that my time at Berklee, made possible by Fulbright, opened my eyes to the musical possibilities that constitute my current career..."
"It struck me in that moment, that being a Fulbrighter—a "cultural and academic ambassador" with the mission of mutual understanding between cultures—is tied directly to Dr. King's message, and I would be the messenger of that dream..."
"When the 1986 Fulbrighters were graciously offered a chance to meet with then President Kirschläger, we were each allowed to ask him a question..."
"Clearly the impact of my Fulbright-Hays experience has kept me in a treasured and never-ending adventure..."
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