Fulbright Iasi

We left in the early morning to get to Iasi by train. There was to be a Fulbright seminar there and I wanted to be sure that my students were in attendance. There are some very bright students here in Gura Humorului, as there are most places. They simply do not think they have the opportunities here. My mission is to show them what they can do if they really want to. It is not easy. It is a lot of meticulous form filling out. It is choosing the right fit from over five thousand universities. It is taking the time to assemble the "Application Package." It is daunting, but certainly do-able.

I have about twenty-five students who can do this if they want to. They have the time as they are sophomores and juniors. They have the brains as evidenced by their transcript. Even though cheating is a way of life here, it is not hard to tell which ones are really doing the work and which ones are copying. My greatest task is to convince them to discard their negative Romanian Attitude and take on a can-do attitude. So often I ask them what they want to be when they graduate and they have no idea. There are very few jobs here in Southern Bucovina, but I tell them that is not a reason to stop trying for the moon. The jobs will come or they will go to the jobs. They already think they will have to go to Italy or France as it is. With a little foresight and planning, they can go anywhere.

Fulbright has a program that can take them to America for their university studies if they are willing to put in the legwork, study for the tests, and put together the Package. There is a lot to do, but it is certainly do-able in the two year span they have to begin collecting and honing their skills.

Students here have a strange attitude. They are already beaten before they get out of the box. When something goes wrong, they say, "It' Romania," and give up. I tell them to try again. This seems to be a new concept for them. The idea that one failure does not a failed person make is very foreign to them.

And so I accompanied them to Iasi because I was afraid they would back out at the last minute and not go. They are excellent at making excuses. When we arrived they waited outside. I had to go first. I am sure they would not have left the doorstep if I had not led them in. We spent a few hours learning what was available to them. I am certain that some of them will make an effort. Later in the week, I brought a few more to Suceava for a condensed version. I know they have the abilities – just not the courage.

They had great questions and took away scads of materials to read. I know some of them read from the questions they asked later. They took in so much of what was offered. All too soon the clock struck and we had to leave just like Cinderella. I have promised each one of them that when they come to America, they can have Thanksgiving at my house. There has to be something familiar for them.