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So I'm in Macedonia. Why?? After that serendipitous moment (see Why ) in my study abroad office 4 years ago, two of my college semesters were spent in Blagoevgrad at the American University in Bulgaria. Around that same time I had begun to develop an interest in the field of disability rights and services. Consequently, my curiosity about the Balkans and PWDs' rights, access, and society collided. At that time, all I could do was observe and ask questions, like, why haven't I seen a person in a wheel chair in 3 months? Or, how would a person with a physical disability manage in the infrastructure of society here? Is institutionalization common still and if so how do these institutions operate? Answers didn't come easily, and it seemed that a lot of people I asked were surprised, admitting, huh, I hadn't thought of that before. It just isn't something you are confronted with on any regular sort of basis. This ignited a part of me.
Applying for the Fulbright meant that I could come back to the Balkans for more research on this topic. Although the main purpose of the "English Teaching Assistantship" scholarship is for me to teach English to university students at Goce Delcev in Stip, the program also asks that you do a community service project, which is where I could fit my desire to work with the population of PWDs. So I look forward now, at hopefully a few gained friendships, an occasional bright moment or lesson learned, and the experience to bring home that will hopefully take me in a forward direction.
Applying for the Fulbright meant that I could come back to the Balkans for more research on this topic. Although the main purpose of the "English Teaching Assistantship" scholarship is for me to teach English to university students at Goce Delcev in Stip, the program also asks that you do a community service project, which is where I could fit my desire to work with the population of PWDs. So I look forward now, at hopefully a few gained friendships, an occasional bright moment or lesson learned, and the experience to bring home that will hopefully take me in a forward direction.
