Fulbrighter to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

JANUARY 2019 — I logged 36 hours of travel between three airports to learn the names of 100 new colleagues. With so much activity since I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on January 3, it’s no wonder it has taken two days to settle in before documenting the start of a year-long Fulbright grant as an English Teaching Assistant.

“Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other forms of communication can to the humanizing of international relations.”

-Senator J. William Fulbright

This being the first chapter of my Fulbright story, my hope going forward is to cultivate a willing heart. A willing heart adapts to new environments and welcomes new friends and family abroad, in my case, new friends and family in Malaysia.

I don’t know who the woman on the other side of this journey will be, but I hope she is less fearful and sheltered, more articulate and relatable. I hope she polls well with children and the elderly and can boil a chicken egg without a timer. You know, that kind of thing.

Downtown view of the Petronas towers.