I was only a little kid and I already\nlonged for learning a new language. I recall my first encounters with English books\nand how being able to reveal what was hidden in their pages seemed a mystery to\nme. This mystery awakened my curiosity and strengthened my desire to go deeper\ninto the various possibilities offered by books to see and connect with the\nworld. As time passed by, what began as a simple love for this foreign language\nbecame a passion to teach it, and this is how I began my teaching path. This\npath has given me satisfaction and experiences. Today I want to tell you about\nthe most recent and, undoubtedly, one of the most transformational experiences,\nmy participation in the Fulbright Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since I finished my teaching degree, I\nhave been looking for new challenges to boost my education and allow me to\ndevelop the required skills and adopt new strategies to offer my students a\nquality education. After listening to the stories of colleagues who had participated\nin the program before, I was convinced that the Fulbright program was my next\nstep. In any case, my expectations fell short of what reality actually gave me.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In mid-2019, I embarked on my first trip to\nthe United States, with fear and uncertainty but, above all, with excitement.\nSince the beginning of the program, the calendar was both a countdown and a\nreminder of how much I needed to enjoy every moment as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salve Regina, a university in Newport,\nRhode Island, became my home for an academic year. As it is located on a small\nisland full of natural cliff views and ocean coasts, with a 19th<\/sup>\ncentury architecture whose walls tell stories and clearly distinct seasons, every\nsingle walk around campus was an adventure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Colleagues, students, and other community\nmembers welcomed me so warmly that geographical distances became shorter and\ncultural differences helped us forge new learning, friendship, and mutual\ntransformation connections. The opportunity to bond and relate to people from so\nmany places and learn about our differences, characteristics, while also feeling\nthe closeness that resulted from our shared interests, allowed me to broaden my\ncultural horizons, adopt habits from other cultures, and enjoy other customs.\nMoreover, it particularly sparked my desire to explore more corners of this\nworld, in which geographical distances are now clearly shorter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the program, not only did I learn\nabout other cultures but also about mine. Apart from studying and teaching\nSpanish at the university and a primary school, I organized cultural events in\nwhich students and other community members who were interested in learning\nabout our country and our customs took part. At first, this seemed like a heavy\nresponsibility, for I felt I was representing a lot of people. However,\neventually I grew motivated to do research and deepen my knowledge about our\nown past and present to define and pass on our identity more precisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another key aspect of the FLTA program is\nthe opportunity to be a teacher and a student simultaneously. I believe this\ncombination enables a privileged vision that allows for continuous reflection\non our jobs as teachers, since it offers us ongoing contact with and a\nperspective of the events in the classroom, occupying both roles. Additionally,\nas I became more knowledgeable about the dynamics of a different education\nsystem, I was able to perceive and reflect about the strengths and\nopportunities for improvement of our own system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel privileged, proud, and eternally\ngrateful for this opportunity and the care Fulbright showed me before, during,\nand after this experience. Even in the most chaotic times, when the COVID-19 pandemic\nbegan and threatened our opportunity to complete our programs and return to our\ncountries, the unconditional support provided by a team that worked hard to\noffer us grantees the best options made me feel reassured and safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope many other colleagues dare to take\nthis step and take up this challenge, which definitely is a unique opportunity\nfor personal enrichment and professional development. This trip gifted me many\nlessons and taught me that the boundaries of what is possible extend beyond my\nprevious beliefs. And, above all, it gave me new dreams. Now, after all I have\nexperienced, I feel it is my duty to give everything back in the classroom, my\ncommunity, and anywhere possible, and I wish to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was only a little kid and I already longed for learning a new language. I recall my first encounters with English books and how being able to reveal what was hidden in their pages seemed a mystery to me. This mystery awakened my curiosity and strengthened my desire to go deeper into the various…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-news-from-our-uruguayan-grantees","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n