Preparations for Fulbright Specialist Program in Murcia, Spain are Under Way

I will keep this brief since it's probably not that interesting to read about our next family adventure before it has actually begun.  But, let me tell you how this whole thing started. I had always admired my colleagues at SUU (Kurt Harris, Jon Smith, and Jim Aton) who had been on these year-long Fulbright Scholar programs in different countries, but I knew that I needed to be more established in my discipline before seeking to become a Fulbright Scholar myself.  In 2012, as a newly tenured professor and only seven years into my career, I received a sabbatical for the 2013-14 school year to set up an American Studies Center in Changsha, China and to teach students at Hunan Normal University public speaking and critical thinking skills.  It was a wonderful growing experience for myself, my wife, and our five children (ages 14, 12, 10, 6, and 4 at the time).  However, after returning home, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a long trip overseas again.  It was amazing and challenging at the same time (see our other blog at steinsinchina.blogspot.com) and, although I love to learn about a new culture for longer than your typical tourist trip, I thought 10-12 months might be a tad much.  Anyway, I learned that the Fulbright program was now offering shorter stints for faculty (two to six weeks).  I underwent the rigorous process and after six months was added to the "Fulbright Specialist" roster.  

Once on the roster, Kurt Harris (Director of the International Office at SUU), contacted one of our partner institutions at the University of Murcia to ask them if they were interested in having me as a visiting scholar and they were excited about the idea.  So here we are.  I've purchased our flights, renewed our passports, and am currently trying to secure our housing and finalize other details.  We leave on February 27th and return on April 18th.  This time, it's just myself, my wife Stacie, and our two daughters Evelynn and Lucy (now 16 and 14). I'll update again just before we leave.