The beginning of November was an especially busy time for Fulbrighters in California, with two important Fulbright-related events taking place in Malibu and Los Angeles, respectively. As the only Romanian Fulbright scholar in the Southern California region (and all of California, most probably), I was fortunate enough to represent Romania on both occasions.

The first event, on November 1, was organized by the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (IVCLA), with all Fulbrighters in California being invited to take part in the Annual Fulbright Luncheon hosted in Malibu, at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Amarjit Marwah. Fulbright scholars were thus offered the opportunity to make new connections and partake in interesting exchanges with IVCLA members, staff and guests, Consular Corps officials and IVCLA International Visitors, all while enjoying a beautiful day overlooking the stunning Malibu coast.

The Annual Fulbright Luncheon is a long-lasting tradition, with the Marwahs and the IVCLA generously hosting and coordinating the event each year in order to offer Fulbright visiting researchers and students the wonderful opportunity to meet each other, as well as IVCLA members. The event is famous for being both professionally enriching and fun: guests in past years have included Consuls General, Fulbright Scholarship Board staff, political figures, Hollywood stars etc.

The second event, on November 3, was organized by Ms. Ann Kerr, the coordinator of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Program in the Los Angeles area. All Fulbright students and scholars in the Southern California region were invited to join the Members of the Advisory Board to the Program, as well as the Fulbright Association Chapters in Los Angeles and San Diego, for a welcoming reception and dinner at UCLA. Faculty members from several top tier Californian universities and prominent local political figures were also present at the event.

The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. It is intended to help Fulbrighters meet each other and to provide cultural enrichment and familiarization with life and institutions in Southern California.

The event was organized in conjunction with the Fulbright Alumni Association of Southern California, which helped host the reception and dinner at the UCLA Faculty Center.  During the reception preceding the dinner, the Fulbright Association president, Dr. Francesco Chiappelli, introduced guests from the UCLA Leadership and Counselor Corps of Los Angeles.  Afterwards, Fulbrighters were invited to briefly introduce themselves and say a few words about their home country and research. The dinner was followed by a talk delivered by Dr. Dan Caldwell, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, who spoke on the topic “The Future of American Power, Dominance or Decline”, also tackling the U.S. elections that took place the following day, on November 4.

Both events were an incredible opportunity not only to familiarize myself more with the American education system, by interacting with faculty members and fellow researchers, but also to talk about Romania to receptive and curious people, genuinely interested in finding out more about a culture that, in most cases, had previously been completely alien to them.

Article by Monica Got
Romanian Fulbright Grantee
The University of California, Santa Barbara