Getting ready to travel as a Fulbright Research Scholar

When you get the result that you are selected, starts another stressful period. You need to prepare and prepare appropriately. Failing to prepare well is a way of preparing one’s failure. There are some of the things to do in this period and here I talk about how I got prepared for my journey. The preparation was at various levels both in Togo as well as in the U.S.

At the level of my employer, I had to do some paperwork. The Public Affair Director wrote a letter to the President of the University of Lomé as well as to the Dean of the Faculty of Arts Humanities of the University of Lomé to inform them about my selection for the Fulbright grant. I took the letters to them and followed up with the Human Resource Department of the University to make sure I was granted the permission to travel.

I needed to arrange things at the English department level. I needed to grade all the papers of the students who took their class test with and submit the result to the Chair of the English Department before travelling. Students took their final exams and I had to grade some papers before traveling. I had to negotiate with some colleagues about some of the works that needed to be done while I will be away.

I had to inform my parents, relatives, colleagues and the members of the associations and groups that I am a member of. I needed to prioritize with my family. Since my dependents were not traveling with me, I had to delegate my powers to my wife for the things I needed to do. I needed to prepare my family psychologically because though it was a great opportunity for me to travel, it was difficult to get separated from my family.

I requested advice from former colleagues who are in the U.S on how to get prepared effectively and efficiently. Some of them told me what I needed to bring along with me and some areas I needed to consider in my preparation as I was traveling. There was a need to have an apartment, utility, internet and telephone ready before I go to the U.S. The TSU San Marcos charged a staff from utility department in Texas State to look for a good apartment for me which he did.