We just sat and talked, went over questions I could ask, talked about random stuff, and it was relaxing to just spend an hour with her. As it got closer we stood up and when the phone rang, she ran out and I sat down to answer the call! I was really nervous, but it was a very informal 15 minutes. They were 3 sweet older Italian ladies all trying to cram into one little webcam! They introduced themselves and I could NOT understand hardly anything they said! After introductions, they started asking questions. Well, first they told me that the purpose of the interview was to find out some more information about me so that they could place me in a city/school. Then they asked me where I was, because I think they were confused about the distance between me and the camera. I explained that I was in a conference room at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Then they started asking questions. 1. Why did I apply for the Fulbright? I forgot what all I said, but I remember saying that the main reason was the opportunity to live in Italy and learn more about the culture and become integrated into the culture; also, getting to learn about their schools and teaching styles so that I could bring that information back to the US and back to the preschool classroom here. 2. What was my teaching experience? I explained that I had worked primarily with birth- preschool. I explained that I had never formally taught English (something that was in my essay(s)), but that we do emergent literacy with preschoolers. 3. What were my expectations for this experience both personally and professionally? I explained that professionally it would open me up to new techniques, etc etc that I could bring back to my future classroom and stuff like that and that personally I expected to grow in varying ways (I truly do NOT remember what all I said). I do remember talking about exposure to a variety of teaching strategies and learning about new cultures and different ways of life...or something). 4. They asked a little about me living with an Italian family and I had to explain that I worked for an Italian family in NYC and that I lived with one in November. They did ask if the family in NYC had Italian teenagers, and I explained that they were younger children. 5. Did I consider myself an independent person? I said yes; talked about being an only child, going to school, moving to NYC, and then traveling to Italy without knowing anyone back in November.
They were so friendly and sweet. They told me that I would be hearing from one of them by the end of next week regarding the city. They didn't give me any time to ask questions or anything, but it went REALLY WELL!!! After that, April got chocolate covered strawberries from Peterbrooke (toooo sweet) and we spend the day having fun and getting her work done! :)
Next step, what city I am going to!
