I doubt that anything could have prepared me for that e-mail. "Josh, remember, the same board that selects the DAAD winners works jointly with the board that awards Fulbright scholarships. If you get one, you won't get the other." I suppose I was at peace with that idea. I mean, who cares which one you get? Sure, the Fulbright is VERY prestigious, and it would be quite a feather in my cap to be awarded such a grant, but as my advisor said, "Its a long shot." I wasn't expecting much.
The weeks leading up to that e-mail were interesting, to say the least. It all began on a Tuesday morning in the basement of the library. I was working on my dissertation (no surprise there), when I received an e-mail from my scholarship advisor. She informed all those who were applying for the DAAD Scholarship (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, "German Academic Exchange Service") that the selection board was notifying the applicants via their new website this year. I was encouraged to sign on and see if I had won.
Of course, I had forgotten the log in information by that point; such was my luck. I scrambled about on my computer (which was on its last leg), trying to find a file that I had so creatively labeled "passwords." Ah, there it is! I quickly entered the username and password, and after a bit of searching, I discovered my name with the words "selection made" next to it. Selection made? Is that a good thing? I looked back to the e-mail, where I read that "selection made" seems to mean that I was awarded the grant. WOO HOO!! I thought. I got it! Probably...
I called my wife to inform her of the likely good news. Her response: "Find out." Of course. So, I e-mailed my scholarship advisor back, who worked her magic, and responded that it may not actually mean that I was awarded the grant. Apparently there has been a bit of confusion in the notification process; selection made apparently meant that the board had made their selections, not that I had been selected. My heart sank. I had allowed myself to believe that I might have won this thing.
I was informed that it would likely take until the end of the week to find out whether I had been selected or not. Ugh. Those were very long and depressing 24-hour periods. My iPhone is linked to my e-mail account, and each time an e-mail arrived, my eyes would immediately lock onto the subject line to see the sender. But nothing. No word. I began to loathe all those who thought it appropriate to send me an e-mail that week, for each "ding" brought the hope of a final conclusion, followed by the realization that the end had not yet come.
Friday morning. I had come back home to give my wife a well-deserved break from taking our 1-year-old to work with her. I tried to focus on my Sumerian liturgical texts (the subject of my dissertation), but my mind could not leave my phone. Would today be the day? Would I get this scholarship? I had all but given up hope (yes, I am quite the pessimist). Then, as Piper (my daughter) was crawling again toward our DVD player, I heard the all-to-familiar "ding" of my phone, but this time the subject line began "DAAD..." My heart raced as I opened the Gmail application, watching that STUPID colored pinwheel spin around as the phone processed the information. I held my breath as my eyes focused: "Congratulations..."
One cannot describe the look that my baby had on her face watching her father jump about the living room like a man destined for Bellevue. "I got it! I got it! I got it!" I couldn't believe it! "There must have been some kind of a clerical error," I reasoned to myself. Just to make sure, I decided to forward the e-mail to my scholarship advisor, knowing that she could confirm that I had actually won the award. Of course, my interpretation of a notification letter beginning with, "Congratulations, Joshua Bowen, you have been awarded..." was correct... duh.
The next few days were filled with many pats on the back, congratulatory phone calls, and sightings of General Tso's chicken at our house. Of course, I was well aware that I could only win one award, but I didn't care; I was going to go to Germany, and winning a DAAD grant is a GREAT honor, to say the least. I all but forgot about the Fulbright.
About a week and a half later, I was back at the campus, again sitting in that all-to-familiar room that we erroneously refer to as D-1 (where D-1 actually is, I don't know). I was again working on (you guessed it) my dissertation, trying to work out the patterns by which consonants front in unorthographic texts (yeah, that's right). It was at this moment that fate decided to again tap me on the shoulder. I heard that wonderful "ding" from my phone, which no longer sent me into a panic, for I was expecting nothing in the way of notifications. The subject line read "Fulbright...," and my mind immediately returned to that wonderful, but now out of reach, scholarship to which I had applied so many months ago.
"Hey, look! It's my 'Fulbright Rejection Letter,'" I said aloud to a group of grad students studying in the room with me (they are accustomed to me speaking, probably more than they would prefer). Again, I slid the notification on my iPhone lock screen to the right, and again was faced with the colored wheel, though with a quite reserved and accepting demeanor. I had won a DAAD, so this wheel no longer bothered me :) I actually glanced away from the phone for a moment to look at the document I was working on, so little did the e-mail capture my attention. When my eyes returned to the small screen, however, they expanded to quite a large size. "Congratulations..."
I sat there, motionless, unable to speak.
My mind turned back on, and I instantly knew that there had been a mistake. Don't they know that you can't win both scholarships?
I lifted my eyes to the all-to-familiar sight of grad students typing away on their laptops, returned my gaze to the phone, and softly spoke into the nearly silent room, "I won the Fulbright." The sound of typing stopped... and I started to cry.
After a somewhat odd and unorthodox period of excitement, I again forwarded the notification to my scholarship advisor, certain that she would set things straight. I held out some hope that MAYBE I had actually won the Fulbright, but I was convinced such a thing was impossible. Despite my constant self-deprication, I learned that I had indeed been awarded both the DAAD and the Fulbright.
I was very honored to have the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University, very graciously add the following announcement to their website:
"Joshua Bowen Awarded a Fulbright Fellowship
Two e-mails, two scholarships, one very fortunate grad student. So it begins...
The weeks leading up to that e-mail were interesting, to say the least. It all began on a Tuesday morning in the basement of the library. I was working on my dissertation (no surprise there), when I received an e-mail from my scholarship advisor. She informed all those who were applying for the DAAD Scholarship (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, "German Academic Exchange Service") that the selection board was notifying the applicants via their new website this year. I was encouraged to sign on and see if I had won.
Of course, I had forgotten the log in information by that point; such was my luck. I scrambled about on my computer (which was on its last leg), trying to find a file that I had so creatively labeled "passwords." Ah, there it is! I quickly entered the username and password, and after a bit of searching, I discovered my name with the words "selection made" next to it. Selection made? Is that a good thing? I looked back to the e-mail, where I read that "selection made" seems to mean that I was awarded the grant. WOO HOO!! I thought. I got it! Probably...
I called my wife to inform her of the likely good news. Her response: "Find out." Of course. So, I e-mailed my scholarship advisor back, who worked her magic, and responded that it may not actually mean that I was awarded the grant. Apparently there has been a bit of confusion in the notification process; selection made apparently meant that the board had made their selections, not that I had been selected. My heart sank. I had allowed myself to believe that I might have won this thing.
I was informed that it would likely take until the end of the week to find out whether I had been selected or not. Ugh. Those were very long and depressing 24-hour periods. My iPhone is linked to my e-mail account, and each time an e-mail arrived, my eyes would immediately lock onto the subject line to see the sender. But nothing. No word. I began to loathe all those who thought it appropriate to send me an e-mail that week, for each "ding" brought the hope of a final conclusion, followed by the realization that the end had not yet come.
Friday morning. I had come back home to give my wife a well-deserved break from taking our 1-year-old to work with her. I tried to focus on my Sumerian liturgical texts (the subject of my dissertation), but my mind could not leave my phone. Would today be the day? Would I get this scholarship? I had all but given up hope (yes, I am quite the pessimist). Then, as Piper (my daughter) was crawling again toward our DVD player, I heard the all-to-familiar "ding" of my phone, but this time the subject line began "DAAD..." My heart raced as I opened the Gmail application, watching that STUPID colored pinwheel spin around as the phone processed the information. I held my breath as my eyes focused: "Congratulations..."
One cannot describe the look that my baby had on her face watching her father jump about the living room like a man destined for Bellevue. "I got it! I got it! I got it!" I couldn't believe it! "There must have been some kind of a clerical error," I reasoned to myself. Just to make sure, I decided to forward the e-mail to my scholarship advisor, knowing that she could confirm that I had actually won the award. Of course, my interpretation of a notification letter beginning with, "Congratulations, Joshua Bowen, you have been awarded..." was correct... duh.
The next few days were filled with many pats on the back, congratulatory phone calls, and sightings of General Tso's chicken at our house. Of course, I was well aware that I could only win one award, but I didn't care; I was going to go to Germany, and winning a DAAD grant is a GREAT honor, to say the least. I all but forgot about the Fulbright.
About a week and a half later, I was back at the campus, again sitting in that all-to-familiar room that we erroneously refer to as D-1 (where D-1 actually is, I don't know). I was again working on (you guessed it) my dissertation, trying to work out the patterns by which consonants front in unorthographic texts (yeah, that's right). It was at this moment that fate decided to again tap me on the shoulder. I heard that wonderful "ding" from my phone, which no longer sent me into a panic, for I was expecting nothing in the way of notifications. The subject line read "Fulbright...," and my mind immediately returned to that wonderful, but now out of reach, scholarship to which I had applied so many months ago.
"Hey, look! It's my 'Fulbright Rejection Letter,'" I said aloud to a group of grad students studying in the room with me (they are accustomed to me speaking, probably more than they would prefer). Again, I slid the notification on my iPhone lock screen to the right, and again was faced with the colored wheel, though with a quite reserved and accepting demeanor. I had won a DAAD, so this wheel no longer bothered me :) I actually glanced away from the phone for a moment to look at the document I was working on, so little did the e-mail capture my attention. When my eyes returned to the small screen, however, they expanded to quite a large size. "Congratulations..."
I sat there, motionless, unable to speak.
My mind turned back on, and I instantly knew that there had been a mistake. Don't they know that you can't win both scholarships?
I lifted my eyes to the all-to-familiar sight of grad students typing away on their laptops, returned my gaze to the phone, and softly spoke into the nearly silent room, "I won the Fulbright." The sound of typing stopped... and I started to cry.
After a somewhat odd and unorthodox period of excitement, I again forwarded the notification to my scholarship advisor, certain that she would set things straight. I held out some hope that MAYBE I had actually won the Fulbright, but I was convinced such a thing was impossible. Despite my constant self-deprication, I learned that I had indeed been awarded both the DAAD and the Fulbright.
I was very honored to have the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University, very graciously add the following announcement to their website:
"Joshua Bowen Awarded a Fulbright Fellowship
The Department of Near Eastern Studies is delighted to announce that Joshua Bowen, a Ph.D. candidate in Assyriology, has won a Fulbright Fellowship to Germany. He will spend a year in Tübingen studying Sumerian liturgical tablets from the city of Kish that date to the Old Babylonian Period (2000-1600 BCE). These tablets have resisted translation due to their fragmentary state and enigmatic Sumerian dialect. It is hoped that this study, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Konrad Volk, will expand our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian religious practices and beliefs."
Two e-mails, two scholarships, one very fortunate grad student. So it begins...
...please do continue. What has happened since? Are you enjoying summer with your family or are you already in Germany? In laymen's terms, what does it mean "consonants front in unorthographic texts?" Is that the process employed to decipher enigmatic Sumerian and how do you know the content is liturgical? What was happening in Kish when the tablets were written? Congratulations upon receiving both the DAAD and Fulbright, but, by your own admission, this is the beginning of what may be a most extraordinary year. Please do continue...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations dear
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