Because I have been out of the picture on this blog for months, I know that some are thinking, “Where in the world is Rachel?” My three and a half month trip to Europe made another big exciting mark in my life, including in the CI world as not only did I meet Vivie, Christian and his family, and Matthieu and his family, but also I gave a little talk about the benefits of AVT with Caroline at Universite de Nantes in France in French (video will come soon). I have to give all of them a big thanks for being wonderful hosts.
I also had a tearful moment last October when I received a letter of denial because of medical reasons from the Peace Corps after having been nominated to work in a French-speaking country in Africa. They questioned my ability to learn a foreign language due to my hearing loss and maintaining my cochlear implants. While I could have appealed the decision, a door opened up with exciting new offers shortly after going through a moment of grieving. I’ve been offered a placement to study anthropology at five grad schools in the UK, including the school where Alexander Graham Bell studied, University College London.
As soon as I make the final decision on where to go for grad school, I will inform everyone. However, in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the rest of this school year being a random student at an art school.
Happy 2010!!!
P.S. If anyone knows any scholarships for any graduate schools that I could apply for, please let me know!
Sounds like a great trip! I’m wondering if it’s the same Matthieu we met at John Tracy this summer. Do he & his family live outside of Paris? The family I know is working so hard to bring AVT to France – I can imagine them tracking you down!
Comment by Monica — December 31, 2009 @ 10:00 pm
Hi Rachel, I was wondering what you’ve been doing. I had echoes from Nantes, they really liked talking to you !
To answer Monica, no we’re not the family you met at JTC, but they are friends of ours. My son is also called Matthieu, but he is only 2 1/2 . Sonia’s family and us are the only ones in France using AVT for our deaf kids…
Monica, I’ll tell Sonia you remember her, and if you wanna talk to her, let me know…
Comment by caroline pisanne — January 1, 2010 @ 4:44 am
Dunno if the scholarships in this link covers Graduate school. Check it out and see if it’s what you can use. http://lookingglass.org/index.php
Comment by Gina — January 2, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
So, so excited for you…beautiful picture. I was caught on the slideshow again of all the kids- incredible. Keep it up, Rachel…
Love,
Jodi
Comment by jodi — January 4, 2010 @ 3:47 pm