The Icing

What a humbling day. All the Fulbrighters for the 2008-2009 school year met at the Nobel Institute in Oslo today. You know, the place where decisions about the Nobel Peace Prize are made--and where the press conference is held to announce the recipient (on Oct. 10). There were a number of activities today: introductions (what an interesting group of people!), lunch, presentations on the Norwegian educational system and on Norway's view of the U.S., a reception, and a tour of the Nobel Institute. It was good to finally meet the other Fulbrighters, and we're already planning a get together next week.

The reception began with a welcome from Geir Lundestad, the director of the Nobel Institute, and Benson Whitney, the U.S. ambassador to Norway. They had each of the Fulbright recipients introduce ourselves to the room full of people associated with the Fulbright Commission--which ranged from teachers and students who had participated in a Fulbright sponsored program to the Fulbright Board to local politicians.

After the introductions, we moved into a room with hors d'oeuvres and beverages. A lot of people introduced themselves and offered to help me get started with school observations and visits. I'm so excited about the work I'll be doing this year--and all the interesting places I'll get to see! And I so appreciated these offers of help. I hope that over the next week or two, I can observe in a couple of schools to get a feel for the Norwegian educational system.

After the reception, Anne Kjelling, the Head Librarian of the Nobel Institute, gave us a tour of the building. She focused on the room where the Nobel committee deliberates and explained the process to us. The room itself has a small, black and white photograph of each Nobel recipient--and Anne shared stories about some of them, including the wife of Andrei Sakharov who accepted the prize in his behalf and shopped afterwards for such basic items as shoes for grandchildren who had no winter shoes and a backpack for a son who traveled with only a cardboard box. Her husband had told her she could use a small amount of the prize money to shop--and that's what she chose to buy. Most of the recipients, including Sakharov, use the money (10,000,000 kroner) to further their work for peace, even though they are never required to give an accounting.

It was also quite moving to hear Anne talk about Aung San Suu Kyi, who received the prize in 1991, but who still is not allowed to leave Burma/Myanmar (or her home, for that matter) because of the government's resentment/anger/suspicion of her human rights advocacy. She hopes to some day come to Oslo and give the lecture that is one of only two requirements to receive the award (the other is the picture displayed at the Institute).

All day, I felt like pinching myself to make sure that this is all real. I'm really humbled to be part of the Fulbright program--and to be here in Norway which has such a rich history in the promotion of world peace.