As soon as I woke up this morning, I remembered the Fulbright scholarship I got before going to the States in 1970. Even though I got a Harvard scholarship before that, it covered only tuition and living expenses for a year. Back then, my parents did not have the money needed for the trip. The Yugoslav dinar was not convertible, and getting the dollars needed was out of their reach. Thus I applied for the Fulbright scholarship to cover the one-way trip. My Harvard scholarship helped me to get it without any hassle. I realized that this obliged me to return to Yugoslavia after my studies only after the studies were behind me. A Fulbright scholarship also obliged the American authorities not to allow me to stay in the country after the completion of my studies.

My beloved was still asleep when I woke up, and so I got up as quietly as I could to check Fulbright on the World Wide Web. I was not surprised by all the information I gathered about the senator and his times. Thousands upon thousands of foreign students are indebted to him for the opportunity to study in the States over many a decade. But I was surprised that the Fulbright Program still exists. In fact, it is thriving to this day. Which made me quite happy this morning among mornings. There is no better way to select the best and the brightest among the immigrants than an education program.

When I searched my Residua, I was surprised once again not to find a single piece mentioning Fulbright’s name. Given the importance of the scholarship bearing his name in my own life, this is inexcusable. Whence this piece, of course. Although I remember being miffed because I could not stay in the States as long as I wished after the completion of my studies, I intended to return to Yugoslavia soon afterwards. In fact, I was eager to help my own country with the knowledge acquired abroad. But I was quite amazed this morning when it dawned on me how important the scholarship had been in my life. Again, paying for the trip to the States was beyond my parents at the time. I do not remember how much it actually cost, but the price appeared exorbitant to us all. Without Fulbright’s timely help, the Harvard scholarship would have been entirely in vain in my case.