« It is not an exaggeration to say that my career is completely different than it would have been had I not had a Fulbright »

Ruth Hufbauer, US
Researcher, 2008-2009
Agricultural College at Colorado State University – Institut National de la recherche Agronomique

Fulbright en famille

Or

Le doudou perdu

 

I was a senior Fulbright fellow 2009-2010, on leave from the Agricultural College at Colorado State University. I was hosted by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) just north of Montpellier. Fulbright provided crucial logistical and financial support. The prestige of the name ‘Fulbright’ and the respect it demands was instrumental in the success of my stay. Being seen by other scientists through a lens of respect is particularly important for women who work in the male-dominated world of agriculture. Both at my home institution in the US, and in France, I was the only woman among senior members of the scientific team (with a PhD and a permanent position). The men I worked with, particularly those in France, were wonderful people, but both men and women hold inadvertent stereotypes of others and having a Fulbright fellowship helped me overcome those stereotypes, both in the US, and in France.

 

Professionally, during my Fulbright I was able to work in a concentrated way on grant proposals and was awarded a highly competitive grant from the US National Science Foundation. I conducted new research on two main projects while there, which led to multiple scientific publications focused on how to predict and how to manage biological invasions. Upon my return to the US, I continued to feel more respected by my US colleagues than prior to my Fulbright. It is not an exaggeration to say that my career is completely different than it would have been had I not had a Fulbright.

 

Personally, the experience also enriched my family. Fulbright helped with the logistics of getting my husband and our two children there, and of course the financial support was also instrumental. In general, having children with us in France really made French people look at us differently, as members of their community. Part of this is because the French see raising children well to be a societal effort.

 

Arabelle et Beatrice à Collioure

 

My younger daughter Beatrice achieved major milestones while there, including walking and talking. My older daughter Arabelle made a friend, Mila, who I think will be a friend for life. Both children still think of themselves as fundamentally being part French. Both still speak French beautifully, and both continue to be ambassadors between their two beloved countries.

 

One time that I started to feel more connected to Montpellier came after losing Arabelle’s stuffed animal, « Softy Bear ». We had eaten lunch and shopped downtown on a Saturday. At home that night, we realized that the precious bear was missing. Monday evening, Arabelle, then about 4 years old, and I went downtown to look. We stopped at the restaurant to ask. My French was OK, but not great at that point. I was able to make myself understood, but Arabelle’s French was already starting to be better than mine. The waiter looked right at her, and comforted her, saying something like, ‘Ne pleures pas, tu en auras un tout neuf. » Arabelle understood and was somewhat comforted. We went to the book store, a shoe store, and finally found the doudou safe and sound at another shoe store. The person working was the same who had helped us on Saturday, and her face lit up as we came in, and she immediately pulled out the bear.

 

Arabelle et son doudou at the Louvre in 2009. She’s showing that she found the original of a painting in a favorite book of hers about the Louvre.

 

It was such a simple thing of life – losing something, looking, and eventually finding it. I felt so connected with all these other adults, none of whom I knew, but who of whom hoped that ma petite found her doudou. Being immersed in a different culture can be such a challenge, but if we stick with it and learn to communicate, we are rewarded by feeling connected with all humanity.

Mila, Beatrice et Arabelle au parc, 2010.

 

Arabelle et Mila, 2017. This is from a second stay in Montpellier, during which I worked at INRA again, and the kids went to public schools, perfecting their French, and reuniting with old friends.