Hi everyone, my name is Nicole! I am from a small town in Maine called Farmington. It’s a sweet town with a few stores, schools and a small ski hill. This year, however, I am teaching English in Kigali, Rwanda with the U.S. Fulbright Program. Rwanda is a beautiful, small country in East Africa. There are many differences and similarities between Rwanda and Maine. In Maine, our hills have lots of snow in the winter and I love to go skiing. In Rwanda, there is no snow, but lots of gorillas. One similarity is that people love soccer. I grew up playing on my school’s team and I am very excited to go see a game in Rwanda.
I graduated from Macalester College in 2020, where I studied International Relations and Human Rights. After graduating, I worked for three years at a small Tanzanian non-profit. Last year I taught English at a local high school in Cáceres, Spain. Now I have returned to East Africa to learn about a new culture, make new friends and learn a new language – they speak Kinyarwanda here. In Kinyarwanda, “hello” is muraho (sounds like moo-rah-ho).
Traveling the world and meeting new people helps us find our similarities and celebrate our differences in this world. I can’t wait to share with you all the cool, new places I will go and people I will meet this year.
Want to learn how you could be a Fulbright Scholar like me? The Fulbright Program is the United States government's flagship international exchange program. Fulbrighters foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, share knowledge across communities, and improve lives around the world. Learn more by clicking here!
