Lair of the Bear

Tomorrow morning I head up to The Lair of the Bear, a family camp run through the University of California Alumni Association. At 'The Lair' I will be staying at Camp Oski, and will be one of two pool lifeguards. This promises to be an exciting 2+ months up in Tuolumne County, which is about 3 hours north east of Oakland, as I will be working with about 150 college students (or recent graduates, as is my case!).

I booked my plane tickets to Estonia yesterday, and so I am officially going!! On September 1, I fly from San Francisco to New York, where I will briefly stop before heading to London. Normally I would not be excited about a stopover, particularly on an international flight, but on this stopover at JFK, my sister Laura will join me, and we will travel to London together, where we will spend a week together seeing the city before I head off to Tallinn on September 8. Laura has been to London before and should prove to be an excellent tour guide and companion. I'm excited!!

In terms of preparing myself for arrival in Estonia, everything is coming together well. I have finalized with Ivar Tallo of the Estonian e-Governance Academy that I will be working with eGA (http://www.ega.ee), and I will even have my own office in their building, from what I am told! I will also travel around Estonia with Veljo Haamer of http://www.wifi.ee, and we have been in continuous touch. I am still in the process of finding an apartment, but both Ivar, his secretary Annela and Veljo have been extremely willing to help me in this process, so I am hoping it will go smoothly. I am also considering splitting the cost of an apartment with another American Fulbrighter: Mark Hood of University of Connecticut. Mark is studying Water Quality Management at Tallinn Technical University, with a man named Dr. Arvo Lital. It should be a fascinating project!!

Well, that is about all that I have for this update, but the trip is approaching, and I am getting excited!! Keep checking back for more information, which I will post as I get it. Take care, and please don't forget to email me!

Welcome to the Lair!

My tent cabin from working at the Lair in Summer 2002

Cheers,
John

The Year in Review

I graduate from college in 2 days!!! I can't believe school is over, and before I know it, I'll be up at the Lair, then headed off to Estonia for an amazing 9 months.

Looking back at the year, Wheaton was extremely successful in the national scholar scene! At year's end, the grand total of Wheaton Scholars is 18!! 1 Rhodes, 2 Watson, 11 Fulbright(!), 2 Rotary International, and 2 Truman scholars! For a look at all of Wheaton's scholars, check out:
Wheaton College 2005 National Scholars!


Our previous record for scholars is 11, and for Fulbrights, the previous best was 6. Way to go class of 2005!!!

The Times and the Globe

Today I was featured alongside 10 other scholars from Wheaton in the New York Times and Boston Globe! So far, Wheaton has had 11 winners of national academic scholarships, and I am one of them!

News!

I got it!!

Today, life begins as a Fulbrighter! I can't believe I was actually selected as a winner of a Fulbright Scholarship; it's quite a thrill and I have to keep pinching myself to make sure this all isn't a dream.

What this means is that from September 2005 through June 2006, I will be travelling around Estonia, seeking to discover why such a small country that has been independent for just 14 years has become such a player in the wireless community-- particularly in relation to wireless Internet.

While in Estonia, my home base will be in Tallinn, the capital city, which I hear is quite hip and cool. Some people I've talked to have described Tallinn as 'a new Prague,' though when I have told this to other people, they immediately disagree, citing a unique Estonian identity. In large part, it is my goal to understand this identity, particularly how it has influenced the Estonian development of wireless communications. From everything I have read, it seems that these two things go hand in hand, and by actually going to Estonia and talking to all different types of people, I can truly get a sense of this relationship.

In Estonia, I hope to look at wireless Internet in three ways: organizationally, politically, and culturally. Through the organizational lens, I will be able to consider the structure of this technology within Estonia, mostly by looking at raw data detailing computer ownership, number of Internet connections, percentages of these connections which are 'wired' vs. wireless, and cellular telephone ownership. Through the political lens, I hope to look at how Estonians actually interact with wireless Internet-- both in general and on a day-to-day basis-- and who is benefiting the most from this technology. In doing this, I will talk to Estonian businesspeople, schoolchildren, college students, senior citizens, government officials and policymakers-- anyone that uses wireless Internet-- to see how the technology has changed the way they live. Finally, the cultural lens, which I hope to make my biggest focus, will allow me to look at Estonian identity, what makes the Estonian people unique, and if their identity is being altered by rapid advances in this type of technology. Under this category will also fall my attempt to discover the reasons why the Estonian people have arrived at the forefront of this wireless revolution, particurlarly in relation to the very recent soviet occupancy of Estonia. By studying Estonia, a country that I believe has adopted Wi-Fi Internet as more of a necessity than we might imagine, we can learn a lot about our own country, and our own move toward an increasingly wireless society.

Before leaving for Estonia, I will be heading back to California to work at the Lair of the Golden Bear, a family camp run by the University of California, where I will be a lifeguard. In the middle of the summer I head out to Washington, D.C. for a pre-departure orientation where I will meet other Fulbrighters, including the other winners of grants to Estonia! After a week in D.C., I come back to the Lair to finish the summer, and then I expect to fly to Estonia at the beginning of September.

Keep checking back here for updates, though this blog will really take off beginning in late August/September. Also, please share this link with anyone who might be interested. Keep in touch guys, I'll miss you all like crazy when I'm gone!

-John