In the beginning...

Welcome! I'm pretty new to all of this, so bear with me. But you're here, which means that you must be at least a LITTLE bit interested in what I'm doing in Spain... so thanks!
I'm still in the United States for another month but I figured that I should get this up and running. I haven't bought my ticket yet but I'm planning to leave September 3rd. Updates should be more regular (and hopefully more exciting) after that. So stay tuned!
If you don't know what it is that I'm doing in Spain (why is she setting up this blog anyhow?), here's the short version:
From September 9th, 2007-June 15th, 2008 I will be in Toledo, Spain, working on research as part of a Fulbright Grant awarded through the Institute of International Education. Here's the official line about Fulbright scholarships:
"The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. The United States Department of State administers the program with the assistance of U.S. Embassies in 89 other countries, a number of cooperating agencies in the U.S. and binational educational Commissions and Foundations in 50 countries that have executive agreements with the United States for continuing educational programs" (from the 2007 U.S. Fulbright Fellows Handbook).
My project aims to examine the ways in which music can be used to encourage the social and cultural integration for minority and immigrant populations. Specifically, I will be looking at how cultural organizations and institutions in Spain use/don't use music as a tool for the integration of large numbers of North African immigrants currently residing in the country. The majority of my work will be with an organization called MESTIZARTE, whose goal is to provide educational cultural programming through the arts in order to aid in the diffusion and acceptance of minority groups.
What does this mean for me on a day-to-day basis? Right now, I'm not entirely sure, to be perfectly honest. I'll be bringing my qanun and fretted dulcimer to Spain, so hopefully I will be able to do some performing in addition to interviewing musicians, scheduling concerts, examining festival publicity, and attending lots of cultural events.
Although my work will be based in Toledo (that's where I'll be living, too), I'm hoping to travel to other cities in southern Spain (Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla) and possibly to Morocco as well.
Hopefully that makes sense!
Check back in September to see what actually happens...