Philadelphia

I had a great couple of days in Philadelphia meeting the other US Fellows as well as the International Fellows. We stayed at the Inn at the Union League which is a beautiful old building in the heart of Philadelphia. I spent the first evening with some of the US Fellows at a little Jazz club across the street from the hotel. (Mostly because they were still serving food.)

The next day we met with the International Fellows. The most interesting period was an intorductory exercise that was akin to speed dating which allowed a few minutes with most of the fellows. All of these international fellows are very accomplished and really makes you realize how prestigious the International Fellowship program is. The discussions were interesting but too short. The diversity was evident, whether it was an entrepreneur from the Czech Republic, a magazine editor from Sweden, a police officer from Bangladesh or a teacher from Chile.

I had the opportunity to speak a little more in depth with some of the fellows and was actually able to help set up some meetings in DC and St. Louis for Mohammed from Saudi Telecom and Karin, the Swedish magazine editor. I look at helping set up the meetings now and in the future is the price of admission for the program. They don't ask for very much but it is easy to become passionate about EF and want to do everything that you can.

The last part of the orientation was a great and informative discussion among the USA Fellows and some former USA Fellows at the EF House. They gave great tips and really helped center the discussion on getting the most out of the Fellowship both before, during and after.