Ramadan in the U.S.

Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, is the time where the whole family gathers around a table full of delicious food and waits for sunset so they can start eating. Spending this month alone in a foreign country is considered unusual, however in my case it was a different experience.

On my first day, and here I mean literally my first day in the U.S., I received a compliment by a lady on Park Street in Boston while I was looking for a bank to open an account. The lady told me, "I like your scarf." I maybe have to mention here that I wear a head scarf, or as we call it, a Hijab. I was happy thinking that I have beautiful taste. But three weeks later, I received exactly the same compliment three times. On all three times I was wearing a different scarf. I realized that it is not a matter of taste, but rather a message to express the understanding and integration of different cultures, which I clearly felt later in school too.

In October of 2012, we had a religious holiday "Eid", and I was looking for a Masjed (Mosque) where I could celebrate this holiday. I was referred to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (the ISBCC). It was a large beautiful Masjed with typical Islamic architecture including a dome and minaret. The Masjed was full of Muslim Americans who looked fully integrated, with an additional piece of cloth that women put on their heads. The majority of them spoke only English. They did not speak the language of their ancestors and they were learning Arabic as a second language. I decided to spend my time in this place during the holy month of Ramadan.

Since I am not home, but alone here in the United States, I spent the evenings at the ISBCC. It was a good opportunity for me to be in a spiritual atmosphere during Ramadan, meet students from different schools, eat delicious food at the coffee shop at the center, and have nice conversations with people.

Manal Benrajab is a Libyan Fulbright grantee pursuing an MBA at University of Massachusetts-Boston. 

Community Service Day at Washington University in Saint Louis

The Brown School for Social Work and Public Health at Washington University-Saint Louis hosted a community service day as a part of the first-year student orientation. Volunteers gathered at the school's Commons, got their t-shirts with the slogan “Be a Leaf in the Tree of Change” and then were divided into groups.

I went with my group to Tower Grove Park in Saint Louis to join the “Casa De Salud” booth (one of many booths) in celebration of the ongoing "Festival of Nations." Casa De Salud is a Spanish phrase which translates to "House of Health" which Lorine, the lady pictured in colorful clothes, explained to the group. The organization helps people who have no health insurance get access to healthcare by setting up appointments with physicians and referring them if needed for further assistance accordingly. They also held classes on healthy nutrition, offered Zumba dance classes, and had attendees go for a one mile walk called "Walk the Healthy Mile."

Lorine gave us a brief orientation and handed us a collection of colorful tags to wear on our shirts, and we helped her by introducing people to "Casa De Salud" and distributed cards and brochures to encourage people to start a healthier life.

It was such an enriching experience, not only on the Public Health student level, but also on a personal level. The diversity in this country and yet the peace, mutual respect, and understanding between people is very nice! Witnessing the "Festival of Nations" was an overwhelming experience and I hope that I can witness peace soon in my country.

All volunteers met at the Commons again and after a short speech from the Dean, a member of each group briefed their experience. You may enjoy pictures posted by students in documentation of this nice day on Instagram with the tag #WUSTLBROWNSCHOOL.

Hind Neamah is an Iraqi Fulbright grantee pursuing a Master’s of Public Health at the Washington University in St. Louis.

The Beginning of My Fulbright Journey

The idea of being selected for the Fulbright program has always been the spark that set my academic zeal aflame. No words can so faithfully describe my happiness when I was admitted into this program, and I was equally glad to have the opportunity to take part in a pre-academic program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute before joining my host university, the University of Indiana-Bloomington. The three-week program in Blacksburg, Virginia was just a preview of the future academic experiences that are ahead for me.. The program at Virginia Polytechnic was a once-in-a-lifetime experience – moments with that will be indelibly etched in my memory, as I came to meet people from all over the world and from countries that I had never thought existed before! True, we were different; however, we all cherished a single dream – the dream of excelling academically and professionally, and we all shared the same goal: expanding cultural connections and expressing willingness to accept others, for all the differences that might exist between us. And like all farewells, ours was heartrending, but as the saying goes, “Never be sad that it ended, be happy that it happened.” We will go on our journey, forever carrying each other in our hearts, and hoping that our paths will cross again.

Ikram Hili is a Tunisian Fulbright Grantee conducting research for her PhD at University of Indiana-Bloomington.