My Fulbright Experience

It was three o’clock in the middle of a workday, my phone gave out the usual “you’ve got mail” tone, and as I looked at it I knew I had received the single most important email of my life.

It was almost a year ago when I received the news that I had been selected as one of 12 Fulbright applicants to represent Jordan. That day I rushed home to tell my parents. They were thrilled. That week we ate a lot of “Knafeh” (traditional sweets) in celebration. As the celebrations of getting a full scholarship from the most prestigious award toned down, nervousness set in. I was going to leave my room, my house, my parents, my job and my friends and head out to start from scratch.

It was not easy: the few months leading to my departure to Atlanta were hectic and packing your life in a suit case proved tricky, which was even trickier with baggage weight limits. But all that stress soon dissolved as the experience of being a Fulbrighter proved to be a once in a lifetime chance to study, travel and learn about new cultures. In addition to the valuable education I got in the classroom, the education I received through cultural and social activities is priceless.

Being part of Georgia Tech and the Fulbright Association Georgia Chapter, I participated in many activities. I visited a cowboy ranch, attended a season of American football games, danced in an Indian Garba, and had meals from all over the world. I met fellow Fulbrighters from countries across the globe, and they were often the first person I had ever met from that country. But while I was enjoying that I realized that a Fulbrighter’s mission is to introduce their culture to other cultures as well. I spent a lot of time answering questions from my American, European, South American and Asian friends about our magnificent culture, and about my faith (Islam). It was truly rewarding to shatter stereotypes some of my friends had. I felt privileged to be able to reflect the beauty of my culture and religion to them.

Life hands a person only a handful of opportunities in their lifetime. The opportunity Fulbright gave me was a portal to learning and exploration. Everything that happened after three o’clock that day was part of my adventure, one that is just beginning.

Yasmine R. El Gharaibeh is a Jordanian Fulbrighter pursuing an MA in Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.

My Academic Training Experience

The Fulbright scholarship was a life changing experience for me, from the academic angle, to the personal angle, leading to a long-lasting career. Many students talk about their academic experience, and while this was amazing for me, I will tell you more about how my training guided me to start my own business and to embark on the path I had envisaged for myself. 

I applied for a Fulbright scholarship so I would be able to one day start my own business. I have always wanted to own a restaurant and to use food as a vehicle to bring people together and bridge gaps between cultures. Since America is the land of opportunities and San Francisco in particular is known for its business innovations and start-ups, I used my last semester to research business entrepreneurship in the Bay Area. I came across a new law that was passed in January 2013 called the California Homemade Food Act. This act allows individuals to legally apply for a license to cook and prepare 'low risk foods' for public consumption. The timing of this law was perfect for me, as I was almost done with my MBA and preparing to follow my childhood dream, I could not think of a better way to take all that academic knowledge and put it in practice. I also wanted the opportunity to test my business concept and run a 'pilot test' before embarking on the bigger mission of opening a full-fledged restaurant. So, I collected all information possible from my research, filled the necessary application forms and headed to the San Francisco City Hall to register my business and get my seller’s permit.

That was in November 2013, in parallel to my internship. I can only say that the satisfaction I get from my business is more than any job I have ever held, I get to practice the full chain of running a business from financial management, to supplier management, production, marketing, advertisement, selling via direct consumer interaction and customer feedback. My business broke even in February 2014; I cannot wait to gather all the learnings from this experience to share with my friends, family and possibly future employees when I open my restaurant in UAE . The only way is up from here.

Awatif Yahya is a Fulbrighter from the U.A.E. who completed her MBA program at Golden Gate University.Her business is called Moyoni, San Francisco Baking.

International Festival 2013 and 2014 at Florida Institute of Technology

The International Festival at Florida institute of Technology is held every year in February. International students from all over the world represent their countries by wearing their own traditional clothes, serving food they usually eat in their home country, performing their own traditional dances, making presentation about their history and so on.

During my Fulbright journey I had the chance to participate in this festival twice (in 2013 and 2014) and represent my home country Iraq. I have to say it really gave me pleasure to do that, as we were a group of Iraqi students who worked together to prepare for this festival. American and non-American people were coming to our tent at the festival to see what we presented, and I believe the pictures say it all!

Iraqi traditional sweets - there were signs in front of each one to explain what the sweets were and free samples were given to the visitors. 

Iraqi flags and flowers were all are handmade and given to the visitors as a gift from the Iraqi students.

Part of the PowerPoint presentation. 

Me at our tent!









Rasha Al-Obaydi is an Iraqi Fulbrighter pursuing an M.S. in Civil Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology.

Celebration of Eid ul-Adha in the USA

Eid ul-Adha is a family gathering day. It is one of the best celebration days for Muslims. It happens to be 70 days following the end of the month of Ramadan. On this day most Muslim families sacrifice sheep as the essential part of the celebration.

Personally, it is one of my favorite celebrations within the calendar year and I have always done my best to celebrate it with my family. Unfortunately, it was not my first time celebrating this day outside of my country. Therefore, I intended to do something better than ever this year, so I could enjoy it properly. I was new in the United States last year and it was not easy for me to arrange something. As I have transitioned, this year was unique for me. I was able to celebrate the event twice and enjoyed it so much. The first celebration was on Eid ul-Adha: after attending the morning prayer at a local mosque I spent the rest of the day with Arab families and friends at a local farm near the city of Lacey. The amazing thing that I did was that I sacrificed my own sheep, and we spent the whole day on the farm enjoying barbecue and some traditional Arab food. It was beautiful day and the sun was shining.

The second celebration was the second weekend after Eid ul-Adha at my apartment with friends from the university.

   

Actually, during the week of Eid ul-Adha I had discussions with some of my classmates at the university and one of my American friends told me about his experience with the previous Eid that follows the month of Ramadan. He visited one of the Middle East countries a few years ago, and during our discussion the idea came to my mind to invite them to my place to celebrate it together again and enjoy delicious lamb and some Mediterranean food.

A lovely thing was that, a day after, some of them were calling and asking me if there was some food left, because they loved the taste of the food so much.

Zahreddin Massud is a Libyan Fulbright grantee pursuing a Master of Engineering Management at Saint Martin’s University.

Annual Multicultural Fair

Ohio Northern University’s annual multicultural fair is a huge event where students celebrate and share their countries’ cultures. At this year’s fair, students decorated tables with their country's flag, beautiful fabric or tapestries, dolls, art or cultural artifacts, photos or a slideshow, posters, pamphlets and fliers, and music. There were interactive activities like henna painting, writing people's names in the different languages, teaching origami, teaching dance moves, and much more.

During this event I had my own table dedicated to Kurdish culture in the Middle East. I had the Kurdistan flag raised on my table and wore traditional Kurdish clothes. I displayed cultural-related pictures on my laptop screen such as Kurdish traditional clothes, traditional arts, a circle dance, maps, and historical and geographical facts about my country. I also shared some traditional Kurdish food called Shifta which is a mixture of chopped vegetables, meat, and flour that is fried in oil. I made the food by myself in advance and gave it to those who were visiting my table and eager to hear more about my culture. It was a fascinating multicultural experience.

Twana Smail is an Iraqi Fulbright grantee and pursuing an LLM at Ohio Northern University.

Habitat for Humanity experience

My first academic term at Virginia Tech was a very fruitful experience and broadened my perspectives in life. Some of the most enriching experiences that I had during my stay were those involving community service.

During our gateway orientation in New York City at the Queens Botanical Garden, my fellow Fulbright grantees and I did some “gardening work," where we delved into the soil, weeded out the parasitic grass, and created circles around the trees. The Construction department at Virginia Tech offered students the opportunity to volunteer on a construction site of houses being built by Habitat for Humanity. My wife Amal, who is also a Fulbright student, and I immediately registered for the event.

The Habitat for Humanity experience was really challenging, but it was one of the days that I enjoyed most throughout my stay in the US. First, we had to wake up early in the morning in order to be at the construction site at around 7:00 AM. It reminded me of my previous job back home where I always had to be early on site. The houses were located 40 miles outside of Blacksburg, VA in a residential neighborhood. I was very excited to work with my peers and to enjoy spending time with them, but what made me most eager to get started was that I was coming back to a field that I have built up a lot knowledge in over the years through my work experience working in construction. However, I was greatly surprised that we were going to work with wood! I was conscious that wood construction was very popular in the U.S., but before that day, the word "construction" had always meant "concrete and rebar" to me.

A few minutes after we arrived, we were introduced to our construction manager who briefed us on our tasks and gave us the appropriate tools and safety equipment in order to get started. I was expecting to see volunteers around our age but I was totally surprised to see the opposite. Most of the volunteers were either middle-aged people in their 60s, or even in their 70s or 80s! I was so impressed with these people's conviction to work, and with their team spirit and willingness to contribute to community development. They were devoted to the cause and some had been volunteering for over thirty years. They managed to stay devoted to the cause for so long even while having successful careers. This was a real inspiration for all of us and was a real life lesson for me.

Our work required coordination of people from different generations, from all around the world, and with different backgrounds and skills. It was obviously not only socially beneficial for the group, but it was also physically demanding! All of the team members were involved in building, erecting scaffolding, painting, installing vinyl siding, constructing and installing window frames, building cabinets, and also moving rocks out of the path of the workers. Our team accomplished a wide variety of tasks!

Our day ended at around 2:00 PM and our hunger was greater than our desire to get back home for a warm shower and well deserved rest. We had lunch together and shared some conversations with the other volunteers before heading back to Blacksburg.

The hard work and effort we put into the construction of these homes provided me with a new life lesson about the importance of community building and teamwork. I am very glad I came. Thank you Habitat for Humanity for this wonderful experience!

Khalil Benali is a Moroccan Fulbrighter pursuing a Master’s in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Around the US!

The Fulbright experience is one of the best things that has happened to me. I'm so thankful for having the occasion to nourish my passion for civil engineering in one of the best universities in the world, Virginia Tech. I'm equally grateful for having the chance to live the Fulbright journey side–by-side with my other half, my husband Khalil Benali. We two Fulbrighters are living and enjoying this experience to the fullest.

Since Khalil and I are both devoted travelers, we are continuously seeking out opportunities to check out the next destination on our long "places to visit in the U.S." list.

From DC, to Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada, these adventures have had a cultural significance for us and have given us a new perspective about America and how diverse this great country is. We have met so many new people and learned much more about the rich American culture than if we had spent all of our free time on campus. We have also significantly increased our resourcefulness by living in situations we would never have encountered back home.

In addition to skylines in the big cities and enormous bridges and highways, we specifically fell in love with Williams, Arizona, which we had the chance to visit on our way to the amazing Grand Canyon. Williams is an original mountain town in Arizona located along the historic Route 66. It is an insanely beautiful small city. It reflects an authentic image of a Western village and celebrates the historic Route 66 through different vintage car shows and absolutely eye-catching cowboy settings.

Our trips around the U.S. created memories for a lifetime. Now, we have many more nice as well as crazy stories to tell people. However, the adventure doesn't stop here. There are still many other places in the U.S. where excitement is waiting for us, and the best is yet to come!

Amal Bouraga is a Moroccan Fulbrighter pursuing a Master’s in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech.