Kuwait Times

Published Date: September 23, 2007
By Rania El Gamal, Staff writer

KUWAIT: Having a better understanding of other cultures, learning to respect others' different points of views, and knowing how to lead were some of what six Kuwaiti students brought back home after spending more than a month in the United States this summer. The students were selected from the American University of Kuwait (AUK) to participate in the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Study of the United States Institute for Student Leaders, a summer program that is funded by the MEPI. The program
is administered through the US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the US Embassy in Kuwait, Public Affairs Section.

The intensive six-week training program (from July 5 to August 19) was an opportunity for undergraduate students from the Middle East and North Africa who are leaders in their own countries to gain hands-on leadership experience and to provide them with training in cross-cultural dialogue and conflict resolution. Each participant was assigned to an American university where they attended training workshops and academic sessions in addition to local and study tour site visits, community service projects and
other cultural activities. Some of the students also had the opportunity for homestays with American families introducing them to American cultures and values.

Kuwait Times met with five students after their return to Kuwait where they shared their experiences, the lessons they've learnt and the challenges they faced during their sojourn in the Sates.

Name: Hessa Al-Sabah
Major: International Studies and History
University in the US: Montana State University
The 22-year-old Hessa had certain expectations before going to the US, which did not turn out to be exactly as she had anticipated.

When I was told to go to the States for the program, I really thought that it would be like one of those going-to-the-States trips. Going to the East Coast is very different than going to Montana. I really expected cowboys and cows, stuff like that. But the whole experience was very different than anything I've ever done before," she said.

This was not the first time that Hessa visited the US, though this time it was different from her previous visits. "Taking the classes we took there like the leadership skills, and the different things (we learnt) like we had to clean and cook for ourselves - which, speaking about myself, I didn't do before - I had to learn how to take care of myself and be independent," she said. Although she was the only Kuwaiti student in the group, she was able to interact with other students from different Arab countr
ies. "We were 21 students from all over the Middle East in Montana. We were all in one place, and we kind of bonded with each other (though) we were very different. The people (in the university) were very welcoming, they were happy and excited to ask you questions and to know about where you are coming from. They just thought that (Kuwait) was very exotic for some reason," she said smiling.

It took her some time to adapt but it wasn't a difficult thing to do. "It wasn't difficult, it was just different. Even the language barriers, even though we all spoke Arabic, there were different words that we didn't understand or we would understand each other differently and we would start a fight or something. But then it was a week later that people started getting used to each other," she said.

But what did she learn from that experience?
I learnt a lot of things. I learnt to trust other people's ideas even if they were different from mine and to learn to live with their ideas and find a connection between us other than what's different," she said.


Name: Haya Al-Qassar
Major: English and Comparative Literature
University in the US: University of Delaware

For Haya, it was different, she admits she actually didn't know what to expect. "We got off the plane and we were still in Virginia. So you are pretty much still isolated from America. Everything in the first couple of days was very slow and so here I was thinking that it might have been a bit overrated, but then once everything came together, the students started having those debates and classes and really forcing one another (to voice) their opinions out and dispelling all those stereotypes we had about
one another and just really bonding on all the trips we went to," she said. "At the end everyone was just in tears - we didn't want to separate from one another. That's what really caught me. In the beginning there I was thinking that this is not going to be a good experience and at the end, it was!" she added.

On the negative aspects of the program, she admits, "The only negative thing I would say about this program is that there is a very big level on how the countries choose their participants because a lot of people couldn't speak English that well. So when you try to communicate with them, there would be a slight misunderstanding. Some people were more informed in history so when we have a one-on-one history lecture we would get slightly bored because we wanted to be challenged.

For many in the Middle East, travelling to America could be seen as nothing but a hassle, whether it is with long immigration queues upon arrival or the stereotyping of Arabs, especially in the aftermath of September 11 attacks. But for 20-something Haya, this was not a problem.

Going through the airport immigration (in the States) was difficult but then again it was for everyone no matter what race you are, no matter where you are from; everyone had to go through the exact same process. There was a huge immigration line and everyone had to go through that. But I was with other students and they kept me company," she said. "(As for) the participants, no one was ever mean or cold with one another. In terms of the American staff members at the university, (they) were the same age a
s us and we became friends. And the faculty treated us with respect as adults. I don't think any one of us was ever discriminated against once we were in the States," she added.

In general, the experience was a positive one for Haya, but what she gained was more beneficial to her on a personal level.

In Kuwait I have always been very sheltered and other people always have been taking care of things for me. Whereas, here I am in the States and I have to do so much for myself. Not only cooking, but doing laundry, cleaning and kind of budgeting the money and really putting myself out there in so many situations," she said and continued, "In situations where usually I was shy and reserved, I had to force myself to really take advantage of the situation, take advantage of where I was and of the people who
were around me because that's the only way I could really get the full experience. Not only did I get this independence but l learnt so much about myself with the leadership workshop.

Name: Abdulla Al-Shanfa
Major: International Studies and History
University in the US: Georgetown University in Washington DC

Abdulla was straightforward. "I expected a lot and I got a lot," he said. And with getting 'a lot' he really meant it. "We had to work from nine to five every day. We had three presentations to do by the end of the program (while others had only one presentation). It was a lot of politics, American government and history," he said.

Abdulla was the only Kuwaiti among the other Middle Eastern students. "The people who were with me most of the time they were great. My facilitators or mentors were most of the time good and patient. All in all it was a good experience," he said.

Asked whether it was a challenging experience for him, he said, "For me (the amount of work) wasn't that challenging but for others because of the language gap or how they learnt American history or American politics, it was very difficult for them to understand.

Learning leadership skills is one the most important skills the students had learnt during their summer program, but understanding and respecting others differences was also a valuable thing they brought back home with them.

I've learnt leadership skills. I've learnt to speak out when I found that there was something wrong," he said and continued, "There was this activity we did where we were working in three groups and each group was treated differently. And these groups represented groups in society: the rich, the middle class and the poor. I was put in the poor group and I protested because I wasn't given as many rights as the rich people. So in that activity I was the first political prisoner ever. And that encouraged me
because I can do something.

In his words, the experience also made the 21-year-old Abdulla more knowledgeable about other Arab states through interacting with other Arab students who also participated in the program.

I knew how other Arab states perceived us, Kuwaitis. Throughout the program I've learnt to interact with other people. They had different ideas on how we were and how we acted - general stereotyping," he said. Other than meeting Arab and American students, Abdulla had a unique experience not many Kuwaitis had. "I went to Wisconsin, where I met an Amish family. Through the whole program I met with different sects in different parts of the United States and I've learnt about them," he said.

Name: Fahad Mohammad
Major: International Studies and History
University in the US: University of Delaware

Fahad was recommended by his professor in the AUK to join the program, and he took the opportunity willingly. "Why not?," he answered when asked about the reason he joined. "You get a first-hand experience of the US. It is not a typical US summer visit or vacation, but you actually interact with people and travel all over the place. You see the diversity that's in the US," he said. "We traveled to Colorado, Memphis, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington DC. So we had a lot of contrasting experience
s concerning the different lifestyles. It was that diversity and people that we met that really made the program unique," he added.

The program Fahad participated in was divided into leadership skills and American studies.

As I'm studying International Studies, most of the classes (of American Studies) were beginners classes, which I'd already taken. But for a lot of the students who were with us it was new to them," he said.

So what did he learn then? "I've gained a lot of knowledge from the leadership workshops. You learn about how to lead people, how to communicate with people, how to negotiate with people. It teaches you what kind of a leader you are and how you can use your own leadership skills to make the most out of people around you," he said.

Interacting with other international students was another plus for him. "I learnt a lot about people from North Africa that I wouldn't have learnt in books. We learnt to break stereotypes. A lot of people had different stereotypes about Kuwaitis and people from the Gulf. Not only did we learn about the US but we also learnt about Arab students and people," he said.

But as everything has its positive and negative aspects, for Fahad too, the program had its shortcomings. "Perhaps it would be more enriching for the program if there was a greater US students involvement. Because we were 21 Arab students, we never got to sit down in a classroom and debate with American students. It was during summer sessions so there weren't many American students taking summer classes. So I thought that was a downfall. It could have been more nourishing if we had greater exposure to (Am
erican) students our age," he said.

Nevertheless, Fahad along with other students were able to interact with their American facilitators who were the same age as them. "We talked about politics with them, debated and argued with them," he said. "A lot of people didn't know where Kuwait is, they didn't know much about the Middle East. (But) people were genuine about learning more about the Middle East and we tried to portray a positive image about people from Kuwait and the Middle East. We talked to them about our politics, our culture, our r
eligion, things which they don't know much about," he added.

Name: Ali Al-Tukhaim
Major: Business Management
University in the US: Benedictine University in Illinois

As it was the first time for 19-year old Ali to travel to the States, the program as he described it was a 'once in a lifetime opportunity.'
How many chances do you get - besides the fact that it's a prepaid trip - but a trip for a month and a half in the States where you meet so many different people and you learn so much within such a short period of time. It was an opportunity, it was there and I saw that I will benefit," he said.

Ali insists that he had no expectations before taking on the trip. "Before I went, I didn't set any expectations. Because I realized that if I was going to say I am going to expect this and that, then I am only setting expectations for myself to fall. Because I didn't set any, I was satisfied with what I got," he said confidently. "What was interesting was that I was the only Kuwaiti in the group and I found that when I first arrived at the first meeting point we had, a lot of people that arrived tended to
go back to their little groups of their own countries. So I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people, I didn't have a choice. And because I did that, I got the chance of coming back to Kuwait with 21 new friends aside from American citizens that I met," he added.
So did he find it a satisfying experience?

We learnt about leadership skills, prison industrial complexes in the states, women's rights and so many different subjects. I knew a little bit about it before but (in the States) I went into more details, so I got to learn much more about it especially with hands-on experience which is different," he said.

For Ali, being tolerant is an important quality to deal with people from different backgrounds and cultures. "Tolerance was a very big issue, if you can't be tolerant, then you might as well go back home. The people that we met, some of them were very close minded. They literally weren't taking any other views while others were very open minded, and others were somewhat conservative, it just depended on how you talked to the person and how you interacted with them," he said.

As for the negative aspects he thinks were in the program, he said, "It deals with how the students were picked. Some of us spoke English fluently, others had a problem and since we were from different Arab countries the dialects were different. So if we didn't speak English properly you already created a language barrier and miscommunication. But that in itself also helped us learn more about each other because even with the arguments that occurred we ended up becoming better friends because of that.

ON THE PROGRAM

The MEPI is a presidential initiative founded to support economic, political, and educational reform efforts in the Middle East and champion opportunities for all people of the region, especially women and youth. The initiative strives to link the US and global private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations, civil society elements, and governments in the Middle East together to develop innovative policies and programs that support reform in the region, according to the website of US Department o
f State website.
Tunisia Owens, Cultural Affairs Officer at the US Embassy in Kuwait explains more about the MEPI Student Leader Program.

The program has been going on for three years, this is the third year now. There were 114 students from all over the Middle East who attended the program in the US at five institutes. They were studying US history and culture as well as developing their leadership skills," she said. "So that these students who were leaders in their own countries can return to their home countries and employ the leadership skills they learnt in the US," she added.

There are certain criteria of course for the selection process, which includes students' age to be between 18 and 23 years and holding an impressive educational record. The selection is done by the US Embassy in Kuwait based on the recommendations of the AUK.

As for the 2008 Student Leader program, we will begin our recruitment process (for the program) in December/January for next summer," said Owens and added that for the coming summer program there might be 12 vacancies available for Kuwaiti students.