Discovering the Daily Life of an Emirati #HogsAbroad in UAE #APIabroad

The United Arab Emirates is a country only 40 years old that has seen rapid economic and social change due to the discovery of oil in its capital Emirate, Abu Dhabi. A once Bedouin society that survived economically on pearl diving has become an economic and tourist powerhouse of the Middle East. The people of the UAE are made up of 20% citizens and 80% expatriates, who came into the country for the enormous job market. 

The Emirati citizens isolate themselves from the rest of society both financially and culturally. Citizens do not pay for taxes or land, they receive the best jobs, and they get a lot of support from the government. Also, they tend to keep their culture to themselves by only socializing with other locals, having large walls around their houses, and marrying amongst each other. I chose to go to the UAE so I could learn about Arab culture and was surprised to discover this isolation. Therefore, I made a goal for myself to have the opportunity to see the inside of an Emirati home.

It wasn’t the second week before I accomplished this goal. My study abroad coordinator in the UAE introduced me to a local that had just gotten out of the English program at my university. He was unlike most Emiratis and immediately included me in his social sphere. I went over to his house, met his family, and became friends with all of his friends. 

It wasn’t a few weeks before I had been in countless Emirati homes and learned so much about their culture. They taught me a lot of new Arabic words, took me to the desert many times, introduced me to lots of new foods, and showed me the life of an Emirati.

My favorite experience from my time here in the UAE was the Youth Entrepreneur Competition in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. My local friend, another American, and I built a 3D printer and created a business at this competition where we printed custom solid 3D designs as well as 3D busts of our costumers. We had high hopes for our idea placing us in the competition but were facing the obstacle of being against 800 other teams of which 80% were Emirati teams. Nevertheless, after 48 hours of manning our booth, we were awarded second place! 

We attended the awards ceremony a few days later where Sheikh Majid, Crown Prince of Dubai, handed us our trophy as well as a large monetary award. It was a proud moment for the other American and I as we were the only non-Emiratis standing on the stage. Experiences like this in the UAE has provided me with many new skills that will help me out greatly in the future.


Alex Moix is a student at the University of Arkansas and a guest contributor to the API Blog. Alex is studying abroad with API in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. 
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Find our more about Alex' program with API in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates at https://www.apistudyabroad.com/programs/united-arab-emirates/sharjah/. 

Or find your own study abroad program to accomplish your personal and academic goals at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search 

Jordan A Game Changer #HogsAbroad

Delaney Morgan
Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Jordan, summer 2013
Article courtesy of University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Delaney Morgan (left) riding a camel in the Wadi Rum desert.

"Studying abroad in Amman, Jordan was a life changing experience.  Every day was a new adventure that was completely different from my life at home. 

While I was there I studied US Foreign Policy in the Middle East, History of the Arab World, and was tutored for Arabic.  People often ask me what my favorite memory from abroad was, but that is so hard to answer because there are so many! 

However, riding camels in the Wadi Rum desert and camping out, an excursion to Petra, and getting the opportunity to visit with Syrian refugees are at the top of my ‘favorites list’. The environment was completely different from anything I had ever experienced, which is why I loved it so much.

Jordan is a third world country, and because of this I was able to learn so much and get more out of my study aboard experience by being immersed in a such a unique culture. Of course, because it was the Middle East, there were challenges and cultural norms I had to adapt to, though everyone from Jordan was exceptionally understanding and welcoming.  I studied through International Studies Abroad (ISA), and they were incredibly helpful and made the process less stressful and overwhelming.

My recommendation for people studying abroad is to go to a country that is completely different from any culture you have experienced before and to stay as long as you can.  Studying abroad gave me a new outlook and perception on life and other cultures around me. I hope everyone gets the opportunity to experience a unique education abroad experience, too."
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Search for study abroad opportunities in Jordan, Morocco and over 40 other countries: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search

Freshmen Files: Teni Butler #HogsAbroad in Spain #TBT

In her freshman season, Teni Butler was instrumental in holding opponents to just 1.22 goals per game. She was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.

Article courtesy of Kendall Curlee, originally published on the Honors College blog in August 2013 
 
Teni Butler is a sophomore chemical engineering major, an Honors College fellow, and a stellar defender (#17)on the Lady Razorbacks soccer team. She excelled in her first year, but the adjustment from her small private high school in Chattanooga, Tenn., where there were 192 students in her graduating class, to life on the U of A campus wasn’t always easy for her. Teni shared the ups and downs of her freshman year in the  annual report required from all of our fellows, and now, she shares it with you. 

I remember that horrible day when the car was loaded up and my life was packed up in boxes and we drove across two states to drop me off at college. College. I was starting college. How strange. I couldn’t believe that I had graduated and was leaving my hometown, my sweet Chattanooga, and my family.

Family wasn’t just mom, dad, and sister though: it was classmates, teammates, fellow dancers and actors. I was about to embark on a 12-hour trip that would leave me, for the first time, physically alone and unknown in a sea of almost 25,000 students. It was a simultaneously thrilling and terrifying prospect.

People always say that university is a chance to remake yourself—to break out of your image that you had in high school. Well, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. I was pretty happy with who I was. Sure: I would change some. There’s no avoiding that, but I wanted to remain true to me. Soccer was still going to be a constant in my life, and academics as well. All that remained was adjusting to a hectic schedule at a school where I knew no one. And when I say no one, it is only a slight exaggeration.

Pre-season ran over me, then the beginning of school, then conference play and non-stop travel. School was fair. Classes were massive compared to back home, and it was so easy to get lost in the crowd. I finally realized however that if you were willing to give it a go, professors were gunning for your success too. It was just so much scarier to ask questions in a class of 160 versus a class of 18 (tops). I loved the material, especially my Intro to ChemE class with Dr. Clausen, and I worked to quietly find my niche on campus. I stayed busy working hard on and off the field.

Then Thanksgiving Break arrived and I finally had a moment to breathe. I was so excited to get home. School and soccer had kept me busy enough to keep the homesickness at bay, but when there was a spare moment to myself in my dorm room, it was hard to ward off that horrible feeling of loneliness. I’d thrown myself into my academic pursuits and daily practices head first, but I lived for the games that were close enough to my parents that they could come watch.

Teni celebrated her Freshman Engineer of the Year award with
her peer mentor Elisabeth Yates, who was named
Outstanding Senior of the chemical engineering department.

I was scared that I wouldn’t want to come back to Fayetteville after I went home for the break, but I was pleased that after a week I was ready to see my dorm room again. I guess that independence grew on me and I was eager to get back for off-season with my teammates. My first college examination period was more than a little stressful, but I managed to escape that first four-month whirlwind with all As and a smile.

Spring semester: I tricked myself into thinking that a 17-hour class load was a good idea, Physics II and I did not get along as well I’d have liked, and spring workouts bonded the team together more tightly than any win or loss we’d suffered during season. I started a weekly community service project tutoring children at LifeSource with my teammates (in all our spare time…), and continued working hard.

Teni (third from left) studied renewable and sustainable energy forms
at the Colegio Ingenieros Téchnicos Industriales in Pamploma, Spain

All my efforts were recognized when I was announced as the Freshman Engineer of the Year and was awarded an Honors College study abroad grant that I had been pursuing since late September. I was flattered and pleased. My parents always taught me to put in the work simply because it is the right thing to do, but every once in a while a small round of applause for your efforts helps boost morale. I headed into summer with a plane ticket to Spain in hand and the hard realization that it was possible I would come back less fit than Coach would like.

For six weeks I lived in, learned about, and loved Pamplona. I met amazing people from all over the world, and I wouldn’t trade my experiences there for an Olympic level of fitness. The time went by too quickly as usual, and it is only now that I am realizing exactly how much I actually learned—about myself, about my friends, about human beings in general. Hopefully someday I’ll have a chance to travel to Pamplona with my family and show them a little part of how amazing my time there was.

One more week and I’ll be Fayetteville bound. Pre-season won’t be especially enjoyable, but I’m looking forward to seeing all my teammates and getting back to the daily grind. There is always work to do, but it is such a satisfying feeling to accomplish something and move on to something else. That’s how I have to get through life. Goals. And I can do that.

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To read more about international travel through the Honors College, please visit the HonorsCollege blog. 

Search for study abroad opportunities in over 50 other countries: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search

For more funding opportunities for study abroad, check out http://studyabroad.uark.edu/funding

Studying Abroad with Ailon Haileyesus #HogsAbroad

Ailon is a senior Biomedical Engineering major. She focused on her Spanish skills on the U of A faculty-led Spanish in Madrid summer program before spending this past January intersession on the Community Development in Vietnam program. We asked her a few questions about her experiences and here's what she had to say:  

Why did you decide to study abroad? 

I have always believed that studying abroad is an integral part of a college experience that all students should participate in to gain a larger perspective on the world and how other students think and live. I wanted to be fully immersed in a culture other than my own, which I truly did in both of my study abroad trips as well as other international service experiences in college.

What did you really learn by going abroad? How has it impacted the rest of your college experience/your personal life/your job search?

My international experiences along with my ethnic background has become my motivation for my future endeavors. I intend to gear my degree toward the advancement of healthcare in resource-limited settings by developing appropriate medical devices and creating opportunities for others to do the same. After visiting a rural health clinic in Vietnam, I have become increasingly aware of the medical need in developing countries and my role of making an impact through my biomedical engineering degree. In addition, I have a gained a deep appreciation for other cultures and have joined several international organizations and established one, called Engineering World Health Chapter at the U of A.

What was the biggest hurdle in getting abroad and how did you overcome it?

A big challenge was finding a program that fit perfectly with my engineering goals. For my first study abroad trip, I wanted to study in Spain for the purpose of using my Spanish while simultaneously studying in engineering classes. After my freshman year, I still couldn’t find my ideal program. So I decided to simply study Spanish in Madrid after my sophomore year, which was one of the best decisions I have made. Though I didn’t take engineering classes, this trip definitely allowed me to focus on my Spanish skills while exploring a new culture. Fortunately, I was able to participate on my second study abroad which related more to my future goals, serving in the U of A global community development program in Vietnam.

What is one piece of advice would you give to other students thinking about studying abroad? 

Just do it!! Don’t linger on finding the ideal program. If you are adventurous and want to take on a new challenge, you should study abroad now while you’re in college and before you go out into the real world!

What did you learn about yourself/your culture by going abroad?

Though I have studied abroad before and been to several developing countries, Vietnam was the first time I have been in a country where the language, food, religion, and governmental system was completely different than what I was used to. I learned that I have grown to appreciate differences of other ethnicities, such as learning a language and trying some different food, including sea urchins, squid, and balut!

Where did you live while abroad?

I lived in the dorm of the Can Tho University with my U of A team. We ate in the cafeterias, bought bottled water from the on-campus canteen store, and played volleyball and a type of traditional hacky sack game with the local Vietnamese students.

Was studying abroad expensive? How did you pay for your experience?

Yes, there’s no doubt about the high expenses! Fortunately, the Honors College Study Abroad Grant covered most of the costs for me and I was able to use some scholarship from my spring semester to cover the rest of the costs.

Did you encounter any unexpected attention from your group or the local people by being a different ethnicity than the ? How did you deal with it?

Before arriving in Vietnam, I had no idea about what people would think of me as a person of a darker skin color. When our team was participating in an English Club, one Vietnamese student came up to me and touched my skin, and told me it looked really tough and strong, which was completely unexpected! I took this as a compliment, and realized that many people thought it was a unique thing to have dark skin. The Vietnamese locals would take pictures of me and my team because we were foreigners. It was difficult for our team to blend in with the culture because we traveled as a group and talked and acted differently. Though we did not want to make a big scene of being foreigners, it seemed to be inevitable.

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Find out more about the U of A Community Development in Vietnam program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/vietnam

Studying Abroad with Nelly Muyia #HogsAbroad

Nelly graduated from the U of A with a major in International Business and earned a minor in French by spending a summer studying on the U of A French in Besancon (now French in Perpignan) faculty-led program. We asked her a few questions about her study abroad and here's what she had to say:

Why did you decide to study abroad?

I studied abroad for two reason: 1. I'd always wanted to go to France and an opportunity like this one had never presented itself before. and 2. I wanted experience the culture of a place I’d studied about but never imagined I’d get to visit.

What did you really learn by going abroad?

I learned just accessible the world is-once you travel somewhere new, it gets easier to believe you can do it again.

How has it impacted the rest of your college experience/your personal life/your job search?

I was able to get a minor in French and several business electives which allowed me to meet my graduation requirements early. That allowed me the opportunity to start an internship my senior year in January (as I was not taking classes on campus) and that internship opportunity turned into a job.

What was the biggest hurdle in getting abroad and how did you overcome it?

The financial aspect was hard, but my program cost was feasible that I was able to pay by myself and with loans.

What is one piece of advice would you give to other students thinking about studying abroad?

Don't limit yourself. By that I mean don't think “it's too expensive”, or “I could do x instead, I don't have the time”,etc. There's no experience like studying abroad. Yes, you get the academic credit but personally, it's so important to go and experience the world and see how it responds to you. It builds your confidence.

What did you learn about yourself/your culture by going abroad?

I appreciated my Kenyan roots a lot more. Culture is so important in France, especially the city I was in. The pride they had in their culture made me appreciate mine as well as you realize just how unique your culture is in the world.

Where did you live while abroad?

I lived with a host family and a roommate and it was the greatest experience. They were so welcoming and open. This is another advice, allow yourself to connect to the people you meet. Don't wait because time flies by so fast.

Was studying abroad expensive? How did you pay for your experience?

My program was inexpensive enough that I was able to pay for it out of pocket. You can also apply your loans to study abroad and of course apply for scholarships

Did you encounter any unexpected attention from your group or the local people by being African American? How did you deal with it?

Paris is a city of tourists and you’re so busy admiring everything that you don’t notice if others are aware of you. In Besancon, the school I studied at was extremely diverse. There were people from so many different countries that it was hard to feel out of place. The people I encountered in Besancon were open to me. I felt welcomed and comfortable very quickly.

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To find out more about the U of A French in Perpignan summer program, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/perpignan

If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a look at the first steps: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/first-steps.php.