Building Peace by Building Homes: A Jordanian Adventure

Gideon Culman is AUA’s Program Officer and is currently leading the 2012 Building Peace by Building Homes trip in Jordan.  Below is Gideon’s post about his thoughts on embarking on this exciting adventure. To find an amazing volunteer opportunity, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

I’m one of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors. Today I’m traveling to Jordan to lead the Building Peace by Building Homes trip. What has me step up to be an unofficial ambassador is my taste for adventure—my eagerness to see up close how people around the world live, the joy I derive from just being myself in new settings, and my commitment to putting America’s best foot forward by being of service.

I acquired this taste for adventure tagging along with my Mom as she launched a global career as an artist. By the time I was ten, I had visited countries in Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Highlights of my early unofficial ambassadorial career include attending public school in Germany for a decade and a blind-faith move in my mid-twenties to the heavily Muslim Western Chinese megalopolis of Lanzhou to learn Mandarin from scratch.

The Building Peace by Building Homes trip is way more than just an adventure. Seven unofficial ambassadors, each representing a different facet of American life, are coming together as an expression of our joint commitment to build people-to-people partnerships with the Muslim World. We are all first-time visitors to Jordan. We will help build a house for a disadvantaged family in the ancient city of Salt. We will meet with Jordanian students and members of Jordanian civil society, we will experience city life and village life, and we will visit the Dead Sea and the caravan trade hub of Petra.

Even before the Building Peace by Building Homes team sets foot on Jordanian soil, our trip is causing stereotypes to unravel. Earlier this month, the team held a webinar with students from the King’s Academy boarding school outside Amman. Fully expecting a homogenous student body, I was astonished that the high school students I saw live on my computer screen appeared at first glance more heterogeneous than my own remarkably diverse team. Can’t wait to see what surprises the rest of the trip holds in store!

Tostan Youth spread Human Rights across The Gambia’s Upper River Region

The following is a guest post from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipient Alisa Hamilton. She is currently volunteering with Tostan in Senegal. To find an amazing opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations© today!

Participants march to the Governor’s residence on the sixth day of the caravan

Recently I attended a Youth Caravan in The Gambia to cover the event for Tostan’s Communications Department. The objective of the annual six-day caravan was to inspire cross-village and cross-generational interaction. One youth participant and one facilitator from 73 Tostan villages came together to form a large group that visited five other Tostan communities representing three different ethnic groups. This caravan visited two Serahule, two Mandinka, and one Fula village. In each village, youth participants presented to the host community what they had been learning through Tostan’s three-year Community Empowerment Program (CEP) as well as its importance. After spending a night in a village, the group moved on to another the next day.

Getting to The Gambia from Dakar was a bit of a hassle. The initial voyage took 17 hours. I woke up at 6:00 a.m., was at the gare routière or transport station by 7:30 a.m. and on the road in a sept-place by 8:00 a.m. A sept-place, an old station wagon that seats seven people plus the driver, is Senegal’s preferred mode of transportation for long distances – always very crowded with a lot of luggage strapped on the roof (often including large farm animals like sheep). I always get stuck in the back.

A sheep on top of a sept-place

Once I reached the border six hours later, I grabbed my bags, got my passport stamped on the Senegal side, walked across the border and bought my visa at the Gambian immigration office. I then took a taxi to another garage in Bara where I met up with Lilli, the Tostan volunteer in The Gambia. We waited three hours for a sept-place to fill up and then embarked on another six-hour ride to Basse. The Gambia has a gazillion police checkpoints so we stopped every half hour, which chewed up a lot of time. After crossing the Gambian River, we arrived in Basse, the Upper River Region’s (URR) largest city, around midnight.

A crowd gathers around caravan buses arriving in a village

A youth participant speaks about human rights during the afternoon ceremony

The next day was the first day of the six-day Caravan, which was an amazing experience but super exhausting. We spent each day in a different village. In the morning we woke up, ate breakfast, packed up the vans and headed to the next village. Each afternoon featured a ceremony where participants spoke about youth rights, for example, the right to education, the right to chose one’s husband, and the right to be registered at birth. Then host community members performed a skit. Participants in the last village we visited performed a powerful play about a teenage girl who gets seduced by a young man who promises her money; she becomes pregnant and dies during childbirth. In the final scene, the actors sang a funeral song warning about the dangers of teenage pregnancy. Other skits addressed the importance of education and the consequences of child/forced marriage. The speeches and skits were in local languages, so Tostan Supervisors translated for Lilli and me.

Scenes from the play in Bassendi

After closing words by local leaders, such as the Female President of the village and the National Coordinator of Tostan Gambia, we had some down time before dinner. I ate a lot of rice and meat that week. It seemed we had fruity soda after every meal, as well (I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables and drinking a lot of water this week!). Every evening included a cultural night of dancing, poetry recitation, and cultural entertainment. Lilli and I were usually so exhausted that we left the soirée early to go to bed.

Alisa with the crowd during a cultural night

The sixth day took place in Basse and was my favorite. All of the Caravan participants, over 200, and Tostan organizers gathered at the Tostan office and marched to the residence of the Governor of URR. There youth participants presented a manifesto stating what they wanted from the government as support in their quest to improve the lives of Gambian youth. Key points included education scholarships for girls and boys, skill training centers for technical jobs, and better enforcement of laws prohibiting child/forced marriage.

Youth participant, Fatou Baldé, presents the manifesto

My favorite part was riding on the back of Moussa’s motorbike while taking video footage of the march. I took a lot of video throughout the week and am hoping to put together a short piece for Tostan’s blog or website. My written article is currently featured on Tostan’s blog and soon to be in the November Newsletter. Very exciting!

Alisa filming on the back of Moussa’s motorbike

I had so much fun and hope to cover another Tostan event in the future. The experience was incredibly enriching and one of the best times I’ve had since living in West Africa, although I was quite anxious to get back to my bed and overhead shower after a week of changing mattresses and taking bucket baths!

Ba beneen yoon! – Until next time!

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Loveday, Tostan Regional Volunteer in The Gambia.

Unofficial Ambassador Steve Jobs

The following is a message from Ambassador Osman Siddique, the Chairman of AUA’s Diplomatic Council and the first Muslim-American to serve as a US ambassador, and AUA Director Ben Orbach. The message was published in the International Business Times and Microfinance Monitor on November 1, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC: Much has been written about the achievements of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs since he passed away on October 5. A part of this story not yet covered, though, is how the idea of what Jobs represented for America will be missed across the Muslim World. From the alleys of Nablus to the streets of Lahore, the American people have long served as our country’s best representatives; the loss of Steve Jobs is the loss of one of America’s foremost Unofficial Ambassadors.

For years, people across the Muslim World have drawn a distinction between their disaffection for US policies and their affinity for the American people. For many ordinary people, certain policies offended sensibilities – such as torture at Abu Ghraib – or made lives more difficult – like supporting the Mubarak regime in Egypt for decades.

It is this strong rejection of the US policy that has led to widespread “disapproval” of America in polling across the Muslim World. According to the Pew Foundation, America’s favorability in Pakistan in 2003 (the start of the war with Iraq) was 13 percent; in Jordan it was just one percent. Eight years later, it is 20 percent in Egypt and just 10 percent in Turkey.

At the same time, the American people are regarded differently – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may twist the masses in knots, but Facebook makes people smile. Our political processes and entertainment sector have long been international standard bearers, from the “rags to riches” election of the son of an African immigrant to explosive Hollywood blockbusters.

Our businesses are known for innovation and our education systems for teaching critical thinking. A degree from an American university has long been coveted while an “unlocked” iPhone is the latest and greatest American export. Steve Jobs and the company he built were a Colossus of this kind of “soft power,” a symbol of the value of the “people-to-people” component of international relations.

If this past year’s events in the Middle East and North Africa have demonstrated anything, it is that America’s relations with countries such as Egypt and Pakistan will not be determined solely by the dialogue that occurs between the leaders of our respective governments. In this age of technological connectedness and the 24-hour news cycle, governments cannot survive indefinitely if they don’t enable their people to pursue their aspirations. At the community level, people form their opinions of their national leaders and of America, too, based not upon the promises of treaties but upon the merits of deeds and the style of conduct.

In this respect, Steve Jobs was an American force for inspiration, innovation, and empowerment. Millions of iPhones and iPads bought all over the world reflect American ingenuity but significantly, the product of that ingenuity carries the promise of new possibilities.

While few Americans will have the impact of a Steve Jobs on a global level, many of us can serve as unofficial ambassadors at the grassroots level across the Muslim World and be a part of representing that same promise of a better future.

For example, Matthew Stackowicz is an English teacher who volunteered for three weeks in Sana’a, Yemen, and taught refugees from Somalia to tell their stories through photography. Brittany Richardson is an outdoors trip leader who volunteered for seven months in villages surrounding Lunsar, Sierra Leone, training young girls to ride bicycles. And Jean Kurtenbach is a senior who helped build a home with a Tajik family in Khujand.

Matthew, Brittany, and Jean represented the best of America to local leaders and citizens and formed partnerships that created a positive impact from a human development perspective. They supported the freedom of speech, the empowerment of women, and access to a healthier environment. Their deeds spoke volumes, and they improved America’s international relations at the community level.

Importantly, the partnerships they formed were not one-way endeavors. They were ambassadors to communities in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and they returned to their homes in Indiana, California, and Nebraska as representatives of the idea that our personal actions can take us beyond stereotypes. Sadly for us as Americans, a 2010 Pew Foundation poll showed that 38 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Muslims.

America needs more unofficial ambassadors to the Muslim World, which is why we launched the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors initiative this past year at Creative Learning, a Washington D.C. not-for-profit. More than 61 million Americans volunteered last year, but less than 1 percent of that number volunteered overseas and only a fraction of that one percent volunteered in a Muslim-majority country. By the end of 2012, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors will encourage 1,000 Americans to commit to volunteer for a week to a year, and we are building a community to offer them guidance and support.

Steve Jobs left an indelible mark as a great American, revered and respected worldwide for his contributions to our global community. His inventions catalyzed creativity, but one does not have to be a world-leading innovator to be a part of generating new possibilities – to build a house in Indonesia, to teach English in Jordan, and to help build peace as an unofficial ambassador.

The people-to-people connections we form, the decency we can demonstrate in the process, and the impact of the partnerships we create are all invaluable, from a development perspective and from a mutual understanding perspective, too.

M. Osman Siddique was the first Muslim-American to serve as a US Ambassador and chairs the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors Diplomatic Council. Benjamin Orbach is the Director of the America’s Unofficial Ambassadors initiative at Creative Learning. (www.unofficialambassadors.org).

Dialogue and Engagement with the Muslim World

Individuals exploring the possibilities of volunteering abroad must remember that there is a cultural difference between America and the Muslim World. The AUA Network’s “Dialogue and Engagement with the Muslim World for Volunteers and Practitioners” webinar with Luby Ismail, President of Connecting Cultures and intercultural trainer, is a great way for you to gain insight on general and specific cultural differences between America and the Muslim World, as well as understand the communication barriers you may face across cultures.

Culture is the difference between your truth and my truth. While two people may have different cultural orientations, they are not as different as they may seem. According to Luby Ismail, “Understanding another culture and getting to know an individual will replace a label with a name which is a profound way to transform the perceptions of another.”

Luby discusses:

• Cultural competence and its importance in a post 9/11 world
• The commonalities in the beliefs of Islamic and other faiths
• Interesting facts about Muslims as part of America’s history

For a full recording of the “Dialogue and Engagement with the Muslim World for Volunteers and Practitioners” webinar with Luby Ismail please visit the AUA Network’s Useful Resources  for Unofficial Ambassadors page under Islam – A Major World Religion. The resource page is a diverse — rather than comprehensive — collection of resources that will assist unofficial ambassadors in preparing for a productive and rewarding volunteer experience abroad. The information and Web sites included in this guide were selected for their accuracy, reliability, and objectivity.

Additional Links:

• For information on Muslim women including an archive of leading Muslim women scholars, writers, and activists please visit WISE Muslim Women.
• For statistics and other reports regarding the views of Muslim Americans, visit Portrait of Muslim Americans  and Gallup Poll: Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future

Upcoming webinars:

1. November 18, 2011 – Researching and Writing Successful Proposals: Supporting Grassroots NGOs, Susan Raymond, Executive Vice President, Changing Our World, Inc
2. December 9, 2011 – Community Partnerships: Building Personal and Productive Partnerships that Reach Across Cultures, Margaret McLaughlin, Deputy Director, Stability Operations, Foreign Service Institute, US Dept of State

Webinars are held from 12-1 PM Eastern Time. The format is an initial presentation of 30 to 40 minutes followed by a lively discussion session. RSVP, and receive instructions on how to access the webinar by sending an e-mail to CharlotteH@creativelearning.org. RSVPs will be accepted up to the morning of each event.

A Scattered Heart: Morgan’s Reflection of Her Time Spent Abroad

The following is a guest blog from AUA Mosaic Scholarship recipient Morgan Faulkner who volunteered with the Middle East Fellowship organization in the West Bank. To find an opportunity like this one, search the AUA Directory of Recommended Organizations©.

You know that feeling when you wake up from a really amazing dream, it’s Monday morning in your regular life, and you would give almost anything if you could just go back to sleep for a few more minutes?  That feeling is the true danger of travel, especially somewhere as different and amazing as the Middle East.  You get home and can’t quite figure out why the greeters at Wal-Mart didn’t offer you a cup of coffee or tea, where the fruit and vegetable sellers on the side of the road have gone, and why on earth it’s been raining for a week straight when you had virtually forgotten what a cloud looked like.  In short, why is a life that used to seem perfectly lovely suddenly coming up short?  As usual, the answers would be extremely complicated, but in my case it probably has to do with those pesky little pieces of myself that I forgot to pack when I came home.

One piece I think is probably still sitting somewhere between the lunch table and my desk at work where I took it out to develop relationships with my co-workers and the clients we worked with.  I meant to grab it on my way out before we left for Ramadan, but I’ve been feeling around and it seems that didn’t happen.  Another piece seems to have been left on the street corner where my new friends and I bought our last pieces of knaffe (a most delicious and amazing sweet that has absolutely no equivalent in this country) and were given little pieces of other pastries and candies to try as the people who worked there tried to make us feel welcome, even after two months in country.  I didn’t even notice that little bit was gone until I went to the grocery store alone and found out that boxed Danishes don’t really cut it for me anymore.   Then there’s the bit stayed at my usual afternoon and evening hangouts. Being an American made me far more interesting than I would be anywhere else in the world and made it unavoidable to strike up friendships with people that I saw several times a week. They were kind enough to decipher my desperate mixture of English and Arabic without laughing too hard and made sure that my trip was going smoothly and happily.

As for the largest part, I don’t have to guess – I know where that one is.  I left it voluntarily, gave it away, and have no desire to get it back any time soon.  My host family got the rights to a huge chunk of my heart with the pieces of their own that they willingly shared. For two months I became a de facto member of their close knit family.  Despite advancing age, busy lives, and declining health, my host parents cared for me as painstakingly and carefully as though I were one of their own grandchildren.  Walking in the house was grounds for force feeding and being ten minutes later than you anticipated in coming home was cause for great concern.  As I was told over and over, my parents had trusted them to take care of me and make sure I was happy.  Being the amazing grandparents they were, this was not a charge that either of them took lightly.  Many evenings my host father and I would sit and watch the news together in English, even though I’m fairly certain he didn’t understand half of what they were saying.  His commentary, though, seemed much more intelligent than what I usually get on the news: “Syria… very bad now.  Egypt no good.  Tsk… Libya.”  And the famine? “Merciful God…”  That pretty much cleared everything up for me.  When I went into Jerusalem, my host mom would pack me food.  The end of our discussions seemed to always be that she was concerned whether or not I would be able to find anything to eat in Israel.  Since she hadn’t been there in decades, I suppose it was a legitimate assumption.

Leaving part of my heart there was easy, since it broke a little when I had to announce I would be leaving within a couple of days. My family tried very hard to try and convince me to stay – as though I needed convincing!  My real family was on the phone insisting that I get on the plane to come back and not refuse to return to the US!  What I know for sure is that as soon as I can manage it, I’m getting back on a plane to the place that my heart seems to have decided will be its other home.  There’s something about the people that gets in your blood.  You start to question the things that you value in your own life and whether or not there might be something out there more important than whatever trivial matter you’re letting consume you.  The most important truths are the ones you learn for yourself the long way, and you have to be prepared to have them change your life.  There’s a popular Broadway musical “Wicked” based on Gregory Maguire’s telling of the Wizard of Oz.  At its core, it’s a story about self-discovery and life changing truths.  Among it’s many amazing songs is one called “For Good” that I think sums up the promise and danger of making a journey like mine. “Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun, like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood, who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?  I do believe I have been changed for the better – and, because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

56 Miles Later, Eric the Runner Crossed the Finish Line

Congratulations to Eric Fischer for running and finishing his first 90 kilometer (56 mile) race! Eric also did an amazing job reaching his fund raising goal for America’s Unofficial Ambassadors! His efforts will help to build people-to-people connections and increase awareness between the United States and the Muslim world. Read below about how Eric found the strength to finish his race, the new friends he made, and the amazing experience he will never forget:

Eric with Race Director Abdelkhader Mouazziz in Ifrane, Morocco.

Greetings from Morocco!

Thank you for your support and encouragement over the last few days. I completed the 90 kilometers ultra-marathon in Ifrane successfully and I am now back in Rabat. It was quite a race! I went up there not knowing much about what was going to happen other than it was going to be a long race but it turned out to be the best experience I have had in Morocco and one of the best experiences of my life!  It was certainly a life changing experience.

The first day, we spent the night in Zaouia, a small town with a waterfall.   The next morning we started the race at 10 am.  It was a brutal run.  It started low and then went up a huge hill with lots of boulders.   When we got to the top there was a long, flat, grassy area until we got to some cedar trees before descending to the finish line. Afterward I took a little birdbath in a water fountain and from there we got lunch and dinner at our campsite in a beautiful area of Ras al-Ma.

The next day we got up and took the bus to the place where we left off on the first day.   There were four stages to this race and this was the longest leg of the race.  It was a 35 kilometer run which was even more brutal than the first day.  It seemed like the race was never going to end!   I started off a little too strong because about 2/3 of the way through it was really hot and I couldn’t run anymore so I just walked. However, I finally made it to the finish line in less than four hours. There were some monkeys at the end of the trail to welcome me to the finish line.  It was a hard experience but it was a good experience in the sense that I bonded with a lot of the Moroccan runners.  Many of them were world-renowned runners but it was also a group of people who were there just there to have some fun and run the race. After dinner all the runners listened to live music together.

The third day of the race was probably the best for me.  It was a 17 kilometer run on relatively flat terrain. I thought it would be painful because after the second day it was really tough to start thinking about running more.  However, it worked out really well and I had a smile on my face at the end of the third day!  After the race I went with some friends down to this river and we jumped into the cold water and poured water all over ourselves. It was supposed to be really good for my muscles and legs. After swimming in the river, we had the best chicken that I have ever had in my life. Although, I am sure my opinion was influenced by the fact that I was so hungry.

The next day we ran the last leg of the run.  It was supposed to be the easiest section of the race since it was downhill but the downhill part had all these boulders in the path.   I had to go slowly and my left leg was a little sore.   I wanted to be really careful not to injure myself. After the downhill part, we hit a road and after that I ran some more until I got to the final kilometer and then I ran all the way to the finish.   After I ended the race, a couple TV stations interviewed me and I got a medal, a t-shirt, and some other goodies.  At one point, I was on stage speaking in Arabic about my experience running the race.  I said that the race allowed me to bond with Moroccans over live music, bus rides, food, swimming, and storytelling. It was quite an experience that required training, determination, and sheer will to make it to the finish.

The experience is one that I will never forget.  It was really special and means a lot to me in so many ways that I cannot really describe.  I made a lot of Moroccan friends and when we were running the race everyone was enduring the same experience.  Although some runners may have trained more than others or knew more about the course, we all realized that we were in this together and we would help each other make it through.  This made it a really special experience because it didn’t matter if we were Moroccan, American, Tunisian, or Libya; we were all running this race and trying to get to the end and this meant helping each other along the way.  I will definitely stay in touch with my fellow runners.

Lastly, one of the things that kept me going was knowing that I had the support of many friends and family. I cannot thank my family and friends enough for the support that they gave to me in running this race; knowing that my friends and family were supporting me and America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA) made the moments where it felt like the run was never going to end just that much more meaningful.  When you run for a purpose greater than yourself you are able to accomplish more than you think and I think that was one of the main lessons I took away from running the ultra-marathon in Ifrane, Morocco.

Best,

Eric Fischer

The Importance of Athletics in the Muslim World

In discussing culture a few days ago, I mentioned a number of different arts and elements, but omitted one of the most important and universal parts of all culture; sports!  In the United States, there is a massive industry surrounding sporting goods, professional athletics and amateur competition which approaches $100 billion dollars every single year.  It’s obviously an integral part of the American cultural landscape, but what about in Muslim world?

Men's African Club Volleyball Champions from Egypy: Photo Courtesy of CAVB

All sorts of athletics are incredibly popular in Muslim majority countries.  People watch and play sports every day.  There are many sports blogs discussing professional sports, locals sports and even Muslim women in sports.  In Somalia, when a local extremist militant group banned watching the 2010 World Cup under penalty of death, people risked their lives and continued to watch because their love for soccer was so great.

In the 2008 Summer Olympics, every single Muslim majority country participated with the exception of two, Brunei and Kosovo.  Although all the rest of the Muslim nations competed, altogether they won only 60 medals of the 958 which were given out.  Their lack of accomplishment was irrelevant however, as many countries were excited just to be participating on a global stage.

Soccer is quite possibly the most popular sport in the entire Muslim world.  People get unbelievably excited for the World Cup, Premier League and every international soccer game.  They dance in the streets after big games and demand that shops show the most important matches on their TVs.  Children grow up playing soccer.  The Global Sport Fund has held soccer camps for kids all over the Muslim world in order to encourage their love of the game and keep them away from difficult conditions in their home countries.  There are even websites covering the sports news in the region, from the Iranian women’s team FIFA ban to the issues with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Photo Courtesy of Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Qatar has been making headlines all around the world with their surprise winning bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the subsequent allegations of bribery.   The obvious desire for a huge event like the World Cup to take place in the Muslim world is backed by many reasons.  It would first and foremost, bring money to the region, creating jobs and almost certainly helping the economy throughout the Middle East.  It would inspire countless new athletes.  Kids love soccer no matter what, but to have the World Cup take place in their region would  bring the enthusiasm to a pinnacle.  Furthermore, the World Cup could be a great distraction to a region which needs a distraction.  Whether or not the FIFA tournament winds up in Qatar or not, soccer will remain influential in the region and could do great things.

Iranian Women's National Team: Photo Courtesy of Reuters

Sports have the power to inspire and change a region.  They can inject happiness by allowing those who have been afflicted with political or religious strife in their homeland to forget about the problems going on and focus on kicking a ball around, or shooting some hoops.  With the recent upheavals all around the Muslim world, for people to stop and watch a little soccer could be incredibly soothing.

Volunteers often bring their own personal favorites sports with them.  Hockey, Baseball and American Football are rarely the popular sports in the Muslim world which typically favors soccer, cricket and even basketball and rugby.  While volunteering abroad, make sure to play some sports with the people you’re staying with and working with.  Maybe teach them a new game which they haven’t played before.  Sports are beloved throughout the world, from Texas to Tehran, so don’t hesitate to use them as a tool to bond with people anywhere and everywhere.  As always, look into our directory of organizations facilitating volunteer service in the Muslim world and remember that not only are athletics universal, but just because they’re games, doesn’t mean that they can’t change lives.

The Culture of Muslim Majority Countries

Culture is one of the most obvious representations of a society and is manifested throughout daily life.  Although in many impoverished countries, people may not always have books, movies, laptops and MP3 players, they still tell stories, make their own music and their own cultural entertainment.  The stories, music and other cultural elements of a society are often the most fun and interesting way to absorb another way of life.  This is one of the best parts of volunteering abroad is seeing how people live their lives and what they do for entertainment.

In this rapidly globalizing world though, culture converges, especially where people have access to technology.  Here is a video of an Indonesian student named Azam, singing Mariah Carey:

It’s funny and fascinating to see that American pop singers have found their way into Indonesian schools.

My personal favorite part of other cultures is food.  Who doesn’t love tasting new dishes the way they’re supposed to be made, not in a watered down, Americanized way?  Many Muslim majority countries, specifically in the Middle East have great dishes consisting of lamb and goat with interesting spices and flavors.  Skye, one of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors who is interning in Jordan and is keeping a blog, was lucky enough to have a dinner with some Sheikhs.  At the dinner, he was serenaded and then ate some delicious Jordanian cuisine.  Here writes:

 After talking and taking pictures for awhile Sheikh Yusef pulled out the Arabic version of a guitar and began serenading us for the next hour.  A number of the songs were quite interesting, especially since we didn’t understand anything except for when he said our names.  It was an awesome time, and he even sang a song about my fiancee missing me in America which was hilariously awesome to say the least.  After he finished singing and before we ate dinner I asked if I could sing them a song from my homeland in gratitude and I sang them the song “Shenandoah”, which I think they enjoyed.

After I sang we all sat done to an amazing platter of the Jordanian National Dish, mansef, with lamb’s meat.  The traditional way to eat the mansef is to roll the rice into a ball along with the meat and the bread and eat it all in one big bite.  Apparently the bigger the ball you make the cooler you are and the Sheikhs thoroughly enjoyed watching us try to make the balls.  I actually made an instructional video for everyone to see but since my internet is so slow I don’t know when I’ll be able to upload it along with my pictures.  The mansef was absolutely amazing and just as wonderful as it sounds.  I was completely full by the end of the evening and had such an awesome experience it is hard for me to realize it actually happened.

Skye with his new friends

This is just one example of the amazing things which Muslim majority countries have to offer culturally.  It is because of this that I recommend that anyone who volunteers abroad should try to take in some of the local culture.  This could mean food, dance, paintings, sculpture, music, anything really, just see what the local people do.  Culture is a common language which all human beings can bond over no matter this religion or nationality.  If you’re interested in volunteering in a Muslim majority country, look into our directory.  Research the many programs we partner with in countries all over the Muslim world.  Pick a program you like or a country that seems like it may be culturally appealing.  Please apply for the Mosaic Scholarship if you want to receive funding for your trip.

Alison Checks in With AUA Before She Departs for Bangladesh

Ali ready to leave for Bangladesh

Alison Horton, our Mosaic Scholarship winner and BRAC volunteer left for Bangladesh on June 1.  She has begun to acclimate to life in Bangladesh and has only just seen what her six weeks abroad will offer her.  She will be updating us as time progresses about what she is doing and what she is learning.  Here is what she has had to say so far:

I may be a very pale, sunburn-prone Catholic girl from freezing cold upstate New York, but I could not be more excited to spend this upcoming summer in the very hot, humid, predominantly Muslim world of Bangladesh.  Armed with plenty of sunscreen and a very open mind, I cannot wait to take off.So, why Bangladesh?  As a PhD student studying poverty eradication strategies in the developing world, I often come across an organization called BRAC, headquartered in Bangladesh.  Continually credited with unprecedented leaps in school enrollment, health, food security, and economic sustainability, BRAC seems to be a pillar of hope in a very uneven and unjust world.  Working across the globe combating poverty with holistic, innovative approaches, BRAC has grown to be the world’s largest non-governmental organization.  BRAC employs over 100,000 Bangladeshi people, who work to empower the poorest of the poor.   I have the incredible opportunity to work with them this summer as a volunteer intern.  I will work alongside these Bangladeshi people both in their headquarters and out in the field.  Immersed in this rich culture, and placed in this successful organization, I expect that every aspect of my day will be an incredible experience and learning opportunity.

In addition to the personal and professional growth I anticipate through this experience, I am also eager to share my experiences back home.  In these weeks leading up to my departure, I find myself answering a similar pattern of questions from friends, family, and strangers alike.  When mailing out my visa forms, the local post office worker questioned my plans: “Bangladesh?  I didn’t even know Americans were allowed there.”  My doctor, when administering the immunizations I had requested, asked if I knew the country was Muslim and “may not be kind to American travelers.”  People wondered what I would eat, where I would stay, if I would have running water, etc.  My grandmother suggested I fill my suitcase with food so that I wouldn’t starve.  I have welcomed these conversations, and love sharing my expectations, curiosities, and plans.  While attempting to reassure my loved ones that I will stay safe and healthy, I know that it will be upon my return that my words will have the most impact.

This is not to say that I don’t expect obstacles, frustrations, and difficulties while abroad.  Undoubtedly, I will struggle with the language barrier.  I’m sure I will feel ill from new foods on more than one occasion.  At times I will be uncomfortable, homesick, and culture-shocked.  But I feel these are small prices to pay for the incredible experiences I will have and people I will meet.  I am so eager to connect with the amazing Bangladeshi people, respect and admire them, form lasting relationships, learn from their culture, and report all my glorious experiences back home.

I do not blame my family and friends for being concerned about my well-being this summer, as unfortunate stereotypes and assumptions regarding both the developing world and the Muslim culture are wide-spread and out of control in our society.  I just hope that my positive experience can serve as one small force against such hateful assumptions.

It is exactly this sentiment that drew me to the mission of America’s Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA).  Founded on the idea that American citizens have the power to improve our relationship with the Muslim world through personal works of service, AUA seeks to support volunteers traveling to Muslim-majority countries. I plan to forge meaningful relationships across deep cultural divides, and do my small part to form connection and understanding across difference.  AUA has provided me with the financial resources to make this trip possible, as well as much support in documenting and sharing my experiences through pictures, video, and blogging.  I feel very strongly about AUA’s mission, and I am so grateful and honored to serve as an Unofficial Ambassador.  I may spend my summer in this monsoon climate sweaty, sunburned, and soaked, and I truly cannot wait!