Q Life Magazine Q Magazine (US) December 2015 | Page 13
Education |
| Students visit Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
Everyone there is studying English,
and when they hear an American
trying to speak Arabic they get
so excited; ‘Someone is actually
putting the effort into learning
our language!’” and rode camels along the beach.
They could see Saudi Arabia just
across the bay. “The water was
so blue, and very salty,” recalls Ali.
“And we swam in the Arabian Sea,
that’s something I won’t forget.”
On the day before they left, the
group took an excursion into the
desert, in six 4x4s. “We went sand
duning,” explains Abbey Borghee,
a junior at Texas Wesleyan
University in Fort Worth, Texas.
“It was like you see in the movies,
just sand for miles and miles.” Spreading the Word
The day ended at a seaside camp,
where the students played volleyball
The fellowship program continues
for a year after the trip, when the
students and professors engage
with their communities at home,
be they academic, civic, or religious.
They give talks, write for their local
newspapers, blog: “some of them
get really creative,” says Hilbrand,
“which is excellent.” Some focus
on culture, others on politics; they
pay visits to Kiwanis clubs, church
groups, nursing homes, and are
especially active on campus.
Besides the obvious educational
and professional benefits for the
participants, the study visit brings
constructive and much-needed
dialogue between Americans and
Qataris. “Since I got back I’ve been
trying to spread awareness,” says
Borghee. “It’s one thing to read
about a foreign place, but to be able
to send American students there,
it’s the best form of communication.
We have been able to come back
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