Mansour Al-Subaie
Class/113A
Professor/Klepper
07 December 2012
Studying Abroad in the U.S.
Today is the day, you are boarding a plane without your mother or father, sister or brother, arriving at a place you’ve never been, but have heard so much about. You might be looking to learn more about your culture and how it is evaluated in this new place. You may be on a mission to try all of the good food and see the attractions the city has to offer. One thing is certain, that you will not be bored.The main reason foreign students travel to the U.S. is to advance their education and career opportunities, allowing them to choose from many career options, which may not be available in their home country.
Traveling abroad to advance my education is scary with many rewarding benefits. Although I am homesick and culture shocked, I am excited to have an educational opportunity of this magnitude become available to me. “Between 1993 and 2003, the number of exchange students sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Yemen, fell by 21 percent.” A recent Department of Education Survey showed that 29 percent of U.S. universities showed a dramatic drop in Saudi student visa applications after the September 11 attacks (Bronson 258). In 2005 George Bush met with King Abdullah and created a scholarship program that would send young Saudis to the U.S, for training. Today, colleges are once again taking on the responsibility of preparing students for this global economy, by assisting them in learning about other cultures in an appropriate and supportive setting (McKeown 14-15).
The two locations most chosen to study abroad by US citizens are the United Kingdom and Australia, which account for 25 percent of all U.S. foreign exchange students. Other top locations are Spain, France, Italy, and Mexico, while no other country receives more than 3percent of U.S. total exchange students population (McKeown 25). However, in the 2010-2011 school year, 723,277 foreign students were enrolled in U.S. colleges. This year alone 66,000 students from Saudi Arabia attended U.S. universities. This is partly because of the Saudi government-paid program that allows students to earn their degree then return to their homeland to assist in making it better.
In Saudi Arabia there is an unequal distribution of wealth. While some live wealthy, nearly 30 percent of the people live in poverty. While there are jobs available in the Middle East, certain issues make finding and securing a stable and self fulfilling job difficult. Often times it is difficult for men to secure education in a variety of fields. This limits the type of career he can have. More than 40 percent of women job seekers in Saudi remain unemployed because of religious customs that limit their flexibility. However, by coming to the U.S. and being allowed to study many different fields, a person can find their true passion and make a career out if this.
Traveling abroad allows a student to experience life in many different ways. Learning a new language and understanding the culture in this new place has been very rewarding. On the other hand, it’s not only I have shared American culture but I have had the opportunity to meet so many nice people and share stories of my country with them. As an illustration, I remember when I lived with home stay and really it was a great experience to know more about the American culture and beside that the father and the mother were very nice people and when I called my parents they asked me how my family is. Actually, I was delighted because of I thought American people are racial and maybe I will get in trouble with them if I missed something about their cultures. One the another aspect with them by sharing my culture, when I invited Saudi guys and we great each other by our own language she was observing us and later she asked me how we can say “How are you “in Arabic. When I told her the greeting in Arabic and a day when I came back from the school and met her she said,” Salaam” a greet in Arabic and I was happy and told her it is incredible to say it, so in short, as I share American culture it’s a great chance also to tell them much about our culture. In addition, they always asked me about traditional food and how we can prepare it and I directly told them the basic dishes we have. In my view point, people who think they will face problems with cultures here it’s not a true. On the other hand, why it’s much easier I overcame the difficulties because there are a lot of Saudi students here on campus and therefore I never really feel separated from home.
Some may argue that it is not beneficial to allow foreign students to be educated here in the United States. They may feel that it is each country’s responsibility to educate and assist their own instead of giving visa’s to foreigners. To this I ask what is education except knowledge that is to be shared. The education alone is nothing, it is clearly what you do with it that will make the difference. What better way to help a group of people than to give them the tools needed to help themselves and those around them.
Additionally, some critics may argue that many people who come to the U.S. to be educated often do not return home, and if they do it is only to be disappointed and eager to return back to the U.S. However, while many who study in this country do not return home, according to James B. Smith, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, most Saudis actually do return home once they have completed their degree (Knickmeyer). However, it is true that women, because of the freedoms here that are not available in Saudi Arabia, have a much harder time transitioning back into the culture than men.
Having the opportunity to travel to the U.S. and be educated has been wonderful. I have met so many nice people who seem genuinely curious about my country and culture. I had believed that racial tension would be so high here that is was almost hard for me to imagine. Happily, I can say that I have experienced none of that during my stay abroad. Whether going abroad to be educated is good for you or not is a personal question that each must ask themselves. It can be scary and expensive, and yet not all careers benefit from the skills acquired from studying abroad (McKeown IV). However, for me this has been a once in a lifetime experience that will inevitably benefit me and my entire family.
Traveling abroad to advance my education has been exciting and scary with many rewarding benefits. I have been homesick and I am still getting used to the culture here, but I am excited to have an educational opportunity such as this one available to me. The main reason foreign students travel to the U.S. is to advance their education and career opportunities, allowing them to choose from many career options, which may not be available in their home country. This is the best way to make money for the U.S. while teaching foreign students the skills needed to make changes in their home country. Personally, I believe that traveling abroad allows the student to experience different cultures and look at situations from a different point of view. It may be a new perspective that is needed to make the serious decisions at home that will effectively bring about change.
Works Cited
Bronson, Rachel. “Thicker Than Oil: America’s Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia.” New York: Oxford University Press. 2007. Print. 13 October 2102.
Knickmeyer, Ellen. “Saudi Students Flood In as U.S. Reopens Doors.” The Wall Street Journal. July 27, 2012. web. 13 October 2012.
McKeown, Joshua. “The First Time Effect: The Impact of Study Abroad on College Student’s Intellectual Development.” Albany: State University of New York. 2009. Print. 13 October 2012.