East? Meet West.
CMC participates in cultural exchange with Kuwait
During Spring Break 2011, the University of Kuwait invited CMC Arabic Professor Bassam Frangieh and CMC History Professor Lisa Cody to lead 22 CMC students to Kuwait as the first half of an international educational exchange. The University of Kuwait covered all the students’ expenses, such as accommodations, meals, travel, and activities. For a reciprocal visit, CMC invited 20 Kuwaiti students and six faculty members to visit CMC in late January 2012. Aleta Wenger, CMC Director for International Programs, and Professor Bassam Frangieh, coordinated and organized the delegation’s schedule, on and off campus activities, as well as lodging and travel arrangements.
In interviews with the Port Side, participants of both programs recounted their stories of cultural differences, stereotypes, and inner-change.
On Kuwait, Modernity, and Moos-lems
A dual major in Economics and International Relations, Nick Rowe CMC ‘13 said he traveled to Kuwait “not to learn the language [Arabic] but because I haven’t been to the Middle East. It’s important to learn the perspectives of different cultures and traditions in order to formulate a worldview of this melting pot.” He perceived Kuwait as being wealthy, having an oil-focused industry and conservative Muslim society. These impressions were all verified. However, on a deeper-level, places like the Dewaniya (a hangout where men and women gather to drink coffee or smoke Hookah) showed that Kuwait was not as restrictive as Rowe supposed. In fact, Kuwait was welcoming in a unique way. Rowe said, “I was shocked because their communication level was quite fluent. They spoke eloquent English, an aspect which really spoke to me.”
Rowe’s only disappointment was that the Kuwaiti lifestyle focused primarily on commercialism and materialism. Because of this, he would not consider Kuwait as a place for long-term living. Rather, he found it more suitable for tourism, work, and education.
Ian Gulliver CMC ‘14 shared Rowe’s disappointment: “I wish the program directors would show us more Kuwaiti artifacts and culture. Instead, they insisted that we would enjoy our time in the malls shopping just like them. They loved the idea and brand of being American. However, we wanted to see what makes Kuwait, Kuwait. Their freedom of ideas and expression.”
Gulliver was also surprised by the social separation of men and women. He explained, “Even for international students, it was hard to break the social norm in Kuwait. If a student from China, for example, wants to stay out with friends after 9 p.m., he/she would have to petition such ‘privilege’ with his/her hometown embassy and go through endless paperwork.”
On the whole, the trip was a positive experience. Gulliver enjoyed visiting the Kuwaiti Gulf Oil Company, volleyball courts, a souq (market), and a desert tent, where he learned that showing the soles of one’s feet is deemed inappropriate due to uncleanliness. When asked if he had last words or advice for those who aspire to visit Kuwait, Gulliver said, “It was an eye-opening experience. I felt very welcome, as if I was one of them. No one looked down upon me, because to them, I was an equal. It taught me about the differences that make us unique but our passion for aspiring, dreaming, and achieving unites us.”
On Ame-ri-ka, Claremont Colleges & Hollywood
Rawan Al-Awadhi, Ghanimah Hamadah, and Latifah Al-Abbad, top Kuwaiti students in their fields, Civil Engineering, Law, and Dentistry respectively, thoroughly enjoyed the independence of America. Having lived in a country with restrictions on women, with laws preventing them from becoming judges and cultural conventions restricting their outings in public, being in America was a liberating experience.
Prior to their scheduled trip to Disneyland, the three women spoke with the Port Side and praised the atmosphere of positivity in the Claremont Colleges. Al-Awadhi said, “Here, you learn to know, learn to do, and learn to be yourself. I love how students are involved with different aspects of their lives, socially, academically, and spiritually. Even the smallest thing, like entrusting a student to gather our delegation at the airport, makes the student feel like an important individual. Whereas, in Kuwait we are required to study and go to college from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., leaving no room to explore ourselves or to act according to our reflection in independency.”
In terms of academics and personal growth, Hamadah agreed with the other students. “You could go for months and years and not find a thing that excites you. Here in the Claremont Colleges you are offered the opportunity to find that ‘thing’ that makes you want to wake up everyday with all the myriad classes and sport activities. Even if you hate studying, the communal, joyful, and hospitable feel here guides you to love learning among the people you admire.”
The students laughed when asked to share their favorite experience in America. They said that they enjoyed touring Hollywood Boulevard and seeing two men fighting on the street using American slang. To them this scene epitomized a Hollywood drama with all the glamour, glitz, and action. They saw their week in Southern California as a personal Hollywood movie.
The Observer
Megan Peterson SCR ‘15, an Anthropology major, volunteered to help organize the Kuwaiti Delegation. “Seeing Claremont through the eyes of an outsider is really something special. Your manner of thinking and theirs are different. The way we act, eat, think, dress is distinctive. Our differences are the essence of our humanity,” said Peterson, who is taking an introductory course in Arabic with CMC Professor Ayman Ramadan. Peterson says that this experience was valuable in utilizing “my Arabic skills, igniting my passion to interact with people from other traditions, and offering my talents to them as a Scripps tour guide.”
When asked about her first impression of the students, Peterson laughed and said she was not sure who was more nervous. However, the interactions quickly became more comfortable. She was shocked by how articulately the students spoke English. “This week more than ever, I discovered the small differences between ‘classic’ America and a small Middle Eastern country. We differ with our clothing but share our love for movies, such as one Kuwaiti student’s love for Kill Bill. It’s funny, we wanted to share names too. In my Arabic class, we are given Arabic names, and similarly the Kuwaiti women wanted American names. I named one Ashley,” explained Peterson enthusiastically.
These interviews with Kuwaiti and Claremont Colleges students show that it is an enriching and inspiring experience to engage with peers across the globe. Though students were surprised by several cultural differences, they were even more shocked by the similarities. Students from the East and West both enjoy comparable trends in pop-culture, yet there are even deeper connections. Notably, independence and self-fulfillment are primary concerns for college students from America to Kuwait.
5 Responses to “East? Meet West.”
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I wanted to add to Nick Rowe’s and Ian Gulliver’s perspective on the Faculty-led delegation to Kuwait, because I feel like their opinions do not capture the wonderful, warm, and culturally rich experience that I (and others on the program) had. I am an Arabic Program student who was also given the fantastic opportunity to travel to Kuwait with Bassam Frangieh and Lisa Cody this last Spring. Our delegation did not only visit malls, but also visited the American University in Kuwait for a cultural festival in which we were able to see a famous band perform the traditional songs and dances that sailors performed on pearling ships. We were taken to several historic sites and museums that described Kuwait’s history, with a specific look at Kuwait’s liberation from Iraq during the Persian Gulf war. We were likewise able to visit the University of Kuwait, and sit in on several Arabic classes and one international law class. I have to say, hearing Kuwaiti students’ and their professor’s perspectives of international law was fascinating! It was even more exciting to participate in a discussion with them about the effectiveness of international law. We also traveled to a famous, old market where we were able to practice our bartering skills and buy traditional Kuwaiti clothes, scarves, and other trinkets. And I cannot forget the food! The food was amazing! And, it being a huge part of Arab culture to make sure that your guest has enough food, we were fed the most amazing shwarma, baklava, qanafa, falafal…anything and everything you can imagine! We also had the opportunity to go to some more touristic sites in Kuwait, like the aquarium and Kuwait Towers. One of the things I miss most about Kuwait, however, is the overwhelming warmth of its people. Every Kuwaiti I met was so kind and friendly, and did everything they could to make sure that my visit to Kuwait was amazing. We had Kuwaitis invites us into their bookshops for tours, and we had Kuwaitis invite us into Diwaniyas (a place where Kuwaitis eat and discuss politics, philosophy, economics, society, etc.) and talk with us about the social and cultural differences between Kuwait and the United States. We were invited to countless amazing dinners where we were able to meet and talk with young Kuwaitis about their work, and their perspectives of politics and other issues. I have made friends with several Kuwaitis and I still keep in contact with them. I would love to return to Kuwait to continue my language study or my research, as well as live there. I had a fantastic experience in Kuwait, and I hope that other students can have the same opportunity as I did!
I also wanted to add to this article, because I didn’t feel like Nick and Ian’s comments really captured my experience in Kuwait. Although we saw literally every tourist site in the country, from modern towers to a Kuwaiti sea band performing ancient songs, what really stuck with me most is my experience with the people. From the moment we arrived, the Kuwaiti people dropped everything to make sure we had an amazing time. Every day, we were invited into people’s homes. We had long dinners where we were given the opportunity to talk with them about anything and everything. I was amazed that no topic was taboo; our conversations touched on politics, religion, cultural differences, and relationships. We stayed in a residence hall where we were able to socialize at night with other students from around the Middle East and learn about their cultures. They fed us the best food I’ve had in my entire life, and we tried every traditional Kuwaiti dish. I had many opportunities to practice my Arabic. I had severely broken my foot and was in a wheelchair while I was there, but when I look back on the memories, that doesn’t stand out to me about the trip at all. The people went out of their way to make sure I could still do everything. So many people were willing to push me around, help me carry things, or take me a different way. Even in the old suk, where the floors were littered with bricks, people would lift my chair up over the gaps so that I could see every part of the old market. I still email regularly with several Kuwaitis who I met while I was there. My trip to Kuwait was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I would love to go back if given the opportunity.
I just wanted to echo the warmth that we felt while we were in Kuwait, I don’t feel that my quotes here adequately communicate my experience. We all had a wonderful time, and our hosts were very accommodating to our needs and really gave us a representative and diverse display of the country. The push for shopping came primarily from one member of the administration, but our individual tour guides made sure that we got to go to cultural activities that were much more than just a mall. It was such a wonderful experience, words cannot describe my gratitude to the people of Kuwait, especially our hosts. Likewise, it was a great pleasure to host the Kuwaiti students here in January, it was wonderful to meet more students and to have the cultural exchange that can only happen face-to-face. Thank you to Kuwait University and our wonderful hosts again.
Thank you guys for your lovely comments:) I really appreciate them. The goal of an article in my opinion is to evoke an emotion, a response, a question, and enlightenment. Therefore, thanks again because it achieved such purpose. However, as I mentioned in my article that “In interviews with the Port Side, participants of both programs recounted their stories of cultural differences, stereotypes, and inner-change.”, I didn’t intend to generalize participants of the Kuwaiti program as a whole, but simplt to recount their stories and experiences in that new environment. I am confident that there are the great moments that many American students shared in Kuwait, however, it is also imperative to expose what Kuwait isn’t and is to illuminate to the world (in this case our readers) its reality through the eyes of a foreigner. Your stories made this possible. Thank you for your posts again. Shukran Jazeelan!
I’m glad there were some more additions to this post about our trip in Kuwait, so thanks to Melissa, Jen and Ian. It really was an eye-opening experience, but certainly was different for each individual (depending on previous studies in Arabic/the Middle East/etc.), as Ellie mentioned. Kuwait is in such an interesting period of transition, and we were lucky to be able to visit the country during such a fascinating time. Kuwait is becoming very modern, very quickly and many Kuwaitis are vocal about losing touch of the country’s heritage. Our trip consisted of a mix of both visits to historical sites and traditional events, and “Western” institutions as well. It was a wonderful blend of the old and the new. Seeing the Avenues mall and having a Starbucks coffee in Kuwait was absolutely an important part of the experience to understand the similarities between our cultures and see what (some) Kuwaitis do on a daily basis.
I certainly want to echo the comments about getting to know our in-country hosts and students, all of whom were incredibly welcoming. And thanks to Ellie for taking the initiative to write about the cultural exchanges! I hope there will be more in the future so that both Claremont students and students from other parts of the world can benefit.