Fulbright Foreign Student
Newsletter

A Mauritanian Fulbrighter's Perspective

I think many people misunderstand the United States.  They believe it is a country full of racism, discrimination, and violence.  My Fulbright Program has allowed me to have a clearer vision of the United States.  I haven't experienced any racism, discrimination or violence.  However, I have experienced a country where people are open-minded and very helpful.  The first family I met was a Christian one from Christian Valley Church.  This family showed me love without regard to my religion.  I thought a Muslim would not be welcome in a church.  This family showed me that there is nothing preventing non-Christians from visiting churches.  I took English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in this church and also learned something about the Bible.  This family showed me that their house is also mine.  I felt loved by every single member. 

I believe that the United States is a place where everyone has the chance to experience a great sense of love.  People smile at you when they walk by.  Some even talk to you and invite you to dinner right after meeting you.  I've really learned a lot about American culture. 

Amadou Adama Ndiaye, 2007-2009, Mauritania, volunteering in California

One week after my arrival, I experienced my first fair.  I was working with another Fulbrighter on a bridge we didn't know was forbidden for us to walk on.  Then, two police vehicles stopped in front of us.  I was scared.  The police officer pointed his gun at us.  After asking us to put our hands up, he checked our pockets.  That was the scariest moment for me as a Fulbrighter.  I thought that the police officer would take us to jail since we didn't have our passports.  Yet, the officer was very helpful.  He didn't even ask us for our passports.  The only thing he asked us for was to state our countries of origin.  Then, he explained that pedestrians are not allowed to walk on the side of bridge we had been on.  He dropped us off on the correct side.  I have never experienced such kindness from a police officer before. 

In school, teachers demonstrated great kindness.  They talked to me as if they were my mom and dad.  They showed the type of kindness a father and mother show their son.  They taught me different things.  I am really grateful to all the teachers I've had a chance to meet so far.  The Fulbright Program has also given me the chance to meet other Fulbrighters from different countries.  My roommate was a Fulbrighter from Burkina Faso, a country near mine.  He was older than me but we were as close as brothers.  I learned a lot about his country, customs and life - and vice versa.  I was really fortunate to meet and have him as a roommate.  We were so close and would not have met each other without the Fulbright Program. 

This program has taught me how to adapt to different cultures and countries and how to understand people from different backgrounds.  For all future Fulbright recipients, I recommend that everyone become familiar with the U.S. educational system.  This country is totally different from African countries and it takes time to adjust.  Yet, once you've adjusted to it, you become a part of it and see yourself surrounded by a family as big as yours in your own country.  I think being a Fulbrighter is the most important experience I've ever had in my life.  I hope this program will continue and give many students chances to study in the United States.

To comment on Amadou Adama Ndiaye's article on State Alumni, please click here.

My First Experience on a Long Distance Train in the U.S.

At first, I did not plan on using Amtrak for my trip to Columbia, South Carolina, where I going to present at a session at the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA) conference with my professor on October 28th, 2008.  To get to Columbia and save money, I applied for a travel grant from NAFSA.  Just as the day of the conference was fast approaching, I received good news at the last minute.  Guess what?  The price of a roundtrip airplane ticket from Tampa to Columbia had increased by 40% from its original price of $320 from when I checked it about 1 month earlier.  Since I couldn’t afford to pay expenses beyond the grant I received, I decided to take an alternative mode of transportation, an Amtrak train.  I was surprised that my roundtrip ticket cost only $100.  I saved almost 70% of what I originally planned to spend for the ticket.  What a treat!

Yenni M. Djajalaksana, 2007-2009, Indonesia, on an Amtrak train

Finally, as the train started moving, I found outlets where I could plug in my electronic devices such as a laptop or phone charger.  What a luxury, I thought.  I enjoyed my ride, worked a little bit on my assignments and presentations on my laptop, and got a decent night's sleep.  Despite the late departure from Tampa, I arrived in Columbia at 3:55 a.m., 20 minutes earlier than originally scheduled.

My return train trip to Tampa was one hour later than originally scheduled.  I departed from Columbia 45 minutes late and arrived in Tampa two hours late.  Although I was a bit disturbed by the lateness, I thought that taking an airplane would probably be more or less the same.  We cannot rely on public transportation schedules anyway.  I was lucky to meet a new friend at the conference who took the same train with me.  I found out from her that rail pass tickets can be purchased from Amtrak.  There are 15-, 30- and 45-day passes where you can travel to wherever you want to go in the U.S.  I immediately thought, wow, I should share this information with my fellow Fulbrighters!  One of the greatest things about being a Fulbrighter is the opportunity to enjoy travelling in the U.S.  If you have a summer holiday and you're not taking any classes, I would say that an Amtrak Rail Pass is a blessing because you can go pretty much everywhere.  That's just an idea for a fun experience!

Some Train Travel Tips:

1. Bring a u-shaped travel or favorite pillow.  Amtrak provides pillows, but they aren't the most comfortable ones.
2. Bring your own blanket.  It costs $15 for an Amtrak blanket.
3. Whenever possible, bring snacks and food.  There is a dining car, but one meal  (e.g., one soft drink, one snack, one sandwich) costs about $13.  It’s better to bring your own cookies, crackers, sandwiches or even a burger whenever possible.

Disclaimer: I’m not an employee of or marketing agent for Amtrak, just a Fulbrighter who had a pleasant experience traveling by long-distance train in the U.S.

To comment on Yenni M. Djajalaksana's article on State Alumni, please click here.