A Year in the Fulbright Life: Mariam E.’s Story

FulbrightMENA
Aug 29, 2017 · 9 min read

For the next year, Fulbright MENA will be showcasing a handful of students as they study in the United States with their new series, A Year in the Fulbright Life. Each month, spotlighted students will share an update as they continue on their Fulbright journey.


August 2017

Mariam, a new Fulbright, recently arrived in the United States to start her masters at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mariam with her American host family

“I was lucky enough to be hosted by this wonderful American family, George and Donna Beestman, who are volunteers with Madison Friends of International students! They provided me a temporary house, helped me lease a studio, find furnishings and get settled before my classes at UW start. Such initiatives are very important in building mutual cultural understanding. By hosting international students they believe the world comes to them!

Mariam about to enter her new home for the year!

September 2017

“One of the things I’ve noticed is how much football plays a huge role in American culture. It actually gives an identity to the city with the team mascot, the chants and the team colors. When football season started, Madison was all red, and people were tailgating all over the city. The atmosphere became very energetic and vibrant. Our mascot at Wisconsin is called Bucky Badger, and here I am posing with him. I’m all ready for football season!”

Mariam, her American friend and Bucky Badger

October 2017

“Earlier this month, I decided to change the route I take to go home from campus. I tried the lake path next to Lake Mendota in Madison, and I was amazed! The beauty was so surreal, it looked like a painting. One of the best things about studying in the United States is having such beautiful nature around. It’s so relaxing. I’m blessed.”


November 2017

My friends and I went on a road trip from Madison, Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota this month. We were an international group from Finland, South Africa, the United States, and Lebanon. A Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant named Laura was kind enough to host us at her place and take us around the city. We explored IKEA, the Mall of America, the Stone Arch Bridge, and even had an Ethiopian lunch!


December 2017

I spent my winter break back in Lebanon, my home. It was a very much needed break and I got the chance to reconnect with my family, friends, and colleagues. Seeing them proud of what I’m doing gave me a push forward! I am going back more determined than ever.

Representing Wisconsin wherever I go!

January 2018

I experienced my first Madison winter this January! It was all covered in white and nature was gorgeous. Lake Monona near my department was frozen and people did all sorts of winter activities and fishing on it. It was beautiful to see.


February 2018

February was a busy, fruitful month! I visited my fiancé Yasser in Austin, Texas. Yasser is also a Fulbright scholar pursuing his Masters in sustainable design at the University of Texas, Austin. It was a nice escape from Madison’s cold. The weather was amazing that weekend so we even went kayaking down the Colorado River!

I also had the chance to attend the Wisconsin Speech and Language Hearing Association Annual Conference at Wisconsin Dells. It was inspiring to see faculty members recognized and given awards at the ceremony.


March 2018

I had the chance to go to New York City over spring break. It was exciting to finally see this big city. I visited Times Square, I biked in Central Park and I had fun at the Madame Tussauds Museum. It was quite the change compared to Madison which is a quieter city.


April 2018

Madison finally experienced spring. After the long cold winter, it was beautiful to see the whole city blossom. Madison is located on an isthmus so it’s surrounded by two lakes. I’m therefore making use of the beautiful weather and spending my time by the lake on a hammock and on the picnic blanket!


May 2018

I ended the semester with other Fulbrighters in Nashville, Tennessee. I attended the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar for first-year students in the Fulbright Program. The theme was “Innovation in Music,” so it was perfectly located in the music city of Nashville. The seminar included 60 people from 124 countries! It was a lovely opportunity to reconnect with Fulbright scholars from Lebanon and to make new friends from around the world.


June 2018

During June I went to the Henry Vilas Zoo, one of the few remaining free zoos in North America. It was a beautiful and fun experience. The atmosphere was very positive as there were families everywhere! I especially enjoyed seeing animals I had never seen before like giraffes and penguins.


July 2018

This month, I was back in Lebanon and I spent an amazing summer home. Summer is a great time to go to the beach since Lebanon is a coastal country located right on the Mediterranean. I also enjoyed other landscapes like the beautiful mountains north of Lebanon.

The best part however, was eating traditional Lebanese food that no food in the world can compare to!


August 2018

During August, I returned back to the States to pursue my second year of graduate school. The international student office organized a boat tour in collaboration with the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The badger bus took us on a tour in Lake Mendota around campus!


September 2018

During this month, I visited my fiancé who’s a Fulbright student at University of Texas-Austin. We walked around the beautiful city and toured the state capitol, which is the sixth tallest state capitol in the United States. We also celebrated his birthday by attending a concert by Ramin Djawadi, the composer of the “Game of Thrones” soundtrack. It was a breathtaking experience and journey to the seven kingdoms of Westeros!

Mariam with her fiancé in Austin, Texas
The state capitol building in Austin, Texas

October 2018

In October, I volunteered at the Dane County Regional Airport at the Wings for All event! Wings for All gives individuals with developmental disabilities a “dress rehearsal” of the airport and flying experience. Attendees practiced checking in at the ticket counter, going through security, and getting on a plane to experience the sights and sounds. It was such a wonderful experience.


November 2018

In November, I was able to share a traditional Thanksgiving meal with my wonderful host family. Donna and George invited me and a group of international students to their house. We had turkey and all the traditional sides. Donna also prepared a sheet with some facts about the history of this holiday. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful host family in the United States!

As Fulbrighters, our mission is not only to gain academic expertise, but also to promote cultural exchange between our home country and the United States. For this reason, I participated in an event titled Flavors of the World at my university. I presented alongside with Jad, the president of the Lebanese Student Association. We shared some facts about our beloved country with the audience and the union served them Manakish, a dish we usually have for breakfast in Lebanon!


December 2018

This winter, Yasser and I were invited for a cozy Christmas gathering at my host family’s house, the Beestmans. Madison experienced a white Christmas which was absolutely gorgeous. I love how Donna and George make me feel like I have a family here in the States, especially during the holiday season. I am so lucky to have met them!


January 2019

After the brutal polar vortex, we enjoyed the winter carnival over by Lake Mendota in Madison. The carnival included a blow-up version of lady liberty, s’mores, kites, and Bucky the Badger, of course! Also, I got to try ice skating for the first time, and yes I did fall, but it was worth it!


March 2019

March was a very busy month for me! I was humbled to represent UW Madison as a LEND trainee during the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs convention in San Antonio, Texas. It was inspiring to see different professionals under the public health umbrella, all working to achieve the same end goal: better maternal and child health outcomes.

Additionally, I attended my favorite Fulbright event so far, the Fulbright Reentry Workshop in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the workshop was to prepare us as Fulbrighters for the end of our grant and to help us transition into our next steps after the program. I must say I was emotional during the training. Fulbright has been an amazing journey and I’m sad to think of it ending, however, I was happy to hear from other Fulbright Alumni that we truly remain Fulbrighters for life! There are many opportunities to stay engaged, either through the Fulbright Alumni association or from applying for the Fulbright Alumni Development Grant and Alumni Community Action Grant. The fun thing about the conference was that it was only for Fulbrighters from the Middle East and North Africa region. Therefore, I got to meet interesting individuals and future leaders from all over the Arab world! We also got to explore DC together, and I attended my first NBA game! I’ll forever be grateful for this amazing journey with Fulbright!


Mariam is a second-year Fulbrighter from Lebanon working on her Master’s in Communications Sciences and Disorders. She’s currently a student at University of Wisconsin- Madison.

Follow updates from Mariam and other Fulbright students on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Check back here every month for more updates on the blog and Medium Series to see what Mariam does this year!

Read more Fulbright stories here.

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FulbrightMENA

Written by

Fulbright Foreign Student Program in MENA blog. Sponsored by U.S. Dept of State. https://www.amideast.org/our-work/find-a-scholarship/graduate-study/fulbright

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