A Year in the Fulbright Life: Ayman’s Story
A Year in the Fulbright Life, a FulbrightMENA blog series, showcases a handful of Fulbright Foreign Students as they navigate one program year, month by month, from orientation to graduation in the United States.
September 2023
This was my last picture in Morocco right before heading towards the Casablanca airport. I was really sad to say goodbye and leave my family , but at the same time, I was excited for my new adventure in the United States. It was a mixture of feelings!
While driving to the airport, I started to realize that I was spending my last moments with my family and in Morocco before my trip. I started taking photos of anything I could keep as a memory.
I arrived in the United States on September 15, 2023.
After my arrival, I was hosted by my American supervisor for a week while buying furniture for my rented bedroom. My supervisor and his wife were so welcoming and nice. They shared a lot with me and gave good advice and tips to make my stay in the United States easier. As a foreigner, I learned a lot from them.. In terms of cultural exchange, I shared some of my culture, making some Moroccan food and a nice Moroccan tea for them during my stay at their place.
Once I moved into my new home, I met Ethan, my roommate and my first friend. He is a nice, outgoing guy who was really welcoming and friendly. He invited me for barbecue, so I invited him to eat a nice Moroccan tagine and a cup of tea with Moroccan candies… and that’s how we became friends! We started to hang out and he introduced me to his group of friends who became my friends too. Trust me, this guy really craved my food! Anytime I cooked, he wanted to try some. It felt good to be around someone so accepting, nice, and friendly.
October 2023
My first field trip was in October and this was when I got introduced to Maxwell, my supervisor’s graduate student. Maxwell and I attended a lot of field trips related to his thesis topic. I hope I helped him and my supervisor!
Days flew by ith lab work, classes, field trips, seminars, and local meetings at the university. Speaking of meetings, we were invited to a Global Impact Awards ceremony. The University of Kentucky (UK) staff welcomed us and thanks to them, I got to know the HR and staff who would help me during my stay. These people were super welcoming and nice.
I would say that October was the month when it started to get cold here in Lexington, Kentucky. In fact, I started having health issues like the flu and a heavy skin rash (due to humidity) that took me to hospital for the first time in my life. I prefer not to share those photos, because trust me, it was bad!
However, the health issues were overshadowed by my first hang out with Ethan! We went to a Jelly Roll show in Lexington and I tried a new experience by going to a concert.
November 2023
To top things off, I had the opportunity to experience the first boat trip of my life. I did not know that geologists do field work by boat in the United States! It was an exciting experience where we went to a lake and worked on some outcrops.
Back to my daily routine, sitting in classes and labwork which includes preparing samples, treating them, and getting Carbon and Oxygen measurements
December 2023
December arrived and I kept doing my routine (e.g., labwork, classes, weekly seminars, etc.). My supervisor invited me to go to Cincinnati for a Christmas party before he left. It was a week before Christmas so I agreed to go with him. It was in a cathedral and for me, learning about other cultures and religions is always a must. Here are some good memories from this cathedral, which was beautiful both inside and out.
I really liked how the architecture was colorful and full of statues and candles. It was really beautiful. I always enjoy going inside cathedrals or churches to appreciate the design.
On New Year’s Eve, my supervisor left the state to have a familiy gathering. My roommates left to go home to their families (of course). Not wanting to be alone and bored during the holidays, I went to a local restaurant near where I lived. I made some friends, played some pool, and had a good evening. I also met David who gave me his cowboy hat as a memory.
January 2024
In January, it was back to a busy year where I had a lot to do and a lot going on. I had the opportunity to go to the Kentucky Academy of Science (KAS) conference in North-Kentucky university where we had a nice dinner at the Newport Aquarium. We also went to a barbecue of the Kentucky Fulbright Chapter .
February 2024
In February, I had the opportunity to meet the Amideast team and staff from the Moroccan-American Commission for educational and cultural exchange in Washington, DC, for the Reentry Workshop. I was also hosted by the Moroccan embassy! During the event, I listened to presentations on diversity in the United States. They gave tips on how to be mentally prepare to return home and deal with reverse culture shock. I also had the opportunity to make some new Fulbright friends.
I am so grateful to Fulbright for an amazing meeting where participants had fun, connected, shared experiences, and discussed developments in science too! It was an amazing meeting that meant a lot to me!
March 2024
Honestly, I did not do much in March besides my daily routine of labwork and classes. Of course, I also fasted during Ramadan, which was a little bit tiring.
April 2024
I had the opportunity to give a talk called “Oral Communication” at the Southeastern Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America. My talk was the topic of my first research paper, where I shared results and met with various scientists and professors in the field. I am grateful that they gave good reviews!
These are the conference photos, including me during my speech and my supervisor representing the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Kentucky.
May 2024
May was the last month of studies where students were taking exams. I helped my supervisor during the exam sessions by distributing test papers to the students, managing the class, and proctoring the test.
June 2024
June was a tough month for me. It started with a tough sickness where I had stomach irritation from the food I had been eating. I spent a week trying to recover from it but could not, so I went to the emergency room, Having some insomnia and being unable to eat much, I was very homesick for my family since they were not around to take care of me.
Later in the month, I had the opportunity to be a part of the “Gamma Sigma Epsilon” Honorary for Geologists in America. It was a great moment where some other graduate students and I received certificates of achievement from my supervisor, Dr. Ettensohn. My supervisor called it the most diverse photo he had ever seen. And it’s true- America is quite diverse!
Since students had finished their exams and left the university, some professors did as well. After finishing my first paper, I submitted it to a well ranked Q1 journal, and it is currently under review. Hopefully, it will get accepted.
My team and I started working on our second paper and are currently in the discussion part. Field work with my supervisor and his graduate students continued and as a person who loves being outside and enjoying nature, I was always down for it!
Since I was running out of time on my project, my team focused on finalizing the second paper before I left the United States. As I have mentioned , writing two papers was the main objective of this exchange for me.
July 2024
On the Fourth of July, I attended a nice parade in Lexington, and I enjoyed it so much.
I moved out on July 16 and planned to stay with my supervisor for two weeks until I start traveling and visiting friends around the United States.
It was impossible to find a lease for less than one year.
I never thought that my experience would go by so quickly and it reminded me to enjoy each moment, because life goes fast. Although I had a few tough experiences in the United States, all the events I discussed remain important memories which taught me a lot and will leave a life-long impression.
Ayman is a 2023 Fulbright Student from Morocco. He was a non-degree student in geology at the University of Kentucky.
