A Year in the Fulbright Life: Eli’s Story
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 2022
After packing my baggage, saying goodbye to my friends and family, I was headed towards my gate at the Beirut airport. I felt a mix of excitement for my Fulbright journey, fear of the unknown future, and sadness about leaving my family, friends and home behind. It was also the first time I traveled alone, so I was worried about getting lost during the layovers. After 27 long hours and four separate flights, I landed safely in Detroit, Michigan.
On the 26th of August, the University of Michigan Dearborn hosted its Wolverine Welcome day. I attended with a fellow Fulbrighter from Egypt, and we tried connecting with the new students here. We were also amazed by the beauty of our green campus. We also took a lot of great pictures on campus and with the university logo.
September 2022
This month, we went to visit Detroit. The monuments there were really beautiful! Another student and I also won a T-shirt and beer glasses! Afterwords, we competed in a hula hooping competition (which was very fun). Lastly, we went to the homecoming dance with our Brazilian friend Manuella.
October 2022
In October, I had the chance to attend the MBLGTACC 2022 conference, America’s largest conference for queer and trans college students. My university sponsored our trip to Columbus, Ohio, where we attended two talks by Schuyler Bailar, the first openly trans athlete to compete in any sport on a national level, and Imani Barbarin, a disability rights and inclusion activist. We also went to multiple workshops covering a variety of topics like countering sexual abuse in male sports, queer representation in media, online dating, and more.
On Halloween, I decided to paint titan marks on my face from the show Attack on Titan. I went to a club in Dearborn with some friends and had lots of fun. This was my first time celebrating Halloween!
I also celebrated my friend Manuella’s 20th birthday. A fun fact about the picture we took is that everyone is from a different country. From left to right: Lebanon, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt.
November 2022
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Tunnel of Trees in Northern Michigan with some new friends. The view of Lake Michigan from the top of the dunes was stunning. Together, we drove through the iconic Tunnel of Trees, where we were able to enjoy the newly appearing fall colors!
I was also able to enjoy Detroit’s 19th Annual Tree Lighting at Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit with my friend Manuella. I had a great time listening to the Christmas carols, and it was delightful to watch Darren Criss perform next to the tree! Finally, I attended a Thanksgiving parade where I saw Kermit the Frog floating in the streets!
Eli is a 2022 Fulbrighter from Lebanon. He studies Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Michigan - Dearborn.
Follow updates from Eli 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 Eli does this year!
