A Year in the Fulbright Life: Faris’ 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.
July 2019
The month of July 2019 was the most hectic and lively month possibly of my entire life. I got accepted into Virginia Tech back in April, got engaged in May and have spent the past couple of months just prepping for my move to the United States with my soon-to-be wife. I reviewed a lot of academic subjects that I needed to in order to prepare for my classes in the United States, and planned a wedding back in Amman! Hectic is an understatement.
During this time, I had to pack, study, and watch online orientation courses to prepare me for my program in the States as well as plan both my and Raja’s move and wedding.
The nice thing about it was that I could share this experience with my partner, and we are both looking forward to a very interesting two years in the United States where I can take advantage of gaining some of the best educational experiences at Virginia Tech. I also am being exposed to an entirely new culture that I’d love to soak up as much as possible, especially any new knowledge and cross-cultural experiences that could benefit and enrich both myself and Raja. It will allow us to share these experiences and the skills gained from them once we go back home.
August 2019
The month of August presented a whole new range of challenges, but lovely ones of course! My wedding was on August 12 and the day after I was on my way to Blacksburg, Virginia to begin my new exciting journey. After 21 hours of travel, needless to say we were absolutely exhausted. However, we were absolutely mesmerized on the way from the airport to our city. There was so much greenery that we just stopped in our tracks multiple times! Over the next few weeks, my wife and I set up our new house and made it feel like home. It was hectic but everything was working out smoothly and everyone we met was helpful and friendly, making the process a whole lot easier! My week of orientations started and then classes did! It’s been hectic and it still is, we are still trying to settle in but every day feels like a new adventure where I are genuinely learning and maturing as I grow. I am meeting my colleagues as well as our neighbors and getting exposed to a whole different way of dealing with things. Things are much simpler and easier here than they are back home, however it is undeniable that they are different. A different that will hopefully make us more wholesome people and more able to benefit my community once I go back home!
September 2019
This month featured the first home football game. Participating in tailgating, seeing how very involved everyone is inside the community and watching the game was an amazing experience. Go Hokies!
We also started to experiment with cooking, which is fun. We decided to try it after our neighbor, Brandon, made us some Italian meatballs and we got jealous of his talents.
We also went to our town’s farmers market and got to experiment with all the organic produce and meet people who have been coming to the market for years. It was lovely!
November 2019
It seems like November has been a lot about food, but I suppose that’s the American holiday season kicking off!
I have been so excited about snow and it has finally snowed! It isn’t much but it’s still the first snow of the season, which is really exciting!
I met some new friends and had them over for dinner. It was our first-time hosting dinner together!
We enjoyed making Thanksgiving crafts with fellow residents in our apartment building. These crafts were pretty fun to make, and it was nice learning about Thanksgiving traditions from other Americans.
We were missing some food from home, so we cooked a Jordanian breakfast!
December 2019
December was one of the most hectic months, but very lovely! It involved a lot of studying and finishing up projects and exams; everyone was super busy. After the semester was done, it was time for a well-deserved break! My wife and I went to New York City, Washington, D.C., and then back home to Amman for two weeks.
We visited Roanoke, VA, which is a nearby city, to check out the Christmas decorations and Christmas market!
Standing in Times Square which is infamous for being insanely busy with tourists! Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.
Near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.! Walking through the National Mall was one of the best experiences of our entire vacation. So much political history!
January 2020
This was the first time I attempted some actual cooking here in Blacksburg and, I must admit, it was good. Even my wife agreed!
This was the final result!
Back home and back to a whole new semester! This is Torgersen Bridge at Virginia Tech, a bridge linking two buildings on campus, and is an amazing study area that I love to work in.
February 2020
The month of February was busy and productive, but long! I did so much this month, including lots of studying and working. Here are some of the other fun activities I had the chance to do!
It was my wife’s birthday, and we celebrated at home with all the friends we’ve made here!
I tried food at a local restaurant that only makes its food from local, fresh produce!
I also saw the famous musical The Color Purple at Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center. The play is based on the famous novel that exposed some of the most feminist issues at the time as well as issues related to African-Americans which I didn’t know as much about before I attended.
We watched a basketball game at Cassell Coliseum between Virginia Tech and UVA. The arena was full of Hokie spirit!
March 2020
Just before the world came to a halt due to COVID-19, we went to Florida to get some sun and beach-time! This was taken at Clearwater Beach.
We also spent a full day at the Tampa Zoo!
We came back home to Virginia right before the stay at home order started, much like rest of the world! We indulged on some frozen “malfoof” which we’d gotten from back home! We also attempted to stay a bit active by taking walks around our home in Blacksburg!
April 2020
In April, we stayed at home and went to parks around the city that were still open. This was taken at the duck pond by my university.
Ramadan preparation began, complete with lights and a Ramadan lantern!
May 2020
During May, we spent a lot of time working at home and hanging out with the neighbors and their sweet puppies!
We also celebrated Eid in May! We attempted to prepare a full spread that made us feel as close to home as possible. We even got all dressed up for Eid! 😊
Faris is a Fulbright student from Jordan. He is studying Electrical Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Follow updates from Faris 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 Faris does this year!
