A Year in the Fulbright Life: Raghda’s Story
Fulbright MENA showcases a handful of students as they study in the United States with their series, A Year in the Fulbright Life. Throughout the year, spotlighted students will share updates as they fulfill their Fulbright journey.
August 2022
One of the best events that I attended was a picnic at Clinton Lake. There were lots of international students from all over the world. Each one of us has different cultures and traditions but what we all have in common is our humanity. We had lunch together, then enjoyed the sunset over the lake.
‘Zine’ is a shorthand term of magazine. It is a method of learning which is used to express ideas through folding papers, drawing or sticking photos in the folded paper to complete the story. I attended a Zine event on campus with my friends and got to see one of the zines that a Jordanian student created.
I attended a festival with my friends to learn more about Native Americans. At the event there was a gallery about the history of Native Americans. There was also a lot of traditional food there.
September 2022
Lawrence is well-known for its beautiful nature landscapes, farms, and fields around its borders. I was fortunate to have the chance to visit one of the sunflower fields with my friends during the weekend. With the great weather, it was such a beautiful place!
One of the main traits of American society is diversity — you can meet people from different cultures and nationalities. One of my friends from Bangladesh helped me try on a traditional Bangladeshi outfit!
I had the chance to attend the ATCE Conference in Houston, which is one of the biggest oil and gas conferences in the industry. It’s all organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. It was held in Houston at the George Brown Conventional Centre. I was excited to participate, and I was joined by a Fulbrighter Alum and other students at the petroleum department from the University of Kansas! It was a great opportunity to discover the new trends in the industry, plus I got to network and meet with other students and professors of petroleum engineering.
During my visit to Houston, I had the opportunity to go to the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park. I was astonished how the human being could make a man-made waterfall. The scene was beautiful, and the waterfall made the weather feel great.
October 2022
It’s my first time celebrating Halloween. I carved a scary face on pumpkins and played a story-telling game with other students where we used our imagination to create a scary mood. I enjoyed everything, but what I loved the most was eating sweets, and I think I gained a lot of weight that night.
I enjoyed having dinner with an American couple, Ellen and Brad. They were very hospitable, and I liked how they accommodated the menu to include vegetarian options to allow for people with halal dietary restrictions.
Fall has started and the trees’ leaves changed to a wide spectrum of beautiful colors. I enjoy this beautiful scene every day on my way to the university. The weather is very dynamic: one day it is heavily raining, another it is very cold, and another it is sunny and warm. I think I experienced the weather of four seasons weather all in one!
I never thought that I would enjoy cooking, but here we are! I started to enjoy cooking, maybe because of the fact that I had to cook by myself, or perhaps because I enjoy the look on my friends’ faces from other countries when they’re surprised by the good taste of the Egyptian food. Recently I cooked Koshari for them, and told them how it’s a mixture of many ingredients that give a final delicious meal.
After two consecutive weeks of midterm exams, working on assignments, and finalizing course projects, I gave myself a break. I went to the Lawrence Arboretum. The scene was beautiful with the ducks swimming freely in the lake and the beautiful fountain reflecting the light.
November 2022
I was very excited for Thanksgiving this year at the University of Kansas. This year, the University of Kansas organized a dinner for international students where we had the chance to celebrate and connect with an American family and alumni of the university! I enjoyed talking with them, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about the celebration. We enjoyed a lot of food, some tasty turkey, and mashed potatoes alongside the conversation!
During the break, I also had the chance to share another Thanksgiving dinner with my friends from the university! We shared food together and celebrated the break!
March/April 2023
It was my first time to spend Ramadan out of Egypt, and I think this was my first time to feel nostalgia and miss Egyptian culture in celebrating Ramadan, however, I tried to imitate what we usually do in Ramadan, I decorated my home with lanterns and lights, went to the Islamic center at Lawrence and do prayers with my friends. Fasting in United states is a little bit different from Egypt, but the weather in the spring in Lawrence was good so I wasn’t so thirsty.
We are used to have the best food in Ramadan. My mum, auntie and grand mum used to cook cook the best dishes. For me, Ramadan is a good opportunity to try Egyptian food with friends. This year, me and one of my friends made “Mahashi” Cabbage wrapping of rice and ground beef, I also made “Fattah” which is rice, crispy bread and beef.
By the end of Ramadan, we celebrated Eid El-Fetr, we went to the Islamic center and do the prayers, I played with the kids and had a lot of sweets, I liked the fact that the society in United states is a mix of different cultures, so I think it was one of the best Eids in my life. Although I missed my family, I was excited experiencing how other nationalities celebrated Eid.
In Eid, I made some cookies and watched one of the Egyptian classic plays “El-3ial Kebret”. This helped me in overcoming the nostalgia. I also enjoyed my time in parks in Lawrence, which was very comforting to connect with the nature.
Raghda is a 2022 Fulbright student from Egypt. She is studying Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas.
Follow updates from Raghda and other Fulbright students on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Check back here for more updates on the blog and Medium Series to see what Raghda does this year!
