Reflections on a SUSI Experience
Muaadh Nalir, from Sri Lanka, shares his memories from his summer with FIUTS during the SUSI program.
Guest post written by Muaadh Nalir, FIUTS SUSI participant, Summer 2016
It has been 2 months since I came back to my home country, Sri Lanka, but I still feel as if I have just landed back to my homeland. The cultural shocks I still get are unbelievably crazy, because I personally used to do all those things before my visit there.
Hi, my name is Muaadh, and this is my very brief view of what I think of the SUSI program. Of course with word limitations I won’t be able to jot down everything, but I will mention a few of the best moments and events which, I, felt are special.
The SUSI program was scheduled to be held in summer, and by summer a normal individual will think that the weather is going to be sunny and warm, but upon landing in Seattle I got to know it was cold even during the summer. Never the less, I was informed to bring clothes that would keep me warm. The SUSI program I attended was “Student Leaders in Journalism and New Media” hosted by FIUTS at the University of Washington.
Let me first thank the State Department for the opportunity and FIUTS for brilliantly hosting us and making sure we had everything that was needed throughout the program.
Meeting the ambassadors for the first time
One of the major highlights of the exchange was meeting our ambassadors who are currently UW students, and have been in Seattle for over a period of one year. There were 20 ambassadors, all from different countries and background, which enhanced the cultural experience to a different level. For the 4 weeks in Seattle, the ambassador helped us through various ways, especially during our final write up for the Seattle globalist.
Who wouldn't take a selfie ? With Gena Fazel (Location: Gasworks Park)
My most favorite locations in Seattle are Gas Works Park, Golden Garden, a specific place on Lake Union and Discovery Park. Although I loved the tourist attractions or destination in Seattle like Pike’s Market, Space Needle and Mt. Rainer to name a few, the places I mentioned before would be my favorite. Seattle has given me many memories, let it be the late night walks with the other participants, seeing and touching snow for the first time (and of course having a snowball fight), watching a baseball match for the first time, late night shawarma and gyro joint and exploring different parts of Seattle, each having their own little culture. It was simply amazing that words can’t really express how much these little things meant to a guy like me.
A group selfie before we hiked Mount Rainier
Apart from all this experience, some experience just gave me a reminder on how grateful I am to lead a life I have right now, and how some people struggle every day to make a good living. Sometimes we feel that volunteering and field trips can be boring, but most of the valuable life experiences were gained from them. Listening to stories of people and their life experiences, what they have done to make their and others lives better, is something that would always keep reminding me of life, and how good it is for me. There are always things that we can adapt in our lives or country, and one of the things I would love to start in my country is the food drive; collection of food and distributing it the needful. It’s quite surprising to know that every individual want to help, but doesn’t have a way to do it.
We just finished our site visit at the Seattle Times
My understanding or I would rather say misunderstanding about the homeless people and their situation was cleared off when I visited Real Change, a newspaper that is sold by the homeless people so that they can afford a living. Its only when we take the time out to talk to them we understand how wrong we are about the stereotypes we have in our minds.
After having a mixture of various types of learning I would say that my summer of 2016 was the best. I would love to thank my host family or host mom as I would say, Nancy Coomer for enriching me about her life and giving me some useful life hacks.
During the last week of our stay in the USA, I visited Chicago for 3 Days and Washington D.C for 5 days. The experiences in these two cities are really different to the ones I had in Seattle, but they were amazingly great as well.
With Kshitiz's and my home stay mom, Nancy Coomer
Lastly I would say that I have gained a lot of experience and that I have learned a lot about the American culture, as much as I could in my stay there. Most of all I made friends and I can call them friends for life. Even though I reside in a different country I feel and know most of them are close to my heart and vice versa. Hopefully I will be packing my bags in the coming years to visit them.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world.
The Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders in Journalism and New Media in Seattle is hosted by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region. The Seattle Globalist, a daily publication covering the connections between Seattle and the rest of the globe, is collaborating with FIUTS to deliver courses on topics in journalism and new media.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.