By Cara Kelly
Native Appalachian residents may not assume they
have a lot in common with a country thousands of miles across
the Atlantic and in the dead center of the Middle East.
Salim Al’Ibia,
a native of Jordan, is attending graduate school at
Appalachian State University. Photo
by Mark Mitchell |
But for graduate student Salim Al’Ibia,
the cold winters, warm summers and towering mountain peaks
are all reminiscent of his home country of Jordan.
First attending Appalachian State University on a Fulbright
Scholarship for international students, Al’Ibia spent
last year teaching Arabic and taking graduate classes in
American literature, concentrating in film.
“For some reason, I just got hooked on Boone within
the first 24 hours,” Al’Ibia said. “I like
pretty much everything here: the people, weather, ASU, the
English department.”
Al’Ibia was nearing completion of his course requirements
for a degree in Arabic literature at Yarmouk University
in the northern town of Irbid in Jordan when he decided
to finish his degree in the U.S.
Appalachian State was included in Jordan’s list of
200 accepted institutions of higher education in foreign
countries, a high honor for a country that is nationally
recognized for its excellence in secondary education. ASU
is one of only four universities in North Carolina that
have been selected by the Jordanian government as an equivalent
to their own public schools for higher education.
Jordan’s education system is very competitive, according
to Al’Ibia, who said that the entire population is
very educated.
“Many people in Jordan have their Ph.D. and are still
unable to find a job because so many people are highly educated,”
Al’Ibia said. “Due to so much demand for higher
education, it is very challenging to get into universities
and the courses are very difficult to try to decrease the
number of graduates.”
Al’Ibia asserts that because of the competition, higher
education is more difficult in Jordan, but the quality of
a degree in English is much better here.
“When you are studying with native speaking teachers
it is pretty different, although the professors in Jordan
are all highly qualified and skilled, American teachers
are just more comfortable and have a deeper understanding
since it is their language.”
Nevertheless, Jordan is internationally recognized for its
training of civil engineers, teachers and doctors and nurses.
Universities are abundant and large in size, according to
Al’Ibia. Although Jordan is only the size of Indiana,
and it has 21 governmentally funded universities, excluding
private schools. Yarmouk University, where Al’Ibia
began his graduate studies, has approximately 20,000 undergraduate
students and 4,000 graduate. The same is true for Al al
Bayt University, where Al’Ibia received his undergraduate
degree, and the University of Jordan. Al’Ibia said
many students travel to Jordan to receive an education,
and some of his closest friends at home were from the U.S.
Serving as a Peace Corps trainer, educating volunteers who
traveled to Jordan about cultural differences and what to
expect helped Al’Ibia overcome many cultural barriers
before ever arriving in America. For the most part, Al’Ibia
is not phased by the differences.
“The social life is very different because I am used
to being very friendly in Jordan and it was really easy
for me to make friends, but here if you are friendly sometimes
people think you are trying to get something,” Al’Ibia
said about one challenge he has found in his time in the
States. “Some people believe that because you are from
the Middle East you are dangerous. They just assume you
are a terrorist so it is hard to make friends.”
But these social difficulties have not deterred Al’Ibia,
who hopes to stay in America after graduation in the spring.
“There are plenty of great people just like anywhere
else in the world. I do respect this different culture;
different means beautiful and I love it.”
Al’Ibia hopes to receive another scholarship to a school,
hopefully in Washington D.C., to complete his Ph.D.
Salim and other exchange students will participate in a
weekly coffee hour at Whitewater coffee shop on the second
floor of the Plemmons Student Union every Friday from 12:30
to 1:30 p.m. Starting Friday, Sept. 12, the public is welcomed
to join for coffee and conversation to get to know the exceptional
students who have traveled from exotic locations to study
in Boone. For more information, call Natalie Best in the
International Office at (828) 262-2815.
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