My U.S. Memoir-First Part

MEPI Georetowners in Washington DC

 by Mahdi Mala Abdullah
On June 26^th, 2011, a group of eighty students from almost all the countries in both the Middle East and North Africa met in Washington DC. We were the participants of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), a program that was sponsored by the Department of the State. After we spent two days together in Washington DC, we were divided into several groups and were sent to different universities in the different States of the United States.

MEPI Georgetwoners, was one of these groups that I was a member of. We were eighteen different students from various countries. We were people from Iraq, Tunisia, Israel, Palestine, Yemen, Jordon, Egypt, Saudi Al-Arabia, and Algeria. Despite of the different cultures and backgrounds we had, we felt like being together in a family since we were children.

MEPI Georgetowners showed the best example of the most united family. We walked, sat, sang, danced, ate, and debated only together. If a member of the group felt sad, we all did the same. We all applied the program together. We did activities, group projects, and attended the lectures in the George Town University together. I still can't believe how fast and easy we adapted to each other. It took less than two days to feel like we were all raised and came from a sole family. The common room, mentors, and the same educational, political and social backgrounds were the highlighted aspects that tight us all together.

The most beloved place where combined all the members of the group, and we all felt like to be in a sole family was a room that we all shared in one of the dormitory buildings in George Town University Campus that was known as the common room. It was a room where we all met and sat together for most of the time while we were in DC. We all shared and debated various matters in that room. The common room helped the group to understand each other and know in detail about every single country where the members of the group came from. If anyone felt sad or depressed for any reasons, he or she would directly go to that room to get rid of any difficulties. One could always find the happiest people in that room. It was a room that would never accept sad faces. Anyone who entered that room, he or she would feel like a billion box after a minute. The room provided the participants as many advantages as the whole program did. Each member of the group tried to keep what was in his or her mind and shared with the group in that room. Then, we all deeply discussed and figured out what was the best about that. The words, "I miss the common room," were posted to facebook by almost all the members of the group after the program. All in all, the common room leaves several memoirs for the group that will always live with us. It has the biggest part of each of the member's heart today.

The mentors were another crucial reason for the unity of our group. Nancy Kenear, Virginia Vassar, Kate, and Dominique, were the four mentors. Each of them has  recently graduated in different universities from different states of the United States. These people were the nicest people whom I have ever seen in the rest of my life. They were the best examples of good and helpful people. They could easily cry and laugh with us. None of the members of the group could experience and learn anything, but good manners.

On behalf of the MEPI George Town Participants, I would love to thank our lovely mentors for all the help they provided us during the program. We are grateful for all the support you all offered us and will never forget that. You will stay in our hearts forever. We are missing you way too much. We are looking forward to meeting you again as soon as possible.

Last but not least, the educational, political, and social problems that we, participants, discussed when we talked about our communities were other reasons that strongly tight the group together. We all shared the same sentences to describe each of these problems in our countries both in the Middle East and North Africa. The words, "The bad system of education," were mentioned by all of us to describe the system of education in our countries. Furthermore, "corruption" was another word that we all used to describe our political systems. More to the point, "There are several old customs that our cultures provide us and stopped our countries from being developed," was another sentence that we all shared to define our social issues. Thus, we all concluded that our societies were facing the same problems. So, we felt more likely to be in a sole family. We forgot about we were from different countries. We felt like we were from one country since we all shared the same consequences to describe the difficulties that our countries faced.

As participants in the Georgetown University MEPI Student Leaders Program, the summer 2011 was the most experienced time ever. We could find several keys to success. We all took active parts of the program. By openly contributing our perspectives during the group and individual discussions, we not only learnt about American society, but also taught our American friends a lot about what was going on in both the Middle East and North African countries and who those people who live in these countries are. As a very diverse group, we were the most respectful people toward each other. Even if all the members of the group didn't agree with all the ideas that were discussed, every single idea was warmly welcomed and respected by the participants. We were very enthusiastic about working together. We were the best listeners and the best learners to do any activities and team buildings. Our group had a great and healthy environment where everyone worked and helped the group very enthusiastically. By the end of the program, we were all agree that MEPI was the greatest experience that each of us has ever faced. We left the program after we learnt several leadership skills that would provide the best environment if anyone apply them in their communities. Last but not least, we said "goodbye" to each other with a spirit that none of us would ever forget each other and would apply what we learnt and experienced during the program to our societies.

To sum up, if I had a chance to live with my parents, who raised me up, cried, and laughed with me for more than twenty years, or with the Georgetown MEPIs, I would absolutely choose to live with the MEPIs because the great lesson and experience I have learnt from them.