The summer after my senior year of high school, I spent six weeks in Cairo, living with an Egyptian host family and studying Arabic. Though my Arabic did not improve much over this period, I learned so much about myself, Egypt and the Middle East. But instead of returning to the United States feeling knowledgeable, I felt like I had many unanswered questions. I wanted to learn more! From this point on, I would always be interested in learning about culture and language.
Upon returning from my program in Cairo, I began my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Fall 2006. As a student there, I double majored in International Studies and Spanish and double minored in African Languages and Literature and Middle East Studies. As a student at UW-Madison, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain and take time to travel around Europe and the Middle East. I also took three semesters of Arabic (Fusha).
When I graduated from UW-Madison in 2010, I was accepted into a program called “Teach for America.” This program recruits students at top colleges and universities to become public school teachers in public schools across the United States. Therefore, I trained to become a middle school Spanish teacher, and was placed at a school in Washington, D.C. While teaching in Washington, D.C., I also earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching at American University.
After teaching for two years, I wanted to find a way to continue studying Arabic. It was for this reason that applied for a program called “Fulbright.” This program allowed me live in Jordan for one year to teach English while also continuing my Arabic studies.
