FOR one Mercer University junior in International Affairs, a recent trip to Saudi Arabia was everything she had imagined and more. Laurel McCormack confesses that she has always been interested in the Middle East and in religious dialogue and understanding, and her visit to the Kingdom has accordingly deepened her understanding of both Islam and the Saudi people. The 20-year-old third-year student spent a fortnight touring the country and meeting businesswomen, academics and many Saudi dignitaries in a group of 10 female college students chosen to be a part of the trip. Mercer University is located in Georgia in the United States and Laurel explained that it was her Arab (and Muslim!) adviser who recommended that she apply for the fellowship trip. “I am a Christian, and my faith is very important to me. I am interested in cross-religious dialogue and understanding, especially between Muslims and Christians,” she explained in an interview conducted via email. “Before this trip, I had only been outside the US one time, for a month-long trip to Peru to build houses!” Mercer professor Eimad Houry said he thought of Laurel immediately when he heard about the program. “She is an incredibly open-minded person who's observant” and intelligent,” he said in a news report published recently in the United States. Considering all her pre-visit preparations and the pre-conceived ideas most people have about Saudi Arabia, Laurel says that there really is no way anyone can understand Saudi Arabia or ordinary Saudis until their first visit. How did this trip come about? I attend Mercer University. My International Affairs adviser is an Arab and a Muslim, and he strives to incorporate Middle Eastern studies into our classes. He is head of Mercer's Model Arab League program, in which American students at universities all over the country form delegations representing each country of the League of Arab States, and then meet at conferences to discuss regional issues. Because Mercer's team did especially well at these conferences, my adviser asked me to apply for the Saudi Arabia fellowship. I was among 10 female students from around the US chosen to go (a delegation of 10 American boys completed the fellowship trip in summer 2010). The trip was arranged by the National Council on US-Arab Relations and the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education in an attempt to increase cultural understanding and linkages between Americans and Saudis, since so few Americans visit or have any interaction with Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. As a condition of our trip, we were all supposed to come home and share our trip and what we experienced with our communities and classmates in a variety of ways so that more Americans might come to know a little of Saudi Arabia. What did your family and friends say when you told them you were going on a trip to Saudi Arabia? My parents were extremely excited when I told them I was going to apply. They don't fear for me. They know I am careful, that it was an extremely rare opportunity, and that I would be in good hands. I think some of my views of the Middle East have rubbed off on them. My friends were also excited and asked for regular updates while I was there. I found out very quickly that I was extremely lucky to get to go to Saudi Arabia, based on other Americans' reactions. I know some of the other girls on my trip had families who were far more worried about them than my family was about me. Did anyone prepare you for the culture shock before you came here? We had a brief orientation the day we flew out of Washington, DC to Riyadh. However, we also read a long book about Saudi and American relations to prepare. What I found was that the book and orientation really only taught us about Saudi history, politics, economics, and the royal family. These things did not help me put a face to the people of the nation. There is really no way to know the people of Saudi Arabia or to begin to understand Saudi culture until you spend time there. What was your very first impression? My first impression was on the Saudi Airlines flight from Washington, DC to Riyadh. Honestly, I first felt intimidated. We boarded the plane, and the women were already in niqab and abayas. Many passengers stared at us, because they couldn't figure out why this group of American women were going to the Kingdom. I thought they would think I was immoral or disrespectful. I also remember beginning to realize how deeply Islam is built into every part of life; I saw the words “God bless you” painted on the front of the plane, watched some of the Islamic messages on the mini TVs, and passed the rooms they have in the planes for passengers to pray in. I later came to find that most people did not think badly of me just because I was American, and that Islam really is in every part of life. What did you do here? The total trip was two weeks long.We began in Riyadh, and then went on to Dammam and then to Jeddah. We met and talked with people such as Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Saeed, Dr. Salwah Al-Hazza, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil and Royal Highnesses Prince Turki Al-Faisal and Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz. Everyone was eager to help us understand some aspect of Saudi Arabia, whether it was about politics, women, or economic development. We were allowed to ask any question we wanted. I recognize that our group was lucky and privileged to meet so many well-known and respected Saudis, and that many Saudi citizens may never meet all of these people. On the other hand, I talked to several Saudi students in one university who met President Obama, and I will probably never meet him! We got to meet students and professors at many schools, including Princess Noura University, King Saud University, Al Yamama University, King Abdul Aziz University, Effat University, University of Dammam, Dar Al-Hekma College and the Dhahran Ahliyya School. We also visited Old Diriyah, Prince Sultan Humanitarian City, the Alwaleed Bin Talal Charity Foundation, the Aramco Headquarters, the Prince Sultan Center for Science and Technology, the Help Center for People with Intellectual Disabilities, the Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid Business Center, and the American embassy, where the US Ambassador and his wife received us. We also walked around many malls and markets, sampled some of the wonderful local cuisine, and walked along the beaches in Jeddah. How different was Saudi Arabia from your perception of it? I know more than the average American about Saudi Arabia because of my college studies. However, I tried not to form preconceived notions before I came because I knew all my opinions would change once I arrived. I had no conception of the family-centered society that makes Saudi Arabia what it is, and how consideration for one's family affects everything from marriage choice to whether or not a successful woman will allow her picture to be printed in the newspaper. I saw families spending time together everywhere we went. I even saw romance, and I certainly didn't expect that; I saw married couples reading to one another by the beach in Jeddah, pushing each other on swings by the beach, having picnics together, going on midnight walks together. I came to realize that Saudi citizens are not so much “anti-American” as they are frustrated with American foreign policy in the Middle East and frustrated by American citizens' lack of knowledge about the world. I did not understand how truly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, and warm Saudi women and girls are. I can not tell you how important it is for the West to hear the voices of women in Saudi Arabia so that we do not speak for you; Americans need to hear about the incredible advances women are making in Saudi Arabia, and what challenges they actually care about. If we do not hear Saudi voices, then Western women continue to think of Saudi women as completely oppressed. They must be told why driving may not be as important as gaining the right to be in decision-making positions or the right to vote. Another perception that differs from the general American view is about Islam. Americans become afraid of the unknown, afraid of Islam because we know very little about it (as one Saudi woman asked me, “Do we have so little faith in our own faiths that we cannot learn about other religions?”). Americans come to associate Islam with the terrorist attacks in the news everyday, including the 9/11 attacks. Yet, just as most Americans do not wish to be grouped with the man in Texas who tried to burn the (Holy) Qur'an, most Muslims reject the tiny minority who use violence in the name of Islam. The Islam I witnessed was one that created a strong sense of love, devotion, brotherhood, sisterhood, and family connections. I met a little girl who was on her first Umrah to Makkah, and her face shone as she told me how she would pray and worship there with her mother and sisters. There is also a sense of respect for Christianity in Saudi Arabia which I do not find reciprocated for Islam in America, but Americans who have more knowledge about Islam or have friendships with Muslims do respect Islam. It is possible and crucial to build bridges between different faiths. I pray that in my generation, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and adherents of other religions will try to understand and respect one another before our religious differences tear the world apart. I have never felt as foreign in my entire life as I did in Saudi Arabia; and yet, foreign is only a synonym for something that is yet unknown. In a mere two weeks, I gained a deep appreciation and respect for a religion, people, and place which is totally unlike my own; Saudi Arabia is no longer “foreign” to me. How did you find the people of Saudi Arabia? We talked with people everywhere we went, including in airports and on the streets. I cannot tell you how much I ate and how many gifts I was given. Saudis were deeply curious about our group and our lives in America. Everyone was welcoming, warm, hospitable, open, and generous to us. And while American and Saudi Arabia are so very far and different from one another in many ways, I still realized how we have many hopes and fears in common, especially the desire for a prosperous, meaningful, peaceful, happy life and family. How has this trip been received back home? I have been featured in my hometown newspaper, my university newspaper, and my university city's newspaper. I am scheduled to speak at my church, my old primary school, and to my peers about my trip next month. Everyone – and I mean everyone – has asked me about the trip, and has actually been willing to listen to all that I tell them. Usually, they get bored quickly with stories, but this time, everyone has been eager to hear about KSA. What is your favourite memory of the trip? I have several favorite memories. We spent several evenings with Sami Nawar in Old Jeddah learning about Jeddah's history and shopping at the markets there. One night, we were at the top of the Nasseef House to hear the call to prayer, and it seemed to come from everywhere at once, from every direction as if the whole world was calling out. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. And of all the incredible people we met, most of what I learned about Saudi Arabian culture and life came from my time with a few people. The first is Naser Al-Duwaisi, our program facilitator, who was one of the kindest, most patient, and most generous men I've ever met. We also got to spend much time with Dr. Asma Abdullah Al-Khulaif and Dr. Haila Abdullah Al-Khalaf, Assistant Professors of Literature at Princess Noura University. They accompanied us everywhere we went in Riyadh, and spent many hours answering our many questions about daily life, culture, and their lives as women. They were loving, honest, and open with us and I learned a great deal from them. I made many friends and exchanged contact information, but have had very little chance to keep in touch. I have several people I would like to write to soon. Perhaps the best thing that has come of this trip is that I have met and become friends with four Saudi students here at Mercer. Three are from Al-Khobar and one has family in Jeddah. I never knew these students before but they heard about my trip and introduced themselves. Now they come to the international student organization meetings I am in charge of, where other international and American students can ask them about Saudi Arabia. None of this would have happened without the Saudi Arabia fellowship trip! Would you come back to visit if you got the chance? I certainly would, although now that I am back home, it seems miraculous that I was able to go to Saudi Arabia at all! Many Americans have told me how rare foreign tourist visas are granted. I hope that someday I may have the chance to return. __
