Prepare for Dorm Life at an Arab Region University
Undergrads leaving home to attend Arab region universities in other countries have specific needs. These range from religious accommodation to maintaining cultural values to ensuring safety concerns. Add the challenge of adapting to an adult daily life, and the total is a big transition.
Students – and parents – can have peace of mind that dorms at Arab region universities are typically designed to meet those needs, beginning with separate dorms for men and women. Talal Nizameddin, dean of student affairs at American University of Beirut, says their student housing provides a mix of the best of Eastern and Western traditions and values.
“At the same time, we understand regional traditions where the family is important and concern for safety is paramount,” says Nizameddin, whose school requires parents sign a curfew waiver policy to ensure freshmen abide school curfews.
Rebecca Munns, spokeswoman for University of Wollongong in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, says that the school’s student housing is located near mosques and there are also prayer facilities on campus.
A new school and a new country are big changes. But there are some things students can do to thrive at life in the dorms.
[Find out how to minimize culture shock at an Arab region university.]
1. Embrace change: Jordanian citizen Yazan Fanous has been living in the dorms at American University of Beirut for four years. At first, he says, it was challenging to understand the Lebanese accent, culture, politics and different lifestyles. That is, until dorm residents and the student housing office took him under their wings.
“Lebanese dorm residents came from different regions in Lebanon, and they did not only describe what goes on in their respective homes and villages, but most of them insisted I visit their homes on the weekends to see all the things they described,” says Fanous, now a resident assistant, whose job is to provide general support for residents. “They basically considered me one of their own, and I could not be more honored.”
2. Learn responsibility: Lebanese American University student Sandra Abdellatef says her move from Syria was “a major change in my lifestyle and habits.” It took her a semester to adapt, affecting her grades and her ability to socialize. Three years on, she says the experience has helped build her personality and make her more responsible.
“It equips you with the right tools to handle and fix any situation,” says Abdellataf. “While at home, as Arabs, we tend to run to our parents to fix our problems.”
Arab region dorms are typically furnished and include equipped kitchens, access to laundry facilities and cleaning services. At her dorm, Abdellataf says there’s no specialized kitchen with healthy meals. Students have to cook their own meals “or rely on fast food.”
University of Wollongong student Ahmad Sleeq says dorm life forces students to become an adult in all aspects and requires them to manage their time, money and relationships, as well as their studies, “which is the main purpose you are here in the first place.”
Source: www.usnews.com