Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Saudi women face Western world, road to dreams
By Rachel Crews
OSU Daily Barometer (Oregon State U.)
04/25/2007

(U-WIRE) CORVALLIS, Ore. — "I'm glad to see Saudi females coming with this wave, because traditionally the female, unmarried, does not travel outside of her country, without the escort of a brother or another male family member," said Rachel Powell, English Language Institute instructor at Oregon State University.

Saudi females, though little seen in the American university system just a few years ago, have grown in number through Saudi Arabia's scholarship program.

As Powell states, it is very rare for a Saudi woman to travel alone. Maryam Alswaket, Hauof Abozenadah, Afnan Sataay and Nahed Al-Shaneif are all Saudi women who came with family to make the cultural transition to the United States.

Each has come to study at OSU's English Language Institute and continue their education at OSU once they are fluent in English.

Alswaket came to OSU with her husband and three kids. It was no easy transition for her family.

"It was difficult for me in the beginning because, you know children, they need their care — and study, it's hard," Alswaket said, "In the beginning it was hard for (the kids) because they miss all of my family. Now they adapt; they know now English."

Sataay came to OSU with her husband. They had been married ten days.

"I took some time to adapt to this new culture and new traditions. Gradually I start to adapt to the environment here and now it's OK," Sataay said, "My husband was very helpful for me, he support me a lot."

Al-Shaneif was escorted here by her father who helped her get acclimated to Corvallis for a month before returning to Saudi Arabia.

"This is the first time I travel without my family. I like study. When I got the scholarship this is like my dream to come to another country and study. I came here to achieve my dreams," Al-Shaneif said.

Coming into such a different culture for the first time can be very overwhelming. This is why Abozenadah was thankful to have her older brothers and older sister here already when she arrived.

A distinct difference in these cultures is the dynamic between men and women. The fact that classes are a combination of both men and women students was quite a transition.

"At first different, but after that we used to it. All students in the class, they are like brothers. We didn't, in Saudi Arabia, have boyfriends and girlfriends. So, to relax in the class, we treat them like brothers," Al-Shaneif said.

What was determined to be the hardest adjustment to American culture was not the difference in gender relations or being far from family, but simply learning English.

To fluently speak, write and understand English is the most daunting challenge for these women and it is exactly what each of them have set out to conquer.

"The most difficult for us when we came here was to speak English so that people understand us and for us to understand them also," Sataay said, "This was the most difficultest. But we are trying and we are learning and we are hoping in the end to speak well."

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