Christa Salamandra

Christa Salamandra is a FullBright researcher hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences here at AUS. Although she's originally from New York, Salamandra's been visiting the Middle East since the mid 80's, and returning again and again since.

"Why Syria? Because why not Syria?"

Salamandra is a specialist on the Arab world in anthropology and visual culture. As a result, her work and research are driving forces for travel. She visited Syria for the first time in 1985 and even spent a year there as a student.

Her work began to reflect and center intensively on the old and culture-rich city of Damascus. When asked why Syria, she had responded, "Because why not Syria?". Salamandra's curiosity and dedication to learning, analyzing and understanding the country's complex societal nature is evident through her work. She chose Syria to do field work on as she believed not enough work was being done on it. She commented on how Syria would change every time she'd visit it, an observation of  a growing culture of consumption and leisure was apparent. Salamandra elaborated on how Damascus has "competing impulses" when it comes to spending time in the city now versus in the 90's.

Arab TV Drama Industry 

Syrian television dramas were a key factor in turning Salamandra onto the field of Arab TV, which has brought her here to the United Arab Emirates. She states that the UAE, and the Gulf, are so essential to that industry that they became part of the structural foundation. Hence, she began writing on how the Syrian drama industry took off in the Gulf region with the enormity that it did.

However, when she first began writing this narrative, the narrative kept changing. A challenging part has been the need to constantly update the material she's already written. Her first time in the UAE (in 2008) was in fact for the sole reason of updating some of the research she found outdated.

Her passion lies in the industry because of the interesting narrative it follows (and in some cases, un-follows), and lies in the Arab world because of fascination coupled with intellectual understanding. This is why Salamandra has been to Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Turkey and two GCC countries in her lifetime. Consequently, she made connections with writers, actors, producers and creatives of the industry.

Her Time at AUS

Salamandra told us her favorite part about the UAE has been living on our beautiful campus. She was taken aback by the grand architecture, the serene greenery and the welcoming environment she was constantly reveling in. She commented on how wonderful her colleagues have been, and how enjoyable her interactions with students were when they happened. Although she was not teaching during her time here, she was asked to talk to an English class whose students were analyzing one of her papers, and was delighted in the constructive conversation it bred. Salamandra was impressed by the fluid and quick transition she had when coming to AUS and the meticulous university organization of the process. When asked if she experienced a cultural shock, she responded with her amazement at how diverse the combination of languages present in the country were. She thanked the hospitality of her department and stated her deep gratitude for all those who allowed her stay here to be immeasurably memorable.  

What's Next?

Salamandra is heading back to New York after she spends a few weeks exploring and traveling around the UAE once her research time elapses. She hopes to have a draft of her book by September. We wish her all the best in her important research and the exciting book she's working on. We sure hope she visits again!




Bayan Almasri 
IXO Publicity Specialist 

Dr. Lim Nguyen

Dr. Lim Nguyen is a Fulbright scholar about to finish a year here at the American University of Sharjah. Even though he was born in Vietnam, he did not find it too difficult to adjust when his family moved to the United States. He went to high school in Oklahoma, and had a good time growing up in the old Indian territory state. Dr. Nguyen graduated high school in 1979 and moved on to something much bigger - he was a student at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) until he graduated in 1983.

After graduating from one of the most prestigious universities in the country, Dr. Nguyen moved all the way to Los Angeles for work. This, he said, was a big change. But it didn't seem like much could have halted his progress. Soon enough, he was working for Caltech and getting his Master's degree. Although, that was never the original plan. Initially, Dr. Nguyen planned on working for two years after getting his Bachelor's and then going back to school. It wasn't until 1991 that he began to pursue his Ph.D., with a wife and a kid!

We asked Dr. Nguyen why it was that he was so driven and determined when it came to his education: "The way I was shaped, growing up! And whether you realize it or not, it sticks with you and becomes part of your DNA. I didn't even realize how much of an effect my upbringing caused until much later. I had asked myself why I was pursuing education so hard for many years - I didn't have to go the extra mile and concentrate so hard."

Currently working in the field of Electrical Engineering, we asked Dr. Nguyen why he chose it in the first place. He began to laugh and explained he didn't want to be outdoors in construction and he wasn't too good at chemistry, which left him with Electrical Engineering. Growing up in Oklahoma, once of his favorite hobbies in his youth was putting together radios, so it made all the sense that he would excel at it. His teaching allowed him a little bit of traveling, and while he was teaching in the U.S. in the early 2000s, he met a brilliant Egyptian student who later on become a professor at AUS. Having kept in touch with him for several years, AUS was brought to Dr. Nguyen's attention.

Being a Fulbright scholar allowed him to travel to South Korea for a year, which was an exhilirating experience for him. He was in awe over the cultural differences and how drastic an experience traveling that far away from where he grew up can be. As he was always curious about it, the Middle East was next. Unsure which country to directly go to at first, the elements for his research as well as having AUS on his radar due to a past student were, in his words, "a great fit".

Now that he's been here almost a year, he reflects back on his time. Dr. Nguyen was most shocked by the weather that no one could have prepared him for, but soon enough realized that walking everywhere in the summer was not the way to go! His favorite part about his stay so far has been a trip to the Jais Mountains in RAK, where he fell in love with the hike and the views.

Dr. Lim Nguyen is among the many wonderful scholars currently doing important and amazing work on our campus, and he hopes to explore more of the UAE before he returns home. We wish him all the luck and more travels!




Bayan Almasri 
Publicity Specialist 

We Have Two New Partners!

At IXO, we're constantly trying to expand our student's horizons as well as opportunities. This means we never tire of forming partnerships with new universities all over the globe for our students to benefit from. When forming partnerships, exchange programs make it easier on both our students and incoming students to travel from or to AUS. This matters to us greatly because IXO is always looking to make those transitions and opportunities much easier on people to pursue. Most currently, we added two bilateral exchange partners to our list, namely the University of Alberta in Canada and Universidad Carloss III de Madrid in Spain. Let us tell you a little bit more about those two wonderful destinations!

Universidad Carloss III de Madrid in Spain

This university is very student-centered. It routinely has a number of on-campus as well as off-campus events for its students as well as student associations, clubs, sport teams and activities. Situated in the heart of Madrid, the campus is a beauty to behold. Madrid is the third-biggest city in the European Union and is a largely student city. Rich with culture as well as history, it is estimated that Madrid was founded around the year 860 A.C.

Below are the courses offered at the university:

Find out more at the university's official website: https://www.uc3m.es/Home

University of Alberta in Canada

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Canada. The university is over a century old and has esteemed contributions in research. Social responsibility is stressed on and student life is of the utmost importance. Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It hosts a year round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname “Canada’s Festival City”. It is home to North America’s largest mall, West Edmonton Mall and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum.

The courses available at the University of Alberta: 

Find out more on the official university website: https://www.ualberta.ca/

My Time At IXO by Divya Mahadevan

"Hi, my name is Divya Mahadevan and I graduate from AUS in Spring 2018 with  major in Architecture.  I did a studio abroad in Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in Fall 2016 and worked as a peer advisor & Publicity Specialist in IXO during Spring 2017.
Working at IXO was the most positive work experience I have had and now when I reflect upon my university education and experience, I believe that IXO has better prepared me for the job I have landed in Kuwait as a Jr. Architect when compared to any other internship or work experience.
My experience at IXO taught me the necessary professional ethics and the importance of working in a team that supports each other at every stage.
During my time at IXO, I always smiled while coming to work because it helped me take my mind off my stressed studio schedule. I loved the little gestures that were made for the main staff and the student employees which made me feel more at home in IXO than anywhere else. Even as an outgoing student, I always admired the rapport and the support the team had for each other and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
I admired the tireless efforts made by IXO staff to not only make incoming students comfortable but also make sure our students who went abroad were safe, and the students working at IXO enjoyed their tasks. This, I believe, is not something any other office or firm will have. The sense of belonging and homeliness is only evident here at IXO and it makes my heart warm when I think of how generations of students are going to join the IXO team and leave with a big smile on their face.
Having graduated, it is hard for everyone to get a training before starting off as a professional, but I consider myself lucky to have gotten an exceptional professional experience from IXO and now I am confident that I can perform well in my professional field. In a professional environment, I anticipate difficult situations and decisions that I may need to make, but I am sure that I can count on my experience at IXO to make me realize where my strength lies and approach everything with an optimistic and professional front.
I also believe that Linda, Grace and Lillie are always just a call or an email away to ask for any advice as they have shown immense support to all of their students and peer advisors. No internship, or mentorship would have prepared me for my future like being at IXO.
If anyone asks me how working at IXO was, I would not know where to begin but I would be sure mention that the person who I am today, is because of them. I have learned discipline, love, passion, creativity and professionalism from my time at IXO and I only look forward to mastering these skills with my new job."

And the Best Buddy Award Goes To...

We're not sure you know - and you should - much about our Buddy Program here at the International Exchange Office. The Buddy Program, or 'A-shab', comes from the Arabic meaning of “Friends.” ‘Ashab is a program that gives an opportunity for international connection between students who have come from abroad and those that are already a resident in the UAE. Through this program incoming international exchange students will be matched with a current AUS student. Students will be asked a set of questions to get a sense of their personality and will be matched with a student who has most compatible answers.

The founder of the Buddy Program at AUS is on of our own peer advisors Anwar Elsheikh. She provided the following testimonial on creating the Buddy Program: 

"I came up with the idea because I had spoken to exchange students in the past about their experience and one of the main things they missed about their study abroad was not meeting and making friends with local or AUS students. I had heard about buddy programs in other universities and experienced it when I went abroad to LSU so I decided to do this here at AUS. To make the buddy program more and personal and different to other programs I decided to match people together by personality instead of just choosing people at random! I also decided to name the program A-shab to get a sense of the culture as well."

The Buddy Program had its first ever award to give last semester (Fall of 2018), which Rania AlMadi rightfully earned. We spoke to AlMadi about her experience with the buddy she was paired up with, and it was full of growth, acceptance and at one time, horror. She personally wrote up her testimonial and told her story below: 

"My name is Rania Al-Madi, I’m Jordanian by nationality and Palestinian by origin. Icurrently study industrial engineering and I’m in my fourth (and NOT final) year. If I wereto describe my interests, the word SPORTS will probably come up 10000000 times. Ihave always loved sports. I’ve been on my school’s football, basketball, volleyball,badminton, and running teams. I’ve also ridden horses for much of my life, and continueto do all these things. I also love volunteering and helping others grow. I’m also a socialbutterfly, in a sense. I love to get to know other people and to hear their stories. What iseven better is when I start to connect with these people and form actual friendships.That is what led me to constantly meeting exchange students, ever since freshmanyear. In my first semester at AUS, I made good friends with Bradley, an exchangestudent from Chicago. In my second year, I made good friends with Liz, an exchangestudent from New York. In my third year, I made good friends with Zac, an exchangestudent from Arkansas. Beginning to notice a pattern?... That is what drove me to signup for the buddy program. Due to my history with exchange students, it only seemedright to intentionally befriend one of them, and not by coincidence, which was whathappened the first three times. I saw the e-mail about the buddy program in the summerjust before senior year started, and my friend shared it with me as well, so all the signsindicated that I should sign up for the buddy program, and I did.
I first contacted my buddy through e-mail so I could get her Whatsapp number. Afterthat, I texted her to start a conversation. My buddy’s name is Simah Al-Jabari. She’s Turkish-Iraqi and she comes from San Diego. I think part of what Simah was looking for in coming to AUS wasgood people that she can call family when the time came for her to leave. I believe she has found that family in coming to AUS, and I couldn’t be happier. It didn’t take much; we clicked from the beginning. We shared interests and we were both “not awkward”. In fact, I felt like she’d get along with my friends as well, so I invited her to come horse riding with us that same week I first spoke to her. I had not physically met her yet and the first time we met was at 5:30 AM on a Friday morning when we picked her up to go horse riding. Neither of us looked our best, but that didn’t matter much. We had a nice ride that day, and after we finished horse riding we decided to go have breakfast, after which we went to play some board games. After that, we wanted to go Karaoke (mind you, we were a group of 10+ people). We reached the Karaoke place and found it to be closed, so we decided that it was finally time to go home. As soon as we tried to start the car, we realized something was wrong with it and we went about trying to figure that situation out. Throughout thisexhausting day, Simah did not decide to run away. I was quite impressed that she stuckwith me through all that, considering it was the first day we met.
In the weeks following that day, I spent a lot of time with Simah, either having lunch,playing volleyball with my friends, or just hanging out and having coffee. Every time wehung out, we grew closer and closer. There was never a dull moment in conversationwith her. One weekend, I took Simah back to Abu Dhabi with me, where my family lives.She spent the weekend at my place and I showed her some spots in Abu Dhabi. It wasa relaxing two days full of good home-cooked food and it was the first time Simah eatsMansaf. Following this weekend, we spent almost every day together. Even when westudied, we would just meet up and each work on our own thing. I really enjoyedSimah’s company, and seeing her everyday was never too much. As the time of herdeparture from the UAE grew nearer, I started dreading her leaving. We have grown soattached! That is when I decided to create something that would hold all of our bestmemories and include a piece of every person Simah cherished. I decided to make ascrapbook and include pictures from Simah’s entire exchange semester. I also hadeveryone write in a farewell note. It was the best thing I could think to give her as afarewell gift. It’s safe to say that she loved it! Of course, I organized an entire dinner tobring together all of the friends Simah made to have one last happy gathering beforeshe left. Tears were shed, both happy and sad.
My buddy and I’s favorite past times include eating yoghurt at Yoghurt land. No joke, Iwas able to redeem a free cup in the time she was here! Also, we frequently went to thedesert. We both loved the calmness, peace and quiet that the desert offered, as well asthe warmth that came from a bonfire.
I think I taught Simah the importance of patience. That’s about as much as I taught her.She has taught me so much with her compassion, devotion towards her close friends,her caring nature and her consideration towards others. She also made me realize that Ineed to put myself first sometimes. I definitely grew as a person from spending so muchtime with Simah.
One day, Simah did not feel well and started to get dizzy, bordering on losingconsciousness. When she called me to tell me she wasn’t feeling well, she couldn’tcontinue the phone call and hung up. I had someone go check up on her in SBA while Iran as fast as I could from dorms. I was in a real panic. When I reached her, we got herhelp from the clinic then transferred her to the University Hospital Emergency Room,where they treated her. It was a scary experience, but she pulled through very well. Ihad never experienced something like this happening to a friend, and it’s amazing howassertive and rational one becomes when one’s looking after a friend in need.
My favorite part about the experience is growing so close to Simah in the span of only afew months to the point where I consider her a sister. Truly, I have grown so attachedand fond of Simah, and I feel very lucky to have gotten paired up with her. I had gaineda friend/sister for life, and that doesn’t come easy. Parting with Simah was difficult. It felt like she had taken a piece of my heart with her, not knowing when I was going to see her again. After all, San Diego is a long way away from UAE. It was difficult on my friends too, who had also grown quite attached to her. She definitely entered many people’s hearts, which is only to be expected of someoneas kind-hearted and pure as she is.
This experience gave me a new perspective on what friendship means. It also providedme with support and love that were much needed in a busy period of my semester.Most importantly, this experience taught me that there’s always good to be found inpeople, no matter how things may seem; it only takes a shift in perspective to notice it.I’m not sure whether it was the lucky pairing that made the Buddy program such asuccess in my case, but I’m very glad I did it and I would recommend it for everyone.You never know, you might just find yourself a friend for life!"

Mount Everest in Winter? Why not!

Some like to relax during the winter break before an oncoming semester; some like to visit a bustling city or a serene island - not our peer advisor Vishnu Narayanan. Narayanan, who've never been interested in trekking or any similar activities, decided to spend his winter break trekking up Mount Everest. Yes, Mount Everest!

Vishnu is a 21 year old Finance student working as a peer advisor at IXO. He became a peer advisor after doing a semester abroad in Maastricht University, Netherlands. Although that was a year ago, Narayanan had an all too-familiar urge that almost all our returning students face once they've explored a different country; he now had an itch to keep traveling. During his time abroad, shortly after his finals, he had taken some time to backpack around Spain and Portugal. In an unusual little hostel in Barcelona, he had met a woman with an enormous backpack, exhilarated about her trek up beautiful Mount Everest. Their meeting was brief, but for weeks, Narayanan couldn't seem to shake thinking about doing the same. A few weeks ago, he did just that.

Narayanan's trip lasted fifteen days in total, twelve of which consisted of trekking up towards base camp as well as making his way down with the group. Accompanying him on this exciting endeavor was his cousin and thirteen other people all aiming to complete this trail. Narayanan later explains that it wasn't the trek that was the most petrifying element of his trip. "I was terrified on the aircraft" he recounts. "it was one of those small aircrafts that practically sway in the wind, and flights would get cancelled if the weather is the slightest bit rough". The aircraft he was referring to was one that took the travelers closer to the start of their trekking trail.

When he finally began his first day of trekking, Narayanan was not feeling himself. He was feeling faint, weak and nauseous. Pretty soon, Narayanan realized that he was about to undertake a 12-day trek to the base camp on Mount Everest in unfamiliarly frigid weather... and he had food poisoning.

One can only imagine how difficult it would be to be trekking upwards for 8 to 12 hours a day when they can't eat anything in order to get their energy. Suffice to say, Narayanan's first day on the mountain was not pleasant. He couldn't bring himself to eat much or drink anything, and was therefore exhausted. He struggled to force himself to keep going during the first few days, especially when the weather - a bustling -20 and some days more - was a challenge of its own.

"When first deciding to make this trip real, I was full of doubt and fear. Doing this would mean completely stepping out of my comfort zone - both me and my cousin" Narayanan elaborates. As you can tell in the magnificent photo above of our Vishnu Narayanan proudly displaying our IXO flag at the base camp of Everest, he succeeded. He later explains that after coming back down and returning home, there was little else he felt he couldn't technically conquer: "everything was against us... the weather, the altitude, my food poisoning... and we did it!"

He believes his experience has filled him with more confidence that before, and allows him to think that when faced with a challenge in the future, he needs to only remember he had trekked up Mount Everest! We suppose that's a definite way one could realize they can accomplish anything!

While interviewing Narayanan, even when discussing the tougher parts of the trip, he never sounded regretful. In fact, he concluded "I'm just glad I made it back alive" with a grin stretched across his face.

Check out our Instagram and Twitter for more photos from the trek.

We can't wait to see where else Vishnu Narayanan finds himself in the future!





Bayan Almasri 
Publicity Specialist 

8 Years and Counting: A Success Story

"Blow after blow"

Like almost all good stories, Mohamed Metwally's was full of unnerving complications. During his interview, as he recalled the eventful journey he had embarked on, Metwally shook his head with a smile on his face. It seems things did not go his way too easily when he first grew excited to read that AUS had established partnerships abroad through ISEP mid 2010. "Blow after blow," he called the struggles, the technicalities and the hurdles he was faced with. Not only did Metwally overcome everything that attempted to derail him, he progressed significantly at every turn.

How it began

Metwally had dreams of going to medical school, but ended up signing up for an electrical engineering major here, at the American University of Sharjah. His first semester, he recalls, was one that discouraged him. He remembers a brilliant physics professor who intimidated him sometimes  into wondering if he was fit to do his major at all. By the time the end of his second semester rolled around, he wasn't doing as well as he had hoped. Consequently, Metwally went into "full workaholic mode", as he phrases it - "I buried myself in work". This went on throughout his entire summer. While hard at work, one random summer afternoon, the bulletins on the American University of Sharjah website caught his attention. Our International Exchange Office had just signed an agreement with ISEP that would enable him to travel abroad whilst maintaining his scholarship! Incredibly excited by the news, Metwally had rushed to IXO to apply, only to be told he had missed the Fall semester deadline. He then attempted to apply for the following Spring semester, but realized he did not have the sufficient credits to travel abroad just yet. It seems that once faced with that reality, most people would have waited the amount of time it took to accumulate the required number of credits - but not Mohamed Metwally!

"It was a brutal semester"

Mohamed Metwally decided to take his case to the dean at the time, and attempt to cram more credits into one semester than advisable in order to go abroad by Spring like he desired. The dean had encouraged and supported him throughout the complications he encountered, whether it was fixing Metwally's schedule to accommodate overlaps or believing that he would pull through even with the intensive workload. Instead of complaining about having three finals in one day, Metwally requested permission to line up his finals that way. He had to work harder than he ever did before, and he recalled days when it felt impossible that he would pull through. Nonetheless, he refused to give up no matter how discouraging the complications were. Simply put, Metwally was driven to be on a plane that coming January.

Vermont

The University of Vermont (UVM) was not on Mohamed Metwally's list of host university options. "Vermont was a very delightful, very fortunate mishap. It was not part of the plan," he explains. With his first option for a host university not working out, he was advised to think about Vermont by one of his professors. With so little time until the deadline and having to focus on such a heavy workload, Metwally had settled on the University of Vermont without doing much research. He had no idea the weather would be an unfamiliar 0 degrees for the first six months he was there! He recalls the following:

"My mom dressed me up like an eskimo. I felt like a teddy bear - no arm movement possible whatsoever. I landed to a foot and a half of fresh snow, first time ever. Magical moment. Beautiful little town, beautiful place. I'm convinced I'll retire there. If you want to fall in love with Vermont, go there in May/June, then in the Fall, you fall further in love... before you get hit with the harsh reality of winter."

 Metwally's semester was drawing to an end in the University of Vermont when he was asked to extend his stay another three weeks and work on a fun project that tickled his interest. With his stay covered, Metwally decided to stay the extra three weeks. Funny enough, before he left to go home to the UAE, he applied half-heartedly to a paid summer internship that quickly responded the day after the interview - he was hired! Thinking this would be a great experience, Metwally spent the summer traveling around the United States through his job, meeting a variety of people and cultures each time he boarded a plane. He traveled 2 to 3 times a week on average, and helped update and solve problems of softwares in pediatric hospitals. By the time he was almost done with his internship, it was finally time to head back to AUS to start the new Fall semester. However, UVM asked if he would like to stay onboard another semester. His home university, AUS, allowed for the extension. Metwally ended up staying in the US for what he thought was one more semester.

Thanksgiving 

Thanksgiving had now rolled around, and Metwally was not going home for the holidays. Instead, to keep busy, he asked one of his professors if he had any projects for him to dabble with. His professor gave him a task - to build a clock of certain specifications - and left for the holidays. The UVM professor was so impressed by Metwally's work that he asked Metwally if he could do a Master's degree with him. Baffled, Metwally was both honored and confused. He was only in his third year of university, over a semester away from getting his Bachelor's. After his professor secured some of the funding, and it seemed he could do an accelerated Master's whilst obtaining his undergraduate degree, Metwally found himself working for two degrees at once. He was doing extra credits again and was busier than he's ever been. Metwally even lost his thyroid temporarily due to stress. He summarizes his chaotic and busy year, "All that... turned into a Master's degree". He was only 21 years old when he finished his Master's.
After that, Metwally gained some experience after accepting an offer from MIT Lincoln Labs, did some research that was funded by NASA and is now working with Fast Enterprises - a government software and consulting company. Metwally is now 26 years old and lives in Denver, Colorado, waiting for his next project.

And now

When asked how he made the jump from electrical engineering, Metwally explains, "I have an electrical engineering degree with a concentration in technology, did my Master's in ground-penetrating radar and space systems and I now work in software consulting and government system design. I've always loved academia and most importantly, problem-solving. Nobody has to simply stick to one thing and do nothing else".
IXO's director, Dr. Linda C. Angell adds, "People go through a huge transition when they brave those amazing abroad experiences". Simply traveling abroad for one semester has opened up numerous doors and opportunities and completely changed many of our student's lives. Mohamed Metwally is one example of many whose life was altered through the opportunities IXO provides. We are confident in the fact that Metwally's list of achievements will only ever grow and make him and his family proud. We can't wait to hear more of his life for years to come.



Bayan Almasri
IXO Publicity Specialist 
Design Management student