Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars: Stories of Foreign Fulbrighters in the United States [Paperback]

Zeeshan-ul-hassan Usmani (Editor), Omer Idrees (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2006

These stories of foreign Fulbrighter in the United States, "Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars" give the reader a firsthand account of the value of the international education exchange program. Each story is unique and personal, describing different impressions and values. ~Harriet Mayor Fulbright Since its establishment, nearly 300,000 people have been "Fulbright Scholars." Hundreds of thousands of others have served as local hosts to these visitors, helping them adapt to a new culture, providing space for research and scholarship, and building bridges between the different societies. In turn, these scholars and their hosts have influenced the entire world, through their teachings, their research, and their discoveries. This year (2006) is the 60th Anniversary of the Fulbright Exchange Program, and a few of their stories have been gathered for this collection of essays. All of the contributors are grantees who came to the United States from other countries, some for the first time. The stories of these citizen ambassadors may be humorous or heart-wrenching, but they are all true. ~Eric S. Howard

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The book offers a rare perspective on internationally known Fulbright Program and is comprised entirely of essays gathered from among the ranks of those who have come to the United States to study as Fulbright Scholars. Each author's experiences and definitions give readers an image of America from a foreigner's perspective.

There are essays of Fulbrighters from Italy, Uganda, Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Cameroon, Malaysia, Austria and Netherlands.

If you are interested in Cultural Studies, or if you are a foreign student or an American who would like to go for Foreign Studies, this book is for you!

From the Back Cover

"These stories of foreign Fulbrighter in the United States, "Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars" gives the reader a firsthand account of the value of the international education exchange program. Each story is unique and personal, describing different impressions and values."

Harriet Mayor Fulbright

"The backgrounds of these individuals are as diverse as their experiences! This book is valuable document of their experience and an excellent reference to future Fulbright scholars."

Ronaldo Menezes Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

"This year (2006) is the 60th Anniversary of the Fulbright Exchange Program, and a few of their stories have been gathered for this collection of essays. All of the contributors are grantees who came to the United States from other countries, some for the first time. The stories of these citizen ambassadors may be humorous or heart-wrenching, but they are all true. "

Eric S. Howard Executive Director Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology

"Every person interested in or involved with the Fulbright program should read this book. It helps to restore perspective about the experiences of real grantees. It provides excellent examples of what happens after students receive their grant and arrive in the U.S."

Grace Clark, PhD. Executive Director United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (June 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425936458
• ISBN-13: 978-1425936457
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,801,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Usmani is a Fulbright Scholar. He holds a PhD and MS in Computer Science from the Florida Institute of Technology. As part of his Master's thesis, he has developed a simulation of supermarkets to observe and quantify the effects of herd behavior on impulse shopping by customers. His PhD work focuses on simulation and modeling of blast waves in open and confined spaces. His work has been mentioned in Wall Street Journal, AOL News, Wired Magazine, NPR, MIT's Technology Review, Florida Today, and The Economist. He has authored dozens of research papers, articles, and three books. His research strengths include real-world simulation, programming human emergent behaviors, and modeling of catastrophic events. He has worked in Citi Bank New York, Discover Financials, Illinois and Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology in Maine. Currently, he is an assistant professor at the department of computer science at the GIK Institute.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple Language, Straight Talk, July 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars: Stories of Foreign Fulbrighters in the United States (Paperback)

I like the book very much, specially the essays from Uganda, Italy and Malaysia. There are so much to learn about our own culture and there are so many thing i've learned about american from these foreign fulbright students.

I like the title as well.

Great addition for your bookshelf.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectual, Funny, and Eye-Opening, July 13, 2006

By 

Sciencewatch (Lawrencville, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars: Stories of Foreign Fulbrighters in the United States (Paperback)

I really like the book, kind of unique and different reading.

"The book can give you so many interesting definitions of America, its people and culture (that) you have never heard of," explains Usmani. For example, he points out that some of the "obvious" and acceptable things that pervade American culture can be offensive to people from other countries. Thus, the book's overall theme is one of mutual understanding among nations and people.

"At the end, (everyone) loves peace, friendship and love, and life is all about our struggle to cope with different cultures, meanings, settings, people and places," he explains.

"To understand others is the key to living a peaceful life."

Throughout the pages can be found the words of Usmani's contemporaries.

In "Five Definitions of America," a student who came from a remote region of Pakistan describes the United States as "a new planet." Even more profound, however, is how his perception changed during his stay. Primed by his hometown media to view America as "the land of prejudice," he was reluctant to discard such sentiments right away. His story is a timely and insightful examination of the struggle between reality and perception, and how people and their culture combine to give an impression of an entire nation.

"The world is a collection of diverse cultures and people. We should not try to make them one. Instead, we should be open enough to accept them as they are," says Usmani.

Highly Recommended for students!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Editor, July 13, 2006

By 

Zeeshan-ul-hassan Usmani "Author of Harnessin... (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Experiencing America: Through the Eyes of Visiting Fulbright Scholars: Stories of Foreign Fulbrighters in the United States (Paperback)

The book offers a rare perspective on internationally known Fulbright Program and is comprised entirely of essays gathered from among the ranks of those who have come to the United States to study as Fulbright Scholars. Each author's experiences and definitions give readers an image of America from a foreigner's perspective.

There are essays of Fulbrighters from Italy, Uganda, Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Cameroon, Malaysia, Austria and Netherlands.

If you are interested in Cultural Studies, or if you are a foreign student or an American who would like to go for Foreign Studies, this book is for you!