Finding Wonder and Rhythm in the Culture of Bahrain
The world is filled with other cultures that can teach me more than I ever imagined. One summer I joined other teenagers from the United States and the Kingdom of Bahrain for a week of workshops, camping, river rafting, and living with homestay families in Oregon during the Mobility International USA/Bahrain Youth Citizenship for Disability Inclusion Exchange Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges.
Before participating, I wondered whether our religious differences would cause tension between us. Religion plays a major role in the culture of Bahrain as was evident during our time together. One participant had the Koran on her I-pod instead of music. While we were camping, the Bahraini girls took out carpets and prayed often. They wore long sleeved clothing and head scarves, even when we went swimming. Sharing our religious differences brought us closer; I realized our differences make us as strong as our similarities and created an opportunity for us to learn about each other.
In discussion groups, I talked about the accommodations for my dysgraphia and attention deficit disorder that my school provides and learned that people on the other side of the world faced the same problems as people with disabilities in my culture. It caused me to think about disability rights and awareness on an international level.
The day I left the summer program, I said goodbye to the group and realized that instead of generalizing about other cultures, I saw they are made up of unique and interesting individuals. The experience left me eager to travel to learn more, which led to my experience on the second half of the program the following spring.
When I applied for the international exchange program, the idea of traveling to Bahrain with other teenagers with disabilities seemed like a dream. No matter how hard I tried, I could not picture myself in the Middle East, nor as a U.S. high school student ambassador abroad. Not that I didn’t want to. I just didn’t know what to picture. Would there be camels roaming the street? Dirt roads? Would Bahrain be a vast desert with a red sky and a blazing sun? As it turned out, my participation in the exchange not only spread international awareness regarding disability issues – it opened my eyes to see the world as it truly is.
While preparing for the exchange, I thought a lot about culture shock. Once I was in Bahrain, what I experienced seemed more like “culture wonder.” Every aspect of Bahrain (the food, the architecture, and the friendly people) seemed like gems to treasure.
Once arriving in Bahrain, not a moment was wasted. We stayed in a youth hostel, visited museums and historical sites, and participated in various workshops on disability rights, the environment, and leadership. We also volunteered at an archeological site, rode a camel, swam in the Persian Gulf, attended cultural celebrations, and much more. The huge range of activities helped me to truly experience the Arab culture.
Throughout the program, Bahraini teenagers with disabilities accompanied us to activities. During a five-day retreat to Hawar Island, I roomed with Amal, a Bahraini delegate who shared her lifestyle with me. Mostly we communicated through pictures and charades because she spoke as much English as I spoke Arabic (very little). Heading back from the retreat, Sara, another Bahraini delegate, and Amal taught me how to play a drum. I will never forget being surrounded by my Bahraini friends as they cheered when I finally got the rhythm down.
While in Bahrain, I learned two profound truths: the world is small, and the world is large. In the small sense, I knew I was just a short nine-hour plane ride from my home. In a larger sense, I knew that I could be in an entirely different culture of the world in just a matter of hours. Now my worldview includes wonderful people, beautiful cultures, and fascinating lifestyles all over the world that are both similar and different from my own. And, there are many problems to solve, too. In Bahrain, disability rights is a very new concept, but I am happy to see that the Bahraini government is working on the issue with input from other teens with disabilities. By working together, America and Bahrain can learn how to address disability rights; America can learn from Bahrain, just as I learned from Amal. If we take the effort to know each other, we will never cease to be amazed by how much we can grow and change.
Youth programs supported by the Office of Citizen Exchanges promote ties between the United States and other countries through intensive, short-term programs and academic year exchanges for high school students that promote mutual understanding, leadership development, educational transformation and democratic ideals.
