Rarely does one have the opportunity in a lifetime to actually use the now-cliched

phrase "life-changing experience" and really mean it. There is no other way to put it.

It is and will always be a life-changing experience.

My name is Aiyad Malouf. Before my Fulbright experience, I had been shy and afraid

to speak in public, to make my voice heard. That is way, I rejected the idea of

becoming a teacher since it requires me to stand in front of strangers and speak. I

studied English literature without a clear plan for my future.

One day, as I was sitting in a campus café, a good friend of mine mentioned

Fulbright. She brought me a brochure detailing some info about the FLTA program. I

read it and put it aside. "This isn't my thing," I said "This is for people who dream of

becoming good teachers. I don't want to become a teacher." She insisted, though. I

printed out the application document and started reading. I put it aside. I even tore the

entire thing and threw it away. However, there was a feeling that this might be good.

Why waste an opportunity?

I applied, went through all the required tests and interviews. Then finally, I received a

phone call telling me that I will be flying to Istanbul soon for a gathering of Arab

FLTAs. I could not believe it. Fear was the first feeling that I experienced. It was new.

It was strange.

Being a Palestinian citizen of Israel makes me different. Meeting my Arab colleagues

in Istanbul was something of a dream. Where and how else would I meet people from

Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco in one program?

It was overwhelming to me!

In the following months I prepared myself to fly to Syracuse University in the States

for a 4-day training program. Then I traveled to UCONN in Connecticut.

The world was welcoming me, and I could not stop.

Fulbright gave me my first teaching experience in my life. I remember finishing my

very first lecture. I went out full with adrenaline – "This is it! This is what I want to

do for the rest of my life!". From one lecture to another, I gained more confidence.

The adrenaline was still there, and I wanted more.

In the following 6 months, I worked hard to establish an Arabic culture club. This

required recruiting people, attending courses, getting approvals from official offices

and departments, writing an official constitution that needed the approval of the

university and arranging a place for weekly meetings.

I did it. I could not believe it. The club is there. The club is till there even today! How

could it be possible to do all of that without the opportunity of a lifetime?

During my US stay, I traveled a lot. I visited people in Pennsylvania, and met with

the Amish community; I stayed in New York City and embraced the cultures of

Greenwich Village, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

I have grown intellectually and emotionally ever since. I came back to Israel filled

with energy and the will to change. Today, I teach English in more than 4 colleges.

Inspired by my Fulbright experience, I decided to go on with the Arabic teaching. I

started a mini-project of mine. I meet foreign students who reside and study in Haifa

and teach them Arabic language and culture. We sit in public spaces, little cafés or

parks. We discuss Arabic language and culture. I teach them how to read and write,

and we share culture!

The world has become my home.