Kuwait … Starbucks … Mr. Ambassador
Landing in Kuwait I thought I was in South Florida; palm trees, beautiful beaches and surf, horrible road side urban design, tons of retail stores, and Starbucks. If you need proof that the world is now flat, visit any of the 600+ Starbucks in Kuwait and order a latte for only $9. They are on every corner, in basements, rooftops, and gas stations. At night, I dreamed of hazelnut rivers, and snowmen made of sugar, the sky in my world was Starbucks green.
Ask a Kuwaiti if they like living in Kuwait, and they are likely to respond with “Yes, I have to.�? Not exactly a glowing recommendation or affirmation of joy, but they make it work. This is yet another city of skylines with cranes, the old mosque next to a Burger King, the stained glass window next to the mirrored glass. The city cannot help but be influenced by other cultures because their service sector workers are imported from South Asia, and the schools for the youth come in the American, English and French systems. In a session with students at the local Amideast office I responded to a question about safety by telling them that the United States was not exactly how it was portrayed in the movies and MTV. They looked a bit disappointed.
I have answered this question about safety two ways. One, Virginia Commonwealth University has one of the largest police forces of any campus in the United States. We have an escort service that will pick up and deliver students from their current location on campus to other points, from the library to their dorm room for example. They like this but their real question is how safe is it for an Arab? Fair enough. I have told students and parents that as nervous as they are for their safety, so were my parents when I told them I was traveling to the Gulf. We work on what we know and sometimes the reality we create is not based on first-hand experience.
At VCU however, we have one of the largest Muslim Student Associations, an Islamic Film Festival, and our Student Government Association president is an Arab. How many universities in America can say that? Pam, Bob and Wick in our Student Services office work hard to properly integrate students from all regions of the world, and they understand the needs and concerns of the students from the Gulf Region. At the Eid Fitr celebration two weeks ago the students from Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE spoke openly about their affection for “Miss Pam�?, and Bob’s children sat on mats with the Arab students, celebrating the end of Ramadan with a wonderful feast prepared by a local merchant. We are building lasting relationships with our students from the Gulf in a region where genuine relationships are valued. My parents have nothing to worry about, and neither do the parents of these students.
The backbone of the education system here in Kuwait is the tight network of counselors. I visited some of them at Al Bayan, the British School of Kuwait, American International School, the American School and Carmel High School. They meet weekly to discuss their students, issues with universities, issues with administration. They are honest people; living in a dry city, what you see is really what you get. I am grateful to them because they know the students that have the ability to succeed and they were very honest with me regarding the policies of some counselors when it comes to social promotion and grade inflation.
At each of the schools I met with the head counselor and between 10-20 students for around an hour. On these trips sometimes you get lucky and have a room reserved for just you for a mini fair. Other times you get a table in the courtyard during mid-morning break. I’ll take either and the students are appreciative of the time.
At the fair I had two unexpected surprises involving a former student and the US Ambassador. Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk, director of the School of Mass Communications (and recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Top PR Educator Award) started a communications program in the UAE for women. She has many ties to the Middle East and last year she facilitated the visit of two young women from Kuwait who wanted to participate in a three-week internship in print/broadcast journalism. While the students were in Richmond, my wife and I took them and our children to Kuba Kuba for a Sunday brunch, and showed them the city. Well one of them Sara, had aspirations of being a broadcaster and sure enough, she was there at the fair, behind a microphone, in front of a television camera, covering the fair and the US Ambassador for a local station. What a world. You have people briefly enter your life, due to the dedication of VCU administrators like Dr. Turk and you don’t expect to see them again. But life sometimes has other plans.
The other surprise could not have been scripted better for VCU if we had students from our nationally ranked MFA in Creative Writing producing it. The US Ambassador was there to cut the ribbon, which would officially start the fair. After doing this, in the midst of television cameras, microphones, and photographers, the Ambassador refused to start the fair with a first visit to one of the other universities. Instead, he declared, I must start with VCU. What a coup. He came over to my table, accompanied by the paparazzi (yes, Britney has filed for divorce from Kfed, I know) and began to talk with me. It turns out he has a home in Alexandria and the Northern Neck and he was very familiar with VCU. Like that we had a connection that Virginians throughout the world can understand. It made me feel special and once again demonstrated the strength of and awareness of the global brand that is Virginia Commonwealth University.