Story by Rana Zakarna, for The Muleskinner—

I’m Rana Zakarna from Palestine, a country located thousands of miles away from the United States.

Coming from another part of the world, from a country with a totally different culture, made me who I am today.

It’s part of the world where dreams have a lot of limitations, and people are forced to live under the Israeli control and their strict restrictions that make the Palestinians like puppets in the Israeli hands, powerless to do anything.

Traveling to America was always my biggest dream that I kept pursuing for years, until I finally made it.

Even though I was attending one of the best universities in Palestine, I was still looking forward to change the way I studied.

This change is about being surrounded by another type of people, learning from their culture, feeding my soul with new ideas, discovering new beliefs and new ways of thinking, making lifetime friendships, and the most important part is improving my English language.

My dream finally came true and I got accepted to UCM with a scholarship from the American Councils for one academic year.

I still remember that day when I was told that I was accepted in the Near East South Asia Undergraduate Program. It was one of the most wonderful feelings I’ve ever felt in my whole life.

Now, I am an exchange student majoring in English Literature.

This scholarship absolutely will not happen for nothing, simply because everything happens for a reason.

After finishing a semester at UCM, I can say that I got my reason. I realized that this semester is the best semester I’ve ever had.

I’ve learned the true meaning of responsibility, how to be independent, and how to manage my time so that I can have fun with my friends, do community service and at the same time succeed in my courses.

That was kind of hard for me because my day was completely full and I wasn’t used to this style of life.

I had to attend classes, study, make new friends, participate in community service projects, keep in touch with my family and friends back home, and get over my homesickness.

But I thankfully was able to do it all, and now I’m a completely different person with such a great experience.

My classes, my professors, the international staff, my amazing friends and every person I met and every activity I did, were the key for this incredible experience.

At this point, being accepted for an internship at The Muleskinner will definitely make my experience much greater, and let me accomplish my other dreams.

There is one more semester for me and I can predict it is going to be more successful than the previous semester. I will gain new experiences and have unforgettable moments.