Hans Kung, a Catholic priest, once said, "There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions." After Sept. 11, things have changed in the world, and religious intolerance has become widespread. Terrorism, wars and violence are a threat to the stability of humanity. We are all different ethnically, religiously and linguistically, but we all belong to the same big family of human beings. In fact, this world belongs to us. Therefore, promoting mutual respect and tolerance for people of different cultural and religious backgrounds is one of humanity's missions. The only reasonable way of achieving this is through spreading the culture of peace, tolerance and dialogue.
My love for teaching languages and my fascination with other cultures were the main motivations that fueled my desire to apply for the Fulbright Program. I was sure this program would eventually reveal a secret that would enable me to make correct judgments about all sorts of things. I had always dreamt of America — the land of dreams, the America of freedom, social justice and egalitarianism, the land of equal opportunities to live a decent life. I feel blessed to be a Fulbright scholar and a cultural ambassador of my country. Indeed, by sharing my culture and teaching my native language, I found my calling in life.
Being a Fulbright scholar and a foreign language teaching assistant at Brown completely changed my outlook on cultures, religions, customs, languages, people and life in general. Now, I think about all these things in a distinctive way and have a propitious understanding of them. Additionally, teaching my native language and sharing my culture helped me develop an understanding of the American lifestyle and bridge the gap between Moroccan and American cultures.
At the same time, it allowed me to share the culture of peace, dialogue and tolerance with social activities, through which we could explore deep concepts like hospitality, beauty and love. For instance, volunteering to prepare a glass of green tea with mint in an interfaith house convinced me that small positive actions can make significant changes in our lives and around the world. Representing Morocco, I seized the opportunity to present some understandable aspects of my language and culture through food, particularly tea.
Moreover, being on campus with international students gave me the chance to meet people from different cultural and religious backgrounds. I tasted various dishes and learned how to cook different foods. Now, I have new friends, and I feel as if I have a home in each of their countries. On top of that, I have learned that interreligious and intercultural dialogue is urgent to the survival of the human species.
Teaching Arabic to students from different countries enabled me to introduce students to Moroccan culture, customs and traditions. I believe that education is the key to success, and I appreciate how learning a language can be a strong tool for cultural understanding. As a teacher, I aimed to provide students with stimulating, challenging and healthy environments to allow them to become active learners. Additionally, my fundamental philosophy was to build students' confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in a new language. I was happy to see the students' thirst to know more about my culture and their eyes sparkling as they learned. What is more, during my time at Brown, class discussion and course syllabi proved useful to me. They paved my way, improved my English and opened up my appetite for learning and research.
Being a Fulbright scholar helped me maintain confidence in my commitment to public service and work with people. As a cultural ambassador, I was responsible for sharing my culture, spreading the notion of religious tolerance and mutual respect and organizing cultural events. Thus, joining the Brown Muslim Students' Center and the Rhode Island Chapter of the Fulbright Association allowed me to interact with and meet people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. I believe that interfaith and intercultural dialogue has helped me foster discussion, understanding and respect among people of faith and those without a particular religious background. This invaluable experience taught me a lot about working with people and knowing how to win their respect. At the same time, it broadened my views on topics that involve religion, culture and society.
In brief, I am convinced that the foreign language teaching assistant program has not only provided me the opportunity to improve my teaching skills, increase my English language proficiency and enhance my knowledge of American culture and society, but has also enabled me to understand myself and my culture and serve the community.
Adil Lachgar is a Fulbright scholar and a foreign language teaching assistant from Morocco. He can be reached at lachgar2020@hotmail.com.
