SUSI 2018 Blog Spot

It was really hard to say good bye to Amherst and UMass. It was too sad to see tears in Emily's eyes before departure; it melted my heart. Touqeer, Faizan, Abigial and Leah and all others had given us a lot of respect and time that's why we all felt very sorry leaving them behind. Well we reached at Boston: the educational capital of US. We were lucky to visit world renowned Harvard and MIT Universities. We also had the chance to meet the one of the youngest congressman of Massachusetts, Goldstein Rose and talked kn different social issues. Then in Department of Mental health initiatives of Massachusetts for mental health were discussed briefly, their efforts were really praiseworthy. Lastly the Blue Man Show was too funny and creative and we all enjoyed it.

I am lost!

Alas!

I am lost!

Sobia Ibrahim

It was last week at Amherst which made me feel happy and sad but I was determined to make it the best week here. The session about grant writing was the best as it opened up my mind about many opportunities which I could avail after this program. I was happy to know about it as I am quite hopeful to get it. The LGBQT session was also different of its kind and I am impressed by the efforts of these communities and I hope that they get their rights. The week concluded with closing ceremony where I loved hosting my host family. We made pictures with every American ambassador and host families so that we can keep these memories forever safe. I left UMass with a mixed feeling and I am now looking forward for a wonderful time in different cities.

The final week at UMass was full of excitement and thrill but at the same time it had brought a certain kind of sadness along it. Election Campaign Simulation learnt me many things about electoral system of the United States. I am still undecided on whether the US has a democratic system or not because of electoral college votes which don’t represent the voice of majority but distribution of numbers to get to the White House. I will always remember the concluding line of Mike at the end of simulations that “Now you know more about electoral system of the US than many Americans in this country”. But that is not the best part of campaign to me because one thing which influenced me the most was team work. I am proud to say that my campaign team was the best and they had a lot to teach me. Although we couldn’t win in campaign simulation but I was more than happy to learn those things which were way more valuable to me than winning. I also enjoyed services at Jewish Community of Amherst. I prayed with Jews which made me realize that every religion is just another way to praise the Lord. The closing ceremony at SDT proved to be a good platform to bid farewell to all those hosting families who embraced us with love at their homes. I was sad to leave Amherst because I had been got used to UMass and neighborhood. But that’s life and you have to be at pace with it. Now I am in Boston and I hope to make the most of these two weeks.

Fourth week was our last week in Amherst. We had academic sessions on entrepreneurship, grant writing and leadership. We also had session with chairman of Donahue Institute, he gave comprehensive overview of all the services they are offering and the change they are making.

Thursday was a hilarious and enjoyable day; yes, it was our compaign day. Our teams were running election compaigns for Warren and Trump. Compaign was full of energy and enthusiasm. At last Trump made it to White House for 2020. Apart from fun, compaign also gave us an overview of US political system. Later in the week our last session was on Historical overview of LGBTQ Rights. In the evening we went to Jewish Community of Amherst. Session gave a great chance to remove our biases about Jewish people and we also found the way to present a positive image of Pakistanis towards them. Dance on the music with religious poems in the synagogue was amazing and soothing. We all had a wonderful time with Jewish community.

Week three was tragic, so was week 4th I went through a rollercoaster of emotions and sentiments. Six flags was an experience of its own. I tried to make the most of it, usually I’m afraid of height but I pushed myself to overcome it by trying rides like free fall and sky screamer.

It was fascinating.

By the end of third week, I had this feeling of having UMASS SICKNESS when I’d be back home.

Best part of my 4th week was my stay over host family and shabaat celebration at the Jewish community Amherst. I’ve never seen such hospitable hosts ever in my life, usually Pakistanis are considered as more hospitable nation. But I want to tell the world that there exists more of them around the world you just need to be lucky enough to have them :’)

I didn’t want to leave their company. Th sath was amazing from visiting peace pagoda to making raspberry ice cream so delicious to the breakfast and to watching fireflies in the farms at night. I was amazed by the kind and humble gestures shown by my host family. I have recieve a lot of gifts from them out of them all their love stands out. I will always remember you Jeff, Yael, Adam and Racquel 💕

Looking forward to having much more experience in other cities in the study tour.

This week was immensely different from the previous two weeks. Because I got an opportunity to visit two of the great social initiative setups and organization. One was Amherst Survival Center ,where we went as a volunteer and helped unloading a truck for the first time in my life. This center caters to the needs of homeless and poor people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the surroundings of Amherst. Providing them with cooked, uncooked food, clothes, toiletries or anything that they might need. It was surprising to see the quality of things being provided to those in needs and the quantity was more than sufficient as well. Everything was neat and clean with well managed environment.

My second visit was to an incredible and unique foster care Tree House Community where old people, teens and children were living in a fully built community of many houses as a one big family. Community was beautifully designed and people were so happy that it felt no less than a real blood family. They hosted us for a delicious dinner cooked by a Bangladeshi chef who tried her best to gave us some taste of south Asian food they we are missing badly and it only made us feeling more welcomed. We shared stories with each other’s beyond borders.

Time flies specially when u are having fun .coming down to my 3rd week which was wonderful .My week started in Massachusetts a fascinating place ,more like dream turning in to a reality .Everyday I learned something new .it was a fun bt bit tough as well ..we visited the Amherst school & what I loved this school is equality .without any sign of discrimination & favoritism I believe teachers should have this type of mindset in all the schools around the world ..My next visit was ‘The tree house ‘ I was sooo glad to meet such amazing people over there .Their hearts were filled with pure love for the children .The way they treated them it felt more like they were one family this is a true sign of humanity ,love and respect .One of The my favorite days of the week I’d say .😍

Last but not least ,

‘The Quabbine Resvervoir ‘

What a spectacular place ,more like a living heaven on earth .i have never seen such a beautiful place in my life ever such before .The breathtaking crystals clear water & the mountains were decorated with beautiful tall trees The sound of following water & the cool breez in the atmosphere was so mesmerizing Deep down I wished if I could freeze this moment & live in it forever .Indeed ,Nature is the art of God .

Yeah its Sunday.Finally....Blog time.The previous week was ful of fun and activities. We have had some memorable days and experiances. I am getting more and more interested in taking sessions and lectures. If I am being honest I must say sessions were pretty boring for me in the start. Now I am realizing sessions lectures and discussions are very much important and its basically making up the core of this program.

As a medical student we don’t have that much of time to study something which is out of our syllabus but this program made me interested in learning all sort of stuff about this world.

We visited Amherst public school. And I got to know for the first time the differences in US and Pakistan educational systems.It was so surprising to know that how the examination system is not grade oriented while the examination system back in Pakistan is extremely grade oriented.I always had so many questions in my mind that i always wanted to ask educational policy makers and i got this chance here.We are so lucky to have amazing teachers always open for ideas and discussions.I enjoyed so many over luch discussions with my teachers.It literally quenched the thirst of my curiosity.There have been alot of fruitful discussions this week with Tom.

We also went to Six Flags. I was very much afraid of heights and just the thought of rides in rollercoaster and high swings gave me chills. But literally I challenged myself and took up each and every ride.There were so many moments On the rides when i thought thats it..that was my life and its gonna end right now.You literally get a near death experience on such scary rides which has its own charm.To be honest it was one of the most exciting experience of my life.

The next week is our last week here at amherst . There are still some seven days left but I have already started missing this place. I fell in love with umass and amherst and now it feels like home. Mere the thought of leaving this place give me chills.

But apart from that we have a lot more exciting adventures coming next to which I am looking forward to.

The time is passing very quickly and it’s the end of our 3rd week in UMass Amherst. Like the other two weeks this week also started with academic activities like classes and group discussion. But this week was a little different from other two weeks due to something new that we experienced in this week.

On Tuesday we went to Amherst Regional High School and studied about the education policy of U.S.A. We talked with the Principal and district education officer about the education policies and different issues they are facing and also we discuss the education system in Pakistan and the problem that Pakistanis are facing these days.

On Thursday we went to Treehouse Foundation. Treehouse Foundation is like a Creative Family where old people and orphans are living like a family. We spent a lot of time with them and had a dinner with them. We discuss different things with the Treehouse foundation related to their funding and many other things. We were curious to know about them because we don’t have such foundations in Pakistan. We have only orphanage which is taking care of orphans but it is not like treehouse foundation. So it was a great experience for me.

On Sunday we also went to Six Flags New England, which was a fun, enjoyment and great experience because we don’t have such parks in Pakistan because of lack of resources. So it was a great experience for me.

Thanks.

Every passing week gets better than the rest of the weeks. My third week at UMass Amherst have been the best time so far which I’ll remember forever. This week was so happening and I experienced most of the things which I wanted to. At the start of the week, we had a session about the U.S. Presidential Election Campaign Simulation and we’re divided into teams. We went to the Amherst High School, visited different sections of the school and had a talk on Education Policy with the Principal and Superintendent of schools. I used to see American schools in movies but visiting there and seeing it with my own eyes was amazing. We visited the Tree House Foundation’s village which is a nonprofit organization and working on re-envisioning of foster care in America. They hosted us very well. Being a social activist, it was great to meet and interact with like-minded people in this part of the world. I loved talking to the senior citizens. They were so lovely, caring and humble.

Homestay is the other best thing that happened during this week. I was placed with the family of Geoff and Michelle, both of them are teachers. I had a great time with the host family. Interesting part was that both of them have travelled to Pakistan before and I had 9 mutual friends with Geoff on Facebook :p (see, the world is too small). We had great discussions and they were of progressive thought so, it was good to be placed with like-minded people. I felt like home.

At the end of the week, we went to SIX FLAGS New England which was another great experience. We had so much fun there. The free fall and roller coaster was fun. I wanted to face my fear so I tried the toughest one’s.