Four Texas A&M grad students a here from Iraq on Fulbright scholarships. Find their stories in the Bryan-College Station Eagle.

By Ashley N. Coker

Most Americans dream of meeting the president. For Salah Zayouna, a guest in this country from war-torn Iraq, standing in the White House and having his picture taken with President Bush was one of many extremes that have characterized the 40-year-old accounting student’s life.

“I did not believe it,” Zayouna said.  “Because, well, if someone told me before, years ago, that I was going to meet the president of U.S.A., I would say ‘hey, you are crazy.’ No one would believe that.” 

The hour and 20 minutes Zayouna spent with President Bush was undoubtedly a remarkable experience for the Baghdad native. “He is a very nice person, social,” Zayouna said. “He encouraged us to study and he gave us some examples of how it was hard for him to study in another city than [the one] he lived in. And we also discussed the situation in Iraq.”

More than 7,500 miles from home and in a new culture, Zayouna seems to have adjusted well. The kind hearts and open minds that inhabit this land of opportunity have helped ease the process, he explains.

To Zayouna, who came to America to study accounting at Texas A&M, education is a key factor for a successful nation. When he arrived in the U.S., Zayouna had already received degrees in accounting and electrical engineering from Mustansiyria, the second largest university in Baghdad. As a graduate student at Mays Business School, he is studying accounting on a Fulbright Scholarship and will graduate in August. Although he has been accepted as a graduate student in the Department of Information and Operations Management, he is still in search of an assistantship. Whether or not he finds one will ultimately decide the extent of his education in the U.S.

Zayouna’s American initiation began in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he lived with a host family for six months. Although he says that Washington, D.C., and San Francisco are special, his travels haven’t ended there. Since his arrival in the U.S., Zayouna has spanned the nation, visiting Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The majority of his time, though, has been spent in College Station.

The reality of uncertainties for Iraqis is clear as Zayouna explains his view on words such as “planning” and “future.” For Iraqis, these words are a mirage — Zayouna only wishes for the luxury to plan. At this point, he is unsure of what Iraq will be like in the future, or even when he will return home.

Zayouna feels his U.S. education, though, will be beneficial: He believes his degree from Mays will provide the knowledge and skills necessary to become a business leader and a guiding factor in Iraq’s changing economy.

“In my country, everything is different,” Zayouna explains. “In my country, you get electricity every five hours for one hour, and even then it’s not guaranteed. It’s hot. You can’t do anything—you can’t work, you can’t study, even social talks, you can’t, because it’s too hot there.” Poor transportation and insufficient water, he adds, are also daily plights.

Zayouna has three brothers in Iraq whom he talks to online and sometimes by phone. Internet is hard to get, though, and the phone connection is bad. In conjunction with sporadic electricity, one can only imagine the complications of communication. Americans often take such things for granted, though in comparison to other difficulties Iraqis face, Zayouna simply says they are “small things.”

His studies at Texas A&M have helped Zayouna learn much more than just accounting—he has also learned how to cope with foreign living. “Being in another culture, it’s not just what you are learning in class,” Zayouna said. “You have to learn the way of living, you have to learn how to deal with people, you have to learn the new names everyday.”

As hard as it may be, Zayouna is coping. From his studies and travels, he has drawn positive conclusions about the U.S. and its population. “Here in Texas I have many friends,” he says. “They always invite me, or I invite them, for social activities…. In general, American people are very hospitable.”

The Fulbright Scholarship, in conjunction with Texas A&M, has provided Zayouna with the opportunity to further his education while experiencing a new culture and learning about a new country. What Zayouna has learned at A&M goes beyond academics. What he will take back to Iraq is far more than a diploma, and despite the quandaries he has faced, he remains confident that his experiences here will impact his future role in Iraq.