Foreign Exchange Student from Qatar Spending School Year at Tartan

A foreign exchange student from Qatar who is attending this year said he misses his family … and telling jokes.

“The Arabic jokes,” Omar said, “when you translate into English, it’s not funny.”

Omar’s last name cannot be published due to U.S. State Department rules.

The 16-year-old junior is one of four students from Qatar who received a YES Scholarship to study for a year in the United States, he said. The scholarships go to students in countries with significant Muslim populations.

In Qatar, and throughout the Middle East, it’s “a big thing,” to travel to the U.S. he said.

Two of Omar’s siblings have come to the U.S. for college, and he said he expects to return to study engineering when he’s college age.

He said his parents really push the importance of education with him and his four siblings.

“They have this atmosphere,” he said, “all we care about is education.”

Omar has studied the English language since first grade, and in his home city of Doha, he’d been attending a private English-speaking school for three years, he said.

The classes he’s taking at Tartan are comparable to those he took at home, he said, but schools are smaller there, the school day is shorter—from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.—and sports aren’t taken as seriously.

“Usually we do sports for fun,” he said, “but here, it’s something very serious, like practice every day.”

Omar is on the school’s soccer team back home, and he’s thinking of joining Tartan’s swimming team in December. He didn’t get to Minnesota early enough to sign up for the soccer team at Tartan, he said.

Although Omar was supposed to arrive in the U.S. on Aug. 18, he was delayed until Sept. 15 due to a lack of host families, he said.

“I think the economy has something to do with (the lack of host families),” said Brenda Schulze, who works for AFS—a nonprofit organization that coordinates exchange programs.

Omar is currently staying with Schulze in Woodbury while a permanent host family is sought, she said. Host families commit to making the exchange student part of their home life, and providing them with their own bed. 

Schulze, who has never played host to an exchange student before, said it has been fun learning about the culture in Qatar from Omar. So far, she’s introduced him to apple crisp and casseroles, she said, and he plans to prepare a Jordanian dish for her once they can find the ingredients.

“I’ve totally enjoyed getting to know Omar, and it really is an opportunity to learn another culture,” she said.

Despite cultural differences, she said she’s been reminded how similar people really are, with friendships and family being universally important. 

One thing that's not universal, though, is Minnesota weather. In Qatar, the coldest the temperature gets is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, Omar said.

“I’m really scared,” he said.

For more information about becoming a host family email hosting coordinator Jeff Wallner at jwallner@afs.org or call him at 651-328-2938.