I had the honor of spending Fall semester 2010 at Birzeit University in the West Bank on a Fulbright Senior Scholar award. Although the objective was for me to teach and do curriculum development work in a newly developing nursing program in Palestine, I learned more than I could ever have hoped to teach. I spent countless hours learning the Arabic language in a special program at Birzeit University and trying out my new language skills with my Palestinian students (they were patient with me)
I was so encouraged by the students' intellectual curiosity and their desire to help forge a new and better healthcare system in Palestine. I was able to share my research about families of children with special healthcare needs as part of an invited symposium in Ramallah, and I traveled around the West Bank and East Jerusalem looking at healthcare settings and forging relationships that will continue indefinitely.
The faculty of nursing at Birzeit University hopes that I will be able to return from time to time and I deeply wish for that as well.
