Muslim Teens Shift Their Views On The US

Via Arts & Letters Daily -Four students from Middle Eastern and North African countries who were among 300 participants in a State Department-sponsored one year program

described a dramatic shattering of their own preconceptions, but also of those held by their host families and newfound American friends

"Before, I thought the Americans were like the Europeans - no religion, no moral values, taking drugs, having sex, drinking all the time," said Sirine, an earnest 17-year-old Tunisian who stayed with an Atlanta-area family. "But my opinion changed. I found people going to church a lot, and some are really conservative. I found the people more friendly than I expected. I thought all Americans were for the war, like the government. But some people are different." "When people first hear 'Tunisia,"' Sirine said, "they'd be like, 'Indonesia?' They'd ask me, 'Where's that?' I'd tell them, North Africa. And they'd say, 'Why aren't you black?"'

She, like the others, fielded plenty of questions about deserts and camels, she said with a laugh.