Eighteen university students from the Middle East spent their Thursday learning about agriculture at a Tesuque Pueblo farm, where similarities with their home countries included the building façades, the use of natural medicines and foods such as beans.

The students, from countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Syria, have spent this week with Santa Fe families as part of a program to build civic and leadership skills, said Kate Greene, program director for Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, the host school working with the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative.

Among them is Safa'a Al-aamri, 22, a finance major with an international business minor at Qatar University who plans to start a honey business in her native Yemen.

Many farmers there are concentrating on harvesting khat, a plant that contains a stimulant, because it leaves a profit, she said. However, it's destroying families who have grown addicted to it, she said.

"It affects society, the economy," Al-aamri said as she walked through rows of blackberries, chile and herbs. "I want to bring back the old ways ... those fields used to grow honey and coffee."

Emigdio Ballon, Tesuque Agriculture Initiative director, explained to Al-aamri and the rest of the group the way bees thrive and produce honey for the pueblo. Al-aamri said the experience will help put her business idea to work back home.

Mehdi Nassih, 19, said the five-week trip to the United States has inspired him to get his school, Al Akhawayn University, more involved with U.S. programs. He said he feels welcomed by Matt and Trish Winter, the host family with whom he has stayed since Tuesday.

Matt Winter said hosting Nassih has been a learning experience for his family, too. They learned that Nassih speaks four languages, his parents are professionals in Morocco, he doesn't eat pork and that in his culture dogs don't belong inside the house. So, for this week, the Winters' pets have been kept outside.

"I'd be happy to do it again. They're wonderful kids," Winter said. "We're looking at some of the brightest children on earth and I'm quite lucky to have one in my house."

The Santa Fe Council on International Relations found families for each of the students, said Don Goldman, lead programmer for the council. This is the first time the CIR has hosted a group of university students, instead of mid-career professionals or members of religious or nongovernmental organizations, Goldman said.

"Most note the highest point in their experience is finding out that Americans are just regular people," he said.

The group, which also has visited Rhode Island, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., will spend today at Bandelier National Monument.

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.