International Education Week (IEW) is such a great way to reflect on all the ways that international education opportunities and exchange programs influence participants and the greater world around us. Karam, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (KL-YES) student from Gaza recently shared with us his motivations behind becoming an exchange student in the United States, as well as how he has been impacted by the experience.
From a young age, I have always wanted to learn about other cultures and I believed that it’s going to be really nice, yet I was still young with limited thinking and small view about how the world is like. However, I had a mysterious feeling that always motivated me.
Years later, I joined the YES program and I am happy to see my dream is being achieved in front of my eyes with a bright future ahead. But beyond all of that comes the main reason why this program was first created, “exchange”.
In that short time I have lived in the United States, I learned more than i imagined. I had a unique chance to learn about the American culture while teaching them about mine. It’s really great to find people concerned about establishing a week that allows people to talk, express and share about their countries.
I myself didn’t expect that learning about other cultures is going to be as helpful as it actually is. I feel that I added lots of perspectives to my world which was limited to my own culture before.
I realized how small I was before I joined the YES program. The exchange experience allowed me to grow and bloom. Without exchange, I can’t even imagine how my life would look like. Exchange now is a very basic part of my mentality and personality.
Thanks to Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program #KLYES, Academic Year in America (AYA) #WEAREAYA and whomever made this possible.
I also would like to invite others to break their normal, jump out of their comfort zone and to start trying new things. Because, believe me, you will not know, till you try.
We are so thrilled to have passionate, inspired exchange students like Karam as part of the AYA family. If you or someone you know would like to host an exchange student, visit academicyear.org or call 800-322-HOST(4678).
Karam has been a great pleasure to our home. He has added a lot of knowledge about his life and culture. I feel as if we are getting as much if not more from being his host parents.
♡♡Love you so much♡♡