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From Root Beer to Baseball: 3 Surprising “Firsts” for Exchange Students in the USA

October 5, 2018 AYA Leave a Comment

From Root Beer to Baseball: 3 Surprising “Firsts” for Exchange Students in the USA | Academic Year in America (AYA)

Sometimes the (seemingly) simple things in life leave the biggest impressions. For Academic Year in America (AYA) exchange students, life in the United States has been filled with many new things – both big and small. While many of their day-to-day experiences here have been … [Read more...]

Exchange Student Stories #weareaya, Academic Year in America, AYA, cultural exchange, exchange students, international education, italy, south africa, tunisia, YES Program

#FlashbackFriday: YES Student Shares Poem

October 7, 2016 AYA Leave a Comment

#FlashbackFriday: YES Student Shares Poem

Our YES students are so often full of vision and talent. This is certainly the case of Aasif Bulbulia, a former YES student from South Africa. Aasif shared the following poem about his identity as a South African in the aftermath of Apartheid. I Am South African I am a … [Read more...]

Exchange Student Stories Academic Year in America, AYA, department of state, Exchange Student, exchange year, poetry, south africa, YES

About AYA

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Academic Year in America (AYA) is sponsored by the AIFS Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1967. Its mission is to promote worldwide understanding through cultural exchange.

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Recent Posts

  • High Schools That Make a Difference: Announcing the 2025 – 2026 Tony Cook Memorial Grant Recipients 
  • America250 Student Reflections Contest: Experiencing the U.S. Through Exchange Students’ Eyes
  • AYA Host Family of the Year: 2026 Winners & Stories 
  • “They Treat Me Like Their Own”: How the Hoffmans Made Fateen Feel Like Family 
  • What Happens When a Host Family Shows Up: The Story of the Starr Family and Greta 

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