By Yuliyanti Seva, YES 2017-18, Indonesia, hosted with CIEE in Wyoming

“Hi! Where are you from? Indonesia? That’s pretty cool! Where is it?” “Indonesia is a country near Bali, right?”

“Do you guys speak English out there?”

“Do you guys have snow?”

“I really want to go to Indonesia one day! It’s on my bucket list.”

“How do you say these words in your language?”

“OMG It’s so beautiful! Do you still have room in your suitcase? Can I go with you?”

“Now. I finally know about Indonesia.”

Those are just some of the questions I received during International Education Week (IEW) last year. I still remember the days when I gave presentations during International Education Week 2017, which was a week full of spirit, pride, and happiness. I will never forget those precious moments!

Okay, that was a story about last year and here’s my story of #IEW2018!

As a YES alumna, I feel that IEW is a must! So, this year, I used this amazing opportunity and my experience on the YES program to continue building understanding and peace between Indonesia and the U.S. During IEW 2018, I did six presentations to over 200 people. The first was a presentation to the English club in my local school and then I gave presentations to the Youth Red Cross in my community, my classmates, the Youth Counseling Center (Forum GenRe Landak), the local scouting club, and I was a speaker at the British Culture and Learning Center.

I shared many things with my audiences. I talked about cultural differences between the U.S and Indonesia, the U.S. education system, the spirit of volunteerism I encountered in the USA, intercultural learning concepts, and similarities and differences between the lifestyles of American and Indonesian teenagers. I also shared my American Scouting experience with our local scout group and Introduced the YES Program to my community. Each day, I arranged a different presentation with a different topic for each group. They were so excited, and they asked me so many questions.

It was a very busy week, but it was so worth it! I really enjoyed every second of it especially the spirit, pride and happiness. My YES year in the USA may be over but the positive energy never dies! What a great IEW week to remember!