Where’s Alaska? That’s what went through the minds of Ceren Gokpinar (YES 2017-2018, Turkey, hosted by AFS in Sitka, AK), Omar Ali (YES 2017-2018, Egypt, hosted by AFS in Sitka, AK), Shanzila Ahmad (YES 2017-2018, Pakistan, hosted by AFS in Sitka, AK), and Haifa Alsafadi (YES 2017-2018, Jordan, hosted by AFS in Sitka, AK) when they found out where they were hosted. “When I learned I would go to America and I was looking at (a) map, like where should I go, where can I go? I was looking at states…. I couldn’t imagine Alaska cause I couldn’t see it on the map as it was off with Hawaii…” Ceren said. Now? They think it’s "awesome.”  

The four YES students recently spoke with the Juneau Empire Capital City Weekly about many aspects of their exchange experience such as food, American high school life and breaking down stereotypes. The following is an excerpt from the article – you can read the entire article at the Capital City Weekly web site.

"For many of the exchange students, flexibility on what classes they can take is a new experience. Ali was surprised when his host family told him they’d need to sit down with his counselor to select what classes he’d take. Gokpinar said while she appreciates the firm grounding in math and science and other core subjects from Turkey, she wishes that the education system back home would incorporate extracurricular activities like the arts and sports. Here she gets to play on a basketball team and play music.

"It's Ali’s hope that through his exchange that he can break the stereotypes surrounding him and those like him, as a Muslim, as an Arabic speaking person, as a Middle Easterner, as an Egyptian.

“It was a sentiment echoed by Gokpinar. She too is viewing her exchange as a great opportunity to break stereotypes and have people better understand her culture, just as she is trying to understand American culture. Being an exchange student, they all agreed, makes for more open-minded people. They encouraged others to take part if they can.”