By Nouredine Mama, YES 2015-2016, Cameroon, hosted by American Councils in Homer, AK

The night before International Education Week (IEW) began, I was wondering how I could express myself in front of a crowd and how I could teach them about my culture. I slept with an eagerness and curiosity, hoping to find a solution by the morning. A few hours later, I woke up and the sun was shining for the first time in days, as though it was encouraging me. My first presentation was held at the community service centre, where I volunteer each Thursday. I dressed up in traditional clothes and brought a Cameroonian meal that my host mom and I had prepared for the audience. About 40 people attended my presentation, and they responded really well to it. After my talk, everybody ate and took seconds and even thirds of the Cameroonian food! They said, “Food from Cameroon is spicy and irresistible!” I was so glad that it all went well. 

Three days later, I gave another presentation to 40 people at my Local Coordinator’s church. I felt shy at first, but then my LC said, "you can do it" and suddenly, I felt a flame in me beating up my shyness and giving me support. I felt really proud of myself after I completed that presentation. Once the talk was over, a woman came to me and invited me to do a presentation at the school where she teaches, but I'll explain more abou that later.

The next day, I presented to 200 students at Homer Middle School. The students especially enjoyed learning about Cameroon’s wild life. I also gave a presentation at my school to about 200 students. I started by posting advertisements about my presentation, which said, "Guys let’s put stereotypes away and learn something new on Thursday!” On the day of the presentation, I was surprised to see that more than half the school showed up, but they did! 

Not long after that, the woman from the church called me and asked me to come to her school in the Russian ‘Old Believer’ Village to give a presentation. To my surprise, the radio station then called me to see if they could record my presentation. This got me even more excited! On the day before Thanksgiving, my host dad and I took a 45-minute trip to the school, where I presented to both middle and high school students. After my presentation, the principal asked me to come back to their school to teach the students public speaking skills, and in return, offered to teach me about Russian culture. 

I concluded the week by presenting in another school and at my host family’s church. All I can say is that, through IEW, I’ve not only taught about my country, but I’ve also learned about other cultures and gained self-confidence. If I had to give this week a title, it would be, a trip to cultural diversity. Thank you to everyone for their support!

*Read more about Nouredine in an article published by the Peninsula Clarion and hear his presentation, which was recorded on AM 890!