By Ameni Hajji (YES 2016-2017, Tunisia, hosted by CCI in Arden Hills, MN)

Last week, American Councils held the Workshop for Youth Leaders in English Teaching (WYLET). I consider myself lucky to have been a part of it, because WYLET was one of the highlights of my exchange year so far.

During the workshop, I learned how to teach an effective English lesson using various tools and strategies. The teachers (the American Councils staff) were helpful and resourceful. They taught us lots of things. We had different sessions, each of them was rich and important, and the teachers made sure to guide us through the information thoroughly. From using board games to writing essays with the Moonlight Sonata playing in the background, the workshop had a uniquely fun atmosphere. We even wrote haikus! We also visited the Carlos Rosario international charter school, where we attended different ELS lessons.

During the workshop, I learned about different projects alumni have done. It was inspiring to hear the wonderful changes they have made in their communities. I am really honored to be one of the Tunisian WYLETers now that I am an alumna of the workshop, and I am really looking forward to working with them in the future.

Besides learning the basics of English Language teaching, I met 31 wonderful exchange students (FLEXers and YESers) from the following 26 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and West Bank.

It’s unbelievable how, in merely one week, we created everlasting bonds and we became one family. Now that I think of all our inside jokes, the fun time we spent together, and our sweet bitter goodbyes, I am all in tears. All of us have became WYLET-sick! We shared our cultures, we danced, we sang and we laughed. From taking the subways together, to eating from the food trucks, we appreciated our differences and we celebrated our friendship!

Washington, DC is a beautiful city. The workshop staff and the U.S. Department of State were extremely generous. We were all really grateful to have the opportunity to go on a guided tour of some of the monuments. We visited the Capitol, the Lincoln memorial and the MLK memorial, and also got to see the White House. We also got to see “RagTime” in Ford’s Theatre; we even had the front seats! We also had the chance to go on a boat trip on the Potomac River. It was so amazing!

WYLET was a great experience, and now I am eager to implement what I learned in order to conduct beneficial projects. Working with people from different backgrounds, learning about all the amazing projects the alumni did and getting guidance from awesome teachers have inspired me a lot. I realised how our differences unite us. I also realised that I am capable of serving my community back home. Now it’s for us to be the change!

I definitely encourage later exchange generations to apply for WYLET, because they will experience awesome things. WYLET was one more way the YES and FLEX programs have proven to be so great!