By Wening Rasyida, YES 2016-2017, Indonesia, hosted by AFS in Corvallis, OR

Hello there! My name is Wening Sukma Rasyida, one of the lucky students who was selected by U.S. Department of State, AFS-USA and Bina Antarbudaya Indonesia to be an Indonesian youth ambassador on the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program. I challenged myself to become an exchange student after I read the following quote: “Life begins when you are one step out of your comfort zone.” A reason why I chose to leave my comfort zone in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the city where I’m from, is that I felt that the world is much bigger than the world that I could see around me, and that I could learn more about myself by going abroad. Because of that motivation, now I find myself here, in Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

In Corvallis, I live with a host family that has eight children. My host family is the best part of my exchange year. They are always supportive and motivational. I rarely feel lonely here, because they treat me like I am their real daughter, and my siblings and I do the same in return. I also try to build good relationships in my neighborhood by introducing myself. On Veteran’s Day, my host sisters and I made cookies to give to our neighbor, a World War II U.S. army veteran.

I go to school every day by public bus. It was so surprising to me to find out that every public bus in Corvallis City is free, no matter how far the destination! I think that the no-fee system of public transportation is a really good idea to encourage people to use public transportation instead of their own vehicles, and to help save the earth. At first, it was challenging to make friends, because in most U.S. schools, the students move from room to room, not the teachers, so I didn’t have the same people in every class. But as time went by, I found friends!

To fill my free time after school, I joined a sports team: cross-country. Cross-country is basically like running a marathon for 3 miles or about 5.1 kilometers. At first, I only participated in the practices with my friends, but not in the races. I wasn’t sure I made the right decision. I felt like I couldn’t run fast enough and I was afraid to disappoint my host family and my school. Overall, I was afraid to leave another comfort zone here. But then, I reflected on why I started my journey. I realized that my comfort zone wasn’t only in Indonesia. Unconsciously, I had also built my own comfort zone here in the U.S. I understand now that a comfort zone is not just a place, but it’s always there in the bottom of the heart, and it’s your choice to leave it or stay inside it, feeling so cozy doing nothing. Finally I decided to do the races.

I worked so hard to run to the finish line. When I ran, I thought about all the people, seen or unseen, who had helped me to be here. I kept running. In the end, it turned out that I really enjoyed the races. I really enjoyed the excited feeling when I reached the finish line. I also enjoyed how kind my friends were, cheering for me and supporting me by running with me through the finish line.

Outside of school, I also think about how I can make a positive impact on society, so I decided to do some volunteer activities. Through volunteering, I learned so much more about life, like how I should be grateful for being here and for having all that I need in my life.

I’m so glad I decided to apply for the YES program! I could never ask for a better exchange journey. I’m looking forward to more adventures in the journey ahead!