By Batoor Shah (YES 2018-2019, Pakistan, hosted by AIFS/AYA in Corning, NY)

In January of 2018, exactly one year ago, YES Pakistan had a three day orientation in Islamabad.  In a room filled with unfamiliar faces, I was uncomfortable. Little did I know these strangers would soon become more than friends, they would become family. When you travel with somebody, you develop a special bond with them. Waiting at airports and sharing the same levels of nervousness and excitement at the same time, is what knits exchange students closer. Pretty soon, these people went from strangers to the people closest to me.

I'm really happy the YES program organizes the DC orientations, because of which you not only know what to expect from the upcoming ten months, you also make so many friends. One of the biggest goals I had for my exchange year was to make a lot of friends. During the orientation in Washington DC and our AYA Mid-Year Orientation in California, I figured these were great opportunities for me to get to know more people from different parts of the world. Because of all the orientations, I have friends from all over the world, like Tunisia, Lebanon, Bangladesh, India, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, and many more countries. It really helped me appreciate all the diversity we have in this world. It's really cool to learn how different things are in different countries. I think friendships from all over the world are important so you can not only get a taste of all the different cultures the world has to offer but also make beautiful memories.

I have not only made friends with other exchange students,  but also in my school I have friends in every class. Sports and clubs really help you to make more friends. I just started rugby this season and I have already made so many great friends. I'm also in yearbook which is like another family to me, it's always fun to hang out with them.  If you're an exchange student, making friends is pretty easy. All you have to do is just be confident and walk up to people and start talking to them. When you tell them you're an exchange student, they get excited and they think you're cool so they start asking you questions. That's how you make friends.

I'm thankful to the YES program and to AYA for giving me this opportunity to live my American dream and for countless other opportunities to make more friends and have more than one family that I can rely on. And who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to visit all my friends all over the world. I would really love that.