By Lana Musa (YES 2019-2020, Israel (Arab Communities), hosted by AFS-USA in Chicago, IL) 

During IEW, I made presentations in my classes and I was so excited to share about my culture and my country. I did my presentations in most of the world study classes, all French classes, and also my civics class. During these presentations, I talked about my family, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Arabic food, differences between the American schools and schools back home, my exchange program, Israeli currency and many more things. People were so excited to learn about my culture and about me as well! In every class, I received so many questions and I was more than happy to answer them.

I also learned about many different cultures during IEW and I didn't just share mine. I learned about Mexican and Polish cultures as well. I got to know how they celebrate their holidays and special days they have that Americans do not. IEW gave me the chance to try new foods from different cultures as well and it made me make more friends. 

When making presentations, I encourage other students to be fully confident in what they are doing, standing straight, and not panicking at all. Also, engaging the audience by talking more about the things they seem more interested in. In my opinion IEW was one of my best experiences so far. Thank you to YES program for this wonderful opportunity!