By Tamba Abdulai, YES Sierra Leone 2013-2014

My name is Tamba Abdulai, and I come from Sierra Leone in West Africa. I was born in Gbukuma village, Bayafeh section, Gbense chief Dom Kono District. I lost my mother in 2007 and my father in 2009. They were farmers and were not educated. After the death of my parents, I stayed with my uncle and grew up in the village, where I spent half of my time once I reached an advanced level in school; the other half of my time, I spent in Koidu City, where I attended the Islamic Secondary School Koidu. I enjoyed success in school, and the day I received the YES scholarship seemed to me like I was in heaven because of the happiness, joy and jubilation I felt at seeing myself in America. I arrived in Greeley, Colorado on August 16, 2013 and am presently attending the Greeley Central High School. During my time here, I have had many new and exciting experiences and successes. 

After arriving in Colorado, my first experience was to see a freight train. I had never seen a train before; I had just heard about them, since I spent most of my life in a village. 

Another new experience since being here has been my ability to log on to a computer, use the Internet, correspond via e-mail, and interact on Facebook. This is one of my successes so far. I had never been able to log on to a computer back home. I did not even know what e-mail or Facebook was; I just heard people talk about it, and it seemed strange to me. However, within three weeks of my arrival, my host mom, Cheryl Blair, whom I will always be grateful to for taking good care of me, found a typing program for me online. I started to do touch typing, which was crazy to me. Now I am able to go onto the internet and do school research and the use other programs on the computer.

I have also had to adapt to the use of technology and other different ways things are done in high school here. My first day at school was very difficult for me. On my way to school, I didn’t know how the traffic light on the street worked without the help of someone nearby. It was my first time ever being around a traffic light. Figuring out how to get to my classes was another difficult thing for me. I had to ask how to get to each class, which is different from how it is back home, where we stay in one class the whole time. When I went to my business communications class, we were told to log onto the computer and do research on a topic, but I was just sitting there, watching my friends in class, because I didn’t have any idea of how to go onto the internet. But now, I’m always the first person to log onto the computer in class when we are asked to do so. I am so thankful for the wonderful skills that I have learned and will never forget for the rest of my life.

Since living in the U.S., I have learned about the many other seasons that exist here and do not exist in Sierra Leone. Before coming, I had never seen snow before. The first day I saw snow, I asked what was dropping from the sky. Now I can tell others how snow look and feels.

Living with Americans has been a new learning experience as well. Before coming to the U.S., I wondered if I would be able to live with Americans even though we have different beliefs and ways of life. However, I have found Americans to be lovely, tolerant and peaceful. Four key words or phrases I have learned in America are thank you, excuse me, please and you’re welcome, and I will never forget these words. I have learned how Americans interact with others, their different activities and traditions, like black Friday, Santa Claus, Halloween and the practices of people requesting candies and wearing masks. I have also developed the idea of privacy for myself and others. My being here has given me ideas about my future.

New knowledge about the U.S.'s population, government system, how the different governmental branches function, and how the state governments are related to the national government is also something I have gained while here. I even had the chance to meet Mayor Tom Norton, the Mayor of Greeley.  

Everyday life is different here too and is improved for me, in that I have my own bedroom, eat three or more times a day, have access to pure drinking water, and am trying different foods.

One of the most important experiences and successes I have had here is living in a place where English is the native language. English is an official language in Sierra Leone but I had never lived in a country where English was the native language. My English is improving a lot.

Last but not least, being an exchange student has given me the chance to learn about other countries too through other exchange students. This has brought the world closer to me.