Above photo: Sakina with her host grandmother. 

By Yosimbom Sakinatu (YES 2018-2019, Cameroon, hosted by PAX in Ogden, UT)

My name is Sakina, from the continent of Africa, from a country called Cameroon. I was 16 years old when I went to the U.S. for ten months with the YES program. I just got back from my exchange year and I am presently in the process of readapting to the culture I left a year ago and it's actually going on better than I thought. In the few paragraphs that follow I would like to share my evolvement, achievements, and changes my exchange year brought to me. In each situation, I have some advice for you, the newest group of exchange students. 

When I arrived, it was a mix of feelings - I was scared of what awaited me and at the same time, I was excited to live the American dream. It was like I was born again into a different life, family, and community.

I went to the U.S. with some expectations, for example, I thought I would travel to fancy places like Disneyland or Hollywood, live in my own big room in a large fancy house, in a beautiful city. I would attend a big high school, and buy anything I want. Why not! I thought, I am going to the U.S. where everyone has fancy things. I was determined to live the life of perfection. Oh guys! Guess what... all of that came through and I lived a life of perfection, but in a different way than you might expect! I was placed in Utah, in the town of Ogden. I shared a room with my 15 year-old host sister and my host parents lived in an average but comfortable home. I went to such a small school, that many people overlook it!  

So you might be wondering why I said my expectations were met, since my expectations didn’t really match reality. Let me explain, I was not in a big town as I expected, but a town that fit my personality: it wasn’t overcrowded, and was full of kind people and an awesome culture. I did not have a big room to myself but I shared with my host sister and that made us create a bond that will never break, which by the way was one easy step to create a fast and everlasting relationship. My school was normal sized, everyone was so lovely, and my teachers were the best. My school had special classes and activities that was only done in the school like school camping and crew class (where you sit and discuss with classmates). 

All these activities gave me more than enough experiences that I probably wouldn’t have experienced in a big school that I had expected in the beginning. I can go on and on talking to you about how my life in the U.S. was much better and more perfect than I expected. What I am trying to show you here is: as you leave for your exchange year, it is normal to have expectations. But don’t have expectations that will result in disappointment and discouragement if they aren’t met, because it will ruin your exchange experience. I had high expectations but I was able to see that I gained more than I expected. So have expectations but don't let it blind you from reality.