On March 7th, three YES students were guest speakers on Forum@360, a live public affairs television show in Southeast Alaska, for a show titled "Middle East to Southeast."  The students, Abdullah Husain from Bahrain, Maha Abdulrazzaq from Yemen, and Haytham Mohanna from Gaza, are spending their exchange year in Juneau and Haines, Alaska.

Abdullah, Maha and Haytham spoke on a range of topics during the hour-long discussion, including what life has been like with their host families; their families back home; how they have adapted to being away from home; typical "Alaskan experiences" they have had; and what it was like to visit Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. They also shared their perspectives on the differences between attending high school in the U.S. in comparison with high school in their countries, what their role as cultural ambassadors means, the differences regarding freedoms and choices that exist in the U.S. as compared to in their countries, American customs and traditions they have found interesting, projects they are involved in, and the goals they aim to fulfill during their exchange year.

Watch the video of the event here. 

The following videos featuring each student and some highlights from their experiences were also shown during the event:

Maha Abdulrazzaq, YES Yemen 2013-2014, talks about attending an American high school:

Haytham Mohanna, YES Gaza 2013-2014, speaks about a newfound interest:

Abdullah Husain, YES Bahrain 2013-2014, discusses life with his host family: