By Taha Umer (YES 2019-20, Pakistan, hosted by Greenheart Exchange in Glenfield, NY)

I had never ever imagined I would one day be an exchange student but now I feel like the luckiest person in the entire world. It was just a mere dream until I got my finalist letter to the U.S. I still remember myself jumping around my mother when she received that life changing phone call that told her that I am selected as finalist. And now I am sitting on the couch, sharing my experience of being in the U.S. for the past few months. After attending many orientations and sessions, the YES 17 batch from Pakistan went through an astonishing journey filled with wonderful surprises to finally reach Washington D.C. Then it was time for everybody to go and meet their host families. Like many exchange students, I was so nervous. I was constantly thinking how I was going to greet my family - "should I give them a hug or maybe I should do a handshake?" When I reached Syracuse and first saw my host family, I said to myself to just let go and that's exactly what I did. When I came closer to my mom, she hugged me. That first hug just ended all the nervousness and all the anxiety I had before.

After greetings and getting my luggage, we went to a Mud Festival. Yes! a Mud Festival! It was a very new experience for me and I was thinking about what I was going to do there but it turned out to be the best starter of my exchange year. Riding the 4 wheeler truck with my dad through the muddy trails and watching the ATV races was absolutely amazing!

The first week of school was a little bit difficult. Firstly, you don't know anyone in your new school and when you do meet people, you don't remember their names instantly! Running from one class to the other was exciting but sometimes, I got completely lost. But after a few months, it is much better and I have made many new friends. The important factor that helped me in making new friends easily was joining sports. I joined the soccer team when it was almost the end of their season but I had a lot of fun. Apart from staying fit, I also had a chance to visit different schools and play against them. Nothing was more pleasant and enjoyable for me than the team celebrations after winning a game. Sadly, the season of soccer finished but it didn’t mean that I stopped playing sports because I joined the volleyball team as I now know the importance of sports.

Then came my first ever homecoming! I enjoyed shopping for the right dress with my host mom. Finally, it was time for homecoming night which was very exciting and thrilling. I gave many presentations in my school so that the people could learn more about my country. I was really impressed by the interest students show towards learning more about Pakistan and the various questions they asked me helped me become more confident. I did the same during International Education Week in November and gave 8 presentations in front of more than 200 students of all ages. It was an amazing feeling to wear my cultural dress (shalwar kameez) and walk through my school. I gave presentations in my school and also sang my national anthem in front of people. I taught students my language and how to speak it. 

I made a display board where I presented the culture of Pakistan, brought the handicrafts from Pakistan like small trucks and other vehicles which are common in Pakistan, and also displayed traditional clothes like ajrak (a block-printed shawl with special designs),some traditional jewelry, and also traditional caps. The students were amazed after watching those things and they even tried on some of them. It was a moment of pride for me. I also made my traditional dish of Pakistan called Chann Chat which I brought to my school. At the same time, I did henna tattoos on many students. Even my teachers tried my food and everybody loved it. I enjoyed this experience as I was telling people about Pakistan who barely knew anything about it. On the last day of IEW, I taught my traditional Pakistani Kashmiri dance to my theater class. I was so nervous at first but then as I started it, everybody joined me and I had never had so much fun before. IEW is sure an amazing opportunity for YES students and I am extremely happy that I did my best to use this opportunity and tell people more about Pakistan. Thank you YES for providing us an awesome opportunity through IEW which makes it so much easier to represent our country!

Becoming an exchange student doesn’t just mean traveling from one country to another. It is a completely new experience that encourages you to try new things that you have never tried before and to make new friends. My message to other people would be that I know it is hard in the beginning to adjust in a new environment, to face new challenges is difficult but after some time it becomes the best thing you ever desired for. Then you start to try every new opportunity you get and begin cheering each and every moment, after all it is one wonderful and mind blowing year.