June 6, 2025 ⢠46 mins
In this heartfelt episode of Life Exchanged: Stories of Understanding, host Kelsey Ross speaks with Aya, a high school exchange student from Morocco who came to the United States through the prestigious Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program.
Aya shares her vibrant journey as a YES Program exchange student, from fulfilling her dream of riding a big yellow school bus to continuing her passion for gymnastics while adapting to life in a new culture. She reflects on the deep connections she built with her American host family and school community, the cultural differences she embraced, and the personal growth she experienced through this transformative international education opportunity.
This episode offers a unique perspective on the Kennedy-Lugar YES Program, showcasing the power of cultural exchange, the joy of discovering new traditions, and the importance of staying true to your roots.
đ§ Tune in to hear:
- What itâs like to be a high school exchange student in the U.S.
- How the YES Program fosters global understanding and leadership
- Advice for future exchange students and host families
Perfect for students exploring study abroad scholarships, families interested in hosting exchange students, and anyone curious about the impact of global learning and intercultural experiences.
Read about Aya in the Washington Post:Â https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/02/04/winter-sports-notes-high-school/
Follow Aya on Instagram: @yundouo_07
For more info on YFU USA:Â â https://yfuusa.org/
Chapters
00:00 - Meet Aya: From Morocco to Virginia
00:58 - The Yellow School Bus Dream & The Simpsons
03:19 - Preparing for Exchange and Convincing Her Parents
06:07 - Growth, Confidence, and Cultural Immersion
09:01 - YES Program and the Application Journey
14:09 - First Impressions and Adjusting to Life in the U.S.
17:02 - Finding Joy at School and in Sports
19:00 - Deep Bonds with Host Family
21:42 - Creative Passions and Social Media Takeover
23:38 - Cultural Differences and Communication Styles
25:52 - Building a Family Connection
30:52 - Making Friends and Finding Belonging
33:41 - Education Differences and Favorite Class
39:00 - Sharing Moroccan Culture at School
40:57 - Favorite Foods and Core Memories
42:32 - Whatâs Next and Advice for Future Students
Host & Producer: Kelsey Ross
Editor & Producer: Mel Dyjak
Director: Megan Michels
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Hello and welcome to this week'sepisode of Life Exchange,
Stories of Understanding. I am your host, Kelsey Ross, and
here with me today is a wonderful guest.
Please, would you like to tell us who you are and a little bit
about yourself? Of course, thank you so much for
having me today. I am Aya El Konduzi and I am
(00:32):
originally from Morocco and I amcurrently hosted in the in
Virginia State here by through ISUUSA as an exchange student.
Wonderful, right? So tell me about the first time
you considered going on Exchange.
(00:55):
What made you want to do this? OK so this might sound very
silly but since I was a little girl I used to go or attend a
small private school in Morocco.And I have always wondered how
life is in other countries, in other schools, how do they study
(01:20):
like how things go. And my parents introduced me to
this cartoon and I and apparently it was an American
cartoon and I just loved it so much.
And something that I noticed that was very different from my
school was a yellow school bus. And I promised myself at a very
(01:42):
young age, probably around like 6-5 years old, I said when I
grow up, I'm going to go to highschool in America and I want to
experience the yellow school bus.
So that was originally one of mydreams since I was a little girl
(02:02):
and I my school was partially French.
So I have been very influenced by the European culture and I've
seen so much from my Moroccan traditional school.
But I really wanted to experience the American school
(02:24):
how how it is in America. And here I am, here today,
living my dream, and I can't be more grateful.
That's all so cool. Out of curiosity, do you by
chance remember the name of the cartoon that your parents showed
you? I think I'm I'm not so sure, but
it might have been The Simpsons.Oh my goodness, what an American
(02:45):
icon. The Simpsons.
I love that. So cool.
Oh my goodness, that's awesome. So did you do you have a
favorite character on The Simpsons?
On The Simpsons that you watched?
I. Honestly don't really remember
but. There's so many episodes anyway,
that's hard to keep, yeah. Exactly.
(03:07):
It's it's a very iconic cartoon.Absolutely.
Awesome. So you made-up your mind you
were gonna go experience that big yellow school bus in the US
So how did you prepare to study abroad?
What sort of research did you do?
And what did you, how did you ultimately decide to do this?
(03:29):
So thank you so much for this question because I feel like
that like a year ago, I really needed somebody to tell me what
to prepare because I have been like trying to get immersed in
the American culture way before I came here.
So that I assumed that that would help me a lot.
(03:50):
And actually it did. So the first thing I started
focusing on was to improve my English skills and try to
communicate more, talk to my parents more in English and you
know, learn those little words that I can use and how I also
trained myself really well on how to be more and to become
(04:11):
more, how talk in front of the camera.
And I remember this exercise that my dad started with me.
So first to convince my parents to go on an exchange, I went
straight to my dad and I told him I really want to do it so
bad and he understood what I wanted.
(04:32):
But the hard part was convincingmy mother since she is more she
doesn't want me to miss my school years and all of that.
So my dad told me to make a presentation and work hard on
convincing her and using the pros and the cons of everything
(04:54):
and being ready to get questionsand, you know, to get used to
that those to learn those skillsbasically.
And I have also learned how to reach out to people and you
know, just getting myself immersed in directly in
American, the American culture way ahead.
(05:15):
And I have also prepared myself really well for the fact the
fact that I will understand thatthere will be new foods, new new
people around me, like I'm from basically all over the world.
So it's just, I would say it's agood mental exercise that you
(05:36):
just need to train yourself to way before you come here.
Absolutely IA presentation to convince your mom.
That is the first time I've everheard that.
That's so cool. Oh my gosh.
Incredibly influential. And I, I, I get your mom and her
reticence. You know, you're her baby.
(05:57):
She didn't want to let you go, but.
That's true. I Do you feel that they are more
accepting an understanding of your decision now that we're
nearing the end? Definitely.
I honestly, when it now that I talk to my parents, they just
told me that we can't imagine how much you grew through this
(06:20):
year and how much I've changed from like seven months ago.
Literally, I could tell you thatI became a whole new person and
so many positive things got added into my personality and I
learned so many things that I could have never imagined I
would learn at this age. Incredible watching exchange
(06:45):
students in their transformationwhile they're on program is my
favorite part of this entire theentire thing.
But, you know, in high school, that is a really, you know,
could be a scary time to go on exchange.
And you generally hear, especially in America, people
going on exchange in college. So why did you choose to go in
(07:07):
high school? So as I said previously, it was
just one of my dreams. You know, the American high
school experience, it's so iconic.
But another part of me is that Iam a an athlete and I've been a
gymnast since I was very, very young.
So traveling was part of my lifestyle.
(07:29):
I learned how to travel by myself and with my team since I
was 6 years old. So the idea of just going and
like discovering was part of me,I would say.
And when I first was trying to talk to my parents about that,
they kind of noticed that feeling of always wanting to be
(07:52):
like, to discover things. And, you know, just like
experience was part of my personality and I was very, very
sad that I won't be able to graduate with my friends and
also like, I won't be able to connect with them for a year and
my family knowing that I'm very,very attached child to their
(08:16):
family. So, and I decided to just
basically leave everything behind and just go and discover
the world because I, I, I thought that my dream was the
biggest thing that I own in my life.
And I really wanted to have a story.
I wanted to have a personal experience that would influence
(08:38):
people and maybe I can have a very good impact on my community
back in Morocco when I go back again.
So I can say that I really wanted to be the first change in
my community, at least knowing that we do not have any exchange
students in that area. So it was.
(08:58):
That was my biggest motivation, honestly.
We have this term, I, you might have heard it in American
culture, it's called breaking cycles.
And you, you are definitely a cycle breaker.
And it brave, incredibly brave and willing to, you know, take
yourself all halfway across the world to experience all these
(09:20):
new things. It's, it's so young.
It's it's so cool. Thank you.
And if I remember correctly, youare a yes scholarship student.
Yes ma'am, I am a yes scholarship student for people
who. May not know about this program,
why tell us? About it, so basically the yes
program also extends for the yesand exchange or youth and study
(09:45):
exchange program. And it is basically a program
that allows you to become a young ambassador for your
country. And you basically come here or
you first go through a many, many stages of selection and you
take tests and they make sure that you are you are able to
(10:08):
represent your nation to the best extent possible.
And you have all the leadership skills that are necessary for
that. And you basically come here and
you get a scholarship and also astipend and you get the
opportunity to participate in many other activities funded by
the the yes program. And you basically just live your
(10:31):
dream. And you go back to Morocco and
you serve your nation and teach them about all the things and
the wonderful things that you learned, things that you learned
here in your American high school, in your country, your
country, so that the exchanges. From my understanding, the Yes
program is incredibly competitive and quite hard to
(10:53):
earn. What was the application?
What was? What was the process light from
starting your application to be finding out that you won?
So, so first we have to know that the YES programs acceptance
rate is 3% per country. Wow.
For example, for my case for Morocco, there were so many
(11:15):
applicants from the whole country and only 20 of them got
selected. So it is very, very competitive.
So yeah. And you.
So honestly, I would say just knowing about the program three
months ahead kind of prepared me.
And. But honestly, I was still scared
(11:38):
to apply. I was applying, but I didn't
know what I was doing. I kid you not.
I was like, I want this opportunity and I'm gonna grasp
it. That was my mindset at that
time. And honestly, I could also tell
you that before applying to thatprogram, I was rejected from
(12:00):
another one. And it was a summer, it was a
summer camp and it was about, you know, the NASA and like the
STEM fields. And unfortunately I got rejected
2 weeks before I applied to the YES program.
And I could tell you that just that feeling of rejection from
(12:21):
that program made me wanna do something and like achieve a
small success at least. So I was very committed to
applying to the yes program and I was like, and it was my junior
year, so I wouldn't have the chance to reapply the next year.
So I was saying to myself, this is your only opportunity to
(12:44):
apply and you will make it. You will make your dreams come
true. I worked with that mindset and
then here I am today. So first I wrote my letters and
I took some essays. I also had to take some
interviews with people from the US Embassy and some program
(13:08):
managers in Morocco. We also had to go through an
orientation after knowing, like,who are the finalists?
And at the end we knew who were our host families.
And then we came here to the states.
That was generally the process. About how long did would you say
that all that took? Oh.
(13:30):
That took the whole year, like Icould tell you from September,
October until basically our flight tickets which were in
July. It was a very tough process.
It was a big commitment, especially aside from school and
(13:51):
all of that. It was it was time consuming,
but it was very worth it. I learned a lot.
Yeah, and it just shows your commitment to making your dreams
come true and that resilience that you have.
That is right. It's awesome.
All right, so you found out you're a yes scholar.
You got your tickets, you got your host family.
(14:13):
Before you hopped on that plane,did you have any expectations of
what America would be like before you?
Came honestly, I really didn't. So yeah, I didn't know where I
was going, what I would expect. So I met my host family
(14:35):
literally a week before my flight.
So even my host family, I didn'tknow them super well before
coming here. So I was just like diving into
something, diving into the unknown.
It was very scary, but at the same time I was full of
excitement and I was so happy todo something out of the ordinary
(15:00):
and just go and discover. But something that I was sure of
is that I will find people that would welcome me, that would
love me and they would love me so much.
And here I am here at my high school, my teachers, my
counselors, everybody so amazinglike my story turned out to be.
(15:22):
It turned out in a very different way that I was
expecting, but it makes it so beautiful.
Absolutely. It's I'm, I'm so glad that you
found that community to rally around you and to really support
you and love you for who you are.
Yeah, it's wonderful. And so.
Yeah, you've landed in the States and you've met your host
(15:46):
family and you find out your what high school you're going
to. What were your first impressions
of the family and the school? So I would say first, so to put
you in contest context, now I I had a previous host family and
now I'm currently living with mysecond host family.
(16:06):
So first with my previous host family, I first came and I could
tell you that I was very surprised of what I saw.
It was way different than I thanwhat I was thinking in exchange
here with me or what would be a host family like.
(16:30):
But I, I think that I've learneda lot from my previous
experience with them. It wasn't how I really wanted it
to be, but it was way. It was very eye opening.
But when I came to the high school, I would say that all of
(16:50):
what I really wanted to experience, I experienced it
during the first times or the first months in my high school
instead. So I was the happiest at school,
I would say. I made so many friends and my
teachers were so nice and I did not miss any single football
(17:10):
game. Is American football played in
Barack Loral or was this your first experience seeing?
Oh no, it was my first time OK experiencing football.
I have met an au pair girl that was with me.
We were like, and she was also from Germany and so basically
(17:31):
for both of us, football was something was something brand
new and we were just cheering and so happy and shouting
without understanding any singlething in the game.
That's, that's, that's the fun part of it.
A lot of oh, yeah, you know, to be honest, a lot of us don't
know what's happening on the field.
It's just, it just plays out in front of you and, you know, one
(17:52):
guy goes to the other side. Hooray, that's really all you
need to know. That's so awesome.
What? Were there any other sports or
school activities that you experienced that you also really
enjoyed and loved doing? I would say I really liked
watching ice hockey during the winter.
(18:14):
It was I was like, wow, that is very interesting.
It it wasn't in my high school, but I really enjoyed watching it
with my host family and it's something new for me 'cause we
don't have that in Morocco. So I still honestly don't
understand it yet, but it's so fun.
Yeah. Oh, it's a it's really fun to
watch. And was this your second host
(18:37):
family that showed you what hockey?
Was Oh yeah, I discovered so many things with my host family
and I, this is going to be so hard for me when I'm going to be
about to leave because I never thought that I could say the
word mom and dad to other peopleother than my biological mother
(19:01):
and father. And I truly discovered that
people can love you, care for you without any other rewards.
And I have built the most beautiful relationship with my
host family. I don't feel like I'm their
students anymore. And the way we talk, the way we
(19:23):
interact with each other, my relationship with my host
siblings doesn't feel like exchange students and host
family relationship. It is just like a family and the
way my host's mom introduces me now to her friends and people,
she just says she's my daughter and that is it.
(19:43):
That's all what people need to know, and that's how our new
relationship became. That's so touching I'm.
Sorry. Oh yeah, I'm.
Going to tear you up a little bit, I'm sorry.
Hey. Have you ever thought about
bringing the world to your home?I have.
YFUUSA you can by hosting an exchange student, you'll
experience a brand new culture right in your own home.
(20:07):
It's an incredible opportunity to make lifelong connections and
help a young student discover the American way of life.
Want more info? Visit yfuusa.org to learn more
about how you can become a host family today.
That's yfuusa.org. I really admire them and I'm so
(20:28):
grateful for them, like very much.
And the way my senior night turned in gymnastics was so
beautiful. I was with my my gymnast friends
preparing the for the competition.
And it was senior night in my high school.
And since I'm a senior, I was I had so many responsibilities
(20:51):
before and like preparing everything and we were so
stressed. But then here is my host family
coming with three little kids. So I have two little host
siblings, two of them are twins and one little girl.
She's they're six years old and the little girl was three years
old at that time. And then here they come with
(21:12):
cutest, the cutest posters ever.And I don't know, maybe 16
guests from all of our neighborhood.
And Oh my gosh, it was the most beautiful experience ever.
And then we filled out the wholestadium and our story got even
shared on the Washington Post. Oh my goodness, that is so cool.
(21:35):
So gymnastics. I know you did Morocco.
Were there any other activities that you did in Morocco that you
were able to continue while you're here?
I would say in Morocco I used toto write little stories for kids
and I was definitely able to write here as well and I was
very inspired and I wrote so many things.
(21:56):
I didn't published any yet, but I'm planning to do so in
Morocco. So I was able to continue that.
As you can see, I love making videos and sharing my stories,
so I have also tried to grow a little bit on social media and I
was able to do that. For those of you this week,
while we're recording this episode, Aya is currently doing
(22:20):
a takeover of the Why View Instagram account.
So if she looks like a familiar face, that may be where you've
seen her since we're talking about it.
What's the takeover experience been like?
Oh. It has been really awesome.
I have felt a very good sense ofresponsibility and I also got to
do something that I really love.I love sharing information with
(22:40):
people. I love sharing my experience.
I also really enjoy answering other people's questions about
what is life here in the US cuz when I go back in time like a
year ago, I really needed somebody to answer my questions
and all of my like, I was very confused.
So I really try to answer everybody and that's what
(23:04):
something I really love doing. So thank you so much for why
with you for giving me this, this opportunity to take over
and feel responsible. No, the, the thanks go to you.
My goodness, if you haven't keptup with Guy's takeover, you are
making a mistake. She's showing some really cool
(23:25):
insights and what life is like as a Moroccan exchange student
in an American high school. It's so cool.
I'm, I'm so glad that we that you have this opportunity and
that you're able to share with everybody and with us.
Thank you so much. Going back to kind of the
beginning of your change experience, were there any the
cultural differences that stood out to you that made me make you
(23:46):
feel a little uncomfortable or that you had to work through to
understand? I would say there wasn't really
like any cultural differences that made me very uncomfortable.
Most of them was were very interesting to learn.
So I wouldn't really say they made me feel bad at all, but
(24:07):
some of them just like made me think what were the things I
used to do back in Morocco that I needed to maybe just develop a
little bit and make them the American way.
The thing that I would say, for example, is that in Morocco we
use a lot of idioms and we use alot of indirect speech, kind of
(24:29):
sentence like sentences that we would use all.
But here in the States, people are more direct and you just
need to say information clearly and not just like give examples
and expect people to understand you.
So I would say, I would say thatthat was one of the things that
I had to work on a little bit. But I, and I think that's much
(24:53):
better. It's better to say things
directly and be more, you know, more honest and direct about
things. So I would say that was the only
thing that I just had to work work on.
And yeah, it worked perfectly. Great do.
You think you'll take that more direct style of communicating
with people back home with you and use that with your family
(25:15):
and friends in Morocco? I think I will cause honestly,
it worked so well for me and I think it's much better and it
makes conversations easier as long as it's not offensive or
you know, it would hurt somebody's feelings, but it's
very, it's a, a good way of communicating.
I I want to go back to your, your host family and the strong
(25:39):
connections that you made with them.
How did you go about connecting with these essentially strangers
that you didn't know and forgingsuch a strong, loving
relationship with them? I honestly do not know.
I have no idea but. It just happened.
(26:02):
It just happened. I remember when I first had my
first ever conversation with my host son at my high school, She
was saying that we are just offering you our family and
we're inviting you to live with us, but we're not forcing you to
come. And if you don't want to, that's
(26:23):
fine. And I was feeling so loved and
welcomed in their family way before coming into it.
And then I remember it clearly. The first day my husband picked
me from my local coordinator's house.
She we were just like talking directly diving into topics.
(26:43):
We literally talked about hair and literally everything.
And then we went shopping together on the first day and
something we embraced something new on my first day.
So in Morocco, Christmas isn't generally celebrated.
So it was my first Christmas ever.
So on the first day I moved in with them.
(27:06):
The little kids showed me how they usually set up the
Christmas tree, and they shared with me their most wonderful
memories with every like the Christmas tree, the ornaments.
Yeah, like, in every single thing that meant for them.
And they were very open. They didn't know me well at that
(27:26):
time, but they were open about it, and they wanted to share
their lives with me. And I would say that connection
was very like made super quickly.
And also I honestly loved them before.
So I knew the little kids because I used to babysit them
and we just like they consideredme their sister or I would say
(27:51):
their Moroccan sister as my, my youngest host, my youngest
sister calls me to her friends. They just consider me their
sister, not their exchange students at all.
And that meant so much to me. And I would say I consider them
my family, not just a host family.
(28:13):
And I would really say that the key to everything is
communication. Communication helps so much,
especially for all the current exchange students that are
listening. I know that sometimes as
teenagers we don't understand maybe adults that much, but when
(28:34):
we just we're honest and tell them how we feel or if something
is bothering us, really we should just say that and they
are the ones who help us. Because I am the living example.
Like my host mom did so many things for me, especially with
like high school problems or youknow, all of that.
She was very, very helpful and just like us going on the Sunset
(29:00):
Dr. yesterday. Like we talked about so many
things. She shared many American
classical songs with me and now we just have a shared playlist.
That was just yesterday. Do you have a favorite song from
that playlist? I do, actually.
It's called a Wild one by Faith Hill.
OK, I know that. I know that song.
(29:21):
And it represents my host's sister's personality, Alice.
And it is the cutest song ever. I really love it.
That's my favorite song. There you go.
Listen, there's a a new song recommendation if you haven't.
Heard it there you. Go do you have siblings back in
(29:43):
Morocco or is this your first time?
OK, are are they older? Younger.
So my, I can tell you that my host family, current host family
and my family back home are very, very similar.
So I have two siblings back homeand they're six years old and 11
years old. That it's the same thing for my
(30:05):
host family here, except for thefact that my host siblings are
six and three, but I'm the oldest in both of the families.
And I was very used to the like the eldest sibling
responsibilities. And it was very easy for me to
get, you know, used to having little siblings at.
(30:28):
Home, Yeah, awesome. At least it wasn't too hard of a
transition with the with siblings.
I know for some of our students who maybe only child or only
children like I am, and coming into a family with siblings, it
can be a little overwhelming, but I'm glad it wasn't that and
that they have embraced you so, so much.
(30:52):
One I was curious about with along the lines of making
relationships. What was it like for you making
friends in your American high school?
How did you go about doing that?I really love this question so
much because it it drives me back to it takes me back to the
football game season. So as I said before, I did not
(31:14):
miss any single one and I remember it clearly.
It was such an amazing experience.
It was a very rainy day and it was the first football game of
the season and my host family dropped me off there and then
they just had to do their thingsand it was my first week of
school. I didn't know anybody excess
(31:37):
from one girl, like no one. I went to the game.
I got it was the white out team.I got dressed out.
I went there. I was like today I'm gonna make
friends. It started raining.
I was like, Oh my gosh, rain. This is such a wrong timing
today. Then the game got cancelled,
unfortunately, and then we all went to a field house inside of
(32:00):
the school. And then I was like, it is very
embarrassing to stand by yourself without talking to
anyone. You got to do it today.
Then I went to this little lady,She was talking to her group of
friends and I kind of seen her in my French class before.
(32:20):
And I was just telling her that I'm an exchange student.
And here I come from Morocco. And guess what?
Everybody got so interested in learning what is it like to be
an exchange student? Because at my high school, they
don't really get many extreme students.
So it was a new thing for them. And yeah, and she also said that
(32:42):
she would have never guessed that I was an exchange student
because my English was pretty good.
But by that time, so she would have never guessed that unless I
said it. And then I remember this boy
coming in too and diving into the conversation and with him
there was a girl and apparently she was an au pair from Germany.
(33:04):
And then in 5 minutes, within 5 minutes exactly, we became
friends, me and her. Like shout out to Mary if she
was listening. Me and her became like so close
we would hang out every other weekend.
We made such a beautiful relationship and then by joining
(33:25):
other clubs at school I met new people also through my classes.
I remember also making many presentations about Morocco and
like I the barrier of me being afraid of reaching out to people
if I need. I remember this too, because at
first I got lost so many times in my school and I really
(33:48):
learned how to go and approach somebody and tell them, excuse
me, but I'm really lost. Could you please help me go to
my class? And that actually like helps me
make friends and know people more.
And now I kid you not, everybodyin this school knows who I am
and I know them too. So we might not be friends, but
(34:09):
at least we know each other. Yeah, at least they know the
name Aya. That's that's the important
thing. So how would you say education
wise, the school in the United American School is how does it
compare to school in Morocco? Oh.
This is such a good question because I would really say that
(34:31):
the American high school system is unique to itself.
It is very different. I really appreciate how like
teachers immerse their students in their lectures and how
diversity is as well because youmight go from a teacher to
(34:52):
another one and they have two different methods of teaching
and that one makes it very beautiful.
And I remember in my pre calculus class, it was the first
time I learned a math concept while doing an activity like
with my hands. So it was very different than
Morocco where I would a math concept by a two hour lecture
(35:16):
from my teacher. So I would say here it's I would
say it's also more fun to learn.And also in anatomy, for
example, we do so many stations and activities that where we
actually do things, not just take notes.
So I really appreciate that as well as all the other clubs,
(35:38):
like after school clubs that theschool offers.
One of them is Our Minds Matter,which I'm the secretary for in
my school. And it has been.
It's a club that shares awareness about mental health
and is there to support all the students at school and even
(36:00):
outside of the school to be there with them and talk to
them. We do so many activities, for
example, yoga, we would just paint rocks for mental health.
We made friendship bracelets during school lunches.
We do so many things that help make the students at school feel
(36:23):
a sense of belonging and everyone can get connected and
make new friends and stop being isolated.
So I really admire that side of the American high school.
Are after school activities and clubs not through the school
system in Morocco? Is that more of a community
thing? Yes it is.
(36:44):
In Morocco it is more of a community thing, so they're not
affiliated with the school. Especially if for example in my
case I go to a private school soall my other activities are
outside of school. They're not really school
related and we don't really do things after school.
So if there is a club or something it would be during the
(37:07):
school hours. Gotcha.
What would you say has been yourfavorite class that you've had
while you've been here on Exchange?
Oh that is such an easy question.
I know my answer very clearly. I love my precalculus class so
much. It might seem very crazy because
(37:28):
I basically just chosen math class, but my teacher is iconic.
She not only gives us math lessons, but we learn so much
more. We learn life lessons and she
has been my biggest supporter ever.
(37:50):
I remember her when I had when Ihad some small issues with my
previous family. She was there for me.
Like she was just like a second mom for me at school 'cause I
didn't have that before and I would go to her whenever I need
her. And in my math class I got to,
oh, this is such a good memory. I, I'm pretty sure you know, the
(38:13):
international week that we have as exchange students.
Yes, unfortunately at my school we don't really have an
international night or somethinglike that scheduled.
So I really told her that, excuse me, ma'am, I really would
like to share my Moroccan culture and make a presentation
about it. She was like, you know what
(38:34):
we're going to do since my, my school don't have that.
We're going to make the the one and only international period
where we didn't study math, we didn't do anything up.
We brought food. Me and my friend, my other
Moroccan friend at school whose mom helped me cook so many
beautiful Moroccan dishes. I got dressed up in my Moroccan
(38:57):
Qaftan, which is a dress, and I made a presentation about
Morocco. And the amount of question that
I had was insane. It was such a successful
presentation. We also got some other teachers
and people from the administration coming in and
curious about what is the one and only international period in
(39:22):
a calculus class, right? You can never find them both
together, but we, here we are. We did that.
It was beautiful. That's so cool.
And Oh my gosh, and having such a a supportive teacher like that
really, truly makes all the difference in the world.
So to that teacher, if you're listening, shout out to you.
(39:45):
Oh yeah, shout out to you. Back to Edwards, and since we're
on the topic of we were talking about food that you had brought
in that was Moroccan for that international period.
What's been your favorite American food that you've had
here? Oh, I am not so sure if that is
(40:05):
supposed to be an American food or not, but my host mom makes
the best chicken fried rice ever.
Nice. And then I really enjoy having
it with the Yum Yum sauce and a requirement and Doctor Pepper on
the side. It is the perfect combo ever.
(40:30):
Oh my gosh, I love that. It's my all time favorite thing
and I have many many friends whosay they don't really prefer a
doctor ever, but it is the best drink ever I've tried here in
America. Love that for you.
So is there a favorite memory orexperience that you have that we
(40:53):
haven't been able to talk about that you'd like to share?
I would really like to share a very beautiful core memory for
me and my host family when we traveled to Arizona for maybe
two months ago and I didn't expect that we went to visit my
(41:18):
host family's grandparents and their family.
And I kid you not, I never expected that I would feel more
welcomed like that. It was so beautiful.
But what made it even more special is my host mom's 92
(41:40):
years old grandma who got me or made me a little gift.
She handmade it and we had the most wonderful conversations
together in their backyard. And it was so beautiful because
I never knew these people before, but apparently they
know. They knew so much about me way
(42:02):
before they met me in real life.And they were so welcoming.
And I, I was like, how did that even happen?
How did you even know me like that?
And it was such an amazing surprise.
I will never forget that moment.It means a lot to me, really.
It was very beautiful. So to wrap it up, what's next
(42:28):
for Aya? What happens after the exchange
is over? Honestly, right after I'm going
to end my exchange here, I am planning to travel to Finland as
like literally a week after my exchange year as a young
Moroccan delegate to represent Morocco right there and see what
(42:54):
are the cultural exchanges that we might work on through that
program. And as well serve my community
the same way I did here in the States.
And I am planning to get my IB diploma by the end of next year
and hopefully attend the collegeor university here in the.
(43:18):
US lot of big things coming up for you.
That's so exciting. And my final question for you,
Aya, for a student who may be considering studying abroad,
what advice do you have for them?
I would really say please go embrace your fears.
(43:40):
Do it. Literally say yes to everything
because you will never be 15 or 16 years old ever again.
You have been born and raised inyour country for the past 16
years of your life. You want to be special.
(44:01):
You want to have a story. You want to write your own story
and share it. You want to discover what the
world has, how many surprises the world has for you.
So please don't let those surprises go away and never
discover them. Just say yes to opportunities,
(44:25):
Yes, go to travel and do it. Don't hesitate.
It might look, it might seem very scary, but trust me right
after you're going to look out and say I really made the right
decision. I am so glad I trusted myself
and booked that flight and I traveled because it's a one
(44:49):
lifetime experience. You will never regret it.
Please just go for it. Thank you so much for that, Aya,
and thank you for so much for your time and.
I, I really appreciate that and thank you very much for having
me today. I was so glad I was able to
(45:12):
share my beautiful stories with everyone who's listening.
And please just make sure that you are making the right choices
and saying yes to all the other opportunities that the world may
give you. And yeah.
(45:33):
Awesome. And that is our time for this
episode. I want to thank Cycle Breaker
Dream Chaser Ambassador Aya so much for taking time to talk
with us and share your absolutely inspiring story and
talk about just the wonderful connections and loving
(45:55):
relationships that you've made while you've been on exchange.
And I want to thank you, dear listeners, for tuning into this
episode. Please stick around and listen
to the next episode of Life Exchange Stories of
Understanding. I've been your host, Kelsey
Ross. And until next time, bye.
Listen to Life Exchange stories of Understanding now on Spotify,
(46:18):
Apple Podcasts, YouTube. And.
Wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
Hello and welcome to this week'sepisode of Life Exchange,
Stories of Understanding. I am your host, Kelsey Ross, and
here with me today is a wonderful guest.
Please, would you like to tell us who you are and a little bit
about yourself? Of course, thank you so much for
having me today. I am Aya El Konduzi and I am
(00:32):
originally from Morocco and I amcurrently hosted in the in
Virginia State here by through ISUUSA as an exchange student.
Wonderful, right? So tell me about the first time
you considered going on Exchange.
(00:55):
What made you want to do this? OK so this might sound very
silly but since I was a little girl I used to go or attend a
small private school in Morocco.And I have always wondered how
life is in other countries, in other schools, how do they study
(01:20):
like how things go. And my parents introduced me to
this cartoon and I and apparently it was an American
cartoon and I just loved it so much.
And something that I noticed that was very different from my
school was a yellow school bus. And I promised myself at a very
(01:42):
young age, probably around like 6-5 years old, I said when I
grow up, I'm going to go to highschool in America and I want to
experience the yellow school bus.
So that was originally one of mydreams since I was a little girl
(02:02):
and I my school was partially French.
So I have been very influenced by the European culture and I've
seen so much from my Moroccan traditional school.
But I really wanted to experience the American school
(02:24):
how how it is in America. And here I am, here today,
living my dream, and I can't be more grateful.
That's all so cool. Out of curiosity, do you by
chance remember the name of the cartoon that your parents showed
you? I think I'm I'm not so sure, but
it might have been The Simpsons.Oh my goodness, what an American
(02:45):
icon. The Simpsons.
I love that. So cool.
Oh my goodness, that's awesome. So did you do you have a
favorite character on The Simpsons?
On The Simpsons that you watched?
I. Honestly don't really remember
but. There's so many episodes anyway,
that's hard to keep, yeah. Exactly.
(03:07):
It's it's a very iconic cartoon.Absolutely.
Awesome. So you made-up your mind you
were gonna go experience that big yellow school bus in the US
So how did you prepare to study abroad?
What sort of research did you do?
And what did you, how did you ultimately decide to do this?
(03:29):
So thank you so much for this question because I feel like
that like a year ago, I really needed somebody to tell me what
to prepare because I have been like trying to get immersed in
the American culture way before I came here.
So that I assumed that that would help me a lot.
(03:50):
And actually it did. So the first thing I started
focusing on was to improve my English skills and try to
communicate more, talk to my parents more in English and you
know, learn those little words that I can use and how I also
trained myself really well on how to be more and to become
(04:11):
more, how talk in front of the camera.
And I remember this exercise that my dad started with me.
So first to convince my parents to go on an exchange, I went
straight to my dad and I told him I really want to do it so
bad and he understood what I wanted.
(04:32):
But the hard part was convincingmy mother since she is more she
doesn't want me to miss my school years and all of that.
So my dad told me to make a presentation and work hard on
convincing her and using the pros and the cons of everything
(04:54):
and being ready to get questionsand, you know, to get used to
that those to learn those skillsbasically.
And I have also learned how to reach out to people and you
know, just getting myself immersed in directly in
American, the American culture way ahead.
(05:15):
And I have also prepared myself really well for the fact the
fact that I will understand thatthere will be new foods, new new
people around me, like I'm from basically all over the world.
So it's just, I would say it's agood mental exercise that you
(05:36):
just need to train yourself to way before you come here.
Absolutely IA presentation to convince your mom.
That is the first time I've everheard that.
That's so cool. Oh my gosh.
Incredibly influential. And I, I, I get your mom and her
reticence. You know, you're her baby.
(05:57):
She didn't want to let you go, but.
That's true. I Do you feel that they are more
accepting an understanding of your decision now that we're
nearing the end? Definitely.
I honestly, when it now that I talk to my parents, they just
told me that we can't imagine how much you grew through this
(06:20):
year and how much I've changed from like seven months ago.
Literally, I could tell you thatI became a whole new person and
so many positive things got added into my personality and I
learned so many things that I could have never imagined I
would learn at this age. Incredible watching exchange
(06:45):
students in their transformationwhile they're on program is my
favorite part of this entire theentire thing.
But, you know, in high school, that is a really, you know,
could be a scary time to go on exchange.
And you generally hear, especially in America, people
going on exchange in college. So why did you choose to go in
(07:07):
high school? So as I said previously, it was
just one of my dreams. You know, the American high
school experience, it's so iconic.
But another part of me is that Iam a an athlete and I've been a
gymnast since I was very, very young.
So traveling was part of my lifestyle.
(07:29):
I learned how to travel by myself and with my team since I
was 6 years old. So the idea of just going and
like discovering was part of me,I would say.
And when I first was trying to talk to my parents about that,
they kind of noticed that feeling of always wanting to be
(07:52):
like, to discover things. And, you know, just like
experience was part of my personality and I was very, very
sad that I won't be able to graduate with my friends and
also like, I won't be able to connect with them for a year and
my family knowing that I'm very,very attached child to their
(08:16):
family. So, and I decided to just
basically leave everything behind and just go and discover
the world because I, I, I thought that my dream was the
biggest thing that I own in my life.
And I really wanted to have a story.
I wanted to have a personal experience that would influence
(08:38):
people and maybe I can have a very good impact on my community
back in Morocco when I go back again.
So I can say that I really wanted to be the first change in
my community, at least knowing that we do not have any exchange
students in that area. So it was.
(08:58):
That was my biggest motivation, honestly.
We have this term, I, you might have heard it in American
culture, it's called breaking cycles.
And you, you are definitely a cycle breaker.
And it brave, incredibly brave and willing to, you know, take
yourself all halfway across the world to experience all these
(09:20):
new things. It's, it's so young.
It's it's so cool. Thank you.
And if I remember correctly, youare a yes scholarship student.
Yes ma'am, I am a yes scholarship student for people
who. May not know about this program,
why tell us? About it, so basically the yes
program also extends for the yesand exchange or youth and study
(09:45):
exchange program. And it is basically a program
that allows you to become a young ambassador for your
country. And you basically come here or
you first go through a many, many stages of selection and you
take tests and they make sure that you are you are able to
(10:08):
represent your nation to the best extent possible.
And you have all the leadership skills that are necessary for
that. And you basically come here and
you get a scholarship and also astipend and you get the
opportunity to participate in many other activities funded by
the the yes program. And you basically just live your
(10:31):
dream. And you go back to Morocco and
you serve your nation and teach them about all the things and
the wonderful things that you learned, things that you learned
here in your American high school, in your country, your
country, so that the exchanges. From my understanding, the Yes
program is incredibly competitive and quite hard to
(10:53):
earn. What was the application?
What was? What was the process light from
starting your application to be finding out that you won?
So, so first we have to know that the YES programs acceptance
rate is 3% per country. Wow.
For example, for my case for Morocco, there were so many
(11:15):
applicants from the whole country and only 20 of them got
selected. So it is very, very competitive.
So yeah. And you.
So honestly, I would say just knowing about the program three
months ahead kind of prepared me.
And. But honestly, I was still scared
(11:38):
to apply. I was applying, but I didn't
know what I was doing. I kid you not.
I was like, I want this opportunity and I'm gonna grasp
it. That was my mindset at that
time. And honestly, I could also tell
you that before applying to thatprogram, I was rejected from
(12:00):
another one. And it was a summer, it was a
summer camp and it was about, you know, the NASA and like the
STEM fields. And unfortunately I got rejected
2 weeks before I applied to the YES program.
And I could tell you that just that feeling of rejection from
(12:21):
that program made me wanna do something and like achieve a
small success at least. So I was very committed to
applying to the yes program and I was like, and it was my junior
year, so I wouldn't have the chance to reapply the next year.
So I was saying to myself, this is your only opportunity to
(12:44):
apply and you will make it. You will make your dreams come
true. I worked with that mindset and
then here I am today. So first I wrote my letters and
I took some essays. I also had to take some
interviews with people from the US Embassy and some program
(13:08):
managers in Morocco. We also had to go through an
orientation after knowing, like,who are the finalists?
And at the end we knew who were our host families.
And then we came here to the states.
That was generally the process. About how long did would you say
that all that took? Oh.
(13:30):
That took the whole year, like Icould tell you from September,
October until basically our flight tickets which were in
July. It was a very tough process.
It was a big commitment, especially aside from school and
(13:51):
all of that. It was it was time consuming,
but it was very worth it. I learned a lot.
Yeah, and it just shows your commitment to making your dreams
come true and that resilience that you have.
That is right. It's awesome.
All right, so you found out you're a yes scholar.
You got your tickets, you got your host family.
(14:13):
Before you hopped on that plane,did you have any expectations of
what America would be like before you?
Came honestly, I really didn't. So yeah, I didn't know where I
was going, what I would expect. So I met my host family
(14:35):
literally a week before my flight.
So even my host family, I didn'tknow them super well before
coming here. So I was just like diving into
something, diving into the unknown.
It was very scary, but at the same time I was full of
excitement and I was so happy todo something out of the ordinary
(15:00):
and just go and discover. But something that I was sure of
is that I will find people that would welcome me, that would
love me and they would love me so much.
And here I am here at my high school, my teachers, my
counselors, everybody so amazinglike my story turned out to be.
(15:22):
It turned out in a very different way that I was
expecting, but it makes it so beautiful.
Absolutely. It's I'm, I'm so glad that you
found that community to rally around you and to really support
you and love you for who you are.
Yeah, it's wonderful. And so.
Yeah, you've landed in the States and you've met your host
(15:46):
family and you find out your what high school you're going
to. What were your first impressions
of the family and the school? So I would say first, so to put
you in contest context, now I I had a previous host family and
now I'm currently living with mysecond host family.
(16:06):
So first with my previous host family, I first came and I could
tell you that I was very surprised of what I saw.
It was way different than I thanwhat I was thinking in exchange
here with me or what would be a host family like.
(16:30):
But I, I think that I've learneda lot from my previous
experience with them. It wasn't how I really wanted it
to be, but it was way. It was very eye opening.
But when I came to the high school, I would say that all of
(16:50):
what I really wanted to experience, I experienced it
during the first times or the first months in my high school
instead. So I was the happiest at school,
I would say. I made so many friends and my
teachers were so nice and I did not miss any single football
(17:10):
game. Is American football played in
Barack Loral or was this your first experience seeing?
Oh no, it was my first time OK experiencing football.
I have met an au pair girl that was with me.
We were like, and she was also from Germany and so basically
(17:31):
for both of us, football was something was something brand
new and we were just cheering and so happy and shouting
without understanding any singlething in the game.
That's, that's, that's the fun part of it.
A lot of oh, yeah, you know, to be honest, a lot of us don't
know what's happening on the field.
It's just, it just plays out in front of you and, you know, one
(17:52):
guy goes to the other side. Hooray, that's really all you
need to know. That's so awesome.
What? Were there any other sports or
school activities that you experienced that you also really
enjoyed and loved doing? I would say I really liked
watching ice hockey during the winter.
(18:14):
It was I was like, wow, that is very interesting.
It it wasn't in my high school, but I really enjoyed watching it
with my host family and it's something new for me 'cause we
don't have that in Morocco. So I still honestly don't
understand it yet, but it's so fun.
Yeah. Oh, it's a it's really fun to
watch. And was this your second host
(18:37):
family that showed you what hockey?
Was Oh yeah, I discovered so many things with my host family
and I, this is going to be so hard for me when I'm going to be
about to leave because I never thought that I could say the
word mom and dad to other peopleother than my biological mother
(19:01):
and father. And I truly discovered that
people can love you, care for you without any other rewards.
And I have built the most beautiful relationship with my
host family. I don't feel like I'm their
students anymore. And the way we talk, the way we
(19:23):
interact with each other, my relationship with my host
siblings doesn't feel like exchange students and host
family relationship. It is just like a family and the
way my host's mom introduces me now to her friends and people,
she just says she's my daughter and that is it.
(19:43):
That's all what people need to know, and that's how our new
relationship became. That's so touching I'm.
Sorry. Oh yeah, I'm.
Going to tear you up a little bit, I'm sorry.
Hey. Have you ever thought about
bringing the world to your home?I have.
YFUUSA you can by hosting an exchange student, you'll
experience a brand new culture right in your own home.
(20:07):
It's an incredible opportunity to make lifelong connections and
help a young student discover the American way of life.
Want more info? Visit yfuusa.org to learn more
about how you can become a host family today.
That's yfuusa.org. I really admire them and I'm so
(20:28):
grateful for them, like very much.
And the way my senior night turned in gymnastics was so
beautiful. I was with my my gymnast friends
preparing the for the competition.
And it was senior night in my high school.
And since I'm a senior, I was I had so many responsibilities
(20:51):
before and like preparing everything and we were so
stressed. But then here is my host family
coming with three little kids. So I have two little host
siblings, two of them are twins and one little girl.
She's they're six years old and the little girl was three years
old at that time. And then here they come with
(21:12):
cutest, the cutest posters ever.And I don't know, maybe 16
guests from all of our neighborhood.
And Oh my gosh, it was the most beautiful experience ever.
And then we filled out the wholestadium and our story got even
shared on the Washington Post. Oh my goodness, that is so cool.
(21:35):
So gymnastics. I know you did Morocco.
Were there any other activities that you did in Morocco that you
were able to continue while you're here?
I would say in Morocco I used toto write little stories for kids
and I was definitely able to write here as well and I was
very inspired and I wrote so many things.
(21:56):
I didn't published any yet, but I'm planning to do so in
Morocco. So I was able to continue that.
As you can see, I love making videos and sharing my stories,
so I have also tried to grow a little bit on social media and I
was able to do that. For those of you this week,
while we're recording this episode, Aya is currently doing
(22:20):
a takeover of the Why View Instagram account.
So if she looks like a familiar face, that may be where you've
seen her since we're talking about it.
What's the takeover experience been like?
Oh. It has been really awesome.
I have felt a very good sense ofresponsibility and I also got to
do something that I really love.I love sharing information with
(22:40):
people. I love sharing my experience.
I also really enjoy answering other people's questions about
what is life here in the US cuz when I go back in time like a
year ago, I really needed somebody to answer my questions
and all of my like, I was very confused.
So I really try to answer everybody and that's what
(23:04):
something I really love doing. So thank you so much for why
with you for giving me this, this opportunity to take over
and feel responsible. No, the, the thanks go to you.
My goodness, if you haven't keptup with Guy's takeover, you are
making a mistake. She's showing some really cool
(23:25):
insights and what life is like as a Moroccan exchange student
in an American high school. It's so cool.
I'm, I'm so glad that we that you have this opportunity and
that you're able to share with everybody and with us.
Thank you so much. Going back to kind of the
beginning of your change experience, were there any the
cultural differences that stood out to you that made me make you
(23:46):
feel a little uncomfortable or that you had to work through to
understand? I would say there wasn't really
like any cultural differences that made me very uncomfortable.
Most of them was were very interesting to learn.
So I wouldn't really say they made me feel bad at all, but
(24:07):
some of them just like made me think what were the things I
used to do back in Morocco that I needed to maybe just develop a
little bit and make them the American way.
The thing that I would say, for example, is that in Morocco we
use a lot of idioms and we use alot of indirect speech, kind of
(24:29):
sentence like sentences that we would use all.
But here in the States, people are more direct and you just
need to say information clearly and not just like give examples
and expect people to understand you.
So I would say, I would say thatthat was one of the things that
I had to work on a little bit. But I, and I think that's much
(24:53):
better. It's better to say things
directly and be more, you know, more honest and direct about
things. So I would say that was the only
thing that I just had to work work on.
And yeah, it worked perfectly. Great do.
You think you'll take that more direct style of communicating
with people back home with you and use that with your family
(25:15):
and friends in Morocco? I think I will cause honestly,
it worked so well for me and I think it's much better and it
makes conversations easier as long as it's not offensive or
you know, it would hurt somebody's feelings, but it's
very, it's a, a good way of communicating.
I I want to go back to your, your host family and the strong
(25:39):
connections that you made with them.
How did you go about connecting with these essentially strangers
that you didn't know and forgingsuch a strong, loving
relationship with them? I honestly do not know.
I have no idea but. It just happened.
(26:02):
It just happened. I remember when I first had my
first ever conversation with my host son at my high school, She
was saying that we are just offering you our family and
we're inviting you to live with us, but we're not forcing you to
come. And if you don't want to, that's
(26:23):
fine. And I was feeling so loved and
welcomed in their family way before coming into it.
And then I remember it clearly. The first day my husband picked
me from my local coordinator's house.
She we were just like talking directly diving into topics.
(26:43):
We literally talked about hair and literally everything.
And then we went shopping together on the first day and
something we embraced something new on my first day.
So in Morocco, Christmas isn't generally celebrated.
So it was my first Christmas ever.
So on the first day I moved in with them.
(27:06):
The little kids showed me how they usually set up the
Christmas tree, and they shared with me their most wonderful
memories with every like the Christmas tree, the ornaments.
Yeah, like, in every single thing that meant for them.
And they were very open. They didn't know me well at that
(27:26):
time, but they were open about it, and they wanted to share
their lives with me. And I would say that connection
was very like made super quickly.
And also I honestly loved them before.
So I knew the little kids because I used to babysit them
and we just like they consideredme their sister or I would say
(27:51):
their Moroccan sister as my, my youngest host, my youngest
sister calls me to her friends. They just consider me their
sister, not their exchange students at all.
And that meant so much to me. And I would say I consider them
my family, not just a host family.
(28:13):
And I would really say that the key to everything is
communication. Communication helps so much,
especially for all the current exchange students that are
listening. I know that sometimes as
teenagers we don't understand maybe adults that much, but when
(28:34):
we just we're honest and tell them how we feel or if something
is bothering us, really we should just say that and they
are the ones who help us. Because I am the living example.
Like my host mom did so many things for me, especially with
like high school problems or youknow, all of that.
She was very, very helpful and just like us going on the Sunset
(29:00):
Dr. yesterday. Like we talked about so many
things. She shared many American
classical songs with me and now we just have a shared playlist.
That was just yesterday. Do you have a favorite song from
that playlist? I do, actually.
It's called a Wild one by Faith Hill.
OK, I know that. I know that song.
(29:21):
And it represents my host's sister's personality, Alice.
And it is the cutest song ever. I really love it.
That's my favorite song. There you go.
Listen, there's a a new song recommendation if you haven't.
Heard it there you. Go do you have siblings back in
(29:43):
Morocco or is this your first time?
OK, are are they older? Younger.
So my, I can tell you that my host family, current host family
and my family back home are very, very similar.
So I have two siblings back homeand they're six years old and 11
years old. That it's the same thing for my
(30:05):
host family here, except for thefact that my host siblings are
six and three, but I'm the oldest in both of the families.
And I was very used to the like the eldest sibling
responsibilities. And it was very easy for me to
get, you know, used to having little siblings at.
(30:28):
Home, Yeah, awesome. At least it wasn't too hard of a
transition with the with siblings.
I know for some of our students who maybe only child or only
children like I am, and coming into a family with siblings, it
can be a little overwhelming, but I'm glad it wasn't that and
that they have embraced you so, so much.
(30:52):
One I was curious about with along the lines of making
relationships. What was it like for you making
friends in your American high school?
How did you go about doing that?I really love this question so
much because it it drives me back to it takes me back to the
football game season. So as I said before, I did not
(31:14):
miss any single one and I remember it clearly.
It was such an amazing experience.
It was a very rainy day and it was the first football game of
the season and my host family dropped me off there and then
they just had to do their thingsand it was my first week of
school. I didn't know anybody excess
(31:37):
from one girl, like no one. I went to the game.
I got it was the white out team.I got dressed out.
I went there. I was like today I'm gonna make
friends. It started raining.
I was like, Oh my gosh, rain. This is such a wrong timing
today. Then the game got cancelled,
unfortunately, and then we all went to a field house inside of
(32:00):
the school. And then I was like, it is very
embarrassing to stand by yourself without talking to
anyone. You got to do it today.
Then I went to this little lady,She was talking to her group of
friends and I kind of seen her in my French class before.
(32:20):
And I was just telling her that I'm an exchange student.
And here I come from Morocco. And guess what?
Everybody got so interested in learning what is it like to be
an exchange student? Because at my high school, they
don't really get many extreme students.
So it was a new thing for them. And yeah, and she also said that
(32:42):
she would have never guessed that I was an exchange student
because my English was pretty good.
But by that time, so she would have never guessed that unless I
said it. And then I remember this boy
coming in too and diving into the conversation and with him
there was a girl and apparently she was an au pair from Germany.
(33:04):
And then in 5 minutes, within 5 minutes exactly, we became
friends, me and her. Like shout out to Mary if she
was listening. Me and her became like so close
we would hang out every other weekend.
We made such a beautiful relationship and then by joining
(33:25):
other clubs at school I met new people also through my classes.
I remember also making many presentations about Morocco and
like I the barrier of me being afraid of reaching out to people
if I need. I remember this too, because at
first I got lost so many times in my school and I really
(33:48):
learned how to go and approach somebody and tell them, excuse
me, but I'm really lost. Could you please help me go to
my class? And that actually like helps me
make friends and know people more.
And now I kid you not, everybodyin this school knows who I am
and I know them too. So we might not be friends, but
(34:09):
at least we know each other. Yeah, at least they know the
name Aya. That's that's the important
thing. So how would you say education
wise, the school in the United American School is how does it
compare to school in Morocco? Oh.
This is such a good question because I would really say that
(34:31):
the American high school system is unique to itself.
It is very different. I really appreciate how like
teachers immerse their students in their lectures and how
diversity is as well because youmight go from a teacher to
(34:52):
another one and they have two different methods of teaching
and that one makes it very beautiful.
And I remember in my pre calculus class, it was the first
time I learned a math concept while doing an activity like
with my hands. So it was very different than
Morocco where I would a math concept by a two hour lecture
(35:16):
from my teacher. So I would say here it's I would
say it's also more fun to learn.And also in anatomy, for
example, we do so many stations and activities that where we
actually do things, not just take notes.
So I really appreciate that as well as all the other clubs,
(35:38):
like after school clubs that theschool offers.
One of them is Our Minds Matter,which I'm the secretary for in
my school. And it has been.
It's a club that shares awareness about mental health
and is there to support all the students at school and even
(36:00):
outside of the school to be there with them and talk to
them. We do so many activities, for
example, yoga, we would just paint rocks for mental health.
We made friendship bracelets during school lunches.
We do so many things that help make the students at school feel
(36:23):
a sense of belonging and everyone can get connected and
make new friends and stop being isolated.
So I really admire that side of the American high school.
Are after school activities and clubs not through the school
system in Morocco? Is that more of a community
thing? Yes it is.
(36:44):
In Morocco it is more of a community thing, so they're not
affiliated with the school. Especially if for example in my
case I go to a private school soall my other activities are
outside of school. They're not really school
related and we don't really do things after school.
So if there is a club or something it would be during the
(37:07):
school hours. Gotcha.
What would you say has been yourfavorite class that you've had
while you've been here on Exchange?
Oh that is such an easy question.
I know my answer very clearly. I love my precalculus class so
much. It might seem very crazy because
(37:28):
I basically just chosen math class, but my teacher is iconic.
She not only gives us math lessons, but we learn so much
more. We learn life lessons and she
has been my biggest supporter ever.
(37:50):
I remember her when I had when Ihad some small issues with my
previous family. She was there for me.
Like she was just like a second mom for me at school 'cause I
didn't have that before and I would go to her whenever I need
her. And in my math class I got to,
oh, this is such a good memory. I, I'm pretty sure you know, the
(38:13):
international week that we have as exchange students.
Yes, unfortunately at my school we don't really have an
international night or somethinglike that scheduled.
So I really told her that, excuse me, ma'am, I really would
like to share my Moroccan culture and make a presentation
about it. She was like, you know what
(38:34):
we're going to do since my, my school don't have that.
We're going to make the the one and only international period
where we didn't study math, we didn't do anything up.
We brought food. Me and my friend, my other
Moroccan friend at school whose mom helped me cook so many
beautiful Moroccan dishes. I got dressed up in my Moroccan
(38:57):
Qaftan, which is a dress, and I made a presentation about
Morocco. And the amount of question that
I had was insane. It was such a successful
presentation. We also got some other teachers
and people from the administration coming in and
curious about what is the one and only international period in
(39:22):
a calculus class, right? You can never find them both
together, but we, here we are. We did that.
It was beautiful. That's so cool.
And Oh my gosh, and having such a a supportive teacher like that
really, truly makes all the difference in the world.
So to that teacher, if you're listening, shout out to you.
(39:45):
Oh yeah, shout out to you. Back to Edwards, and since we're
on the topic of we were talking about food that you had brought
in that was Moroccan for that international period.
What's been your favorite American food that you've had
here? Oh, I am not so sure if that is
(40:05):
supposed to be an American food or not, but my host mom makes
the best chicken fried rice ever.
Nice. And then I really enjoy having
it with the Yum Yum sauce and a requirement and Doctor Pepper on
the side. It is the perfect combo ever.
(40:30):
Oh my gosh, I love that. It's my all time favorite thing
and I have many many friends whosay they don't really prefer a
doctor ever, but it is the best drink ever I've tried here in
America. Love that for you.
So is there a favorite memory orexperience that you have that we
(40:53):
haven't been able to talk about that you'd like to share?
I would really like to share a very beautiful core memory for
me and my host family when we traveled to Arizona for maybe
two months ago and I didn't expect that we went to visit my
(41:18):
host family's grandparents and their family.
And I kid you not, I never expected that I would feel more
welcomed like that. It was so beautiful.
But what made it even more special is my host mom's 92
(41:40):
years old grandma who got me or made me a little gift.
She handmade it and we had the most wonderful conversations
together in their backyard. And it was so beautiful because
I never knew these people before, but apparently they
know. They knew so much about me way
(42:02):
before they met me in real life.And they were so welcoming.
And I, I was like, how did that even happen?
How did you even know me like that?
And it was such an amazing surprise.
I will never forget that moment.It means a lot to me, really.
It was very beautiful. So to wrap it up, what's next
(42:28):
for Aya? What happens after the exchange
is over? Honestly, right after I'm going
to end my exchange here, I am planning to travel to Finland as
like literally a week after my exchange year as a young
Moroccan delegate to represent Morocco right there and see what
(42:54):
are the cultural exchanges that we might work on through that
program. And as well serve my community
the same way I did here in the States.
And I am planning to get my IB diploma by the end of next year
and hopefully attend the collegeor university here in the.
(43:18):
US lot of big things coming up for you.
That's so exciting. And my final question for you,
Aya, for a student who may be considering studying abroad,
what advice do you have for them?
I would really say please go embrace your fears.
(43:40):
Do it. Literally say yes to everything
because you will never be 15 or 16 years old ever again.
You have been born and raised inyour country for the past 16
years of your life. You want to be special.
(44:01):
You want to have a story. You want to write your own story
and share it. You want to discover what the
world has, how many surprises the world has for you.
So please don't let those surprises go away and never
discover them. Just say yes to opportunities,
(44:25):
Yes, go to travel and do it. Don't hesitate.
It might look, it might seem very scary, but trust me right
after you're going to look out and say I really made the right
decision. I am so glad I trusted myself
and booked that flight and I traveled because it's a one
(44:49):
lifetime experience. You will never regret it.
Please just go for it. Thank you so much for that, Aya,
and thank you for so much for your time and.
I, I really appreciate that and thank you very much for having
me today. I was so glad I was able to
(45:12):
share my beautiful stories with everyone who's listening.
And please just make sure that you are making the right choices
and saying yes to all the other opportunities that the world may
give you. And yeah.
(45:33):
Awesome. And that is our time for this
episode. I want to thank Cycle Breaker
Dream Chaser Ambassador Aya so much for taking time to talk
with us and share your absolutely inspiring story and
talk about just the wonderful connections and loving
(45:55):
relationships that you've made while you've been on exchange.
And I want to thank you, dear listeners, for tuning into this
episode. Please stick around and listen
to the next episode of Life Exchange Stories of
Understanding. I've been your host, Kelsey
Ross. And until next time, bye.
Listen to Life Exchange stories of Understanding now on Spotify,
(46:18):
Apple Podcasts, YouTube. And.
Wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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