The Pre-Departure Orientation

It was exciting to go back to Washington DC for the PDO. After making some great friends at the IPSE in March it was great to see them again. Many people I talk to at home have trouble understanding why I am able to give up my senior year and leave all of my friends for a year in a country that many people would never want to go to. Therefore, it is very refreshing to be around kids with similar view points and who understand and agree with the reasons for the program.

The PDO took place June 26-28. It is designed to help prepare us for the changes that we encounter next year and answer any questions we have regarding the program. All of the 66 participants split up into groups specific by country. This year YES Abroad is sending kids to Oman, Malaysia, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Ghana, and South Africa. There are nine male candidates. We had eight kids in our Turkey group and four of them were guys. Each country group had a group leader who had previously lived in that country through YES or NSLI-Y. Turkey had the only male group leader and he lived in Samsun two years ago. It was great to have the opportunity to ask him as many questions about Turkish life and living in Turkey as we could. I learned the most during this weekend from the experiences and stories my group leader had relayed to us.  Also getting the male perspective on life in Turkey was very beneficial for me as the male perspectives are quite scarce around there.

Turkey Group at the United States State Department

Much of the PDO was spent in a conference room sitting through cultural workshops. Even though it was long and somewhat tedious this was helpful in many ways. I learned what is expected of me as a YES Abroad scholar and the importance of the scholarship I have been provided. While visiting the State Department I realized what a special privilege I have to participate on this program. Considered by the State Department as a "hallmark of public diplomacy" this program grants me the responsibility to try to bridge the gap between the barriers of Turkish and American cultures. However I am not overwhelmed by the State Department's long term ambitious goals, because I know that putting myself in new and different situations and learning about different people and connecting our cultures is something that I find myself naturally doing.