Deputy Chief of Mission Ted Osius welcomed 70 participants of the Department of State Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program back to Indonesia during an event at @america on July 2. The high school students have just returned from a year-long exchange program in the United States.

As participants in the YES program, students completed home stays with American families, attended American high schools, participated in community and volunteer activities, and travelled within the United States. The students were placed with families throughout the United States, with locations ranging from Alabama to Alaska.

During conversation with DCM Osius, students shared their experiences in the United States, describing various surprises, challenges, and triumphs. Students described how they were able to serve as ambassadors of Indonesia within the United States. Muslim students living in communities with small Muslim populations shared how they were also able to serve as ambassadors for their faith. Through friendships, classroom discussions, and relationships with their host families, students discussed how they were able to build greater inter-cultural understanding and respect. Students all agreed that their year abroad had positively transformed their perceptions of the United States, themselves, and the world.

Students expressed a commitment toward continuing to spread mutual understanding and respect between the United States and Indonesia upon their return home. One student commented, “We can show the world how we are so different and yet we are very, very similar.” DCM Osius described the students as the “futures of the partnership” between the United States and Indonesia and encouraged students to continue their work as citizen ambassadors.

After the students shared their experiences, representatives from Education USA and the US Embassy gave presentations on exchange program alumni opportunities and shared information on how to apply to study at the university level within the United States.

This article was originally published on the US Embassy Jakarta web site

Photo courtesy US Embassy Indonesia