4000 Miles From Home

In late August, students from various countries in the Caribbean were in Seattle for a program coordinated by FIUTS, in a contract with World Learning, called Youth Ambassador Program. We have been posting the students' reflections and experiences, and here's the final post by Adiel, an ambassador from Barbados:

In April, I was selected to be part of the Youth Ambassador Programme for World Learning. Of course I was excited and thrilled to come across the sea and live in the United States of America for three whole weeks, but there was part of me that was scared. Did I say scared? I meant terrified! Sure, I have left Barbados before, but I have never been away from my entire family. We are very close and my sister and I basically grew up like twins. Coming to the States without them seemed like a nightmare to me at the time.

I remember walking through the airport door in Barbados and looking back and seeing no one familiar. There were so many things I saw during the journey that I wanted to point out to my sister, but I had no one to share it with. As soon as I arrived in JFK, though, a feeling of happiness came over me. I was ready. After three days in Vermont, I became very close to the group of ambassadors and I felt like most of them were my friends. We had so much fun together; my nostalgia for home began to fade and that gave way to new memories to be born. Canoeing was one of the hardest but yet still fun experiences. Travelling through time, as Morgan from World Learning likes to call it, with my friends was so much fun and I cannot wait to do it again. Also I have unforgettable jokes that will forever remain with me.

Coming to Seattle was probably one of the hardest transitions I’ve had since being here, because everyone here is very different from the people in Vermont, or even from those in Barbados, much less the Caribbean, but what has kept me is my gifts that my God has given me: my friends. They have gotten me through this rough patch in the road and so has my host dad, who is a very amazing man. My host mom is great too!

I would say that what I have learnt so far from living in the United States is that diversity is not necessarily a bad thing. Its just a really interesting thing that is taking shape. One of our speakers, Dr. Randie, made a reference to diversity as being like a baby, or giving birth. In that, diversity is forming inside of the society and it isn’t fully developed yet and that’s why there is so much conflict as to how it really is, but one day when we realize what diversity is, then we’ll be able to handle it. I’ve discovered that we are going to get there, and maybe its not what presume it to be, but we’ll only know, by not by rushing the process, but giving the baby as much room as possible to grow and form.

The Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) Caribbean program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. YAP is a program run by World Learning, a nonprofit organization empowering people and strengthening institutions through education, sustainable development, and exchange programs in more than 60 countries.

The program in Seattle is coordinated by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region.