SPENDING nearly six months in the United States has changed the way 23 Malaysian teenagers see the world.
The students took part in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Programme during the first half of this year after completing their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations.
Ahmad Hakimi Ahmad Shahrizan, 18, said the family he was placed with in the cold mountain town of Payson, Arizona, turned out to be especially interesting for a Malay teenager.
“My host mother is Christian while my host father is Jewish, and then there is me, a Muslim. All three Abrahamic religions were under one roof,” he told StarEdu.
The Johor native added that his school operated on a four-day week, which allowed him to travel around the state or to other parts of the country during his three-day weekends.
By the end of the programme, he had visited 13 of the 50 US states.
“I never expected that a cultural exchange would lead me to visit so many places or see things like the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam,” he said.
The entire experience, he noted, had changed him for the better.
“Being there as a minority, I can now put myself in the shoes of other minorities. We realised we were smaller than we thought,” he said.
He added that he now understands better what others go through and the importance of open conversations about issues facing different ethnic groups.
“This is something I want to also instil in my friends and family because change does not have to be big, but it always starts with you,” he said.
As for Iman Nur Hasanah Mohd Addin @ Rusken, her stay in Kokomo, Indiana, was made memorable by her host mother, a single parent who, she said, was very supportive of her needs.
“She would drive me to and from the only local mosque,” the 18-year-old said.
Another memorable gesture was when her host mother introduced her to an Amish friend, who gave her a book of family recipes to try when she returned to Malaysia.
Though it was a small town, Iman Nur Hasanah said her school had about 60 exchange students.
Her teachers, she added, were “amazing” as they turned a room into a makeshift surau for her to pray in.
During the fasting month, they also allowed her to skip the cafeteria and spend her time helping them.
“It is not easy for me to get out and make friends, but in the US, I had to step out of my comfort zone and approach people.
“So I am very grateful to have met many new people and gained a new perspective on life,” she said, adding that it was interesting to see how Muslims practise their religion in that part of the world.
“Now that the programme is over, I realise there is more in this world than just the circle I live in,” she said.
Another YES participant, Putri Nurul Muthma’innah Mohd Hafeez, who lived in the small town of Waterloo, Iowa, said it was touching to see how much people there went out of their way to accommodate her religion.
This included obtaining halal meat for her, even though there were no other Muslims in the community.
She said among her fondest memories were snowboarding, ice skating and celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri with her host family.
“I cooked nasi lemak for them,” the 18-year-old said.
“YES really taught me to try new things. Previously, I would be scared to try, but in the US, I figured if I did not try something, I would never know if I could ace it,” she added.
Organised by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Yayasan AFS Antarabudaya Malaysia, the programme seeks to equip students with leadership skills through community service and to educate host communities about the diversity of Malaysian heritage, traditions and perspectives.
During the recent welcome-home ceremony, Yayasan AFS Antarabudaya Malaysia partner and national director Kuhan Kandiah Chelvanathan said the students returned with newfound maturity.
“They have shared that they do not like to talk about religion and race, and you can see that they are more willing to stand up for what is right,” he said after the ceremony at a hotel in KL on June 8.
He added that the students, who come from lower-income backgrounds – some from rural areas – passed stringent criteria to quality for the programme, including no failing grades for at least three years, strong extracurricular records and the qualities of an “ambassador”.
“They need to be diplomatic, aware of the people around them, and sensitive in how they speak to people of different faiths and cultures,” he said.
US Embassy in KL counsellor for public diplomacy Morgan O’Brien said he hopes the students make full use of the YES Alumni network, which has about 800 members in KL alone.
Established by the US Congress in 2002, the YES programme was created to promote global harmony and build bridges between American citizens and countries worldwide, particularly those with significant Muslim populations.
The programme is fully funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
