It’s Thursday and this week we’re bringing you a very special Thank You Thursday! Bilal from Pakistan was selected for the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program sponsored by the US Department of State. He was initially planning to spend the 2020-21 academic year in the United States. However, due to COVID-19, the past couple of months, Bilal has been participating in virtual meetings with his host family and coordinator instead. Even though this year hasn’t gone as planned, Bilal is grateful for the people he has met and everything he has already learned.

Thank you, Aspect. It isn’t what we planned. It isn’t according to our expectations. But this virtual exchange year really taught me a lot about uncertainty, unreliability of our decisions and unpredictable of our nearby future.

Thank you to my virtual host family, for being connected to me for months and it has been such a significant time for me. Attending virtual meeting with family had been full of joy. The enhancement activities have given me the sense of learning through listening and experiencing class like environment.

Thank you to all the guests that joined us for the comprehensive enhancement activities during online meetings. This has been a different yet so energetic experience for me. Getting to know all about US while being in Pakistan feels like a dream.
 

Thank you to my amazing virtual host mother for helping me learn so much about American culture and its ways. She had been giving me that Host mom help for all of the virtual program. Again, I am thankful for each and everything Aspect and my virtual host family did for me during this time.