American Councils students placed in Edwardsville, IL for the 2016-17 school year recently spoke with their local newspaper about their exchange experience. This article was originally puslished as "Exchange students taking home memories" by Julia Biggs with the Edwardsville Intelligencer. We have reposted it here with permission.

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The following was submitted by Darika, an American Councils FLEX student from Kyrgystan who is placed in Joshua, Texas for the 2016-17 school year.

"Being an exchange student is amazing"

The FLEX program adds a lot of bright colors to my life. It is opening the doors to my future. I appreciate each good moment in the USA that captures my heart.

Each year, a small number of students from the FLEX program attend a two-week English Language Camp (called “LP Camp”) in Alabama in early August before moving to their permanent U.S. host communities. These students are designated as needing some additional English language instruction based on their English language test scores. This year, LP Camp welcomed five students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

2015-2016 FLEX student Polina Lynova from Kazakhstan was welcomed to her U.S. host community not only by her host family, but also by a reporter with her local newspaper, The Scranton Times. Polina has been in the U.S. for two weeks attending an English language camp in Alabama before departing for her permanent host family on Monday, August 10th. Her Local Coordinator arranged for Polina to speak with someone at the local newspaper to help welcome her into her community.

2014-2015 FLEX-Russia student Yekaterina Sysoyeva hosted "An Evening of Russian Poetry" at Calvert Library, Twin Beaches Branch in Calvert, MD. She collaborated with Megan Timmens, Public Services Librarian at the branch, who also hosted a FLEX student (from Kazakhstan), to create a program of Ancient to Modern poetry. She selected several of the poems and worked with Megan to get additional readers for the event.

The Neon Splash Dash 5k is an annual event to raise money and awareness for children's heart disease and research. Eight American Councils FLEX students from Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, along with one American Councils YES student from Egypt, volunteered for over 7 hours during this charity race in Texas, helping to spray the runners as they came through the splash zones.

For most students, math is hard enough without having to worry about a language barrier. However, for Ukrainian FLEX student and junior Polina Merezhko, the fact that English is her second language does little to hinder her success in math class.

http://www.lhsbudget.com/news/2013/10/03/ukrainian-student-excels-in-math/

Photo Caption: Smiling as she learns a new math concept, junior Polina Merezhko provides a unique point of view in her Pre-Calculus class. Photo by Ashley Hocking

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel thousands of miles away to a foreign country and completely immerse yourself in a new language and culture? Read about a cluster of students in Texas who are adjusting to life in the U.S., including our own Olha from Ukraine on the FLEX program!

http://www.joshuastar.net/ci_24281011

Check out the Inbound Team's Spring 2013 Newsletter, featuring essays, quotes, and pictures submitted by our 2012-2013 A-SMYLE, ExCEL, FLEX, and YES students!