U.S. Department of State
Russian
Cheese Diplomacy
I go to college in Boston, but I’m a fourth-generation Wisconsinite, and the cheese state pride runs in my veins. When I went to Russia, I followed NSLI-Y’s advice and brought a lot of Wisconsin-themed things for my host family. I knew I was going to have 3 host siblings,… Read More
Chinese (Mandarin)
From Xi’an to DC: Being Open to the Unexpected
In February, I was lucky to attend the NSLI-Y Alumni Leadership Workshop in Washington, D.C. Roughly two dozen of us NSLI-Y alumni — spanning years and target languages, including Korean, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, and Chinese like me — convened for a morning session at the American Councils headquarters and an… Read More
Arabic
Exploring Personal Development Through Language Learning
*Scroll down to read this story in Arabic. My 2018 Arabic NSLI-Y experience in Rabat, Morocco was life-changing. It was such a rewarding experience that I decided to return for my studies through the Boren Scholarship from 2022-2023. I had a lot of growth to reflect upon between these two… Read More
Korean
A Summer Away From Home
Spending my entire summer 6,000 miles away from home was a scary thought. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Korea, my NSLI-Y Summer 2021 cohort in Seoul was one of the first allowed to travel to a host country since 2019 — a privilege that came with a huge… Read More
Chinese (Mandarin)
Language is the Key to Cultural Understanding
A singular flamingo with fading beauty entrapped by gates all around it. A town with countless shops selling the same thing made by the same vendor, walls enclosing it on every side, and not one place for people to live. This was my first time visiting another country, and I… Read More
Korean
Learning Korean: From a Pandemic to Reality
My experience participating in NSLI-Y was one I never expected to have. I started my journey online but recently got to experience learning in Korea by participating in the Alumni Travel Program. During both very different but equally important times, I was able to learn so much about the world,… Read More
