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Balkan Youth VoicesVolume V, Issue II Winter 2012Official Newsletter of A-SMYLE and YES

www.americancouncilssee.org

READ MOREinside3 American Sport Adea Gafuri

Christmas in Macedonia

Jovana Stojanova

4 People, ExperienceAlba KondirolliLife in the USA

Amar Dizdarevic

6 Christmas PresentMatija VeselinovicSharing the Spirit

Levente Cipak

7 Diversity Cedomir Cupic8 Christmas ShowIlva Hamzaj9 Operation Christmas Child

Emese Ceke

10 Hoof PrintsNina Rasljanin11 City Beats HungerIvan Vuksanovic

Windy CityNemanja Ostojic

12 First ChristmasZana Bajrovic13 Kings FanKasandra Baltic

IEW in AustriaBoris Alibali

14 Priceless MomentsMilica Vojinovic15 True DelightMilos Acimovic16 American HeroMinja Rankov17 A Global Celebration

Toma Pavlov

18 Coming to AmericaNina StanisicIEW

Nina Loncarevic

19 Toys for TotsAndreja Milosevic20 Youth’s WillSemra Ameti21 Living on the Other SidePavle Jankovic22 Smelling the RosesSonja Sarajlic

IEW in MontenegroIvan Vuksanovic

23 The American ChristmasNikola Muncan24 Big Dreams in a Big CityVuk Vukovic

By Nastasija VucicevicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Milford, NH

As time goes by, I find my-self adjusting to a different life style. I have really started to feel like one of the American kids. Going to Milford High School, doing after school ac-tivities, and volunteering has become my routine. I’ve been exploring my town, wandering around, and learning the lo-cal slang. It is just amazing! People around you become the ones you call when you need advice and help, or if you just want to hang around.

You learn that anywhere in the world people act similarly; they have some universal val-

The Spirit of American High SchoolNastasija and her friends during Milford High’s spirit week.

ues of love and openness for other people. Even the food is similar! I was very surprised when my host dad, who grew up in Wyoming, told me he used to eat goulash. I recog-nized that name! We talked about it for a while and discov-ered the meal is made from the same ingredients as the famous goulash we have in Serbia too. It was quite amusing.

However, there are some things originally American that I really enjoy. American schools have some unique spirit. Kids stay after school to socialize, practice sports, and volunteer. I have learned to recognize the charm of the American small town and community. Every event is run

by my classmates and people I know. Sports are highly val-ued, and it’s the best way to bond with your friends. When I was struggling to finish a cross country race, everyone was cheering, and I felt very special, just like a part of the team.

For all of this, I would like to thank the Halstead fam-ily for hosting me and accept-ing me like a real member of family. Also, I would like to thank Milford High School, all the students and friends, and all teachers for being so good to us exchange students! This has been a great experience so far! I hope to learn as much as possible and enjoy this unique year of my life.

Volume V, Issue IIOfficial Newsletter of A-SMYLE and YESPage 2

This issue’s Top phoTographsClockwise from right:

1. Samire Hyseni, A-SMYLE Serbia, spends quality time with Host Family and friends.

2. Masa Miscevic, A-SMYLE Serbia, with her Host Family in Tucson, AZ.

3. Levente Cipak, A-SMYLE Serbia, acting presidential.

4. Nina Loncarevic, A-SMYLE Montenegro, shopping on Black Friday with her Host Family.

5. Abedin Kustra, YES Bosnia, jogs off the football field. 1.

2.

3.

5.

4.

Winter 2012 Page 3www.americancouncilssee.org

Teammate and Adea (right).

By Adea GafuriYES Kosovo, ‘12 Phoenix, AZ

Since I got here, I’ve done a lot of things that I’ve never done before. This definitely has been the best year of my life. First, my school is a huge school, and there is an even variety of things you can do there. I took some challenging classes just to make my life more interest-ing, and I will never regret that.

Sports are the best thing that a teenager can do—that’s something I learned from Americans. In the fall, I joined the swim team, which was where I made my first friends and learned the most about American sports culture. Swimming was the very first sport that I did in the U.S. I always loved swimming, but in my coun-try I never had a chance to do it. Because of the current economic crisis that Kosovo is going through, we don’t have extracurricular school activities.

To me it was such a good opportunity to be part of the team. I saw from my coach the love and compassion for work. I saw all the effort, aspirations, all the courage he gave us and helped us to have a better understanding, not only for swimming and school, but in general for the world. He made us great be-lievers in luck, but the harder we worked, the more we had it. I realized how hard it is to be part of the team and how important it is to never give up. But to be a swimmer, I

What It’s Like to Be Part of American Sport

realized that besides physical strength, you need mental power.

Swimming to me was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. It changed me from the inside, made me more self-confident, made me believe that I can do everything and never give up. I made many friends. I learned how to be a part of

the team, how important it is to achieve goals together—to be as one, to be part of a big puzzle with teammates, coaches, and even parents. Supporting each other, ad-miring those who are better than you, and being motivat-ed to work harder is impor-tant. You bring your skills up because by working hard you can achieve anything. And

at the end of the day, it is all about team performance.

At the end of the season, I had earned a varsity letter, and even earned a Kindle Fire as part of a team fund-raiser. All those good feel-ings made me feel like a part of a big family and will al-ways make me remember the best start in my exchange student year.

Everyone Deserves a Christmas

Continued on page 5

By Jovana StojanovaYES Macedonia, ‘11

I realized the importance of volunteerism during my stay in the States, and I have to say it has really changed my life. After seeing how my American family and friends were doing things to help improve their com-munities, I decided to do the same in my home town of

Kochani, Macedonia. As I am not a very creative per-son, I didn’t have an idea of what to do or whom to help, but that changed af-ter I met Nahida, a woman of Roma origin who works at a local kindergarten. She was asking for donations for her group of kids, as they didn’t have basic items. At first, I wanted to buy a TV for them, but then Mrs. Na-

hida told me that they never get any Christmas presents. Flashbacks from my child-hood immediately came to my mind, as I always had tons of them and never thought anyone was without a present for Christmas. This is when I realized that every-one deserves a Christmas.

Some of my friends im-


By Alba KondirolliYES Kosovo, ‘12Coffeyville, KS

Since I arrived here, every single day has been differ-ent from the others. Life is full of surprises, new things, new people, and definitely new experiences.

One experience that I would like to share with you is my monthly meetings with the other international stu-dents that are in my school. This year in my high school there are six exchange stu-dents and three that moved to the U.S. from different countries, so the ESL teacher decided to make a monthly meeting for all of us. When we had the first meeting, I was so excited and I felt so good that somebody was so interested in knowing about

New People and New Experiencesother cultures and trying to make our experience here pleasurable. Last month we went to Tulsa, OK, to ice skate. We ate at a fancy res-taurant, and we went to see a play. It was the first time that I had been ice skating, not least at an outdoor rink. The day was perfect, and now we are arranging to go to Joplin, MO, for some other fun ac-tivities.

For everyone who is going to be an exchange student next year, I would like just to congratulate them and wish them very good luck in this experience. Remember: this year is going to be what you make of it, so be thankful and appreciate the opportunity that is being given to you. America is the land of mak-ing wishes come true, so ex-plore and enjoy. Good Luck! Alba (far right) ice skating with the other exchange students.

By Amar DizdarevicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Bakersfield, CA

Being an exchange student is amazing, especially if you do a lot of things and enjoy your stay in the States.

In these past five months, my view has changed in a lot of different ways—I’ve been trying to understand culture, diversity, and the regular habits of people who are part of American life.

I have experienced so much that I don’t have words to explain my happiness and satisfaction, but some expe-riences are easily shared and

Life in the USA

Amar, his host mom, and local coordinator at a volunteering event.

can be reported to everybody. Every beginning is hard,

and so was mine. Difficulties in overcoming a big number of differences, especially in food, culture, and regu-lar habits, were the biggest barriers for me. During my first two weeks in America, I adapted to my new condi-tions and environment. Then school started, and I felt relief in some way because for the first time I could feel Ameri-can people in their routine. Nobody likes the first couple of weeks of school. Every-thing is new, from the people

Continued on page 5


to the system, and we are supposed to get used to it, but it’s easier said than done.

Those first couple of weeks were weeks of questions, an-swers, meetings, and greet-ings. Even though I had a lot of support from my teachers, it was difficult when I had to explain thousands of times things about my country and my origin. Sometimes it gets really tiring, but I was glad that people were curious and they wanted to hear and learn about my country, so it made it easier for me to explain. As time went on, I made a lot of progress in school, and I reached the point where I felt that I really belonged to that school. I joined Mock Trial and FFA Club, which are leadership clubs, as well as Drama Club because I really enjoy theater classes and art.

During that time, I had support from my host family and my local coordinator. I did a lot of activities that in-cluded community service, volunteerism, and fun trips. I was lucky to have visited a lot of interesting and famous places so far, and those trips added a huge amount of fun and excitement to my expe-rience.

I also had the chance to present my country, share my culture, meet new peo-ple, and explore the U.S. in the best way. Still I have five more months ahead, and I hope that it will be a time of unforgettable and positive memories.

Life in the USA

Continued from page 4

Jovana (second from right) and her friends visit the school.

mediately offered their help, and in a matter of days we were at my house, baking chocolate-chip cookies and cinnamon rolls. The next day, we were on the streets of Kochani selling the food, and people were very fond of our idea. “Why hasn’t anyone else thought of do-ing something like this?” a woman asked. Her words made us feel prouder than we had felt in our lives, and we were eager to get as much money as possible for the school. Additionally, we fundraised for toys and old clothes, mostly from our classmates and other people from school. We collected three full bags of donations.

Eventually it was Decem-

ber 26, the day my friends and I had awaited so anx-iously. It was the day we were going to give away our presents and clothes to the children. Mrs. Nahida kept this as a secret, and the kids were quite surprised when they saw a group of teenag-ers entering their room with gigantic boxes and bags. We introduced ourselves and told them Santa had sent us to give them presents. The silence in the room told me how big of a deal this is for these kids.

“So he really sent you here?” a cute boy with a qui-et voice asked. “Of course,” I replied, “Santa knows you were good last year, so he wanted to reward you.” “But we are Roma kids. Does Santa like us?” asked anoth-

er boy. His words broke my heart. “Of course he does. He loves you all very, very much,” I said, “It doesn’t matter who you are or not—we are all equal, and as long as you listen to your parents and Mrs. Nahida, Santa will bring you presents.” The room was filled with hap-piness and laughter almost immediately. We stayed for three hours and got to play and sing with the kids. At the end, Ebru, a cute, little girl, asked us if we were going to ever come back. My friend Sasho put her in his lap and said, “Of course we are. This is not a goodbye; this is a see-you-soon.”

And that is how a beautiful friendship began.

Everyone Deserves a ChristmasContinued from page 3


Sharing the Christmas SpiritBy Levente CipakA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Solon, IA

For Christmas this year, a small church called Our Lord’s Church in Solon, IA, organized a food drive for those who couldn’t afford a decent Christmas dinner. My host sister, Brogan, and I helped the church with dis-tributing the donations they received. Several donation

boxes were put out in the town: at the schools, librar-ies, other churches, etc. It was unbelievable to see that such a small community—Solon has about 1,300 inhab-itants—could collect such a huge amount of food. We prepared Christmas packag-es for twelve families. Each of the packages included a turkey, canned fruits, and other things that are needed for a Christmas meal, like

potatoes and ham.We didn’t plan to help with

delivering the boxes, but we saw that others really wanted to help and give back to the community, so we decided to go and help as well. We started with two big families who had five, six, or seven children, and they only had a mom. These kids were so thankful and happy that, for me, this one experience made coming to the United

States worth it. Other fami-lies had fewer children, or only adults, but they still re-ally appreciated our help.

This activity taught me that we should always try to give back to the community and to help those who are less fortunate than we are. I think that this reflects how Americans think and act when it comes to volunteer-ing and community service.

By Matija VeselinovicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Forest, OH

Christmas PresentIf there is one thing, one

event, one part of the year that everyone likes, regard-

Matija at the beach.

less of age and the place we live in, it would have to be Christmas! I mean, who doesn’t like getting presents and spending a good time with family and friends, right? Well, I decided to share a little bit of my Christ-mas gift with all of you!

It has been sort of a tradi-tion for my host parents to take their exchange students on a trip during the Christ-mas break. And yes, they followed their tradition once more! They decided to take me and my host brother to California and Las Vegas. I was unbelievably happy an

When that day finally came, we all woke up early, drove to the airport, got on to a plane, and four hours later, we landed in California. I saw many fun, interesting, and educational things. We visited Joshua Tree Nation-al Park, Los Angeles, and one of the many Califor-nia beaches. I enjoyed all

of them, but there was one thing that left a very pleasant and strong memory, an open mic night in one of the local clubs. It was my first time to see something like that, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more, considering that I am a huge fan of music.

After spending three awe-some days in California, the next stop was Las Vegas. I finally got to see the place I always dreamed of. In Ve-gas, our host parents took us to the Strip, Fremont Street, the amazing Hoover Dam, dancing fountains, an incred-ible concert of the “Trans-Siberian Orchestra”, the one and only Grand Canyon, and through many famous Las Vegas casinos! It is a place that I would surely like to come back to and once again have an awesome time.

I am so grateful and thank-ful to my host parents for taking us there and making this whole exchange experi-ence better for me.


My Multicultural Experience

Cedomir (center) in La Junta.

By Cedomir CupicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Pueblo, CO

On January 7, I went with my local coordinator and group of other exchange stu-dents to the little town of La Junta, CO. We went there to see traditional Native Amer-ican dances.

The whole show was held in a giant Kiva, which is the name in Navaho for a giant place. The room where the dances were held was amaz-ing because the ceiling is made out of really long logs and they are only connected with just 7 nails!

The dances were per-formed by Koshare, a Boy Scout troop that has per-formed traditional Native American dances for almost 70 years. The whole show was really exciting. They were dancing around the fire, beating their big drums, singing in the Navaho lan-guage, and showing scenes of their daily life and crea-tures in nature. They were

wearing traditional clothes full of feathers and animal skins and made out of dif-ferent colors. The show lasted for two hours, and we also visited a local museum that had all kinds of things, like Native American dolls,

weapons, sculptures, and pictures.

This was one wonderful experience for me and for the rest of the exchange stu-dents because we met a new culture, and I realized how rich that culture is and how

many things they can offer. I fell in love with the Native American culture. All of the things that I saw made me to want to learn much more about them and to show all of those things back to the people in my country.

I wanted to thank everyone involved in provid-ing this opportunity to each and every one of us exchange students and to everyone making this opportunity grow into a great experience.Marko DelicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Ann Arbor, MI

Big thanks to my awesome host mom and dad, Carol and Bob Dorsey, and my awesome sisters, Lauren, Nadia, and Arpi! You make me smile and laugh every single day, and you certainly have been making my life much longer! I’m so glad that I have you all! Usually, I can’t stop talking, but this time I’m without words. Love you all! Masa MiscevicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Oxford, MS


By Ilva HamzajAlumni CoordinatorYES Albania, ‘11

During our year in the U.S., we learned about the great spirit that Christmas should bring to everybody’s families in this holy time of the year. So, for this Christ-

Bringing the Christmas Spirit to the School for Blind

mas season, YES alumni in Albania decided to bring the Christmas spirit that we learned in the U.S. to the people who are touched by it the least: the students at the School for Blind Children.

YES alum (‘10) Edi Gore developed the idea for an

Christmas activity at the school for the blind.

activity and asked if I would like to team up with him. With teamwork, we could have a better chance for hosting a successful Christ-mas show and after-show party and that all of the kids would enjoy.

Once we announced the project, many alumni showed interest in it, and four of them decided to help. These four were Arbri Cun-gu (‘10), Boris Alibali (‘11), Gledisa Perleka (‘11), and Kristina Marku (‘11).

Using YES alumni asso-ciation funds we requested from American Councils, granted by the U.S. Depart-ment of State, I bought dif-ferent snacks and beverages and made small Christmas packs for everyone as a surprise for after the con-cert. Each pack contained the same snacks, so no-body would think that their friend’s pack was better than theirs.

All 56 kids at the school went to the school’s small auditorium where they wait-ed to hear what we had to show them. Gledisa started the show with some popular Christmas games, such as singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and thinking about an object related to Christmas that the other kids had to guess within ten ques-tions. After that, I sang the song about the importance of being good, especially at Christmastime so that Santa gives them all the presents they ask for. The kids loved that.

After the song, Gledi-sa came up on stage and showed the kids some facts about Christmas and how it started. Some of the facts were really funny, and the kids started to laugh. Then it was Edi’s turn. He had pre-pared a tale about a donkey and how Santa helped him because he had been nice throughout the whole year. This was the part of the show where the students were the quietest. Later when we asked them why, they said that they hadn’t heard tales in a long time. After that, I sang a song called “You and I”, which the children enjoyed and joined in sign-ing. After this last song, the alumni invited the children to show them any talents they had. They were very ex-cited, and five of them came up on stage and sang some songs and recited some po-ems. They were definitely very talented.

After the show, the alumni invited the kids to take their gift packs. All of them were so happy and said that they really liked the food that we had picked for them. We alumni stayed for another hour, talking to the kids, learning about their lives and also telling about our lives and how our year in U.S. had been.

By the end, everyone was happy for the activity and sad to leave. Some of the alumni said that it had been the best thing they had done during their lives and they would join more often in these activities.


By Emese CekeA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Greenville, AL

Ten years ago, when I was a first grader in elementary school, my class and the oth-er classes from first through fourth grade received a pres-ent before Christmas time. We all marveled at the pret-tiness of the wrapping pa-per and tried to get one that was wrapped in the prettiest paper. Then, when we un-wrapped the presents, we re-alized that each one of them was packed in a shoe box with an “Operation Christ-mas Child” label on it. Our teacher ran out of the boxes labeled “boy”, so the boys received boxes filled with girly stuff, which they hand-ed to the girls from our class or to the girls they liked at that time. After that Christ-mas, each year we waited patiently for our shoe-box filled with joy, all the girls hoping that we would run out of boys’ boxes again.

We were a little bit sur-

prised that the boxes con-tained items like toothpaste and soap, and we didn’t understand why anybody thought that those items would make us happy. We eventually found out that these boxes were meant to be delivered to the children who live in extreme pov-erty. Apparently, someone had thought that we quali-fied. But it didn’t bother us at all—we enjoyed the toys and just handed the hygienic items to our parents with a thought of, “We don’t need that.”

Gifts make us happy, es-pecially when we get some-thing we really like or need. Christmas time is the best time of the year for those who like to receive presents. However, lots of times giv-ing is what really counts, in particular when somebody only gets a gift that is ordi-nary to you, like a notebook, but as if it’s the newest iPhone to them.

I was extremely happy when I found out that now I can be the one who packs and sends the shoe-boxes

Simon, Aygul, Maryia and me (bottom center) in front of boxes full of shoeboxes.

Operation Christmas Child

filled with little gifts in-stead of receiving them. This time, with the help of the First Baptist Church in Greenville, my cluster tried to give the poor children all around the world a better Christmas by packing a few shoe-boxes with school sup-plies, toys, hygienic items, clothes, and candy. We sent the gifts through an organi-zation called Samaritan’s Purse: Operation Christmas

Child. For over 40 years, Samaritan’s Purse, which is a faith-based organization, has been helping the world’s poor, sick, and suffering.

I think this is a great or-ganization, and I hope that when I go back to Serbia, I can keep on packing shoe-boxes and encouraging other people to do so too because it doesn’t cost us a lot, but we can still cheer up a child.

Want to see what alumni are doing? Stay up to date on our regional blog.

http://americancouncilssee.wordpress.com


Nina riding.

Horses Leave Hoof Prints on Your HeartBy Nina RasljaninA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Lubbock, TX

Howdy, y’all! In August I arrived in the U.S. with a big smile on my face, but I was a little bit afraid. I had my “toolbox” in my head from my Pre-Departure Orienta-tion, along with the advice and shared experiences from other exchange students. When I arrived, I was jet-legged, tired, and confused, but I was smiling! Today, I’m smiling even more!

Every single detail is per-fect. I fit in perfectly in Texas. It is full of hospital-ity and friendly people with a mentality that makes you

feel comfortable. My host family is a perfect match, and I’m so happy because they have become my sec-ond family. They introduced me to my new obsession and hobby. Since I’m in Texas, can you guess what it is? Horses, of course!

Since the first time I was in contact with these animals, I felt calm, stable, and peace-ful. I had never been in con-tact with horses before, even though I wanted to. Thanks to my wonderful host fam-ily, horses have become a big part of my life and expe-rience in America.

Choppo, my host mom’s horse, is one of my best

friends now. During my first month here, I spent some time with this noble animal, and we got to know each other so he can trust me. In October, I went riding for the first time in my life, under the instruction of my Ameri-can cousin from Colorado, Julia. I felt filled with peace and strength while I was rid-ing with unbelievable ease through cotton fields, com-municating with no words to that adorable animal. I felt like I was starring in an old western movie! He under-stood everything. His tem-po of running and breath-ing was his way of having dialogue with me—it was

magical. After my first time riding, I wasn’t afraid at all. I was smiling and meditat-ing while he was galloping through Texan landscapes, giving me a feeling of nir-vana.

I fell in love with horses and their wonderful thera-peutic power. I continue to learn about them and spend time with them. This is just one of the things that I’m re-ally enjoying while I’m here and one of many things that makes me feel happy and inspired. I’m sure that this year will provide me with wonderful experiences, and I’m looking forward to shar-ing them!


From left to right, Marina Roganovic (‘07), Smilja Vuksanovic (‘11), and Balsa Lubarda (‘07).

By Ivan VuksanovicAlumni CoordinatorA-SMYLE Montenegro, ’07

For the second year in a row, A-SMYLE alumni from Montenegro participated in a “City Beats Hunger” (“Grad pobjedjuje glad”) action, which aims to help families in need in Montenegro.

The event took place in Podgorica on December 10 and 11, and it was organized by Foundation Food Bank from Podgorica and support-ed by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro. Alumni served as promoters of the food drive as well as volunteers.

During the days of the action, alumni and other volunteers were divided throughout different stores in Podgorica. We were situ-ated at the entrances of su-permarkets where we greeted every customer who came in

A-SMYLE Montenegro Alumni Volunteer to Get Food to Those in Need

and informed them about the purpose of the action as well as about the type of food that customers could donate if they chose to do so. Alumni enjoyed spending time to-gether for a good cause.

Marina Roganovic (‘07) said, “The food drive was a wonderful thing to be a part of. It is amazing how ordinary people are sometimes willing and able to help. There were a lot of new alumni volun-teering, and I was quite im-pressed.”

Newly returned alumni also took part in this event. Balsa Lubarda (‘11) shared his view and opinion: “Participating in this action was a big oppor-tunity for all of us to realize the benefits of helping out the poor. My job was to inform people about the event and pass out pamphlets. It was a really nice experience for me. I met so many volunteers, and I felt good because I knew

the effort I put in helped out someone who needed help. I hope there will be more ac-tions of this kind because in our community there are many people on social wel-fare—people who would need this kind of help.”

After the food drive was over, alumni along with the other volunteers helped make packages that were later dis-tributed to the families in need. Overall, ten tons of food was collected during the action.

By Nemanja OstojicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Urbandale, IA

Many people say that Chi-cago is one of the most beau-tiful cities in America. Last November I had the chance to put that statement to the test. After spending a cou-ple of days there, I can say with certainty that it passed the test with flying colors! I went there with my host family for a wedding of one of their siblings. The ride

Visit to the Windy City

Nemanja at the Bean in Millennium Park.

was about five hours long, but the place I was about to experience made trip worth waiting for. The first time I had seen Chicago was from the airplane. The sight was amazing! But, this time, when we entered downtown and were surrounded by all of those skyscrapers, restau-rants, and movie theaters, I was left speechless and ad-mired this piece of art, this great achievement of human effort.

Continued on page 12


Zana with all the Christmas present boxes.

My First ChristmasBy Zana BajrovicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Bear, DE

I came to the United States because I wanted to see the U.S., but also to experi-ence all of the things that I wouldn’t experience any-where else. I’ve experienced a lot of things so far, and the most recent one is Christmas.

I come from Novi Pazar, Serbia, and the majority of the population in my city is Muslim, so I have never felt the Christmas atmosphere in my city. Since I am Muslim also, Christmas was a huge experience for me. I didn’t know what to except.

I helped my host mom

to decorate the house, and I was really glad to do it. I loved seeing all the deco-rated houses; it reminded me of the movies I have seen. Christmas was wherever I turned—in the stores, res-taurants, and streets. Also, a former exchange student from Germany came to spend Christmas with my host family because they hosted her last year.

On Christmas Eve, I went with my host family to our cousin’s house. We had dinner, and we exchanged Christmas presents with them. The atmosphere was really nice, and I got a pres-ent from my host cousins and host grandparents, and

I felt like part of the family. The next day, on Christmas morning, my host family woke me up early. First, I opened my stocking, and then my host brother and my host sister from Germany opened their stockings. I got so many things, but I was really surprised when I saw the figure of a field hockey player. I played field hockey in the fall. Later in the day, my host cousins came for dinner. We chatted, ate, and simply enjoyed Christmas.

This was my first Christ-mas, and I didn’t know what to expect. But the experi-ence was amazing, and I hope I will come next year to have my second Christmas.

The hotel we stayed in was in the center of downtown, just across from Trump Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in Chicago. The first night, we went to try famous Chicago pizza. The wait in line to get in to the well-known Giordano’s in not-so-warm weather was totally worth it. After 45 minutes of waiting in line, I was eating thevery best piz-za in America!

The second day, I was fired up to see all places that made Chicago famous. First on the list was the Marilyn Monroe statue since it was the closest one. Millennium Park was next, then of course a picture next to the famous “Bean” was inevitable. We went to the Garrett Gourmet popcorn store and tried Chi-cago Mix, which is a mix-ture of popcorn with cheese and caramel. Delicious!

Of course we checked out Chicago River, The L-Loop in downtown, the Sears Tower, and much more. We ate in Greek Town and bought shoes at Niketown. You just want to move there and live there for the rest of your life!

The third day, we went to a huge family party, which I really enjoyed. Only three days were enough to con-vince me that you can find beauty, adventure, diversity, prosperity and hope in one place, and that place was Chicago.

Visit to the Windy

CityContinued from page 11


By Kasandra BalticA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Davis, CA

A couple of days after Christmas Eve, I went to my first big sports event in the United States. My host fam-ily took me to a Sacramento Kings game, even though I have never been a huge basketball fan. But still, I was really excited because I knew it was going to be just like I used to see in the mov-ies.

I borrowed a jersey from my host sister, and we head-ed to Sacramento. The first thing that I saw when we arrived was a bunch of cars waiting to find a parking space and people all dressed up in purple and white. As soon as we entered the are-na, I felt the team spirit, and

I was super excited for it to start. People were cheer-ing, jumping, dancing, and watching our team warm up. Then the game began, and I was following every single step of the game.

The Kings played well, but not well enough to beat the other team. I had another chance to go and watch the game one week later, and by that time, I already had my own jersey and a poster, and I was ready to give them my full support and see them play way better.

In the beginning it wasn’t very good—we were down by 15 for most the first three quarters. But in the fourth, the Kings managed to come back and even win by three points. The whole arena went crazy—people were jumping, singing, and hug-

Kasandra (left) and her host sister.

Live Like a Sacramento King Fan

ging each other, and it was a really cool thing to see! I also realized that when you see high-quality basketball game, there is no way that you can avoid becoming a #1 fan! And isn’t it cool that I’m a fan of a team that two

Serbian guys played for and that everyone here appre-ciates their work? I really enjoyed every single second there, and I hope that this season is going to be really good for them.

International Education Week in AustriaBy Boris AlibaliYES Albania, ‘11

The same things we had to do in the U.S. to overcome our initial homesickness ap-ply also to the time we are spending back in our home countries upon returning.

Maybe it is not just about overcoming homesickness anymore, but maybe we miss some of the activities back in the U.S. Maybe the most important activity, which we as exchange students were able to do, was to in-troduce American students to our home countries. Per-sonally, I missed it.

I always found this so inspiring for many rea-sons. First, it helped us to break the ice and become real ambassadors of our culture and share it with others. It helped us to get to know other students. It helped the students to understand another cul-ture and to become more curious about learning about different parts of the world. It basically helped our experience to become GREAT!

Since I missed this part of my U.S. experience, I looked forward to bring-ing it back somehow…

My class at school or-ganized a trip to Austria. There were 18 students, and we were to visit four differ-ent schools in different cit-ies in Austria. We wanted to show them something. We wanted this visit to be a cultural exchange.

With the help of our Ger-man language teacher, most of the students got involved in performing some Austri-an theatre pieces, and then we also decided to prepare a presentation on Albania for the Austrian students. All I had to do was to trans-late my presentation that I presented in the U.S. into

German. Since I also have experience in public speak-ing, I was given the role of the presenter. I was happy that I could be the “ambas-sador” again and do the same job I had missed from my time in America.

I did four presentations in four different schools, and I felt great. The only difference was that this time I was speaking Ger-man. However, it was the same mission I had had as an exchange student back in America. In the third school we visited, I presented in



By Milica VojinovicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Florence, TX

Do you know that feeling when you wake up and don’t know which continent you are on? For me, that’s the best feeling ever. Ever since I got here, every day’s been a new adventure. So many wonderful experiences and people who made me feel like home—it seems like I’ve been here for years, but

Priceless Moments

Milica (right) at Christmas with her host sister and niece.

Milica ready for her riding event.

yet I can’t believe it’s almost halfway over.

A special challenge at the beginning of my exchange year was that not only did I have to adjust to Ameri-can culture, but I needed to learn about Texas cowboys’ lifestyle as well. I was wel-comed with bright Texas sun and vast prairies once green with grass. I was supposed to become a cowgirl! I had to recall all my knowledge from the few western mov-

ies I had seen, but as it didn’t help much, my host par-ents were more than help-ful teaching me all I had to know, and also laughing with me when I tried to do things my way.

First, I learned to ride hors-es, and after a few falls in the dirt, I was ready for my first play day-competition. I put my boots and hat on and excitedly rode around barrels. I was quite afraid to run that fast, but I made it all the way still in the saddle and even won some ribbons. It was interesting to watch whole families coming to that horse event and skillful-ly riding different patterns. They were excited to break records and proud to win tro-phies.

I volunteered at those events and helped set up, made sure everybody was taken care of, and cleaned up, which give me special insight on how the events

really work. Since I am in-terested in the spirit of the Wild West, I learned a lot about my host town’s histo-ry, got to see many different landscapes in nearby areas, and even met some Native Americans. I have enjoyed relaxed sunsets on my host family’s ranch, but also built some muscles by helping them taking care of horses and longhorns.

In the meantime, I par-ticipated in the traditional American high school stu-dent role, joined new clubs, obtained new skills, and, most importantly, made new friends from all over the world. The great moments we had together made me think, Wow, we can really make an impact! We can be proud of ourselves, our ac-complishments, and our countries, and still be open-minded and have sense for other cultures.

Lastly, I enjoyed the holi-day season. I celebrated Thanksgiving and Christ-mas with my awesome host family. I am thankful for all the good times I had last year and am still surprised by the adventures I’ve had since. From baking cookies, watching Christmas mov-ies, wrapping presents, and watching dear ones open-ing them with a smile, every single moment with these lovely people is priceless. And for the rest of the year, I’m sure I’ll make the best of it. They say “Home is where the heart is.” Well, from now on, my home is in two places.


Michigan: A True DelightMilos (left) in a school play

By Milos AcimovicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Lake Leelanau, MI

If I have learned anything since I arrived here, it is that America has a lot to offer. The opportunities are endless. All that is needed is the wish to strive towards something, dedication, and support from others. These are the funda-mentals in the pursuit of suc-cess and happiness. And you know the road to happiness isn’t all rainbows and sunny days, but the hard work pays off and it’s worth it. My guid-ing principle is, “You want something? Go get it.”

When I arrived here at Lake Leelanau, I didn’t have any specific goals, mostly because I didn’t know what a little town like Leelanau could of-

fer. My only goal was to make the most of it (Carpe diem!) and seek to seize opportuni-ties. However, I think that being open-minded also shed some light on new opportuni-ties.

I joined the Leelanau Youth Ensemble, and we had three Christmas concerts that we performed in. It was really an amazing experience. I made a friend there who then invited me to sing Handel’s “Mes-siah” with a whole orches-tra in a pick-up choir with over 300 people. It was just a wonderful and an astonish-ing experience for me. It just shows how getting involved in community events and making friends can bring you such joy. I joined my school’s student council to gain some insight into leadership and to

get a better understanding of how government works. I be-came a secretary of it, which has provided me with great experiences so far.

Juggling school, choir, and a leadership group was caus-ing some stress, so I decided to get rid of the stress. Peo-ple said to me that one way of coping is to exercise, so I took their advice. I joined my school’s cross country team and had a really great time, and I made some re-ally good friends there too. I liked being a student athlete so much and having school spirit that I joined the JV basketball team as soon as the cross country season ended. Teamwork really gets the best out of you. It comes down to making your role on the team as best as

it can be and helping your teammates. All of that helps shape your personality. In the words of my basketball coach, “Sports make us bet-ter, in a weird way.”

During the holiday break, my host family took me to see Boston, MA, one of the biggest, prettiest cities here. It’s also a historic and a cultural landmark, one of the founding places in the U.S.A. Even with the 18 hour drive, Boston was a wonderful experience, and I learned a lot from it. So a big thanks to my host family for allowing me to see it and to get to know its history.

My stay here is not over yet. I’m going to keep tak-ing initiative because it re-ally drives me to experience amazing things.


By Minja RankovA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Aurora, CO

My experience in the Unit-ed States has been great so far. I have done things that I could write about, but the story that I find very inter-esting is the story one U.S. Army veteran told me when I was volunteering at the Colorado State Veterans Nursing Home. At first I had no idea what to expect. I was afraid that I wouldn’t like it or I wouldn’t know what to do, but I was wrong. My job there is to go and visit the residents in the nursing home. It doesn’t sound like fun, but it is. I go to their rooms and usually talk to them or help them do some things they like to do, for example putting together puzzles. Some of the Veter-ans don’t have relatives or their relatives live far away and can’t visit, so people are

A True American Herousually very glad when I go and visit them.

The name of the person I talk to the most is John Shaw. He was a part of the U.S. Army for 11 years. He joined when he was very young, about 17 years old. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, he was sent to the Pacific and eventu-ally to Japan as part of the occupation force. He was stationed in Tokyo and Yo-kohama. Even though it was war time, John liked being in Japan. He told me that, de-spite the fact they had been enemies, Japanese people treated Americans nicely. I was surprised to hear that, but he explained that people did not want war.

After three years in Japan, John was sent to South Ko-rea. The war between North and South Korea was tough.

John was shot a few times, but luckily he survived. Af-ter the Korean War, John re-ceived a Purple Heart, which

Minja with John Shaw

is a medal from the President of the United States that you get for being wounded or killed in action. John spent some time stationed in the United States and then left to go to Germany and France. That experience was similar to Japan because, as he said, the people there were also very nice.

This is one of the stories I have heard in the Veterans home, and I think as time passes, I will hear more like it. I like listening to what people have to say because that way I can learn a lot more about American history, not from a book, but first hand.

Boris giving his IEW presentation in Austria.

front of more than one hun-dred students. It was quite a big surprise; nobody ex-pected it and we thought this would not work out be-cause it would be difficult to get the attention of so many people in a very big room. Surprisingly enough, though, it was probably the best presentation out of all four of them. The audience was enthusiastic about it,

and, most importantly, they got all of my jokes! At the end of the presentation, two girls from my class danced in traditional costumes, we played Albanian folk mu-sic, and soon it became like an Albanian wedding. I also pulled many Austrian stu-dents out of the audience to come and dance with us and most of them accepted, even though they weren’t familiar with how we in the Balkans dance.

Continued from page 13

IEW in Austria


Exchange students Christmas Party organized by their LC

Toma (left) with his cluster and local coordinator.

By Toma PavlovYES Bulgaria, ‘12Earlham, IA

On December 31, my local coordinator, Nancy, orga-nized a Christmas party for her exchange students at her home in Ames, IA. Each of us had to bring a dish typical of our home countries, so we had a total of five cuisines. On the table was served Bulgarian baked potatoes with Bulgarian spices, Ger-man potato salad, Chinese rice with vegetables, Mace-donian vegetable salad, and an American apple pie. Af-ter having the tasty mix of multicultural foods, we said thank you each other in our native languages.

Our Christmas party con-tinued with sharing with each other how Christmas and New Year’s are celebrat-ed in our home countries. Did you know that in China Christmas is not an official holiday? Or that Bulgaria and Macedonia that have many Christmas traditions in common? We learned from the German exchange stu-dent that she is used to going to church with her family on Christmas Eve. It’s interest-ing that we inspired our lo-cal coordinator to become a bilingual person just like us. For that purpose, she dem-onstrated to us her Spanish reading skills. But this was also an example of the diver-sity in the United States con-cerning the many languages that can be heard.

All of us have one thing

in common, and that is giv-ing presents. Therefore, we carried on with a “white el-ephant” gift exchange. Basi-cally, each student brought a gift not knowing who its recipient would be. All of us enjoyed this very much because nobody was sure whose present he or she would get, so it was more surprising and unexpected.

Our local coordinator also arranged for us to do some community service at our Christmas party. We made posters for the children in

the Congo. We were shown a short movie about the way they live and the problems the country faces, such as poverty, AIDS, and lack of clean water. The little post-ers that we made will be sent to them so that they will have something to hang on the walls in their home. We are aware that this will not help them much, but at least we hope it will brighten their day.

I really enjoyed the day I had with the other exchange students and our local coor-

dinator. It was a multicul-tural experience of food, to-gether with learning phrases from different languages, as well as exchanging presents. However, on the other end of world are the kids in the Congo who might not have food tomorrow. In my opin-ion Christmas is the time when people realize that they have to be grateful for what they have and not com-plain. That is my appeal to all of you who read this!


Nina (left) and her host sister in the Bahamas

By Nina StanisicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12West Caldwell, NJ

When you come to Amer-ica, you expect great things to happen to you. But I nev-er thought it would be this good! Before coming here, I was scared. I thought to my-self, Oh my God, it’s a FULL YEAR. How am I going to do that without my family or my friends? I never thought it would be this easy. When I arrived I began to experi-ence all of the things I’ve seen in movies and heard about America.

The first day was the hard-est day for me. When I got here, all I could think was, Why did I do this? But af-ter that, there wasn’t a sec-ond that I regretted coming on this program. I couldn’t have gotten a better host family. We are getting along great, and they are helping me with everything and try-ing to get me to experience as many things as possible. For example, I never thought

Coming to Americathat I would have ever had the chance to walk down the streets of New York City or see a Broadway show. My host family made those dreams come true; I am so thankful.

School is what I thought it would be like. I really like it here—the teachers are great, the kids are too, and they are interested in learning about my country. There are many interesting things I’ve ex-perienced here that I would never have experienced in Montenegro.

I have made a great con-nection with my host fam-ily, and now I feel like I’m part of it. They help me with everything and definitely try to do as much as they can with me. They took me on a cruise to the Bahamas a week before Christmas, and I think that’s definitely the thing I will never, ever for-get. Never in my life had I thought I would actually go on a cruise to the Bahamas. That definitely made my holidays here memorable.

I would like to thank my host mother, Claire Mat-tern, for being such a great host mom, for making me feel good all the time, and always making me feel at home. She just does so much for me, and I could never be thankful enough. It feels like I came here only a few weeks ago. Time goes by so fast. I guess doing so many different activities you couldn’t even imagine makes it go by so faster.

Soon we will have go back, and it feels like we just got here. In the begin-ning I was thinking, A full year! That’s way too long! Now I wish it would last longer. The most important thing is to do as much as we can while we’re here, to try everything we can, even if it seems silly. This is an oppor-tunity that doesn’t come too often, so we should make the most of it.

International Education Week

IEW.

By Nina LoncarevicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Des Moines, IA

Do you know that feeling of pride after you have just given a presentation about your country and everybody was delighted with it? I sure know it because I have given many presentations, but the best experience I have had so far is International Educa-tion Week. It gave me an op-portunity to get to know my

friends’ countries better and enjoy Montenegro’s unique-ness even more.

Together with the other eight exchange students in my group and our local co-ordinator, we gathered in the local Mars Café where a journalist introduced us to an audience. I was the one who broke the ice with my presentation. As I am an ambassador of my country,



IEWContinued from page 18

I really tried to introduce it in the best way possible. I brought a part of one of the most representative pieces of Montenegro’s culture, the national costume—a spe-cial shirt and belt. They are hand-made and very valu-able for our nation because they date back to early in our history. I also brought a few books about the history and culture of my country and about famous tourist destina-tions as a present for the au-dience to take if they want-ed to find out more about Montenegro. I also made a poster, which had basic in-formation about my country, its flag and symbol, its envi-ronment and nature, history, and food and drink. Addi-tionally, I brought several CDs as well as one that had an official commercial about Montenegro on it. The most popular with the audience, however, were little stickers with Montenegro’s logo on them, which was fun for the children. Lastly, as a cherry on top, I brought crepes (or, as we call them, pancakes) which I had made! Several people tried them and liked them.

It was also fun to watch my friends’ presentations, learn about their cultures, and answer questions from the journalist or the audience. We received the compliment that we were the best group our town has had had so far! I am glad we had a success-ful day at Mars Café and that everybody wished us luck in the rest of the year.

At Christmas, All Roads Lead to Your Heart

By Andreja Milosevic A-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Humboldt, IA

December is an amazing time of the year. Everyone’s excited about the biggest holiday in the United States. You already know what I am talking about, and you’re right—it’s Christmas time! This was the first time that I wasn’t home for Christmas. But you know what? This may be the only American Christmas I’ll ever experi-ence (though I hope not), so I had to make it memorable. This is the time for people to share joy and happiness.

Unfortunately, there are people who are everything but happy when the season comes. They can’t afford Christmas dinner or toys for their children. I am especial-ly glad I had the opportunity to be part of the U.S. Marine

Corps’ Toys for Tots pro-gram. People from all over the city—from hospitals, schools, banks, and grocery stores—joined forces in or-der to make less-fortunate people happy. And we did it! We raised collected so many toys that we needed the whole day to wrap them up. Students and adults did a great job. The next day, I helped deliver a ton of gifts. We had gifts for more than 170 families! It’s just amaz-ing how many generous people America has. The feeling I had when I saw all those kids smiling and look-ing forward to playing with the toys almost brought me to tears. It made me realize how fortune I am and also made me think about similar things that I can do when I go back to Serbia.

The other thing I did to spread the Christmas spirit

was a Christmas lights tour for people that are in the retirement care center. One night we took more than twenty seniors on a bus tour to enjoy the stunning deco-rated houses in our town. This was a rare opportunity for them because they don’t have a chance to get out very often, and I am glad I could do something to make that night special.

One of the things I like the most about America is the willingness to get together and do wonderful things for community. It is not only about raising money. Parents always help when there are some games or dances at our high school. I think that’s what I would like to improve in Serbia. Until then, I’ll be experiencing and learning about things that I can use back home.

Picture from the local newspaper of Andreja (left) and his group wrapping gifts for the USMC.


Youth’s WillBy Semra AmetiYES Macedonia ‘11

What always inspired me about the U.S., before, during, and after I came back, was the importance that Ameri-cans give to community ser-vice as part of their everyday culture. While I was in the U.S., I was required to do a certain number of commu-nity service hours. However, in the area where I lived there weren’t many opportunities and, I must admit, I didn’t know where to start. With the help of my wonderful host mother I started finding and engaging in more volunteer activities and soon learned that I really enjoy doing it. When my year in the States came to an end, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to contin-ue doing community service because, as far as I knew, in my country there weren’t many organizations or activi-

ties that involved community service. Nevertheless, after I completed the program and I returned to my home country I realized that the exchange journey was not over yet. Now my duty was to share what I’ve learned in America with my community. I took the initiative and instead of trying to search for humani-tarian activities, I started cre-ating them myself. I started a community service group in my school and what really struck me the most was that a lot of other student showed interest and joined the group too. We named it “Youth’s Will” to imply that if we want to change the world for the better, then we have the power to do it. I am really happy to say that since we’ve started the group we have had many successful projects.

In one project we collected clothes and toys for an or-

phanage.We completed this project with the help of all the generous students that attend my school and their willingness to share their compassion by donating their clothes and toys for the less fortunate. This project took us a week to finish, and by the end of week we had suc-cessfully collected enough clothes, shoes and toys for 40 children who live in the orphanage. We also visited the kids and got to know them. I really enjoyed teach-ing the younger kids some of the songs and dances that I had learned with my little American nephew during my exchange year. At the end of the day it was very fulfilling to watch the kids’ smiles on their happy faces.

Another project called “New Year’s Workshop” took place in an elementary school for kids with special needs. Our workshop con-

sisted of coloring Christmas themed coloring pages and working together with the children to help them during this process. It was really sat-isfying to watch them enjoy our workshop.

There is a quote from Ma-hatma Gandhi in which I find strength and inspiration. It says, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This is the motto that guides me and my friends that are part of the “Youth’s Will.” We are look-ing forward to continuing our mission with many more up-coming activities and I really hope more people will see the beauty of this and engage more in helping others. I’ll finish with a quote by Mother Teresa who actually is from my city but she truly belongs to the world: “We can do no great things, only small thing with great love.”


By Pavle JankovicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Cumberland, OH

When people talk about America, they talk about big cities, flashing lights, glam-our, and the shine of a great country. Honestly, that’s the same thing I thought for years. But the thing people don’t understand is that real life is in the hayfields of Montana, the golden ears of corn of Iowa, and the sheep wool of Ohio.

It all started back home, in the small country of Mon-tenegro. The day I applied for the A-SMYLE program I had the feeling that my life was going to change from its roots. I passed all the tests and finally, at the end of July, arrived at my host family’s.

I was coming from a town of 20,000 citizens, and I was placed with a family that lives on a 170 acre farm. Everything was different—not only the language and family, but the customs, lifestyles, and practically my whole life. However, as the days passed, I began to love the countryside. There was no noise and no yelling or screaming around me. I could finally breathe easily and relax myself.

Life on a farm with more than 150 sheep is not easy, though. Getting up at 6 o’clock and going straight to the barn every morn-ing gets tiring after a few Pavle with his Host Family’s tractor.

days. But when you see two small, newborn lambs, lying in the hay, sucking on their momma’s milk, you forget about everything, and happiness fills your heart. The farms of Ameri-ca are the places where life is being made, along with the oil that moves every-thing. The sound of a gravel road and country music, as well as the FFA—these ev-eryday things just get into your veins and keep mov-ing you. Your life becomes sad without them.

Just as the founders of this country lived on farms and miles of fields, so I live on a big farm, and I do not regret one moment of my life in America. I do not re-gret nights when I went to bed early because I had to get up at 5 o’clock the next day to sort sheep for sale instead of going to some big party, full of people and flashing lights. I do not re-gret the hours I spent in tall boots, standing in a pile of mud. That mud is giving me a reason to keep smile on my face.

In my opinion, the people who live in cities haven’t met the real America, the other side—the people, their freedom, and the spirit of liberty.

Living on the Other Side

Waking up early to tend to the animals.


By Sonja SarajlicA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Kenton, OH

I do not know a single per-son that does not find joy in holidays. We like them for various reasons: for spend-ing time with our families, for the good food, and for presents. One thing is for sure—they make the best memories.

I applied for this exchange program mainly for one reason: to make memories. I have definitely accom-plished my goal. I have to say thank you to my Ameri-can family. They welcomed me into their lives complete-ly and showed me some pret-ty amazing things. I do not mean the cities, monuments,

Smelling the Rosesand material things. I am talking about the emotional things, the relationships with dearly-loved people, people that I will always remember.

My American family is amazing. I have a sister, a mom, cousins, and grand-parents, and I could not be more thankful that they ac-cepted me like I had been with them forever, like I am one of them. That is what made my American holidays so special. I loved Thanks-giving, and I even got to pre-pare the turkey, which, I lat-er learned, is an honor. I was flattered. It was so much fun, even though everyone made fun of me for stick-ing my hand up the turkey’s butt. But hey, anything for a good laugh, right?

Sonja (left) preparing the turkey for Thanksgiving!

I know that I will not be here forever, which is a good and a bad thing. I heard a saying here: “Wake up and smell the roses.” And that

is exactly what I am do-ing—stopping every once in a while and thinking how lucky I am to have this fam-ily and this life.

International Education Week in Montenegro

Essay competition winners with Ms.Shelly Seaver and Ivan Vuksanovic (third from right).

By Ivan VuksanovicAlumni CoordinatorA-SMYLEMontenegro,’07

This year, A-SMYLE alumni in Montenegro orga-nized an essay competition during International Edu-cation Week for the fourth straight year.

The subject of this year’s competition was, “The Unit-ed States and Montenegro: The Future”, and it was open to 9th grade students from Montenegro.

The goal of the essay com-petition is to hear how young people see the U.S. and how they see their country, as well as how relations are between the two countries from their point of view and what can be

done to improve them. After the submissions were closed, the best essays were picked and an awards ceremony was held at the American Corner in Podgorica on December 23, 2011.

Winners shared their essays with the people present at the ceremony.

Public Affairs Officer of the United States Embassy in Podgorica, Ms. Shelly Seav-er, presented books signed by United States Ambassador to Montenegro, Ms. Sue K. Brown, to the winners.

After the ceremony, A-SMYLE alumni who were present spoke about their ex-change experience with the participants of the competi-tion and their parents and en-

couraged them to apply next year.

Articles about the compe-

itition were published on the U.S. Embassy’s website and official facebook page.

http://podgorica.usembassy.gov/2011best_essays_asmile_competition.htmlhttp://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150476527844712.391136.32665979711&type=1


To my host family the Messers,Thank you, for this awesome Christmas! It was definitely one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had!

LeventeA-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Solon, IA

The American ChristmasBy Nikola Muncan A-SMYLE Serbia, ‘12Columbus, IN

I was really looking for-ward to an American Christ-mas because I’m Orthodox, and Christmas is very differ-ent in my home country, Ser-bia, so I was so excited about spending and experiencing an American Christmas.

I heard a lot from previous students about Christmas in America, and it sounded like it did in the movies. But as everyone knows, life is not a movie, so at first I didn’t believe what I was hear-ing. However, all of that was about to change. As soon as December started, everything was Christmas-sy already. People started decorating their houses with Christmas lights; my friends were already talking about putting up a Christmas tree in their house. They also talked about decorating the outside of their houses with Christmas lights and blow up figures. Blow up figures are a common thing in America, it seems, during Christmas. They usually consist of snowmen, reindeers, baby Jesus, and of course Santa Claus. Everybody was sav-ing money just for this time of the year.

Christmas is a time of joy and happiness and the time of the year that is anticipated with great happiness. But before Christmas is Christ-mas Eve. For Christmas Eve, my host family took me to church. It was nice to see people gathering in one place to share happiness and

show how they care about each other. The ceremony for Christmas Eve was dif-ferent than previous ones I had been to. Afterwards, we went home and we watched a movie called “A Christ-mas Story”, which is a clas-sic and is watched during Christmas time. That night, we also wrapped presents. I wrapped presents down-stairs, and my host mom Deb was wrapping presents upstairs. When we finished wrapping and were about to put the presents under the tree, there wasn’t enough space!

My host sisters, who are 6, 8, and 10 years old, looked forward to Christmas very much. They prepared cook-ies for Santa and one carrot for every reindeer. They said that the reindeers had to be hungry because of all that riding across the world. My host parents also told my three little sisters that they must not be awake before 8am because, as far as my

little sisters were concerned, they would wake up at 4am and start opening presents if they could.

Christmas morning, ano-ther host sibling, who is also an exchange student, and I were awakened by our three little sisters yelling, “Wake up, Nick! Wake up, Chris-tian! Merry Christmas!” We were all sleepy and tired.

Nikola (right) and his Host Family at church after the Christmas Eve service.

However, opening presents was very messy and full of fun. Everybody loved their presents, and everybody laughed the whole time. Af-ter all those gifts, we went to my host dad’s family’s house. There was of course lots of food and family fun, and we all enjoyed Christ-mas together. Christmas in America is something that I will remember all my life.


The A-SMYLE and YES SEE programs are administered by: American Councils for International Education

1828 L St. NW, Suite 1200 / Washington, DC 20036Telephone: 202-833-7522 Fax: 202-833-7523General website: www.americancouncils.org

Regional website: www.americancouncilssee.org

Funding for the A-SMYLE and YES programs comes from: The United States Department of State,

Bureau for Educational and Cultural AffairsWebsite: www.exchanges.state.gov

Balkan Youth VoicesVolume V, Issue II Winter 2012Official Newsletter of A-SMYLE and YES

www.americancouncilssee.org

Want to be published in the next issue? Send submissions to: [email protected] Want to see more stories from alumni? http://americancouncilssee.wordpress.com

By Vuk VukovicA-SMYLE Montenegro, ‘12Williamsburg, IA

When I was little kid, I always wished to be a part of New York because I was influenced by so many TV shows, movies, and music.

When I won the scholar-ship for the A-SMYLE pro-gram, I discovered that I would get the chance to see New York City some day and make my dreams into something true.

On December 27, 2011, I landed in LaGuardia air-port in New York City. Just looking at the Empire State building from the airplane was beautiful, and I was so happy just to see it.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized that my adventure was starting at that that moment. On the first day, I went to Times Square and

the one and only Empire State building. It was beautiful to see it and experience it all.

Besides me and all the New Yorkers, there were millions of tourists there, and all of them were just like me—ready to see the beau-

Vuk at the Empire State Building.

Big Dreams in a Big City

tiful charms of New York. I went to Times Square again on New Year’s Eve, and even though I was at the far end of it and I couldn’t see a lot of the performances, I still got to watch the ball drop and I still think it was

best New Year’s I have ever had in my life.

I am waiting for all of the other new adventures I will have in the United States, and the only thing I can say is, “Bring it on!”

balkan youth voicesac-see.org/.../02/balkan-youth-voices-volume-v-issue-ii.pdf · 2016-03-07 ·...

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