DC Pre-Departure Orientation

I have returned from an amazing, crazy fun, pretty inspiring - enlightening week in Washington DC for a YES Abroad PreDeparture Orientation. For the 500 people that weren't YES Abroaders, this week served as their Exit Orientation (or whatever you call it). This includes regular YES people (aka Saudis, Egyptians, Malaysians, Indians, Turks, South Africans, Ghanians, Indonesians ect.) and Congress Bundestag people (aka Germans). They were on there way home and us YES people were just getting started.

So what did we actually do? Well Tuesday was just an arrival day (also my birthday, but you know who's watching that?). I heard some people got there as early as 4am others as late as 7pm. I got there around 3pm, had a nice laydown, hung around with some YES Abroaders. Then came dinner with all the people from you're country, and by this I mean all the people who are going to Indonesia. So this was me, Katy, Andrew, Amy, Natalie and Nathan (and our group leader Josh). We're a pretty cool group, you know.

Then the workshops started. They included such topics as

• Different ways to Journal to express those complicated exchange feelings. Some ideas were a regular diary/journal, vlog/blogs, picture a day, calender where you jot down what you did that day, sticky notes, and a postcard calender thing where after your exchange you ask people for all the postcards you sent them then you photocopy it into a poster. Then they gave us special YES journals. Prezzie time.
• How to talk about religion in a truthful hopefully unawkward way
• Cultural expert time aka Talk with cool people from Indonesia time!!!
• Not good not bad just different
• An interesting and funny talk with Imam Arafat. He's a cool guy. Look him up.

So that was the gist of the seminars. Some were boring, some repeats of Denver information. Our group (what do I call us, Indonesia group?) did a skit about classmates asking if Americans were promiscuous and drunken partiers like in Jersey Shore and then the host mom finds her 'skimpy' swimsuit. It was pretty awesome. Katy played the exchange student. Good thing. Did I tell you this day was also my birthday :) Or wait hold on I think it was the day after my birthday. Whatever now I'm 16 yeeaaa.

Indonesia people woot woot! Party in Indonesia. Andrew, Katy, Natalie, Amy, me <3, Nathan. (Did you like how I linked that up for you?)

Anyway the rest to come later. This is already like a week and a half late.

Also I'm the youngest person to Indonesia. Do I look it?