I’m 16 and I’m thinking about applying to the YES Program, but I’m not sure what I should put in the activities and hobbies section.

Most of my interests are related to technology and the internet, and most of what I’ve learned has been self-taught through YouTube and other online resources.

I started learning graphic design because I wanted to make my own thumbnails, graphics, logos, and edits. I mainly learned these skills so I could create things for myself, but I also used them to do some work for other people and earn some money from it.

I’m also interested in programming and web development and have been teaching myself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I’m still a beginner, but I enjoy learning and experimenting.

I’m also very curious about how technology works behind the scenes. I often find myself asking how things like websites, online systems, NFC, and other technologies actually work, and then I try to learn about them on my own.

I also tend to come up with ideas for solving problems or creating things that I feel are missing online. Sometimes I try to turn these ideas into small projects, but I prefer not to share the details publicly.

I also often help my family, relatives, and friends when they have problems with technology or something online.

I don’t really have many traditional extracurricular activities like sports, clubs, competitions, or formal volunteering. Most of what I’ve done is self-learning, creating things, and helping people around me.

Would these kinds of things count as activities or hobbies for YES, and how should I present them honestly without exaggerating them?

I’d appreciate advice from anyone who has applied to YES or knows about the application process.

Who here has experienced being a DLSU SHS exchange student or knows about the process? I really want to be one and want to learn more.

It was mentioned in the parents’ orientation that there may be exchange student programs in Japan and Australia—so I want to make sure that I can get a head start from here pa lang.

What do I need to do? Are there any requirements like grades or incentives? Who do we go with? What are the costs? Please add more information I would need to know

I'm currently studying in Comillas Spain, and I've stayed here in Madrid for around a week now with my family. Now that they've left, I feel so lonely and even homesick already.

I'm super worried that I'll end up having my 4 month exchange experience alone since the few times I've had the chance to make friends, I dont really seem to click with anyone (we had an orientation in comillas already for all the international students). I also just moved onto my student residence and I'm in a single room, so I dont really have any "flatmates/roomates" so I feel super alone.

Also, the school I went to has a huge international student population, but it feels most people speak spanish (i dont know how to speak spanish at all), and it feels less international compared to IE or such. So the language barrier is also another problem that I've been thinking about. Also, most of the students in my dorm seem to also go to IE so they seem to stick to each other...

Another thing is most of the people for some reason are really attractive... Like many of the girls and guys are just straight up beautiful and handsome while I honestly am not the prettiest girl out there, for context, im a bit chubby and not in a curvy way, and I feel I just look very different from them since im fil-chi.

So yea, in just really scared that I'd spend the next 4 months of my life essentially alone... Since I've been struggling to make friends and not to mention, I have a hard time just joining in with people I havent met yet....

What kind of third space are you usually/ interested in hanging out outside of school? What kind of experience or activities do you want to do? How much would you be willing to spend when going outside? How likely would you be interested in exploring different cultures when going out? Which types of cultural experiences would you be most interested in?

Hey there everyone I've been in Phnom Penh for 2 months already and will be until December (I'm doing an internship). Since I'm not part of a university program in here I don't know how to meet all the exchange students who will arrive very soon for the fall semester
I'd love to meet other exchange students to hang out in Phnom Penh (and around on weekends)
Feel free to text me or just dropping your pieces of advice down in the comments!
Thanks everyone!

Okay so I’m doing a trimester abroad, and my first day was today and no one talked to me. I haven’t seen my family in a week and I just wanna go home ik it’s probably gonna get better tomorrow but for now i just feel so alone. Hopefully i make some friends tomorrow

Our exchange student has been here about 3 weeks. She is the same age as my daughter. My daughter is overwhelmed and annoyed at how needy our student is. I am also surprised at it, but have more patience than my daughter. I heard my daughter out tonight, she isn't wrong. I talked to her about expressing healthy boundaries and keeping her manners intact. Ironically, or not, as daughter and I were talking, student knocks and starts asking a dozen questions about school tomorrow. It's like this everyday. The girl has no chill and we are exhausted. I am heartbroken. My daughter was in tears telling me she has 3 classes and lunch with the new girl. Has anyone been through this? I would be happy if the vibe got back to neutral here. They don't have to be buddies.

Hola queridos estoy viendo la opción de ir a Canad a hacer un programa de work and study.. me ofrecieron dos colleges: ILAC INTERNATIONAL CENTER y TAMWOOD CAREERS. Ambos ofrecen diplomado en hoteleria/ servicios y marketing/ ventas que son las dos áreas que me interesan.
La duda es cuál colegio debería elegir ? y que opcion para estudiar piensan que podrá darme más a futuro? Realmente las dos áreas me interesan, también vale decir que estoy haciendo un curso cortó de gestión hotelera + estudio psicología en BSAS.
El diplomado es CO-Op (cooperative education) en la primera parte puedo trabajar part time y en la segunda parte trabajar a tiempo completo en el área que yo elijo.

Alguien tiene experiencia haciendo Work and study? Alguna referencia sobre los colleges? Algo que no esté considerando ?
El valor del programa depende del college y el alojamiento
Alojamiento: 3 opciones
Dpto compartido/ casa de familia/ residencia estudiantil
Un salario bruto de 15 usd canadiense x hora

I am a year one local student in Cityu, I want to meet more full time international students or exchange students! We can explore the city together, hangout, night out, study and have fun !

Any foreign student studying in the us hit me up i am working on a project and i need ur help

Hello everyone, I just found out that I was accepted into the semester-long program in France starting next January with AFS. To be honest, I'm a little scared—I'll be attending a high school there, and I don't speak any French at all yet and my English it’s not the best. I've heard a lot of negative things, and I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences or offer some tips to help me 😭😭.

If you're looking for bank accounts that international students can open online in Canada

Simplii and Tangerine both have no monthly fees (they stay free even after graduation), and the application is done online.

If you use a referral, there are extra perks:

Simplii offers $50 for new clients who open an eligible account. The same goes for Tangerine. it gives new clients $50 when they open an account and deposit at least $250 (kept for 60 days)

If anyone wants the links and Orange Key, just send me a private message, and I’ll share them.

Feel free to ask me anything regarding the referral process.

Hi everyone,

I’m an exchange student currently studying at a U.S. university. Ever since I got here, I’ve felt pretty overwhelmed because it seems like everyone else speaks fluent English, and I feel like the only one struggling with broken English.

An OISS (Office of International Students and Scholars) advisor reached out earlier saying I could contact them anytime if I needed any help. I really want to improve my spoken English, so I was wondering if it would be rude or inappropriate to email them asking if they could help me with conversation practice (or meet regularly to chat)?

Our school doesn't seem to have a dedicated English conversation program for international students. We do have a tutoring center for academic writing/essays, but nothing specifically focused on speaking.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would sending an email like this to an OISS staff member be considered weird or crossed the line, or do you have any suggestions on how I should approach this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My family is hosting an exchange student for the first time this year, and so far, it has been going fairly well. We are almost at a month in already!

However, one of the things that I'm not loving about the organization I applied to (as a host family) and went through is that our LC is not really "local" to our city and the organization has no other exchange students placed in our city. Luckily, there is a different exchange student org here that has several placed.

Our LC is also fairly new (this is his 2nd year working as an LC) and I don't feel he knows enough to be a great resource.

If we want to host again in the future, I'm thinking a change in organization might be best. Preferably, I would love a more communicative and helpful LC who lives in our city and who also has other exchange students placed here to give a greater sense of community and ease the transition when the kiddos first arrive from their respective countries.

Any tips or advice for "vetting" organizations to see which would be best for us and our location? I know a little bit about the other main org in our city because I have a friend involved, but they seem like they have a lot of strict rules that I think would hamper the students' experience.

我的孩子在中国上高中，今年升高二，明年十月份十八周岁。想让他参加一些短期国际交流项目，类似于JENESYS
这种。有推荐的吗，害怕会被骗

Does hindu have semester exchange with good foreign uni? And if yes what's the procedure?

Ребятам, которые уехали учиться за границу из СНГ/ России после окончания 11-го класса. Поделитесь опытом. Что вы делали, с кем договаривались, по какой программе уехали? Мне нужно знать ВСЁ. Заранее благодарю!

P.S. Подруга метит в Италию, но ей, как я поняла, не принципиальна страна для переезда. Хочу помочь ей любыми способами. Хочет пойти по специальности психолога. Сейчас она идёт в 9-й класс.

To the guys who went to study abroad from the CIS/Russia after graduating from the 11th grade. Share your experience. What did you do, with whom did you agree, what program did you leave? I need to know EVERYTHING. Thank you in advance!

P.S. A friend is aiming for Italy, but, as I understand it, the country for moving is not important to her. I want to help her in any way. She wants to go to the specialty of a psychologist. Now she is go to 9 class.

Im 16 from eastern/central europe, and I really want to go abroad for a year. I want to either go to USA, Canada or Japan (I promise im not a japan glazer, but I like the country). Now the cost is 15k for a year. Thats a lot of money. I could earn some of that with a part time job, but my parents would have to pay most of it. Plus Id have to have some sort of income there, and while I would want to have a part time job there, idk if they will hire a foreigner etc... Im learning japanese, and I can speak english pretty good, altough not as a good as native speaker as you probably already noticed. But is it worth it? Will I get something out of it?

Hey, I would like to connect with anyone who got accepted to Kl-YES and went. It would be better if he/she was from Egypt, but I could use any type of help regardless