On Thursday, November 17th at 7:00 PM Eastern Time, NSLI-Y Interactive will host our second virtual event of the academic year: "Host Family Connections on the NSLI-Y Program".
A panel of NSLI-Y Russian and Persian alumni will share their experience living with host families on their NSLI-Y programs. They will share how they overcame linguistic and cultural barriers to form lasting connections with their host families. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with panelists through a Q&A session at the end of the virtual event.
To register for next week's virtual event, you can click on the following link: https://bit.ly/nsliyhf
Meet the speakers below!
Amina, Russian
My name is Amina (she/her/hers), and I am a high school senior from the Bay Area in California. I currently attend Phillips Academy Andover, where I have studied Russian for the past four years. This past summer, I spent six weeks with NSLI-Y in Narva, Estonia where I improved my Russian language skills, and learned about Russian and Estonian culture and history.
I would say one of my favorite host family experiences, was conversing at dinnertime. I got to learn a lot about my host mom through talking with her, and I learned how to better express myself in my target language.
Andrew, Persian
My name is Andrew (he/him/his). I am a high school senior from Arlington, in northern Virginia (NOVA). I participated in the NSLI-Y Tajiki (Persian) summer programs in 2021 & 2022.
One of my favorite host family experiences was during my second week in Dushanbe: after a long day of classes and excursions, I took a walk around the city, late at night, with my host siblings. We walked through the Rudaki district and named the same objects and constellations in our respective languages.
Erin, Russian
My name is Erin (she/her/hers), and I am double-majoring in Russian and World Languages and Cultures with an emphasis on French and Persian. I am an alumna of the 2019 NSLI-Y Russian summer program in Moscow and the 2021-22 Russian academic year program in Chisinau, Moldova. Currently, I am a freshman at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. I am passionate about studying foreign languages and hope to work in the State Department as a foreign service officer.
In Chisinau, Moldova, I had a wonderful host mom named Vera, who is also an amazing cook. I greatly enjoyed sampling her delicious meals and learning her recipes. One day, Vera informed me with a proud smile that she would be giving a мастеркласс (masterclass) to a friend and me. She showed us how to make rogaliki, a delicious type of cookie, while telling us beautiful stories from her childhood.
Goldie, Persian
My name is Goldie (she/her/hers). I am a high school senior from Los Angeles, California and participated in the NSLI-Y Tajiki (Persian) summer program this past summer in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
One of my favorite host family memories was when they took me to dinner at an aunt's house. The extended family embraced me with open arms! Everyone spent time trying to communicate and speak to me, and I was fed at least 5 different types of cake.
Shreyan, Russian
Hello! My name is Shreyan (he/him/his) and I currently live in Northern Virginia. This past summer, I participated in the NSLI-Y Russian summer program in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Probably one of the most exciting experiences I had with my host family was preparing tea in the family samovar. Starting the fire is quite difficult as the fuel must be in small pieces and placed right. Extinguishing is just as hard, as I had to blow right into the smoke column. Nevertheless, the tea felt much fresher than boiling it on a gas stove. It was great t learn this art from my host family and enjoy with them the results afterwards!