Stories

The NSLI-Y program languages include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian and Turkish. Listed below are all multimedia stories written, and shared by NSLI-Y students, alumni, partners, and supporters. These stories include all NSLI-Y program languages and are ordered chronologically from the most recent post.

Alumni and current students, join the conversation by submitting your own story.

Click on a language below to see stories and media related to a specific NSLI-Y program language:

Displaying Arabic stories from .

Tania head shot

Arabic

From Tears to Turmeric: My NSLI-Y VSI Journey

Tania is from New York, NY and an alumna of the Arabic 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. With my fingers stained orange with turmeric, I lifted my computer and pointed the screen to a pot of boiling carrots, sweet potatoes and tofu. “Does this look okay, Ustatha Raja, should I add more water?” I asked.
Hattie Seten

Arabic

Arabic Alumna Awarded Prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

Hattie Seten, an alumna of the 2016-17 Arabic Academic Year program, was announced as one of just 32 American 2021 Rhodes Scholars. Next year, Hattie will join students from all over the world to study at the University of Oxford.
Sabine and her friend

Arabic

A Mutual Understanding Between Language Learners

Sabine is from Austin, TX and an alumna of the Arabic 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. Before beginning Arabic with NSLIY, I started volunteering as an English tutor for Raneem, a Palestinian refugee living in Jordan. I was excited to meet someone in Jordan...
Lara-Nour Walton

Arabic

Connections that Transcend Proximity

Lara-Nour is from Evanston, IL and an alumna of the Arabic 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. I could almost smell the mint tea through the screen. Steam billowed from the glass cup my teacher Soukayna was holding as she explained how to prepare the perfect Moroccan tea...
Mikaela and her fellow cohort members in the Sahara desert

Arabic

Mikaela (was) in Morocco: A NSLI-Y Arabic Reflection

Mikaela is from Bradenton, FL and an alumna of the Arabic 2019 Summer program in Rabat, Morocco. My NSLI-Y notification couldn’t have come at a better...
IMG 1207 e1601651331691

Arabic

Morocco through Microsoft

Xenia is from Carlisle, PA and an alumna of the Arabic 2020 Virtual Summer Intensive program. I was recently in a meeting with the president of my college and ...
Header image with title "NSLI-Y VSI 2020 Highlights: Networking Activities" with two slightly transparent images in the background: one with a map of Taiwan and Taiwanese dishes, the other of a man in from of a sign that says "American Chamber of Commerce."

Global

NSLI-Y VSI Highlights: Students Virtually Connect and Network

NSLI-Y's Virtual Summer Intensive offered students the opportunity to connect and network with locals and guests of program countries.
VSI Cultural Activities Featured Image Take 4

Global

NSLI-Y VSI Highlights: Students Virtually Participate in Cultural Activities

To ensure the safety of students, teachers, and staff amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) chose to...
Petra 2

Arabic

Potatoes and Tahini

Grace is from Meridian, ID and an alumna of the 2019 Arabic summer program in Amman, Jordan. I grew up in Meridian, Idaho, where I had limited exposure to othe...