About Me/YES Abroad

My name is Elise Fuhrmann, and I'll be spending my senior year of high school studying abroad in West Africa, specifically Dakar, Senegal, through the State Department program YES Abroad. I studied abroad previously in France for a semester in my sophomore year, and I found YES Abroad when looking for more programs to advance my French and learn about new cultures and countries. YES Abroad gives 65 scholarships annually for high school students to study in 12 different countries across the globe. Two of those countries, Senegal and Morocco, require experience in French as the students will attend French school and their host families are likely to speak some French. While in Senegal, I hope to both improve my French and learn as much of the local language, Wolof, as possible. 

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The Kennedy-Ludgar YES Abroad program was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to improve cultural understanding between America and countries with significant Muslim populations. Currently, students can study in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Macedonia,  Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, and Thailand. The YES Abroad Program covers all costs of the program, and places students with host families. By living with a host family and attending local schools, YES Abroad hopes that students will form strong relationships with the local community. 

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For more information on YES Abroad, visit: http://www.yes-abroad.org/