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By Brandi, YES Abroad 2014-2015, Oman

Simply stated, the world is a mysterious and beautiful place, and it is full of wonderful and beautifully different people. Upon my arrival in Oman, I got to experience the beauty in cultural difference firsthand. The best aspect of cultural difference, in my opinion, is the acceptance and understanding of other idealisms other than one's own. In my case, I have an extraordinary chance to see “through the Omani looking glass.”

It sometimes can be different to understand why a group of individuals do something in a certain way; it is strange and unfamiliar to oneself, but remarkable in every possible way. The term culture shock comes to mind when I think of anyone uprooting themselves from everything they knew and relocating to an entirely different setting. However, I like to think that, when one uproots a tree, it is extremely difficult to extract the entire root system, so there will always be roots left behind. It is very important to NEVER forget where you come from, but ALWAYS be willing to grow. This thought has aided me in my process of adapting to the beautiful cultures Muscat, Oman has to offer.

It is interesting to me how much I have learned about myself as an individual, personally and societally, in the short month I’ve resided here. I’ve come to find that I am strong willed, more reserved than I thought and more aware than I led myself to believe. Perhaps it’s just me, but I truly believe that it takes an extremely strong individual to study abroad at such a young age; I say this because I have witnessed, primarily, the strength of youth whether it be through YES Abroad, CBYX, NSLIY or any other youth exchange program. These kinds of programs are building up our future leaders and world diplomats. Without such programs, the world would be all the more blind than it already is.

It was once spoken that, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. . . I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” Robert F. Kennedy, supporter and advocate of the YES Abroad program, spoke these words. His words resonate in my mind every time I think about why I am in Oman and why YES chose me. I am here to be the person who asks “why not” and continue to dream of those things that never were, like Mr. Kennedy. I can proudly state that I see a prominent amount of diplomacy in my future because I want to be an individual who continues to inspire youth, similarly to Robert F. Kennedy.