Hey my name is Yap Yee Li but you can also call me Jeremy Yap. Being offered an opportunity to come and live in America for 6 months is really a big thing for me. I'm currently hosted in Normandy Park, Washington; about 20 minutes from Seattle. At first, when I got my placement letter, I thought I was going to be hosted somewhere near Washington DC. But I was told that Washington the state is nowhere near Washington DC. It is on the other west coast of America, not the east.
When I got here, I met up with my great host family. They are a really interesting lot. I have 5 siblings here. And I found out later that 4 of them were adopted. Brooks(18) was originally from Seattle, Noel(18) and Kyle(16) were adopted from an orphanage in Russia and Austin(14) is from Seattle as well. Preston (12) is the only birth son of Grant and Victoria Allen. Being in this family has moulded me to be more responsible and tolerant as I am one of the older kids in the family unlike in Malaysia, where I am the youngest child.
On the 28th of January, I joined the Pirates' Crew of Highline High School. I was shocked to find out that I would only have to take 4 subjects. And since my J1 visa requires us to take at least one English class and one U.S. History class, I was only left with two subjects to choose. After trying out several classes, Ms. Breeze, my counsellor finally organized my schedule. I am currently having, (1) Yearbook, (2) U.S. History, (3) Film Analysis (English), and (4) Beginning Drama. I felt so bad for disturbing my counsellor regarding my schedule changes but one thing that she said that will always stick with me was, "Jeremy, I know that you have come a long and hard way to get here. I will do whatever I can to make you happy, because if you are happy, I am."
The two subjects that I like the most are Yearbook and Drama. In Yearbook although I just joined the staff, nobody treated me like an outsider and that helped me adapt to my surroundings easily. I was able to contribute a lot to the yearbook in terms of pictures and stories. As for Drama, the teacher is so amazing that every single school day is ended on a high note. I was able to let go and not be so conservative because my other classmates are just as crazy as I am.
I believe that this post will not be able to contain all my experiences here in America. I have so many stories to tell. Ups and downs, tales of what I did here and what I learned. So I just want to end this post with much gratitude; thanking all the people in charge of allowing me on this YES program. It has truly enriched my life. I will live to tell my tales with joy to everyone that comes and asks me. Terima Kasih!
Jeremy Yap
YES 2011
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