AFS Batch of 2018-19 came under one roof to attend a National Pre-Departure Orientation Camp in New Delhi from 18thto 21st June 2018 in New Delhi. The orientation was organized for 58 (40 YES Program and 18 AFS Program) students going on the program. YES Program students stayed for orientation from 18th to 20th June 2018 while AFS Program participants stayed a day extra. YES program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. This year, we’re sending participants to Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Russia, USA, Japan, France and Poland.
The aim of the orientation was to guide and prepare the students for the program before their departure to their respective hosted countries in upcoming months. There were AFS Staff members and AFS Alumni to facilitate the sessions.
New Methodologies for sessions such as introduction to Case Studies to help them understand various scenarios along with very creative icebreakers and energizers were adopted which made participants interact more actively and participate enthusiastically. Intercultural components were added to give more exposure to the participants about being on exchange programs and how ICL can help them achieve their goals overall. Participants were enthused to be part of the program, and they look forward to starting their journey in their hosted countries. Thanks to John, AFS YES Alumni, for being part of the orientation and sharing their valuable suggestions and experiences.
The participants going on AFS Programs stayed one more day extra where they had a more detailed orientation about their expectations from the programs and how to adjust better in their own host country. They were given training and exposure specific to the country they’d be going for their exchange. In addition, we took the Language Test and conducted the Country Specific Quiz also for the reality check for participants going abroad to different countries.
AFS Program Participants along with AFS India staff visited respective Embassy of the country they’d be going for their exchange to gain deeper insight into the culture, interact with the officers & learn from their experiences. We’re thankful to the embassies for giving us their precious time.