Polish participants in the Youth Leadership Exchange Program, fully funded by the US Department of State, are busy preparing during this last week before their departure. All that stands between these young leaders and the adventure of becoming an American teenager is a series of "lasts": the last shopping to  be done, the last questionnaires to fill out, the last pictures  to be taken, the last good-bye dinners with their families...

Photo: A group of finalists from Gdanskie Liceum Autonomiczne (Photo: GLA)

Thanks to the internet, the Program's Polish and American students have already been able  to discuss the most important issues of traveling abroad: the weather, the inner workings of the schooling system, popular hobbies, etc.  However, before their eagerly-anticipated departure, the Polish participants will meet in Warsaw for a preparatory orientation. For four days they will learn about cultural differences and how to behave in their new home for the coming month. They will also attend a reception organized by the US Embassy in Warsaw.

The Polish students will host their American counterparts in June, when a group of fifteen students and three teachers will visit to explore Poland, learn about its culture and hone their leadership skills.

This year marks the second edition of the US-Poland Parliamentary Youth Leadership Exchange Program. The Program's Polish participants were recruited from Gdanskie Liceun Autonomiczne in Gdansk, Zespol Szkol Spolecznych SPLOT in Nowy Sacz, and IV Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace in Lodz. We at EAD congratulate all the finalists, as the competition was fierce.