While attending her host schools in Kentucky, high school exchange student Safira Bibi cultivated talents for sports and public speaking.
I am 17 years old and an ASSE YES Exchange student from Karachi, Pakistan. I was very excited to get the opportunity to come to the United States of America. This was something that I prayed for and it was like a dream come true.

I am visually impaired and have had very little vision my entire life. In Pakistan, where I attended a school for the blind, there are many challenges and few opportunities for blind people. I’ve learned the opposite is true here in the U.S. What I’ve learned here [in the US] is more than I could possibly write about in a few short paragraphs.

It was very important for me to know that I was going to have a new home and a new family for 10 months. It was kind of scary at first. I wondered if I would be accepted. Fortunately, I got a wonderful family in the Jones family. My host mom, Maria, my host dad, Kenny and my host siblings, Kenny Jr., Alicia and Cameron are not just my family; rather they were good guides, good friends, good teachers and good role models for me. They taught me what family needs to look like, how to respect and care for each other, and how loving family and God are important.

Like other blind students in my home country, I had to write my own books without experiences or training. I didn’t get a good education in my county. I was barely able to speak English, but when I got here I found that I was able to study science, math and U.S. history.

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