One decade has passed since July 2010, since my first ever traveling abroad experience. This day, 10 years back, I boarded on a flight from Tokyo en route to Washington DC as a participant of International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) @stateivlp. IVLP is a professional exchange program by The U.S. Department of State @statedept. I was one of the first Indonesian bloggers selected to join the program. Ours was a customized program titled New Media Journalism.
We visited many cities from East Coast to West Coast. We discussed with US media and practitioners about new media trends in The US, we also shared on how we utilized the growing platforms to empower communities in Indonesia. Not only in formal meetings, we also got chance to get to know their culture through direct interaction with our home stay hosts.
It was a dream came true. I grew up as a girl who had dream to travel the world, and The US was always on top of my list. I never thought before that my hobby would bring me there for free. Not only The US, but also two more countries (Pakistan and Cambodia), all was just because of my passion in sharing through blogs and meetup/kopdar.
A decade later, many countries more, and countless trips after that, the IVLP trip remains as the most memorable trip for me. A life changing experience, and I am forever grateful to be one of the program’s alumni.
Happy #4thofJuly! 🎆
Read articles about some of my IVLP experiences on:
bit.ly/nonaditaivlp