The usually shy Sanaa is finding his voice this summer thanks to the easy and supportive friendships he's made at EXPLO.
My favorite thing to do with my free time here is to hang out with my friends and go to the Board Game Studio. There’s just a group of us — a group of friends — that always goes to the Board Game Studio to hang out. It’s not even really about the games, it’s just that we get to go somewhere and hang out together.
A person who makes a good friend is a person who can understand you. If I was depressed, a good friend would understand why and would know to take it seriously. They wouldn’t joke about it. A good friend is also someone you can trust and who can keep a secret if you ask them to. They are also funny and someone who is easy to hang out with. I can be a good friend by being trustworthy and respectful. It’s important to be supportive. I can respect my friends for what they are and who they want to be and just support them unconditionally.
It’s pretty easy to find friends at EXPLO. There are so many different types of people and different things that they like. If you like reading books, for example, you could just go to the quad and probably find a handful of people who are reading. Then you can bond over that. My closest friends are everyone in my hall. They remind me of when I was home. I could trust the people around me and not be embarrassed at all about anything. I get very shy when I speak, but when I’m around my hallmates I can speak and act freely. I don’t feel shy. I can talk about what I like in a way that I can’t in public because I’m so shy. I’m starting to speak up more and feel more confident because of the friendships I have here; I know that I’ll be able to go back to Mongolia and make more friends and feel comfortable with more people.
Ally Marcino