AFS Year High School Abroad in The Netherlands

I almost went abroad with AFS but, I find the programs are too expensive and a little shaky. For the most part the host families are solid but, I have friends who have lived with host families who after a few months wanted them to leave and had a history of doing this. The rules are slightly different than with other programs and it sort of feels like an exchange machine trying to spit out as many students as it can. Overall it is a solid program but, I would recommend going with a different organization.

There I was, ten months into my eleven month experience, sitting around a table with my entire host family, who had become more like my real family, my best friend, Ninnog, whom I had met at my dutch school, and my mom who came to visit for the occasion. It was my birthday and I was about to receive the most exciting news of my entire exchange.

Ninnog was going on a trip to the south of France the next day and I would be going back home before she would return.

So there I was, sitting at a table with my favorite people, at my favorite restaurant as I was opening my final gift: the card from my host parents. It said: "Dearest Grace, for your birthday this year, we are taking you to the south of France where you will go camping with Ninnog to spend your final weeks with her." I instantly began to cry.

Now, that was at the end of the year. Initially, my host family and I had a rough start. My host brother detested that I was living with them, I was extremely homesick and I had to attend an all Dutch school, when I didn't know any dutch! However, I wouldn't have wanted the entire year to be perfect, because then, I wouldn't have been given the opportunity to grow. As I've gotten older, I've found that it was because my host brother detested me and because I was homesick and because I had to attend an all Dutch school that I can look back on the year and feel as though I had a worthwhile experience.

I came out of it learning how to better handle relationships. I also learned that I can leave home and it will not be apocalyptic. I came back to the United States fluent in Dutch.

There is growth in traveling that cannot be achieved elsewhere.

If you want to find out more about yourself in ways you cannot even imagine, and have a whole lot of fun while doing it, I urge you to find a program and seize it!

I loved the time I spent with my Dutch host family in Scheveningen in 2009-2010. One of the best experiences of my life, and honestly made me who I am (not to be too corny). The Netherlands is a great place to study abroad in. If you want to learn Dutch (which I did!) I would definitely stay the whole year. Most people speak impeccable English, so it is hard to learn Dutch at first, but only once you do will you be fully immersed. I still talk to my host family all in Dutch. The country is beautiful and it is really easy to travel within The Netherlands and to surrounding countries. You are extremely mobile with just a bike and the train! I would go back any day.

i had a wonderful time in the netherlands, i met so many people and got to explore and experience so many new things. i enjoyed music festivals, cultural events such as village-wide festivals, school parties, and holiday celebrations with family, as well as fun sightseeing outings and trips like playing mini-golf or going to the amusement park!
i truly loved getting to intimately experience the vibrant and different cultural life of my host family and friends. learning the new traditions, trends, and lifestyles of the netherlands was exciting and enriching. i loved crafting elaborate wrapping for my host father's present on sinterklaas, biking to germany at sunrise on hemelvaartsdag, eating oliebolen on the holidays and dutch pannenkoeken, seeing the vibrant gardens of het keukenhof, and walking through the village market full of bustling stalls. some of my favorite memories are of simply wandering, riding my bike alone through the cobblestone streets of my "dorpje" (village) and admiring the quaint and cozy architecture. my host family and friends spoke to me in exclusively dutch at my request, so i learned to speak fluently, which is a skill that i still value greatly.
while i was there i had an illness, and the AFS staff did reach out to me and offer caring support and help for what i was going through when they found out. i think that the volunteers really care about the exchange students and put in a lot of effort to make sure they are ok, and that was meaningful to me. its good to feel safe and supported when you're in a far away place. i developed a lot of independence and introspective insight while abroad, as well as cultural knowledge and deep lasting friendships.