AFS-USA

The experience of living in Japan with a Japanese family, going to a Japanese high school, and speaking Japanese everyday for six months was life altering. AFS will send you anywhere (I was sent to the far North of Japan), but they make sure it is safe, and the volunteers and other exchange students offer a unique support system. In contrast, I had an exchange friend who went through another program, and she had no students her age with her to talk about her experiences. AFS offers a support system before, during, and after the exchange. While there are limits on how far one can travel from their host school, I was still able to travel with my host school to Kyoto, Nagasaki, and Osaka. As a student who had never been to Asia and had to get a visa for the first time, the help AFS provided makes me highly recommend studying abroad through them.

It took me a while to learn the language but I made incredible friends and had incredible experiences. I will never forget my time spent in France, and I grew so much during my year. I struggled to find my place within my host family, but in the end it was all part of a learning experience. I faced challenges and overcame them. Everything I learned will serve me in building a future career, from facing challenges, to learning a language, to meeting new people. It was a challenge to be away from home, but it makes being home that much more valuable. I never realized how grateful I am for my family until I had to leave them behind for a year.

I'd always known that I would study abroad in college, but when I was introduced to programs that would allow me to be an exchange student in high school, I knew it was something I wanted to do. Unlike college where you've already had a few years of independence as an adult, going abroad in high school can seem quite daunting, but is so worth it! My time in Sardinia, Italy taught me not only another language and culture but helped me become more mature and independent as I learned to advocate for myself amidst changing host families and taking 3rd year Latin (in Italian) at a scientific high school when I'm more linguistically/artistically inclined... I still keep in touch with the friends I made during my year abroad and have visited a few of them in their home countries in addition to reuniting with my host siblings as adults in various European countries.

I had the best year of my life in Switzerland. I am so grateful I got to step out of my comfort zone and go abroad for a year. I grew so much as a person and learned many lessons that can't be taught in any other way. For me, the best part of my year was family and friends. I felt incredibly welcome no matter where I was and knew that I was safe. This allowed me to focus on things like learning the Swiss-German language, which I picked up in about 6 months. I know that for the rest of my life I will have on foot in Switzerland because of how greatly I loved it.

Amazing! The people, the culture, the country…so stunning for a young girl from Connecticut who landed in Sant Fe, Argentina. Only wish that when I wanted to change host families after 6 months of a year stay that they would have supported my request. It made my remainder of my year stay impossible to be happy and emotionally free to experience Argentina fully. Instead it was through my lense of emotional discomfort, sadness and unhappiness that I endured my year abroad for what I had dreamed and occasionally experienced in Argentina with other host families as an accepting, welcoming, and open hearted life experience.