AFS-USA

Starting off and getting ready to leave my country I didn’t know what to expect. I have had no friends who had ever done an exchange year so I was about to endure an extremely mysterious experience. Now being back I can say that I could have never expected the amount of emotional, mental and maturity growth I went through, and the amount of independence I had while I was in Costa Rica has helped me the second I have been back and will continue help my future of college and travels. If it weren’t for this immense growing experience I wouldn’t be close to the same person I am today.

I initially became interested in Japanese culture because of how beautiful it looked in the media. When I went there for a semester-long exchange in Oita, Japan, my expectations were greatly surpassed, even though they were already high. I made many lifelong friends during my five months there, tried a wide variety of food, and explored much of the prefecture. It was an experience straight out of the movies! I recommend doing a high school semester or year study abroad to anyone who wants to get more out of their four years.

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.