AFS-USA Reviews

My gap year abroad in Norway was a fantastic and life-changing experience.

I found family, learned about camping, skiing, and became a competent Norwegian speaker and writer.

The AFS experience is amazing because of the international friends and family you get. I was able to form close bonds with people from all over the world!

As I stepped off the plane, my world would shift upside down. What was there to expect from a region on the opposite side of the world? Growing up beside the Mexican border, my culture was the antithesis of Asian customs. I felt the hot heavy air hold down my body as I started my Japanese life in Tokyo.

Although breaking the language barrier was difficult, assimilating to the culture was quite feasible. The Mexican-American way of life, I thought, was correct in all senses. This naïveté, however, allowed me to assimilate at a faster pace as the feeling of incomplete knowledge compelled me to absorb every little detail included in Japanese culture. I had to know everything!

The Japanese pride themselves on respect. I admire their quaint humble personality, so a result, I tried to improve my ways. For example, I felt that I had not been doing enough to help my community because I was so busy with my studies, so I decided to help out people who had been victim to the Tsunami in 2011. One characteristic that I found fascinating about the Japanese people was their willingness to put someone else before themselves.

Compared to Japan, my hometown is dangerous. Since the rise of drug trafficking has risen, the rise of danger has directly correlated along with it, leaving the citizens of my community in constant fear. Japan, with its low crime rate, is a safe haven. The people make any individual feel like family, mutual respect is attainable, and virtually no danger exists! I felt I had been living a lie, but I was experiencing something new.

Besides Japanese customs, I was fortunate enough to assimilate to a plethora of cultures from other exchange students. Most differed from Mexican culture in the way that they treat their respective people with less respect than the Japanese. All of the ethnicities from over thirty countries and I unanimously agreed that we should mold our ways similar to those of the Japanese by treating everyone and ourselves fairly, respectfully, and with dignity. Our respective schools called for demanding grades, so we all studied very hard for numerous exams, which ultimately increased our study habits tenfold. With competition, we made each other better students and learned to work individually and cooperatively efficiently.

With time, I began to act exactly like what I had been experiencing. The culture and customs were now embedded in my genetic code. I was motivated to use the proper etiquette which I learned through my yearlong exchange. People’s wants now came before my own, and love and compassion now meant something completely different to me. The end of my stay in Japan was equivalent to a blindfold coming off. Exposing myself to every single culture I crossed, my new eyes saw the world as it was, with light glistening like the dancing rays of the rising sun.

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.

There were a couple of days in May that my school had off. So often when I had school off, I would take day trips with Belgian friends or other AFS students. That day, my host mother had asked me to go to the beach with her. Since my host family was large, it wasn't often that I had time alone with either of my host parents. It meant a lot to me that she wanted to take this day to go to the beach with me so that we could have some time alone together. The beach day ended up being very nice. It was cloudy most of the time but it didn't rain which allowed us to walk around the beach and city. We had a nice lunch together and at the end of the day, I think we were both happy to have had a day together. There is a kind of closeness that comes between a student and a host family that develops very subtly throughout the year. For me, it was moments like these that proved how much I cared about my host family and how wonderful of an experience I was having- even through all the trials that were inevitably part of the year as well.

This was the best experience of my life. I lived in a small town and made friends immediately. I learned the language and adapted to the culture. I was able to bring a part of my heritage with, as well. Being Jewish in Sweden was hard, but I was able to teach and celebrate my culture and traditions. In addition, I was able to learn about Sweden's culture and holidays. It is a place I feel I can be myself. Sweden is a second home to me, and I thank AFS everyday for allowing me this experience.

My trip to Argentina was really important to my personal development. I keep in touch with people I traveled with 6 years later and take the experiences and memories with me everywhere. My host family was great. The friends I made are incredible. I wouldn't change anything about the trip and it made me the person I am today.

I was amazed by the people in the exchange program in Flanders. When I arrived, I was picked up at the airport, and brought to a beautiful monastery where all of the other exchange students were. There were many fun activities and opportunities to get to know my cohort as well as learn about Flemish culture and language.

After graduating high school, I went to Ecuador for ten months through AFS. I lived in a small city high up in the Andes mountains, near to one of the countries largest volcanoes, and went to one of the local high schools. I lived with a wonderful and caring host family and made good friends with both my fellow AFS students and my classmates at school. Despite the hard parts of the year, like being homesick and experiencing culture shock, mt AFS year was the best year of my life thus far. I learned so much about not only myself and Ecuadorian culture, but also about culture in the US. I gained fluency in Spanish, self confidence, and a host of other things that made me grow.

During my year, I spent most of my time being a student and a part of my host family. Many of my days were pretty similar, just going to school and then spending time with family or friends. Sometimes I got bored, but I also appreciated it, because I knew it meant that I was getting to experience what life was like for regular Ecuadorians.Ecuadorians are some of the friendliest and most caring people you'll ever meet. I always felt welcome and cared for.

I also got to travel quite a bit, mostly on the weekends and over some breaks from school. Ecuador is a awe-inspiring country, because of its natural diversity. I took trips to the Amazon rain forest, the Galapagos Islands, went to beautiful beaches, massive volcanoes, along with so many other breathtaking places.

The only draw back that I saw with my program was the local AFS support staff. AFS USA did an excellent job of preparing me for exchange before I left, but support in-country was pretty lax. Part of that was just a cultural thing. I was used to orientations and events being planned out and scheduled way in advance, a trait that's very prominent in US culture, but Ecuadorians have a less strict sense of time, so many things AFS related came together at the last minute and weren't as well organized as they would have been in the US. Also, AFS Ecuador volunteers are spread pretty thin. There was only one AFS volunteer in my city, and he was responsible for 12 students. This meant that I didn't get much one-on-one support from her, but I knew that I could go to her if any serious problems came up.

All in all, I would definitely recommend AFS to anyone looking to go on exchange. It's a wonderful program that has a focus on cultural understanding, which I believe is immensely important.

My time in Paraguay was the best time of my life! I experienced many new things a meet so many great people. My favorite part of being a foreign exchange student was actually becoming like a local. Where I live in the United States there isn't a whole lot of public transportation but in Paraguay that was how I got around. The busses were my life, I had the lines memorized to get to about anywhere! My time in Paraguay was amazing! I encourage everyone to go because you really have the chance to become apart of the culture because Paraguay isn't a highly tourist country. You will get to eat, speak and do things just like the paraguas do! You will even learn a little of their other national language, guarani!

Through Summer Search, a nation wide mentor program, I was able to stay with a host family in Asuncion, Paraguay during the summer of my junior year. Throughout my stay, I developed a new perspective on family — I found myself studying the relationships between the members of my host family and comparing them to those of my own. Since a great majority of the population of Asuncion was raised with the same culture and traditions, I noticed that there was a general consensus when it came to personal values: family always came first. In contrast, while my own family maintains healthy relationships, we are all independent — dedicated to furthering our own lives. My experience in Paraguay has served as a wake up call to reevaluate the quality of the time I spend with my family.

While it’s easy to get lost in school, in a career, or in money, my host family found an ideal balance, which is something I admire. My host father was a lawyer, and my host mother worked as the vice president for an insurance company. Despite their important positions and robust work schedule, they were always home in time to enjoy dinner together. I took note that my host family prioritized spending time with each other, not only to support one another in their aspirations, but also to relieve the day’s stress; they enjoy each other's company because there is no judgement or envy amongst them, only acceptance and compassion. This trip reignited the value I place upon family; however, within my own, while the same intimacy is present, the time is not. We are not accustomed to eating together, nor are we accustomed to setting time aside to have a conversation, but this can and will change. I have a newfound respect for prioritizing family, one that will continue throughout my life.

I want to be able to not only make time for family, but to work together and keep each other motivated and ambitious. My host family serves as a model, because of them, I now understand why family deserves to be a priority. The importance of family is endless; my family is my security, my guidance, my identity, my love. I earnestly believe that life is not a matter of money, but rather the company you keep.