Program Reviews

I decided to take a Gap year after graduating college and It was one of the best decisions I could have made! I reached out to InterExchange and throughout the whole process Melissa H. assisted me with everything I needed to know. She was extremely helpful,provided plenty of great resources, quick to respond, and very friendly! She really helped the whole process run smoother and I am so grateful for her assistance. When I arrived to Canada I received help from Amber at SWAP Toronto and she was also extremely helpful! One of the things I liked was how there was a Facebook page and newsletter emailed to us that kept travelers updated on events,job openings,housing and any other useful information. I ended up working in Muskoka in the summer through a job agency that provided decent housing. It was such a beautiful and amazing location! I met so many friends from around the world and learned about their cultures..which is exactly what I wanted to do while being out in Canada. I had so many new and exciting experiences, being out on the beautiful lakes canoeing, camping, and parties! I was also able to make some trips to Toronto and Niagara Falls with my new friends. I like how InterExchange allows you apply again for another year. I recommend bringing a car if you can if your living in the middle of nowhere like Muskoka- that's how I survived. Another benefit to this program is how I now have work experience in another country ;). I would not have been able to make this happen without the support and guidance of these programs and my family!! Even though I was only living and working in Canada for a few months,it turned out to be one of the best experiences that I'll forever remember!

I taught for You Can Camp in Macerata, Italy. I spent four weeks teaching at a summer camp for elementary aged students and had the time of my life! I met new friends, experienced a new culture, and learned some of a new language. I’d never been immersed in a new culture in this way, where I had to learn basic phrases and conversational Italian so quickly. By the end of the trip, I was cooking my own Italian meals, speaking in full sentences, and I felt even more confident in my teaching practice. As a high school teacher, this was such a good way to learn how to differentiate for each student while also tracking myself as a teacher in many ways. This program encouraged new teaching ideas that I’ve brought home to Cincinnati Public Schools, and I believe it helped me to grow as both a person and a teacher. I would give anything to do this again, as it taught me more than most other experiences in my life and I truly enjoyed every single moment.

I did this program because I had completed the necessary classes/credits I needed to graduate from college but I still needed the experience of going abroad. I chose this for several reasons, firstly because it was reasonably priced without making me have to take unnecessary classes. I’m really glad I did it because I felt that living with children allowed me to learn more than any class could have as kids are not offended by mistakes that you make in the language and allow you to be yourself. Then their parents would help me when I made mistakes. After an entire summer together we became like family.

I always knew that Canada was a beautiful place. And I was amazed to see everything through my own eyes and not from a screen or a book. When I came here I experienced snow for the first time. After a year, I'll know what season are. Living in Vancouver is like living with the rest of the world together. I've never seen so many cultures all in one place. I like Vancouver so much, I might think about moving here permanently. But first, there is a whole country I need to see before I make that kind of decision.

My time abroad while in Spain was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It was a chance for me to live abroad and experience a new culture and perspective on the world. I went there as a nervous student who had just graduated high school, but when I returned I had gained independence and confidence that I would have never gotten if I had gone straight to college. I think the best part of my experience was the people that I met. I was able to meet a bunch of different people from across the globe and develop great friendships that I still have today. Living in Europe also allowed me to travel on the weekends and to experience 10 different countries. It wasn't too expensive and was a once in a life time opportunity. I learned to balance my time and what was important to me when I was on my own. I am so thankful that I made the choice to go abroad. If I had one tip, it would be to start traveling and experiencing early! When I first got there I was trying to get settled and feel comfortable before I started adventuring or traveling anywhere, but in reality I got more comfortable by traveling and experiencing everything I could! My favorite memory is spending the afternoons in the city center, eating small appetizers and frozen yogurt! It was the perfect time to take in everything the city had to offer and to meet all the different friendly faces.

Hard to grasp one of the best years of your life into a short review. Getting the chance to go abroad, meet people, see the world, and experience a new culture.. helped me see that there is more to life than just going to school, getting a job, and starting a family.
I got to see and do things most people would dream of and that was with the help of InterExchange. With programs like InterExchange, it gives people the chance to find themselves while experiencing a different part of the world.

I loved my experience so much that I actually decided to spend a year in New Zealand as well because I wasn't quite ready to go home just yet. I only have three months left and i'm already trying to plan my next adventure.

So... With a heavy Heart, thank you to Interexchange for giving me the chance to live out my dreams.

My review title can only make sense if you read my review. A true Stompwijker; the title my host family gave to me only after a few weeks of living here. I was already accustomed to the small town feel of Stompwijk; the smell of cows and sharing the road with tractors and horses. It felt like home from the start. I met my first group of friends at the horse races; with the language barrier being a bit of an issue for some of them we just laughed it off by kicking the soccer ball around and dancing to the DJ. The next few weeks I was invited to BBQ’s, boating and tent parties. All these things made me feel completely at home, from the very start. Shortly after I was tagged on a Facebook post on the towns Facebook page saying they were looking for girls to join their soccer team. Being that I played soccer all my life and went on scholarship to play at university I could not resist this opportunity. I quickly reached out and had another connection that felt like home. With practicing and getting to know my team even better, I felt my true self really appear. During my year abroad I took personal trips where I truly wanted to experience myself and a different culture, I cycled all around the Netherlands and I even cycled from Amsterdam to Antwerp, Belgium. I took a train to Paris with my boyfriend, who is a “native Stompwijker” and I did fun cultural activities with my host family and friends. I indulged myself completely and fully into the Dutch culture. I fell in love with bitterballen, stroopwaffels and cycling.
Looking back at my experience I would not change a thing because every situation led my Stompwijk soccer team to winning champions and celebrating by riding around on a tractor kart through town, it led me to being able to ice skate on the canals that make the Netherlands unique, and every situation gave me another reason to come back and visit.
I’ve only lived in Stompwijk for one year but that’s 365 days of waving to the same people on my daily routine, smiling and saying “goedemorgen” or “hoe gaat het?” My host family says I’m a true Stompwijker because I never said no to any experience, I was up for anything. I wanted to jump into the Stompwijk culture and that is exactly what I did. I came to the Netherlands labeled by everyone as the American au pair but I left as a friend, a true Stompwijker.

I applied to teach in Spain through Interexchange. The experience was life-changing and I couldn't have asked for a better adventure on my first time abroad. I was placed with a host family in a small town near Barcelona. My host family was incredible and by far the best part of my experience. I was shown around Catalonia every weekend, including in family events, and comfortable and well-accomadated. Interexchange also placed another participant in my small town and that helped me socialize while abroad. It was the first step in my traveling abroad and seeing the world and since the program I have continued traveling and been even more successful.

Battered from life and confused on spirituality, life and career goals, and even if I wanted to live, I decided I had to change something to strive for a better life. So I changed perspectives. I obtained so many in New Zealand. I lived with a 34 year old self-sustainable hippie away from society up in a mountain out of a house he built, living off the land, using solar and wind power (was going to make a hydroelectric generator). I stayed on a sheep farm, another mega farm, made so many friends on a hop-on hop-off bus, traveled ALL of Middle Earth, traveled in a car with new mates, and did the best hikes I've ever done. I am no longer suicidal, I have found my spirituality (an interconnectedness of everything, and so much more...), am pursuing my career path, have so many life goals, and most of all, I'm happy :)

I have traveled Europe since and am looking forward to traveling SE Asia and Australia next.

I couldn't have asked for anything more. What a beautiful life.

While the organization itself tended to be more hands off than I would have expected in terms of individual engagement; I found that staff was generally reliable and often hosted group events for people living in the same area. I happened to be matched with a perfect family, so in many ways I was lucky; but, it is definitely a program geared towards the “self-starter” and not for people who may need a little bit of extra guidance.