The ups and downs of my exchange year

Ratings
Overall
5
Growth: 5
Support: 4
Fun: 5
Housing: 5
Safety: 5
Review

As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed my exchange year. My German improved immensely, I was able to see a lot of Europe, and my host family was wonderful. The school was a little boring to me, but that's to be expected when it's a gap year and therefore doesn't count for anything. The language camp was amazing; we got to spend three weeks with other exchange students making friends, learning the language and culture, and enjoying a temporary host family before we went to live with our permanent host families. I also loved the mid-year orientation and end-of-year orientation. YFU definitely kept us safe but gave us plenty of freedom abroad. For instance, we were free to travel after we filled out the required form (which was very easy). The one main down in my year was when I switched host families after the first month and a half. YFU was helpful, but kind of made me feel like I had to find myself a new host family, which put a lot of pressure on a student in a new country and at a new school. It all worked out for the best, but maybe they could have approached that situation a little better. I would encourage anyone who wants to go abroad to choose YFU, because they really care about your success and give you the tools you need to succeed! My experience with them was life changing :)

Would you recommend this program?
Yes, I would
Year Completed
2015
Media
Photos