Everything starts with the idea going to another country to get to know the different culture, learn the other language and to meet new people.
Being an exchange student means that you are going to another country for a certain amount of time to live
with a host family and go to school in the other country. It is not just going there and lives there. As an
exchange student you are also there to represent your country, to learn the different language and culture.
What do I have to do to become an exchange student?
There are so many opportunities to become an exchange student. Nowadays most of the schools offer
short-term exchange programs for a couple of weeks. The other opportunity would be to find an organization
which you have to pay that they find a host family, High School, etc. for you. The different organizations offer
different programs from 3 month to two years and from public High School, private school to Au Pair.
There are so many organizations that offer exchange programs that it is not easy to pick one. Before you
decide you should research in the Internet, get brochures and go on special information fairs. You should not
just pick a random one. It is better to pick more and apply for an interview.
Before you go to the interview you should write the questions down you want to ask. After you had a few
interviews you should compare the information and see with which one you had the best feeling.
Then you have to fill out the application and wait till you get accepted. After you get accepted there are two
weeks of filling out paperwork waiting for you.
If you are a High School student you have to make sure that your school principal allows you to go for a
certain time abroad and if you have do the missing time over or if you just can skip it.
After you checked that and filled out all your paperwork the waiting begins. Now is your organization looking
for a family and High School. The searching can take them till three weeks before your departure.
Some organizations offer organization weekends where all the teenager, who want to go abroad, come
together and they tell you things, which you have to know you, may not have expected. Most of the times
there are returnees from the past years who tell you about their own experiences.
Host family
One day you get a call form your organization and they will tell you that they found a host family for you. This
will be a really exciting moment and you going to be curious how they look like, how they are and etc. One
or two days later you usually get a letter with a short family profile and pictures. Then you should get together
with your parents and write an email. The contact to your host family before you go there is very important.
Tell them about your life, send pictures, ask them questions and ask for their expectations. Keep in touch with
them till you departure.
Sometimes it can happen that your organization can't find a host family on time then they will have a current
family, called "Welcome family", where you can stay till they found the perfect family for you.
Your Departure is getting closer
Time is running by fast so be aware of your departure because this is an important, sad but also interesting
day. You have so many things to do before you leave and everything is getting too much. Sit down and write
everything down what you still have to do. Here a few things.
First you need to check with your parents and your bank how you get your money in the other country and
you definitely should get a credit card for an emergency. Then you have to make sure that you will be insured
during your stay. Normally your organization insures you but still check it. Furthermore you have to cancel any
phone contracts, train or bus passes and other monthly subscriptions. Things you normally don't even think
about.
Experience
This article is based on personal experience I made or I'm still making because I'm in the middle of my
exchange year. It is easy to say I will go for one year abroad but to actually leave your family, friends and
hometown it takes a lot. I'm still not sure if I'm the right person for that but I hopefully will figure it out at the
end of my exchange year.
Everything started in 2009 my dad kept asking me if I want to go abroad for just one or two month to
improve my English but I really didn't want to go. After two of my friends came back from their exchange
year and they told me how great it was I got interested in this whole exchange program. From one of the
other day I asked my dad if he wants to go to information fair for exchange programs. He was really surprised
because one or two weeks earlier I said no to his idea.
At the beginning of September we went to the fair where were over fifty organizations. It was too much and I
was overwhelmed but then I started talking to some organizations and took some brochures with me. After I
researched in the Internet about the different organizations I decided to go.
Time flew by really fast and the 12th of august got closer. At my departure day my friends and family took me
to the airport to say goodbye. It was the weirdest feeling I ever had because on one side I was really excited
on the other I was more than sad. The hardest part was when I went through the glass door to the security
check. At this point I realized you wouldn’t see them again for one year. I kept looking back and they were
still there and waved.
After a 12-hour flight I arrived in Los Angeles. I got of the plain and I had to wait one and a half more hours
till I got through the security check and got my language. I walked out of the door and saw my host family.
Everything seemed to be fine. We spend my first day in an adventure park and I was just tired from the flight,
the translation and thinking about everything what I wanted to say.
At night we drove towards Bakersfield where my host family lives. We got to their house and everything
seemed to be fine but then they opened the door and I could not believe it. I just wanted to run away. It
smelled more than bad, eight dogs were jumping at me and a cat just urinated on the carpet. First I thought I
was just tired so I went to bed. At the next day I discovered more things. Dog poo on the ground, dirty
dishes everywhere and moldy water in the sink. I called my mom and told her about the circumstances.
Immediately she called my organization but they told us that they checked the host family and everything was
fine.
All in all it took my mom one week to convince my organization that the circumstances were intolerable.
Finally after one week my coordinator rescued me and hosted me for another week in Tehachapi till they had
found a new family.
After one week they found a family in Bakersfield. A single mother who lives in an apartment with her 11 year
old daughter and her 18-year-old son. The mother shared her bedroom with her daughter and I should get
her son's room and he would be sleeping in the living room. The situation sounded really weird and actually
me and my family wasn't comfortable with that but my organization kept telling me that I have to go to school
because I already missed one week. When I got there everything seemed to be nice but it changed right when
my coordinator left. The first thing she told me was that she lied and that I had to share a room with her son. I
was shocked but didn't say anything. After one or two more weeks she showed her real face and took of her
friendly mask. She let me clean the whole apartment and when I didn't do my bed one day I got grounded for
one week. Furthermore she let me walk home from school every day and it was a one-hour walk through
really bad areas. She worked as a teacher at the High School I went to and she didn't even wait for me five
minutes after school to give me a ride or even just drove away and passed me on her way but didn't stop.
There were more little things they shocked me every day and I tried to tell my organization but they wouldn't
believe me. My parents were desperate in Germany because they couldn't do anything but they still did their
best. Without their help I probably still would live with this family.
After all what happened I finally moved to Santee and everything is getting kind of better. When I do look
back in the past I'm proud of myself that I got through that and that I didn't break up the program. The time
definitely leaves a mark on me and not in a negative way.
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There are many things to absolve an exchange. The first one would be the educational program like High
School, Private School and Community College. The second would be Work and Travel that means you are
going for a few months or a year work in different companies and travel around. Another opportunity would
be to go as a Trainee and work at the same company for half of a year or longer to get experience with the
job and the language. Check out the website www.cetusa.org this is an organization which offers a lot of
different programs.
