Anyone here's kid been involved in Foreign Exchange programs?

[stroker]

My 15 y.o. daughter announced last week that she wants to spend her senior year of HS in either Japan, Italy or Greece. I didn't immediately torpedo it (for legitimate reasons) but it seemed important to her so I thought I'd cast around to see if any of my online peeps had experiences (good or bad) with it. She's in her second year of learning French.

[Pilgrims Drop]

My 15 y.o. daughter announced last week that she wants to spend her senior year of HS in either Japan, Italy or Greece. I didn't immediately torpedo it (for legitimate reasons) but it seemed important to her so I thought I'd cast around to see if any of my online peeps had experiences (good or bad) with it. She's in her second year of learning French.

From personal experience... I (european) did the opposite, spent a year in high school in the US...

I knew a fair bit of english beforehand as we got to learn it from 9 years old in school... and I was fluent after my year in the US. The impact the experience had on me was great, I got to experience and feel comfortable in a different culture. I became more self reliant, self assured and confident that I am sure became real advantages for me later on through uni and in my work life.

It gained me a second family, a second set of parents and siblings in a way, as my foster family took me in as one of their own. And I still visit my foster parents every 2 years or so and talk to them regularly.

Word of caution however, I had the fortune of getting a wonderful, loving foster family through the programme and that is key to a good experience, so if you decide to go on with this (as I think you should since it's a great idea and both my kids have been away as foreign exchange students to the US and Australia respectively) vet the programme thoroughly before committing to it.

Also I'd suggest France instead of any of the countries your daughter was interested in simply due to the fact that she knows a bit of the language. In my experience that is a key factor in having a great experience. Italian is closer to spanish than french so if she speaks spanish then that may work. Japanese are fairly poor english speakers overall even though the younger generation is more knowledgeable these days.

Alternatives would be the UK or any of the nordic countries that all learn english from a young age. And keeping in contact with your child is childsplay these days... far from the letter writing I used to do

Another positive I got from my year as an exchange student was that I became a huge Indycar fan :) and I still have a Truesports cap somewhere in a box :)

[TravelGal]

So much to say. In high school my best friend was host to an exchange student from Colombia. As Pilgrim's Drop said, she was another daughter and we all took her in as another friend. After high school, I went to Bogota to live with her family for 10 weeks. After college, the same again. We were all one. Her experience broadened MY experience of the world immeasurably.

Fast forward to last month, I was staying with a friend in Canada I had met on a travel agent trip. She is a host for foreign exchange students. I moved in for a few days as they were moving out after a few weeks. They become part of the family. They learn history and what is important in another culture. I can't tell you how important it is to experience a different world view firsthand. It's an experience that cannot be beat.

Do you homework. Talk to parents of students who have already participated in the program. Take whatever safety measures you feel are necessary. Then let her spread her wings and fly.

[SteveH]

Watching CBS Sunday Morning and there’s a segment on the America Exchange Program https://www.americanexchangeproject.org/

It places American high school students in other American towns that are racially/culturally/socially diverse from the community the student lives in for a week. Interesting concept.