Hi from California, USA

[run4theworld]

Hello! I'm Nicole. I'm from northern California ( placerville) went ón Exchange with yfu to Denmark and currently live in Michigan. Welcome. There are a lot of people around here who Can answer your questions.

[WV Mom]

Hi! I'm WV Mom, one of the board mommies. I was born and raised in California, but now I'm a West by God Virginian.

[DollieGirl]

Thanks for all the welcomes. Any advice for what I should be doing in terms of exchange planning now, or should I just continue playing the waiting game and enjoying my life right now?

[WV Mom]

Originally Posted by DollieGirl

Any advice for what I should be doing in terms of exchange planning now, or should I just continue playing the waiting game and enjoying my life right now?

Enjoy your life by learning languages and embracing everything international that comes your way: join your school's international club, study multiple languages, befriend an exchange student (or two or three), take a class in taiko drumming, etc. etc.

That's not exactly exchange planning, but it will teach you a lot, help you when you apply, and be all kinds of fun.

[DollieGirl]

You all said that you would be happy to answer my questions, so here goes. So I was wondering how long I should go on exchange for. I had been thinking a year, but it seems that I will miss so much. But a summer doesn't seem like I would get the full experience. A semester is definitely not an option, thought. At least I have that figured out. So I guess I'm wondering if you feel like a year on exchange is worth missing a year of high school. I just feel like I will miss so much and I don't even know if exchange is right for me.

[arbigelow]

If you're not sure whether exchange is for you, what you could do is apply for a short term exchange with Rotary (which is usually for the summer). That way, you can get a taste of it and find out whether you would like to do the full year later.

In regards to a full year vs. semester vs. summer, I truly believe that a year is the best way to do an exchange. For the first part of the exchange you are still adjusting and learning the language; later on, you get to fully reap the benefits of the exchange. Also, don't worry about missing out on stuff back home; when I came home I was surprised how much didn't happen while I was away. Hearing what I could have been up to during that year just solidified my feelings that exchange was definitely worth it.

[hannah_22]

Originally Posted by DollieGirl

You all said that you would be happy to answer my questions, so here goes. So I was wondering how long I should go on exchange for. I had been thinking a year, but it seems that I will miss so much. But a summer doesn't seem like I would get the full experience. A semester is definitely not an option, thought. At least I have that figured out. So I guess I'm wondering if you feel like a year on exchange is worth missing a year of high school. I just feel like I will miss so much and I don't even know if exchange is right for me.

YEARYEARYEARYEAR!!!

I did a semester in Paraguay, and I'm in Turkey for the summer. A summer is hardly even an exchange. The culture-shock is nowhere NEAR what it is on a longer program, you don't really learn the language or fit in or go to school or become a part of a class or anything. A semester will give you enough time to do those things, but not to enjoy them. I had a really hard time my first few months (I think most people do) which only left me with about a month to actually HAVE friends and speak Spanish and everything. If you go for a year, you'll have a few hard months (in all likelihood) but you'll stick around to enjoy everything that you worked through.

I know that a year seems like a long time, but it really isn't. If you want to do exchange, do a year. One of my biggest regrets ever is choosing a semester over a year. Nobody's sure about anything (and the ones that think they are usually aren't after a few weeks/months there). Maybe you're a little unsure, but that could turn out to be a good thing.