Foreign Exchange

When I was in high school I briefly thought about being a foreign exchange student, but then decided against it. My cousin entered the program, however, and soon found herself living in Japan. She loved being there, but it did mean that she missed a lot that was going on at home. Our grandmother was sick and almost died, but my aunt decided it was best not to tell her what had happened unless our grandmother didn’t make it. She was fine, and my cousin was not told until she came home.

She loved being part of the foreign exchange, and has fond memories of the year she lived and studied in Japan with her host family. I’m not sure if she still talks to them or not, but last I knew she did. A part of me wishes that I had done it, but I probably would have wanted to go to a school in either Australia or England, as both are places I would love to visit. I’m not much for picking up languages, so a foreign exchange for me in a country with a different language might be a disaster. If my daughter asks to do it one day, it will be hard to let go of her for a year, but I would never ask her to miss out on the opportunity.

There was a problem associated with my cousin’s foreign exchange, however. Apparently, she was quite a hit in Japan, and many boys were falling in love with her. I don’t know if she just didn’t know how to say that she was not interested, but many kept trying to call her long after her foreign exchange time was up. One boy even got onto a plane and flew over here to the US to surprise her at Christmas. Surprise might not be a strong enough word. He was a nice boy though, so they didn’t shove him back on the plane straight away. He is in one of our family Christmas pictures from that year, and I laugh every time I see the picture.

If you want to have your child take part in the foreign exchange student program, talk to someone at your school about it. Most schools take part in it, and they will have a lot of information to give you as well as stuff you must give them for consideration. In some cases when you send your child for foreign exchange, you are taking in a student from another country at the same time. You may even have a child from the home where your child is gone, though I can’t say I know exactly how it works. You can find details at your school or online if you do a search.