r/exchangestudents

Hello, I’m an Italian exchange student in Canada. I’ve been here for 4 days and I’m going to stay here 4 months.

I like the family they assigned me because they are kind and give me all the comforts I can need in a house, but when I hear how other exchange students spend time with their host families, I realise it’s really different.

For example, they told me that they talk a lot with their families about random things as well, while with my host family I talk maybe to ask them for stuff with school or tell them what we’re going to do the next day, but nothing more really.

So I eventually ended up asking myself if I’m the “problem” and should talk with them more or if it’s the family that’s just not too lively.

It’s not that I particularly mind anyway, because I’m not one to go and talk for hours with adults, but sometimes I just don’t know if this is how it should be with a host family.

So far there have been days when I’ve been pretty happy with how I spent time at home, and other days when I’ve had doubts.

Before I came to Canada, I had to follow some courses, where they told me that the host family should be the first shoulder I can lean on if I are homesick or need any help. But as for me, right now I wouldn’t feel comfortable to go and talk to them about stuff like this.

And I also know that it’s just been 4 days, but it looks like most of the other exchange students are basically already best friends with their host parents.

Furthermore, my host family usually stays at home and watches TV for most of the day, so they don’t do too many activities in which I could maybe make myself get involved to form a bond with them. So, for a super introvert like me, it’s harder to become closer.

During the courses, they also told me that this could be a possibility as well, and that I have to find things to spend the time at home on my own too. The problem is that the things I usually do to spend the time are one person activities, but then again, they told me that I should spend time with the host family.

So how am I supposed to do that?

I wouldn’t want to be overthinking this or anything, but I would also like find some ways to solve this kind of problem.

Hey everyone, I’m a 17-year-old exchange student from Italy currently placed at a very large high school with over 3,000 students in El Paso, Texas. I came into this program with a lot of enthusiasm, hoping to get involved in music, tech, and the typical American high school experience. However, the situation at my current school and local environment has been pretty overwhelming, and I’m looking for some advice or shared experiences regarding the re-placement process with CIEE.
In just the first few weeks, the atmosphere at school has been really tense, featuring multiple severe fights, a heavy police presence on campus, and instances where officers had to step in and hold students for questioning following violent altercations. Since I’m taking required core classes to match my home curriculum in Italy, simply changing my schedule or dropping classes isn't really an option. On top of the school environment, I was also involved in a severe car accident on Interstate 10 shortly after arriving, along with another near-miss collision recently, which has made navigating the local traffic and daily routine extra stressful.
I’ve already reached out to my home agency in Italy as well as CIEE, and CIEE has opened a safety and support case regarding my situation. I have a check-in call scheduled with a Participant Services coordinator later this week to discuss next steps. For anyone who has gone through a school, district, or state re-placement due to safety or environmental concerns, I’d love to hear how the process went for you with CIEE, how long a transfer typically takes once approved, and how best to frame my situation during the call so they understand this is about the overall environment rather than basic culture shock. Thanks in advance for any insights!

hi!
im going to korea in a few weeks for my exchange and i was thinking of giving small gifts to my new classmates there. however im not sure how that will be perceived and if it might seem too extra...
has anyone brought gifts before? and what would be a good thing to gift? so far i was thinking of making small baggies with some local sweets...?
thanks in advance!!

with my birthday being very early in the year it has been a little hard to find programs that will allow 18 year olds. i was looking at yfu usa (if anyone has gone through them i'd love to hear your experience!), but they are the only one i have found that allows you to turn 18 while aboard. thank you!

Hello,

I have been wanting to go on an exchange year for a year now, but when I brought it up to my parents, they said that it's too expensive, which I understand. Now, I'm starting my upper secondary school here in Finland and the clock is kind of ticking.

I have a few friends over in the US that could potentially host me, and I could make a visa. The county that my friend lives in accepts international students. Can I do all the paperwork on my own or am I required to have a program to study in a US High School?

I am a 17 year old girl from a south asian Country.

My grades haven’t been the best because of my life circumstances. Neither Do I have that much of a ECA profile. But I am a really social, open minded person.

I finished my 10th grade And I wanna do my high school in abroad. I believe if I get out of my conservative country, I will get to use my full potential and achieve great things in life. I'm applying through UWC but I want need more suggestions just in case this doesn’t work out.

Also how does this host family thing work?

I'm really eager.

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Hey everyone,

I’m planning to enroll in the 1-year part-time Certificate Course in Foreign Languages offered by Ramjas College (DU).

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My end goal is to pursue my Master’s degree abroad, and I want to pick a language that will actually complement my higher education plans and visa/job prospects, rather than just picking one randomly.

The language options offered are:

German

Spanish

French

Italian

Chinese

Korean

I’d love to get feedback from seniors, current DU language students, or alumni who went abroad for Masters:

How manageable is the workload? Since classes run a few days a week, is it easy to balance with regular degree coursework/prep?

Quality of teaching at Ramjas: Are the instructors from the respective DU departments (like DGRS / DEAS) good for building a solid foundation?

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Language Selection vs. Country:

German: Thinking about tuition-free / low-cost public universities in Germany. Is A1/A2 from DU enough to start, or should I aim for Goethe side-by-side?

French / Spanish: How strong are these for Europe (France, Spain, Switzerland) or North America (Canada/US)?

Korean / Chinese: Are these worth considering primarily for East Asian government scholarships (like GKS for Korea)?

Which language did you choose, how was your experience at Ramjas, and which language/country combo would you recommend for higher studies?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I am an Italian exchange student and I will be staying in Canada for the next four months. Yesterday I arrived and met my host family. We had a meal together, watched a film and chatted for a while.

In the morning I also had breakfast with them and then unpacked my stuff in my room.

I know people recommend to never stay holed up in your room and go and spend time with the host family, and I really want to do that, but it’s easier said than done.

I am a very shy person and I would feel invasive and uncomfortable to just ask random questions out of the blue.

To maybe just show the family that I don’t stay in my room all the time, I was thinking of maybe going to the living room and read a book or do other activities on my own, but at least I’m with the family.

But I think that even if I did this, maybe it wouldn’t be nice anyway, because I’m not interacting, just doing my thing while staying in their company.

I wanted to know if it’s just me overthinking and it could actually be a nice idea for starters.

Of course I also plan to have conversations and talk with the family, so I’ll work on that as well soon.

Hi! I’m from the Philippines, and my friend and I just applied for a Summer Exchange Program to work in the U.S. for two months. Which states in the U.S. would you recommend that have a low cost of living and high salaries? THANK YOU!

Hi, I’m currently in an exchange programme in the usa. It’s a summer exchange, my host sis came to France and lived with me for une month, and now it’s my turn (I have already done 2weeks here). The problem is that she seems to don’t care about me at all and I really don’t know what to do or how to act. She is very different from me but we can joke together and have fun sometimes, when she was at my house, she meet my friends, we hang out all together, I introduce her to my family, bring her at the places she asked me to go and all. What I was considering as normal stuff. She honnestly don’t really get along with my Friends but that’s life and I could’t really do something about that, they tried to talk but haven’t commun interest. I want to précise that that girl’s hobbies are rock music, videogames, frogs and her boyfriend, witch is totally fine but I’m kinda her opposite, I enjoy sport, Shakira, art and reading, and my friends too so I know that we are not made to be bestfiends but I tried very hard for her to feel good at my place (I even play some videogames with her). The problem is that since we arrived in the us, she spend a day and night at her boyfriend place (like why not but that was my first time with her parents and I ate ALONE with theim), go to practice and ask me to don’t come because they needed to be focus (like why not again but I cancel my trainings so we could do the things she wanted so). But the OUTRAGEOUS part is that when she talk to peopls that she knows, she NEVER introduce me to theim and I’m just alone on the side (once it was 2hours of talking and they just all ignore me) when her parents are with us, they ask her in public to introduce me do she does that and thats the only Times I can talk to peopls so that’s very important to me, I just want to make friends and don’t be alone. I get along very well with her family (close like extended) so I’m very shy about talking about that. Especially that I already talked to the girl about that and she just don’t seems to care. (I also heard her fighting about that with her mom, the mom arguant that she was « engaged » about me and the girl that she wanted to enjoy her last summer with her friends so I feard that the parents can’t help me neither). I really don’t know what to do, It sounds very pitifull but I really want to make friends and I just can’t and don’t find any solutions by myself. There is obviously more strange comportement that she do but I can’t write that because It’s going to be too long.
Please I really need answers.

I'm a Brazilian student researcher, still an undergrad, and my research program allows me to stay for 4 months at most in a foreign country while working with a foreign professor that is willing to take me on, fully funded by my country. My advisor knows two professors who could do this for me, and one of them teaches at a very prestigious university in New Jersey. While I'm going to ask that we try with the one from a different country first, this one is also an excellent professional and working with him would be a great opportunity. I never even thought this would be possible during my undergrad.

However, with all the news about ICE activity that we've been hearing about for the past few years, my family is extremely worried about this, and honestly, so am I. I'm torn on what to think. They're worried about my safety.

Another thing that worries them is that on top of us being latin american, I am also transgender, but I'm not sure if this would matter because what allows me to use a different name within my country is something that doesn't exist internationally. My passport and all of the documents that I would use in the US would contain the name and sex I was given at birth, and my appearance wouldn't give anything away either.

What I wanted to ask, and please be honest with me: would it be safe at all? Is there anyone over there who's going through a similar experience and would like to share? Should I tell my advisor I would rather not? How are things over there?

It would pain me to turn down an opportunity like this, but I would never want to put myself in any actual danger. I have no one to ask, since I don't know any US americans personally nor do I know anyone who has visited beyond a few vacation days in the last couple of months. I would stay for 3 months next year, apparently with a J-1 visa.

I asked in a different subreddit about this and while I got very few answers, all of them said they were fine and that I would be fine. And obviously my advisor's other student researchers do this a lot and they've never had any problems, and he wouldn't have suggested this if he felt it was dangerous. But I would like to talk to as many people as possible about this before making any real plans.

I apologize if the question may be stupid in any way from the standpoint of someone who is inside the country, but the news that reaches us outside is very concerning and scary. But news doesn't always capture the way day to day life actually is (for example, if you read the news about where I live you'd think it's unlivable over here lol, but most people I know are fine and haven't been in any danger), which is why I want to ask. It's been hard finding people to talk to.

Thank you in advance.

I'm an American high schoolers going abroad for 10 months in a few weeks. I just got my host family information, I reached out to them and we scheduled a video chat. Im sooo excited but also nervous on what were gonna talk about. Question ideas? I dont want it to be formal since I'll be living with them for a while lol

Hello everyone! I recently became an exchange student as of yesterday. In advance I requested to stay with a host family because it would give me the support I needed in a country I am unfamiliar with.

About a month ago I was put in contact with the host family I would be staying with, an absolutely lovely mother and daughter (who is a senior at the school I’m attending).

Going into it I had already seen pictures of the room before I had arrived, it is lovely, and I was made aware that there would be a long commute to university. Upon arrival I notice that host mom does not have a room, and instead opts to sleep in the living room, it makes me feel a little awkward and bad- like I’m pushing someone out of their own house. Not to mention that it’s one bathroom and three girls, and I feel nervous about taking up space.

Upon my commute to school there it is easy- host mom drives me to the bus stop- from the bus stop to the university, the entire process takes an hour (and my classes start at 8am), on the way back to the apartment I need to take two busses and walk blocks alone in the city between university-> bus stop 1-> bus stop 2-> and apartment. I’m not going to lie, the commute scares me a lot, and the other international students do not have to deal with this.

Today, I broke down crying to the coordinator of the program, saying I just felt bad, and the distance from the university made me stressed, she said it’s completely okay and that I can switch.

I told my sisters, and they said I need to suck it up, and that other countries are like this. After talking to the other international students none of them reported having the same situation as mine.

I feel like a bitch, requesting to change after talking to this family for a month and building a relationship. But I just escaped a living situation with drug addicts, and I’m paying alot (~4,000$ for the host program) and I feel like I’m going to loose it if I continue to feel this stress.

Has anyone else gone through this? Is this normal?
I would love any advice.

Hello everyone, I’m a 15 year old boy from Portugal that’s looking to go on an exchange year in 2 years, I have a few questions that I was wondering if you could help me with.

I’m a scout and I’m studying music in school (main curriculum and I play the trumpet) and those are two things I would very much like to continue doing while on exchange, join a high school band in my school and potentially joining Scouting America, my question is does AFS help support the pursuit of music in the US and how common is it for a host family to be in scouting (either the children or even the parents, who might be leaders)?
I don’t have any requirement (and would be happy to do an exchange year without all I’ve just mentioned) I just want to keep in contact with nature and be with a family that also loves camping.

Thanks in advance for any help.
And sorry for any mistakes as english is not my first language.

EDIT: how would i go about shipping my instrument with me? It’s case is about 50x30x15cm

so I’m from Sweden and planing to study in USA and the cost for 10 months is 16 304 dollars and I wanna know if that’s way to much or if thats normal or way to much and if its okay do anyone have good side job?

I am applying to a high school in Japan, but I am not sure how to convince my parents to let me complete my high school education there. Financial constraints are not an issue, as the program fully covers tuition, dorm accommodation, meals, flights, and provides a monthly stipend. Being from Ethiopia, I believe an opportunity like this is rare, and I want to make the most of it.

I’m 15 and an Irish citizen. My dad told me we were coming to my home country for a holiday, but we’ve ended up living here. I didn’t know we were moving here and I really don’t want to stay.

I feel like I was tricked into coming here, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. My Irish passport is with my dad, and I don’t have phone service right now, only WiFi.

I’m not saying my dad is physically abusive, but I feel like there’s a lot of emotional pressure and I don’t feel like I have a choice about staying here.

I’m mainly looking for advice or someone who understands what I’m going through. Please don’t ask me for my exact location or personal information.

I’m a US citizen, but I’ve lived outside the US for most of my life. I’m currently in Germany, and because of a new rule that affected the BBS program I was in, I’d now need another two years here to graduate. It basically set me back a lot and messed up the path I was on.
That’s why I’m thinking about going to the US for one school year instead. I’d like to stay with a host family, go to a public high school as a senior, and hopefully graduate there.
I’m not really sure if this is even possible since I don’t currently live in the US, so I’d really appreciate any advice from someone who knows how this works or has been in a similar situation.

Thank you