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Dreaming of faraway places and foreign lands ... of meeting new people and experiencing new adventures?

If you're a high school student these daydreams could easily become a reality. In the United States, tens of thousands of students every year take advantage of youth exchange programs that send them all over the world, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. Youth exchange programs offer unique opportunities for high school students to live and travel abroad. In these programs, which can last anywhere from a month to a year, students live with a host family and experience a different culture on an intimate day-to-day basis.

Youth Exchanges: The Complete Guide to the Homestay Experience Abroad is an ideal source book for any high school student who would like to take advantage of the many opportunities a youth exchange program has to offer. Divided into two parts, a guide and a directory, Youth Exchanges takes the student through every step of the youth exchange process. The directory offers complete descriptions of major exchange organizations, including the various programs they offer, their selection criteria, program fees, addresses and contact names.

Covering the entire homestay experience from the application process to the return trip home, Youth Exchanges will prove to be a valuable reference for guidance counselors, teachers, parents and any high school student who wishes to expand his or her horizons and travel abroad.

John Hawks, a former exchange student to Japan, owns an editorial services company, based in Lexington, Kentucky, that serves the travel industry. He is the author of a forthcoming Facts On File book on travel careers.

Contents

Preface PART ONE: A Guide to the Homestay Experience Chapter One: Youth Exchange: What Is It? Youth Exchange Students: Why Do They Go? Chapter Two: Should You Go? A Self-Test Questionnaire Chapter Three: Youth Exchange: How Do I Choose a Program? Chapter Four: Youth Exchange: How Do I Prepare for It? Youth Exchange Destinations: How Do I Learn About Them? Chapter Five: Youth Exchange: What Will I Do When I Get There? Youth Exchange: Stages of the Experience Chapter Six: What Problems Could Come Up? Chapter Seven: Youth Exchange: What Will Happen When I Get Home? Youth Exchange Alumni: What Happens to Them? Chapter Eight: Youth Exchange: How About Parents? Chapter Nine: What About Hosting? PART TWO:Directory of Youth Exchange Programs APPENDICES Appendix A: Exchange Programs by Country Appendix B: U.S. Passport Agencies Appendix C: Foreign Embassies in the United States Appendix D: Organizations Involved in Youth Exchange Appendix E: Passport/Visa Services Appendix F: Other Services Appendix G: Customs Procedures Bibliography

 

Preface

In December 1982, I mailed a response card from an unsolicited direct-mail brochure about youth exchange programs. Six months later, I took my first airplane ride to Tokyo, Japan---and my first bullet train ride to Nagoya---for a two-month adventure living as a full-fledged member of the Hara family.

Eleven years later---as the former vice president of a major North American travel trade association, as a writer, and as a volunteer in national youth organizations---I continue to reap the rewards of that unforgettable summer.

Before I left on my exchange, however, I struggled to find reliable information about student exchange programs that would prepare me for what lay ahead. Though several books dealt with college-level programs, my family and I could not locate guides that dealt with youth exchanges for high school students. When I returned from Japan, I began outlining what become Youth Exchanges.

My purpose for this book remains the same: Persuading many more young people to make their own exchanges---to discover first-hand that, by living for a time with a family in another country, they can change the world (as the saying goes) one friendship at a time.

Many thanks must go first to the Morita Foundation and the people of McKenszie, Tennessee, for making my exchange possible.

In preparing this guide, I relieved heavily on the youth exchange staffers at the U.S. Information Agency, who shared their resources with me and pointed me in the right directions.

I could not have compile the directory entries without the cooperation of America's youth exchange organizations, who completed survey forms and responded to countless questions. Several groups provided invaluable in arranging interviews with former and current exchange participants.

Susan Schwartz and Michelle Fellner at Facts On File shepherded this book toward publication, investing much time and energy in the process.

Finally, I must thank Anita Diamant, my literary agent, for her leap of faith that resulted in this book.

To those of you who take your own leaps of faith into youth exchange, congratulations on deciding to bring the world closer together.

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