The day has come...scary?!

So true. I did all these things, but it didn’t really hit me until I saw the airport - and I was going crazy in the car the rest of the way!

I don’t think it will hit me before the airport either.. I can just imagine myself, when everyone starts saying goodbye to me; “WHAT? YOU’RE NOT COMING WITH ME!!?!?!?!” Haha XD

That last moment when you turn the corner after security and know you won’t see your family again for months is one of the hardest things to do! But it is so worth it. Exchanging is the best thing in my life!

Spot on Lexi, that was the worst part! I started to tear up right after, but I got myself something cool to drink and sat down for a while. I kinda wished I had brought tissues at that point.

But then it got better, thank goodness. Exchange is so worth it.

I wished that I had tissues too! Luckily this old Turkish woman had a pack and gave me some… I felt so odd when I was waiting for that plane overseas… I couldn’t believe what I had done!

Oh boyyy. I’m so nervous but so excited!

Hey everybody!
I want to go to Japan but i dont know any good exchange programs?

I also need help convincing my parents.
What do i do?

Find your local Rotary club and talk to them. They have a GREAT exchange program and lots of conferences, etc. that will prepare you AND your parents for the coming year. If you need more help, comment on this again, and I will contact you!

Hey lexi! Thanks! I found one right in my city! I am going to call them and ask for more info and see if they offer scholarships! I was wondering.. What should i pack? I have no idea? Just curious! Thanks so much Lexi!

Rotary is a volunteer-based program, so it shouldn’t cost you anything, or at most it will cost a few hundred dollars for the conferences (if they host them). What you will need money for is what you buy in Japan! :D And if you are anything like me, (I went to Turkey this past year) you will buy a LOT!

Packing… Don’t pack much! Pack your necessities: Your favorite jeans, just a couple shirts, a dress or two… You will buy a lot there. Bring lots of gifts! And an empty suitcase.

Thanks Lexi! You are such a big help! I will have to make sure i bring money…im a big spender
Specially around foreign stuff! haha!

What gifts should i bring to a Japanese person?
And how can i convince my parents? They are not against it but they are defiantley worried! lol Any advice? Thanks!

Well, best gifts for ANY person of any nationality is something from your life, something unique to your town or city… Maybe towels or tshirts or coffee mugs or even refrigerator magnets from your hometown!

Thanks! That is a really good idea actually!
What should i do to help convince my parents though? They dont understand this is my passion!
The good thing though it that they are not completely against it! XD
What can i do to prove its safe and what i want so badly?

Your parents are probably more understanding than you currently realise. It was that way with mine, anyway.
Tell them how important this is for your life, how willing you are to make it happen, and what bonuses you plan to receive out of it. It looks good to universities, and it is an amazing life experience. It may be hard for them to let you go overseas… It is worth the benefits though!

Thank you so much! I wish my parents understood more but i guess i will let them have time before i tell them about it again!
I think it will be an amazing experiance and i will just have to let them know this means the world to me!

I have some questions?

How long was the program?
was it hard to get adjusted to speaking the other language and such?
And was your Host family nice?
Did you get to pick the area you stayed in specifically?
And was it easy to make friends?

Thanks!

My program was 11 months, and it took about 3 months to be able to speak Turkish decently, to the point that I could have small conversations and get around the city without needing English anymore. With Rotary, you can’t pick a specific area; in fact, most programs don’t include that option.
It was very easy to make friends!

Oh ok! Thanks! I am glad it was easy to make friends!
You have been a very big help!
I found a Rotary program right in my area! (^^)
Should i just go ahead and call them or should i visit them in person?

Just call them and ask about their exchange program and how you can get involved. You should attend a few meetings and help with their volunteering programs, too. It looks great for universities.

Okay i will call them! My dad is willing to drive me to the building itself! (^^)
I will try to get involved as much as i can! (^^)
Thanks so much!! you have been such a big help!!!

would it be a bad idea to do this my senior year?

I’d recommend going on exchange either your senior year or the year after the senior year.

What can you expect at the airport before you go? What can you expect when you land?
How can I convince my parents to let me do this?

umm, to the comments above.. its kinda made me scared to fly out now. any tips?

I can’t wait till I hope on that flight tho it has made me scared!!!!!!! one year in France my day has finally came!!!!!! look out France here I come!!!!!!!!!

Hey Lexi, I am going to Istanbul,Turkey in June. I have NEVER been there before and never been overseas before. What should I expect? Is it safe?

Hey there, Tori. I am so excited (and more than slightly jealous) to hear that you will be living in my adopted second home, the beautiful metropolis of İstanbul, Türkiye! İstanbul’s airport is very easy to navigate, so you won’t have any problems there. The Turkish people are very warm and welcoming; they will not only be pleased to host and socialize with you, they will be honored. I recommend that you go to Türkiye with no expectations. I realize that that sounds alien and impossible, but you can make it happen: try not to think of anything as a superlative or a stereotype, e.g. don’t say “My host family is so rich!” or “This is going to be the best year of my life!” Don’t misunderstand me. You will have an AMAZING experience, and you will enjoy the foods and culture of Türkiye very much. But I would be wary of putting my expectations too high—what if nothing measures up to your pre-exchange misconceptions? Sometimes I had to deal with questions like this.

You will absolutely love İstanbul, I am very confindent in that. :D You should send me your email address so that we can chat more! I am so excited for you.

Geez, I would Like to go to Japan. Maybe I’ll wait for my Junior year to go. Then I’ll ask and show how much I’ve matured.

Hey Lexi, I got a letter inviting me to be a Foreign Exchange Student at Japan!
Only problem for me though is, I won’t be able to go until my senior year. And I have been in a special school program that has brought me to work rigorously through my past three years and I just don’t know if I should go to be a exchange student at Japan and skip out of my senior year here in Texas.
Also my parents aren’t too fond of the idea of me going to a foreign country by myself (With the exception of my Dad of course). I have gotten this letter twice and I am really eager to go but I can’t bring myself to skip my senior year at my magnet program to be a Foreign exchange student yet.

That is so cool that you went to Istanbul Lexi!  I was lucky enough to go there myself in 2009.  I was only there for a few weeks, but fell in love with the city, as well as the other towns I visited.  did you get a chance to travel throughout the country much? 
I would love to go again for an exchange program in my junior year, but it sounds like you can’t choose where you go?

Meg-

I am so happy to hear that you love Istanbul! Where else in Turkey did you travel?

Whether or not you are able to choose your destination is entirely dependent on the program with which you decide to go on exchange. Rotary, for example, sort of give you a choice (via its ranking system, etc.), but STS gives you a choice. It also costs tens of thousands more…

Let me know if you have any more questions!

hey what is a good age/grade to be a exchange student because i want to go when i am in 10th grade and its to Germany well maybe i am thinking ahead because i am in 8th grade right now but i want to apply for scholarships so can someone help me out like when did you guys all go like age please so that i can make the best desision

Shanna, I hosted a boy last year from France and he was in 10th grade and we had the best time! Also I went to France last year for a month, and now this summer I’m going over to his family… You should definitely try to go when your in 10th grade you will love it as long as you are open minded to different cultures. And yes at the beginning it is hard but by the end you won’t want to leave. I hope you can do this it will change your life in a positive way(:

I’m so worried about the moment where I can’t see my family for months! How can I get over homesickness and saying goodbye?

I am very excited for a foreign exchange. I have already contacted my local rotary, but i don’t want to choose the wrong place. I really want to go to Japan, but the fact that it is kind of dangerous there right now kind of makes my mother iffy in wanting me to go. She wants me to go to Norway. I think that would be amazing, but i am already learning Japanese, and i love the japanese culture. Where have you all gone? What is your advice??

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I took Japanese too and am going to Taiwan through Rotary. The big thing with them is that you may give then your choices of where to go but in the end you just have to be flexible on where they can send you. But most of the time people go to one of their top three choices.

My mom won’t let me go. She keeps on thinking I’ll end up like the next Jaycee Lee Dugard. So I showed he some videos of some exchange students in Japan and how much fun they were having in the different country. But she still isn’t convinced. I really don’t know what the problem is really. I only want to stay for the summer and nothing more.

I really want to go my freshman year,but do you think that is to young to be traveling and spending a year in another country ...

i think the earlier the better. Freshman/sophomore year would have been the perfect time. now that i am a junior, Rotary wont take me. And it will be tough to find someone. Im hoping to do a Gap year now. To have the money and everything planned in advance would have been great. But i didn’t even fathom the idea of an exchange program before high school.

NORWAY HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!! Does anyone know any good language programs (Rosetta Stone doesn’t have Norwegian)?