This has absolutely been one of the most important experience in my life|
Everything started with the fact of realising how import it is to know english if you want to travel and you are not, unfortunately, an english native speaker.
I was 15 years old when I had the change to do my first alone-travel to Australia because family friends were living there and I would have been hosted by them! As soon as I arrived at the other side of the world, I immediately felt super frustrated by the fact of being unable to communicate with people because of the language. As everybody of my age, I studied english since primary school but unfortunately it is completely different to know a language throw a book or to actually learn it in situ.
As soon as I went back to Italy, I told to my parents I wanted to go abroad for 1 year experience to learn english and that is how my incredible experience started.
I got in contact with STS (a swedish exchange students organisation well known for programs abroad and right now I am working for them as Exchange Students Representative Area) so I decided to spend the 4th year of high school in USA (2006).
Unfortunately by that time, students couldn't decide the city or the state where to do their experience (important news now available) therefore I could only selected a "macro area" (East Coast). I was quite lucky to be assigned to an host family located in Providence, Rhode Island even though after few months I started having problems with the host mother that forced me to change host family.
Mine was a serious adventure for a 16 years old teen-ager who had to take tare of herself in a completely unknown surrounding.
I was allowed to call back home only half an hour, once a week (host family rules) and my parents nor friends could came visiting me for the entire year (exchange student policy)
At the beginning was quite hard but after the first few months everything turned to be quite exciting and I immediately understood that that year was meant to be one of the most important of my life!
I arrived at the end of August and by the beginning of January I was able to dream in english (the most amazing feeling ever!!)
In Italy I was playing violin attending Conservatory therefore, when I arrived in Rhode Island I booked an audition to be part of the RIPHYO (Rhode Island Youth Philharmonic Orchestra) so I took part of it for the entire year.
When I had to change host family, I had to change city and high school as well therefore I moved from Providence to Barrington, a little super nice town in New England.
In my second high school, I took part of the golf team and I played in the final match of New England.
But what I loved the most about this experience have been the friendships I made: unforgettable people I will keep in touch forever! Having the chance to meet other students of your age who are doing the same exchange experience is something super important!
Extra tip: don't forget to take the advantage, if you can, to take part of trips organised by your american exchange organisation: in my case I went to one week vacation to Hawaii where I met other 60 guys who were doing my same experience abroad (it was obviously an unforgettable week)
With my first host family, I had the change to travel to Orlando, Florida (Disneyworld), to Virgin Island and Puerto Rico;
while during the spring break I went visiting some of my parents' friends in Indiana whom I went to Chicago for a weekend with and at the end of my exchange student year I met my parents in New York and we decided to say "goodbye" to USA by doing a road trip to California (we took a flight from NY to Las Vegas and then we rented a car and we drove throw the Death Valley right to San Francisco and the all the way down in the south to San Diego)
I tried to resume in few words an experience that completely changed my perspective of life and my way of seeing the world and meeting people!
An high school exchange student year abroad is an extraordinary experience that I would recommend to everybody. This was briefly my story but each one of you will have its own that will change himself/herself for good!!!
PS: don't forget to take part of the one week pre-exchange student program in New York!
Everything started with the fact of realising how import it is to know english if you want to travel and you are not, unfortunately, an english native speaker.
I was 15 years old when I had the change to do my first alone-travel to Australia because family friends were living there and I would have been hosted by them! As soon as I arrived at the other side of the world, I immediately felt super frustrated by the fact of being unable to communicate with people because of the language. As everybody of my age, I studied english since primary school but unfortunately it is completely different to know a language throw a book or to actually learn it in situ.
As soon as I went back to Italy, I told to my parents I wanted to go abroad for 1 year experience to learn english and that is how my incredible experience started.
I got in contact with STS (a swedish exchange students organisation well known for programs abroad and right now I am working for them as Exchange Students Representative Area) so I decided to spend the 4th year of high school in USA (2006).
Unfortunately by that time, students couldn't decide the city or the state where to do their experience (important news now available) therefore I could only selected a "macro area" (East Coast). I was quite lucky to be assigned to an host family located in Providence, Rhode Island even though after few months I started having problems with the host mother that forced me to change host family.
Mine was a serious adventure for a 16 years old teen-ager who had to take tare of herself in a completely unknown surrounding.
I was allowed to call back home only half an hour, once a week (host family rules) and my parents nor friends could came visiting me for the entire year (exchange student policy)
At the beginning was quite hard but after the first few months everything turned to be quite exciting and I immediately understood that that year was meant to be one of the most important of my life!
I arrived at the end of August and by the beginning of January I was able to dream in english (the most amazing feeling ever!!)
In Italy I was playing violin attending Conservatory therefore, when I arrived in Rhode Island I booked an audition to be part of the RIPHYO (Rhode Island Youth Philharmonic Orchestra) so I took part of it for the entire year.
When I had to change host family, I had to change city and high school as well therefore I moved from Providence to Barrington, a little super nice town in New England.
In my second high school, I took part of the golf team and I played in the final match of New England.
But what I loved the most about this experience have been the friendships I made: unforgettable people I will keep in touch forever! Having the chance to meet other students of your age who are doing the same exchange experience is something super important!
Extra tip: don't forget to take the advantage, if you can, to take part of trips organised by your american exchange organisation: in my case I went to one week vacation to Hawaii where I met other 60 guys who were doing my same experience abroad (it was obviously an unforgettable week)
With my first host family, I had the change to travel to Orlando, Florida (Disneyworld), to Virgin Island and Puerto Rico;
while during the spring break I went visiting some of my parents' friends in Indiana whom I went to Chicago for a weekend with and at the end of my exchange student year I met my parents in New York and we decided to say "goodbye" to USA by doing a road trip to California (we took a flight from NY to Las Vegas and then we rented a car and we drove throw the Death Valley right to San Francisco and the all the way down in the south to San Diego)
I tried to resume in few words an experience that completely changed my perspective of life and my way of seeing the world and meeting people!
An high school exchange student year abroad is an extraordinary experience that I would recommend to everybody. This was briefly my story but each one of you will have its own that will change himself/herself for good!!!
PS: don't forget to take part of the one week pre-exchange student program in New York!