Why Travel Far Away from Home?
Sometimes when you leave places you know and take on experiences unknown, your perspective changes about your own country, your host country and yourself.
Photo Caption: Like Natalie (far right), you will find other exchange participants to connect with while far from home.
Preparing for the Future
“I always wanted to go to other places, not always stay at home and see the same things. My parents support me in every situation. My mother says that I can do anything, and she wanted me to do this because she thinks for my future it’s important,” says Natalie Nussbaum, who wears a prosthetic arm and aspires to be an English teacher back home in Germany after finishing her year in the U.S. state of Washington. “The last week before leaving for America was very hard because ten months away from home is a long time, but they are proud of me that I do this exchange. I call my parents each second Sunday, and I write emails each day with my boyfriend in Germany. It’s hard, but I think we’re handling the situation. In the U.S., I'm taking a hip hop dance class, I did a ropes challenge course with a youth group at church, and I’m getting my driver’s liscense this year!”
Experiencing New People and Places
“My goal is to be as independent as possible so I can attend a University either in the United States or Egypt. Traveling and being away from my family has helped me to increase my independence,” says Mahmoud Garem, an AFS high school exchange student from Egypt who is blind and was placed in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. “I have gained more knowledge about the American people and the United States government. I have also had the opportunity to see new places. I have recently experienced the extreme difference between a Wisconsin winter and the climate in Egypt. I have also celebrated a couple of holidays that were new to me: Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Trying New Activities
"I did not know how I overcame the fears but after the exchange, I was performing on stage back in my country for any school performance."
Being in new environments, trying things you have never done before, helps you to learn to laugh at your mistakes, says Jaziel Tan, an Youth Exchange and Study (YES) high school exchange participant with a vision impairment who left Malaysia to study at a high school in the U.S. state of Kansas for a year. “One of my biggest problems was fear and not being bold. Fear to speak, fear of making mistakes, fear of embarrassment, and mostly, stage fright. Because of this, I would always try to prove myself with what talents I have and avoid what I can’t do. This turned me into someone who partly isolates himself from the world,” reflects Jaziel. After the exchange experience, things changed. “I did not know how I overcame the fears but after the exchange, I was performing on stage back in my country for any school performance. I also know that they’re many students like me out there who discovered that we are not less than the world, neither are we more. We learned something, and we survived.”
Gaining Skills and Making Friends
Traveling far from home will give you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, and gather skills that will be useful for you later in life. “The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program (for students from Eurasian countries) gives participants an excellent opportunity to study in an American high school, get to know American culture, realize the advantages of a free, democratic society and contribute to the communication and cooperation process developing between the United States and [Eurasia],” says Ruslan Khuchenko who is from Ukraine and walks with a prosthetic leg. “At my U.S. high school I took many interesting courses. Some of my favorites were Debate, Journalism, American Cultures and Advanced Placement American Government. Despite my disability, I accomplished two purposes: I gained the respect of teachers and made friends with many students. The teachers wrote several excellent recommendation letters for me.”
"I gained the respect of teachers and made friends with many students. The teachers wrote several excellent recommendation letters for me.”
You will also create close ties with those you meet during your time overseas. People that won’t easily be forgotten often include the host families that open their homes and hearts to you. Ruslan explains, “The program’s staff found a wonderful host family for me in Pennsylvania. My American parents and I found a common language very quickly. They were extremely hospitable, kind and friendly to me. From the moment I met them I felt their great support and caring toward me. My host family was constantly concerned with my well being.”
Meeting Role Models
Sometimes the family members will have disabilities themselves, so they can be positive role models for you. “I have dwarfism, but what’s amazing is the fact that I have never met or talked to someone who has the same condition as I do. Maybe I was just too scared or ashamed of talking about my disability. I came from a family of average size people…and it is the environment where I am used to,” says Marlon Celso, from the Philippines, who was placed by AFS in Michigan as part of the YES program. “All of this changed when I knew that my host parents are ‘little people,’ as they say. They are active members of an organization called Little People of America. They taught me a lot of things about being a Little Person. It opened my mind and it also changed the way I look at myself. I know that those things that I have learned from them will be a very big help for me.”
"I have experienced a lot of things for the first time...for the first time in my life I felt like I am doing something to make the world a better place."
As students with disabilities, you may find that you have new opportunities to challenge yourself and try out new possibilities. You may find, as Marlon did, that you will do quite well. Marlon participated in a Youth Leadership Conference, a statewide meeting for empowering young leaders with disabilities. “The past four months of my stay here in the United States have been very rewarding for me. Not just because I have experienced a lot of things for the first time, but because for the first time in my life I felt like I am doing something to make the world a better place,” says Marlon.
Becoming Confident
Being away from your own family and friends may be difficult. But you will find valuable people and experiences by being on your own, even if for a short time. You will be able to learn new things about other people and about yourself. “One of the most important things that I learned,” says Vera Aminova from Russia who has scoliosis, “is to lead a crowd, you have to believe in where you are going. To be a leader, you must start with yourself, setting your own example first.” Let international exchange be your first step to becoming a leader.