The short-term exchange is offered in the summer and students usually do a home-to-home stay, meaning they're paired up with a host brother or sister and the host sibling spends 3-4 weeks living with the student's family here in the U.S. and then the student travels abroad and stays with the host sibling and their family for 3-4 weeks. We're accepting applications for students to go this summer through March.
Not only does the program offer an affordable way for students to get a taste of what it might be like to do a long-term exchange, but it also allows students to be immersed into another culture and they're exposed to another language (even if they cannot speak the language). Students who have gone in the past three years have really enjoyed it and saw the value of gaining a "host-sibling" and lifetime friend from another country.
Students who don't want to commit to a full year abroad or are interested in studying abroad in college are great applicants for this 4-week long exchange.
Not only does the program offer an affordable way for students to get a taste of what it might be like to do a long-term exchange, but it also allows students to be immersed into another culture and they're exposed to another language (even if they cannot speak the language). Students who have gone in the past three years have really enjoyed it and saw the value of gaining a "host-sibling" and lifetime friend from another country.
Students who don't want to commit to a full year abroad or are interested in studying abroad in college are great applicants for this 4-week long exchange.
In a short PowerPoint presentation that I've given at high schools, I share the experiences of 3-4 students who went three summers ago. It allows students to see what they could get out of the program, but it also touches on the reality of culture shock. I leave time for Q&A at the end of the PowerPoint. I'd be glad to deliver this presentation at local high schools you'd recommend or at your Rotary Club if you know of interested students.
There are two PDFs we ask that you share with your club and interested students. One is an FAQ sheet about the short-term exchange and the other is a flyer that briefly highlights the short-term and long-term exchange programs.
To close, I'd like to quote Carl Wilhelm Stenhammar, Rotary International President of 2005-2006, who said, “If all 17-year-olds had a chance to be a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, there would be no more war.”
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Kelli
Kelli Hulea
330.727.0949