Choose Rotary or Don't Choose at All.

Imagine packing up all of your belongings, saying goodbye to your family and friends and leaving for the unknown.

Now, imagine doing this at the ripe age of 15.

In august 2006, I left everything I had ever known and embarked on the greatest journey of my life. I was a foreign exchange student in the country of Denmark for 10 months, and enjoyed every minute of it. During my year abroad, I learned so much about Denmark, my own country, and myself. After my once in a lifetime experience, it seemed that everyone around me was asking me for advice on youth exchange programs and that I had become the expert.

Well, I am not sure if I am an expert or not, but considering this is something that is truly dear to my heart, I decided to change the pace of my regular blogs and write a review of the three leading high school foreign exchange programs while focusing on Rotary Youth Exchange, since it was the organization I went through.

WARNING: I am completely biased, as I am an advocate for the organization (Rotary) that I went through.

After deciding that youth exchange is the right thing for you, it is time to decide what organization to go through. The three most popular high school foreign exchange programs are AYUSA, AFS, and Rotary Club International Youth Exchange Program. Although similar on paper, each organization has a different feel and objective.

AYUSA describes themselves as a great opportunity to become global citizens and perfect your foreign language skills, while AFS focuses on explaining that it is a nonprofit organization that is looking to promote world peace. Rotary says that their program is about creating great civilians who act as ambassadors. All three organizations also state that learning a new culture is what they are mainly about.

So, why should you pick a specific organization? Well, according to each of their websites, AYUSA will help make you a global citizen, better your college application, make you more mature, and strengthen your language skills while immersing you in a new culture. AFS thinks that their organization is the best because you have more immersion into other cultures, they have experience with international exchange since 1919 and because they have program support and risk management. Becoming globally minded, having a commitment to youth and having low costs is why Rotary thinks they are the best option.

Just from reading what each organization thinks of themselves and why they feel they are the right choice for anyone, I can see that AYUSA and AFS are very similar in what they think youth exchange is about. Unlike the other two, Rotary focuses on using this exchange to promote knowledge of other countries as well as of your own country. What happens to youth is very important to Rotary, and perhaps the other two, but we cannot see anything about that on their websites.

Costs are also very important when choosing the right organization because they can sometimes be a deal breaker for families with low income. AYUSA’s and AFS’s average one- year high school youth exchange program costs somewhere between 6,500 and 14,000. These costs include everything from round trip airfare from a hub city, student health and accident insurance, pre-departure and in-country orientations, placement with a carefully selected host family, including food and lodging expenses, academic year: enrollment in local high school and support from local coordinator, supervision, guidance and support during application process and throughout the entire program, student handbook to prepare students, and 24 hour emergency assistance. Rotary’s costs also vary and cannot be jotted down as a specific figure because, unlike AYUSA and AFS, there is no cost for the program. Each student is expected to pay for their round trip airfare, health and accident insurance, travel documents, spending money, emergency funds, and extra travels and tours, while the host Rotary club pays for the school tuition and a gives you a monthly stipend. The volunteer host family pays for room and board. 

Although all organization have a support system for you for when you are abroad, Rotary provides you with an inbound and outbound counselor so that you have support from your home and from your host country. This support comes in handy when you are faced with an issue.

Also, in AYUSA and AFS, you are placed in a single host family for the 10 months that you are there, while in Rotary you change host families three times throughout your year abroad. Although it may sound hectic, this change is a great opportunity to learn about different cultures within a culture, and it is also a great advantage if there is a problem with any host family. I have heard in the past from other exchangers that AFS does a horrible job at attending to you when a host family change is needed.

Learning a new language and culture seem to be the main educational objectives of AYUSA and AFS. Rotary’s main educational focus seems to be learning about your host country, teaching of your own country, and learning about yourself. It is important to view this year as a year of experience and not a year of education.

All three organizations host orientations, prior and post departure, where they teach you basic survival skills in hopes of preparing you for the unknown. AFS and Rotary also have orientations that meet throughout the year. Rotary’s involvement and unity is the real deal breaker for me. Since day one you are being involved in the learning process, as you are asked to write speeches, be interviewed, and do homework on your host country. There are many orientations prior to your departure, so you will be very acquainted with the Rotary system and the members. Rotary also hosts a language camp at the beginning of the year and has numerous orientations or gatherings where all of the exchangers can meet and interact. Also, since Rotary is a club organization, you are required to attend club meetings and are introduced to local members.

As you can see I am very passionate about Rotary because I feel that they truly are the best organization for youth exchange. I had the best experience going abroad through Rotary and will continue to be an advocate for them always.