I am an exchange student right now in the USA. It all started a little less than 2 years ago when one of my teachers one day told a little bit about being an exchange student. What he said caught my interest immediately, and after class I went up to him to hear more. He told me to go to meetings different organizations hold, and to collect material from as many different organizations as possible. Therefore, I would be able to choose the organization that was right for me. A week later my room was filled with brochures, and I was on my way to an AFS meeting. Everybody there was very friendly and I heard a lot about the organization and what being an exchange student really is.
I went home and persuaded my parents to let me be an exchange student, and to let me go with AFS. My parents agreed. They had many friends who had been with AFS, and had had some good experiences. About one month before I left I went to a pre-orientation. I had been to other meetings with AFS, but the 4 days I spent at the camp was the best possible preparation for my study abroad. We had a lot of fun while learning all the things you need to know, and when we left the camp we all felt like we had known each other for years instead of days.
During this year I have had a lot of fantastic experiences. My host family is Hispanic, even though I am in the USA. For the Christmas holidays, we went to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil to visit friends and family. I have also had some amazing experiences with the other exchange students in my area. When we are together we can talk for days and still have more to talk about.
All exchange students have something special in common. They find out that they are not citizens of a specific country but of the world. It is a gift you can bring with you for the rest of your life. You have done something most people could never imagine doing. It teaches you a lot about yourself and you find out that nothing really is impossible if you want it bad enough. The world is full of possibilities; you just have to grab them.