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Cultures Connect

International Exchange Programs

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When Debbi Holden thinks about the day her son Ryan, then 16, left Auburn bound for Germany with 20 classmates, she remembers having mixed emotions.

“They all took a bus from the high school to the airport,” Holden says, “so after the bus left, all of us parents just sort of looked at each other.” Ryan called hours later from Munich to say his ATM card wasn’t working. Holden, although understandably concerned, felt confident his program guides could resolve the issue. “As parents, we all worry when they go out the door on their own,” she says. “But if the program is good, the kids will be fine.”  

When exploring exchange and study abroad programs, parents should keep in mind that having a trust-based relationship with their child is just as important as confidence in the organization sponsoring the trip. “Parents need to have a good heart-to-heart with their kids to know that they will be trustworthy and do the right thing,” says Thomas Schroeder, co-coordinator of Placer High School’s exchange with Germany. “As long as they have their trust, the parents then need to let their child go and have their adventure.”

Schroeder credits the students he met during a Fulbright teaching exchange at Tassilo High School in Bavaria with inspiring the program between their school and Placer, which has offered the trip since the fall of 2000. “Many kids have maintained very close contact with their partners and quite a few have returned for more visits,” he says. “It’s broken the travel barrier for our kids.” The three-week experience takes place in June, two months after German students visit Auburn. The $2,500 price tag includes everything except a handful of meals and spending money.

According to Cathy Johnson, Roseville-area coordinator of Cultural Homestay International (CHI), when her son went abroad he “appreciated the experience all the more because he helped raise some of the money.” Johnson has been involved with CHI, a non-profit educational organization, since 1983 when her family hosted an exchange student for the first time. “It’s probably the single greatest experience we’ve had as a family,” she says. “It helped us to realize that we are part of the world, not just our tiny community.” CHI offers programs all over the world ranging in length from three weeks to an academic year. A four-week summer trip to northern Japan costs approximately $3,500 (plus spending money) and sees participants living with Japanese host families, participating in cultural activities, and attending classes at a local high school.

People to People International, a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, is yet another option for students as young as 13 looking to gain a global perspective. According to its Web site, PTPI has a presence in 135 countries and “enhances international understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities.”

“There are so many possibilities for young people to explore the world today,” Johnson says. “Whether a family hosts an exchange student or they send their son or daughter abroad, it helps us to understand our neighbors while building a deep, long-lasting friendship.”