Exchange Student’s Enriching Experience

For the Bradbury family, hosting an exchange student is a natural extension of their international roots. Suzette and Simon hail from New Zealand; Suzette studied in Germany during college; and they relocated to Washington, D.C. and then Kensington with their three daughters almost 12 years ago. Last summer, Suzette saw a posting on the high school listserv looking for host families for exchange students. Her interest was piqued, and she inquired about becoming a host. The organization, Youth for Understanding, responded immediately to her call and within a few weeks, the match had been made.

Lisa Martin was the lucky student to have been placed in the Bradbury home. They specifically wanted a child from either Germany (so that Suzette could bone up on her old language skills), or from China (so that 6th grader, Rosie, could practice her new-found passion for learning Chinese). Youth for Understanding gave them three choices and after careful evaluation of the family’s dynamics, they chose Martin as their new family member for the year. The Bradbury’s felt that it was important to have a student who matched one of their own children’s ages (they have a 10th grader, Tamsin), and they were also sensitive to the notion of making the transition as easy as possible, both culturally and logistically. 

Martin comes from the village of Wittlengen, which has a population of 942, and a high school with a total of 500 students. So how did 15-year-old Martin adapt to living in our metropolitan area, in a family of three girls (the oldest, Imogen, is away at college), and attending , with its diverse population of almost 1,900 students?

“It’s been a remarkably smooth experience for our family and for Lisa,” says Suzette.

According to Martin, the Bradbury’s are similar to her own parents in temperament and parenting style, so it was an easy transition for her as well. While the organization discourages their exchange students from visiting their parents and friends during their year abroad because they want the student to feel as entrenched in their American experience as possible, Martin talks to her family on a weekly basis via Skype, and Suzette will often join the conversation (in German, of course), to reassure the Martin's that their daughter is doing just fine.

And she is doing remarkably fine. She is taking a full load of classes that were vetted through a strict Montgomery County Public Schools intake process, she is involved in school theater productions, concert choir and “School Girls Unite,” an international activist organization. She quickly found a comfortable group of friends and appreciates the more relaxed teacher-student relationships as compared to the more formal model of her home school system.

Youth for Understanding is one of many organizations that facilitate international exchange students, but it is the one that American University freshman, Katrina Potts, works for as a volunteer area representative. She was first introduced to the organization as an exchange student in Germany and said she feels they do an excellent job in preparing kids for responsibilities and challenges in the global community. It is her job to identify host families and support the year-long relationship. 

While Martin and the Bradbury's are doing beautifully, sometimes there are issues between students and hosts that need to be resolved. Potts finds that students from Western cultures have an easier time fitting in to life in the United States, versus those from Eastern backgrounds, who often have a more difficult time adjusting to the pace, freedoms, expectations and social differences of our culture.

The exchange experience can be life-defining, if not life-changing. For Potts, it solidified her plans to major in International Studies and German. Martin is already thinking about returning to the United States, either for college or for a job. And the Bradbury’s said they would be thrilled for their children to have the opportunity to participate in an exchange experience, whether in high school or college, especially since their year with Martin has been so positive. 

Youth for Understanding along with American Field Service are the oldest foreign exchange programs in the world, although there are many others to choose from. If you are considering an exchange program, the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel is a good resource for identifying the choices that best fit your student.