Traveling while studying abroad

The organization that my daughter is studying through, Youth For Understanding (YFU), makes it very clear that a high school exchange experience should not be viewed as an extended tourist opportunity. Your child is studying abroad to learn a new culture and be part of a family. It is easy to find blogs from previous students who talk about the constant travel they did with their host families. However, your child should not go into this experience with the expectation that the host family will be playing tourist with them each weekend and during each break. They might; they might not.

YFU will sponsor a week-long, mid-trip orientation for all YFU students. If your child is a CBYX scholarship winner, there will be another trip toward the spring to Berlin. YFU or CBYX will pay for these trips. They are really the only additional trips your child is guaranteed. YFU will offer a variety of cultural trips for a cost. My daughter has not opted to participate in any of these trips because she feels they are out of her budget and she doesn't want to miss the amount of school they would require.

Additionally, YFU makes it (not unreasonably) difficult for your child to do any independent traveling. We (the natural parents) had to sign off on what kind of travel we were comfortable with our daughter doing. Then, your child has to be invited by an adult to wherever he/she wants to go. Once your child has an itinerary, the host family has to agree to the plan, and your child has to submit their travel plan to the local YFU representative for approval. It takes quite a bit of advance planning and organization on the part of your child.

With all that being said, it is possible for your child to travel independently if the perfect opportunity arises. My daughter's high school German class was going to be in Munich over her fall break, and she wanted to go see them. She followed all the steps required by YFU and received permission to go to Munich by train on a Friday night. She stayed with a friend of her YFU representative for sleeping, hung out with her high school friends on Saturday, toured Neuschwanstein Castle on Sunday, got back on the train, and was home by Monday morning. She was tired but thrilled with her experience and proud that she had managed all that on her own. It was a great learning experience for her.