I would definitely recommend joining sports and clubs, and all the school activities. Those have been the most fun for me, and I met most of my friends while doing sports together. 

– Emma from Finland

Get out there and talk to people, engage with others, compliment one another, join some clubs, sports, theater, band or anything that will keep you involved in something. Always have something to do and enjoy every moment of your exchange year. PLEASE don’t waste your time on your phone or just sitting at home and not communicating with others. 

– Zainab from Bahrain

Always say YES. Acknowledge and respect the limits, but have as much fun as possible. Spend time with your host family, and always be grateful for what they’re doing. Take a ridiculous amount of pictures and videos, and never take anything for granted.

– Emma from Spain

Join everything you can, from sports to clubs. Make friends, be open to new experiences. Join your host family in any activities they do, even when you think you won’t like them, try it first, and if you don’t like it, you can always say it.

– Laia from Spain

Don’t be scared to try new things, don’t say no to anything before you even try it. Go out, get involved, play sports, this will make it a lot easier to make friends. Be part of your host family, don’t act like a guest, act like a member because that’s why they host you, they want you to be with them. Most importantly have fun and do everything you want because you don’t want to have regrets when you go back home.

– Marina from Spain

Learning new things is so scary and really challenging but it’s definitely worth a shot. it doesn’t matter if you won’t succeed, what’s important is that you at least tried to. Overcoming your fears is terrifying, but sometimes we just all need someone that will guide us through it and it’ll become less scary.

– Guilia from Italy