The advice continues! In Part Two, our 2025-26 students share even more tips to help the 2026-27 class make the most of every opportunity. From stepping outside your comfort zone to building new friendships and embracing everyday moments, their experiences offer valuable reminders that an exchange year is about personal growth, connection, and trying new … Continue reading
As our 2026-27 exchange students prepare to depart for the United States, who better to offer advice than students who have just completed the same experience? Our 2025-26 students are sharing the lessons they learned, memories they made, and tips they wish they had known before arriving. Whether you’re preparing to meet your host family … Continue reading
Backpack? Check! Notebook? Check! Guidance and Tips? Check! As our 2023/24 students continue to arrive and settle with their American host families and communities, we are thrilled to present the much-anticipated Part Two of our advice series! To help future exchange students make the most of their American adventure, we’ve gathered advice from our 2022/23 … Continue reading
Today, we hear from Lilli from Germany. She spent the 20/21 school year in a small town on a farm in Michigan as part of a double placement with another exchange student from Spain. Read on to learn why – even though everything was different from what Lilli was used to in Germany – her … Continue reading
Today we are showcasing some of the fun and educational cultural enhancement activities that our stellar exchange students and their coordinators have participated in throughout the year! With Aspect Foundation’s mission of bridging cultures and offering culturally enriching experiences to all participants under the Department of State’s Leadership Education and Diplomacy (LEAD) program, our students … Continue reading
As the end of the school year draws near, so begins the period of transition when our wonderful exchange students prepare to return to their home country. While it can be difficult both for our students and their gracious host families, it is good to focus on all the growth, discovery, and newfound love that … Continue reading
In light of kicking off Global Youth Service Day 2018 (April 20th-22nd) and Earth Day 2018 (April 21st), we would like to reflect on one of the values that makes a cultural exchange experience so rewarding: SERVICE. From our brave exchange students to our generous host families, to our nurturing coordinators who make sure their students and families have successful … Continue reading
Kristin from Norway is experiencing America in Washington for the 2015-16 academic year. In celebration of International Education Week, she shares with us 6 things she learned as an exchange student. 1. I take too much for granted. It sounds weird, but at home, we really live in a bubble. We have a good life. We know … Continue reading
The 4th of July falls right in the in-between part of the exchange year — last year’s students have just gone home, and next year’s students are far away, still eagerly packing their suitcases. It’s a day where we can come together and celebrate our country’s history and the things that make us proud to be Americans. … Continue reading