School is arguably one of the most formative things in a person’s life. Education forms one’s perspective of the world, and provides students with a place to develop their minds and their social skills. School is a unique time in one’s life. This is a notable time when most of a person’s focus is on learning. Therefore, foreign exchange programs prove to be crucial. These programs allow students to expand their horizons and learn more about the world around them and themselves. 

Nana Adamia is a foreign exchange student at Wakefield who is originally from Georgia. Adamia reflects on what she was able to learn about herself when living in the United States.

“You learn to be independent,” Adamia said. “I was independent, but I’m more independent now.”

Living outside of the country grants a person the opportunity to become more disciplined. When someone is forced out of their comfort zone, they can develop skills that may not have been cultivated without the experiences posed when living abroad. Studying abroad also grants one the ability to learn more about other cultures. Adamia talks about not only wanting to learn about American culture, but also to spread awareness about Georgian culture.

“I wanted to experience culture, and I want to make Americans understand that there are a lot more countries than they think there are,” Adamia said. “I want people to know about my culture, because it’s really unknown.”

Exploring foreign cultures is one of the wonders of life. So when a person lives within one area for their whole life, while comforting, it can restrict a person from growing due to being subjected to the same place and experiences. Therefore, it is argued that foreign exchange programs are extremely beneficial. These programs allow people to live in a foreign area and experience new cultures and events, while having the safety net of being able to come home at the end of the program. 

Not only do foreign exchange programs provide one with the chance to experience other traditions, but they also challenge a person’s preconceived notions. When a student lives abroad, another family in that country has that student live with them, or hosts them. This is a student’s host family. When that student is living with them, both the student and the host family get to know one another’s cultures better, resulting in more understanding between different people. 

Charlotte Bottcher is a foreign exchange student at Wakefield from Germany, and expressed how her assumptions about America were proved wrong when living in the United States. 

“In Germany, we have this stereotype that all Americans are [overweight]. It’s just because of the good food here,” Bottcher said. “I feel like it’s not even true. Many people have…good lifestyles. There are more healthy options than you expect.”

Every person has some presumption about other cultures based on stereotypes and media sources that shape one’s perspective. So studying abroad allows those who are studying outside of their own country, as well as their host families, to experience a different culture firsthand and form their own opinions. 

Amy Jones is a Regional Support Specialist (RSS) and Community Advisor (CA) with Borderless Friends Forever (BFF). Borderless Friends Forever is a foreign exchange program. As a CA, she finds host families for BFF international exchange students and supervises and supports those students and families during their exchange year. As an RSS, she also supervises and supports a team of other CAs in the western half of North Carolina. Jones explains how BFF and programs like it help break down barriers and stereotypes. 

“It is very difficult to stereotype a person from another country, language, religion or culture when you eat breakfast with them every morning, or wash dishes with them, or take a trip to the beach with them,” Jones said. “It’s also difficult for students from other countries to stereotype Americans like they see in movies or on social media after living with a family and going to school here.” 

Every person is different. All people have different and intricate experiences, cultures, traditions and beliefs that people may never understand. But it is seen that foreign exchange programs help people connect, and hopefully come to appreciate something new. Dani Lewis, a junior, was a foreign exchange student in Ecuador for five months. She explains how learning Spanish helped her connect with other cultures and understand others better.

“Learning Spanish was so important to me because now I have that tool to connect with other people, to experience other cultures and to understand a new perspective,” Lewis said. 

These programs help someone conceptualize the variety of cultures that are all around them. Every country around the world has a different way of life that can only be learned through living in the shoes of another person. But not only do people learn more about other cultures, they may learn to appreciate their own country more as well.

“I learned how important empathy is… and learned how to be more appreciative and grateful for the things at home,” Lewis said. 

Experiencing how life is in another area can make a person more aware of the people around them and see the world differently. These programs provide students with the opportunity to shift their worldview and become better world citizens.

“In our current climate, when some have worked hard to make us afraid of people from other countries and cultures, I think we need to double down on our hospitality and welcome people who are different from us,” Jones said. “The truth is, there is far more that we all have in common than what sets us apart from each other.”