AFS Panel Discussion Reflection
Sunday, March 11th, 2018
Recently, the Global Scholars and I had the opportunity to attend an AFS mixer and moderate a panel on the exchange student experience. The event was attended by both AFS students and their American host families, who brought food from their student’s home country. We snacked on dishes from samosas to Finnish cake as we waited for the guests to trickle in so we could begin our panel discussion.
Moderating the panel afforded me a unique experience to delve into the realities of life as an exchange student. As a former exchange student (SYA China ‘17!), I found myself relating to students’ struggles with culture shock and language acquisition. Students also shared humorous anecdotes about their adjustment to life in America; one recounted a story in which he didn’t realize homework was mandatory in American high schools and started failing all of his classes! Finally, we had the chance to mingle with the AFS students and learn more details of their experiences.
All in all, I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know these exchange students and connect to the challenges and highlights of living abroad.
