Woo Hoo Foreign Exchange!!!

[WannaBePassingFair]

Help!!! I've been accept for a foreign exchange, but I can't pick out my #1 country choice!

I'd like to go to:

India
Croatia
Slovenia
Finland
Czech Republic
Norway
Thailand
Spain
Ukraine
Japan
and multiple other places.

Where do you think I should go?? I am confused.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Where do you want to go?

I think I would pick Japan or the Ukraine, but I'm not going on a foreign exchange any time soon.

How long will you be gone?

And, BTW, congratulations. Big, big honor to be accepted.

[WannaBePassingFair]

2. I'd really like

to go to India, but am confused about it with the violence there right now. Like the train bombing yesterday.

[billyskank]

20. Oh, don't be worried about that

India is a HUUUGE place. It's really different though. Big culture shock. Especially if you go to the poorer parts. I went to West Bengal last year (borders with Bangladesh) and stayed in a rural town out in the sticks. It was like living 100 years ago: bathing from a bucket with water drawn from a well, all that shit. They did have electricity but it would go off once a day on average. Far out.

[WannaBePassingFair]

23. I don't know if a culture shock...

... would be a bad thing for me, in fact I think I might need one. Was it a big problem for you? Did you still like it there?

[billyskank]

25. It was a bit much on the first day

Especially with the exhaustion of the flight in to Calcutta. After that I got used to it real quick. The people were mostly really friendly - I think much better to foreigners maybe than we are. I don't think I'd want to live in India because of the austerity, but it's definitely a cool place to visit. I do intend to return.

[PassingFair]

3. Mother weighs in......

I would be more comfortable with her staying (9 MONTHS!)
in a European country.

Spain is as exotic as she should go, but she WON'T LISTEN TO ME!

:loveya: :hug:

P.S.: Right now her FIRST choice is India. With the current
instability in the region, I'm not comfortable with
this choice. (She'll be 16 when she goes....)

[Magrittes Pipe]

4. Japan will be fine.

I personally wish I'd been able to go to Germany or France.

[WannaBePassingFair]

6. awwww mom.....

:hug:


too bad, i'm going anyway. hahaha.

[otherlander]

30. Yeah!

:applause:

I have a confession to make...I've never left America. Ever. Sucks, don't it? I could probably convince my parents to take me to Canada sometime, though, and when I get out of high school my plan is to take a year off before college and maybe join the Peace Corps or some other volunteer organization. But India...that's awesome!

When you get back, I expect you to be able to tell me how to pronounce this word:

Swadhyaya.

I want to say it but I don't know how!

[WannaBePassingFair]

33. maybe....

what grade are you in?

[otherlander]

34. Junior- 11th grade.

Maybe what? :shrug:

[WannaBePassingFair]

36. maybe i'll tell how to pronounce a word you probably already know how to..

... pronounce.

[otherlander]

40. But I don't know.

Wikipedia doesn't know, either.

[WannaBePassingFair]

42. it is a sad day.....

when wikipedia does not know the answer.

[Midlodemocrat]

7. 9 months? I'm with you, mom.

Europe, maybe Japan, but nothing more exotic than that. India would be a wonderful choice, but I would be a nervous wreck. My eldest will be 16 in a week.


And, mom, just a teensy bit of advice. Make sure YOUR passport is up to date when she leaves, and any other members of the household. As well as any visas or shots you might need to have.

[PassingFair]

9. Thanks, Mid!

We do, indeed, need to update our "papers" also.

The Rotary program is pretty thoroughly vetted,
but I think 9 months is a LONG time to be in a
totally different culture.

She is an outspoken female and I worry about putting
her in a more "male-dominated" (Not that WE'RE
NOT!) culture.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. I kind of thought it was the rotary program based on the length

as well as the countries. She will have an outstanding time, but as a mom, I know you will be worried and miss her.

No matter which country she chooses, she will make all the right choices. She's a smart kid. I gleaned that just from watching her in the lounge.

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. Spain would be my first choice, and I am not 16.

It's a beautiful country with a lot of history and beautiful scenery.

Re: India, aside from yesterday's bombs, I think it would be extremely strange for her, because the culture differs so vastly from ours. And it's VERY far in case she got homesick.

Good luck!

[JVS]

5. Ukraine!

[Call Me Wesley]

11. Do you want to learn the language there or

do you want to be able to speak English? Then it's Europe, Japan (somewhat), India and Thailand (big cities.)

India is not more dangerous than some other locations, however, it's a place with a very foreign culture you might think of. The people are nice, warm and helpful, but if you're going to a big city, you'd be overwhelmed first by the poorness, the dirtyness, the traffic, etc.

Finland is nice - you both will encounter European and Russian culture there. Norway is nice and very sophisticated. Spain is wonderful, and Portugal and France are just a few steps away as is the whole rest of Europe.

I'd go for a place in Europe or Japan. Travel to India later. :hi:

[WannaBePassingFair]

12. I'd like to try and learn the language while I'm there.....

and all the countries sound so great i can't choose!

[Call Me Wesley]

13. Take your time.

Read something about the countries in question.

[WannaBePassingFair]

14. well...

... so far thats what I've been doing my entire summer, and I am still completely indecisive.

[Call Me Wesley]

15. Hmmm ...

So why is India your first choice if I might ask?

[WannaBePassingFair]

16. well to begin.....

.... I think they have the most beautiful, vibrant culture on the planet, every Indian I have met or talked has been genuinely sweet and kind and has told me I should go visit, beyond that I feel like I don't really know anything about India and I won't really know unless I go. The wording is a little fuzzy but do get what I mean?

[Call Me Wesley]

17. Oh, it is a beautiful place,

and the people are wonderful. But there's a difference between a visit and a 9 month stay. You're 16, yes? Choose Europe or Japan for now. India will not vanish, and I think (old geezer I am) that you will learn a lot more about India and its culture if you travel there when you're a bit older.

I just think Europe and Japan will fit you more - I mean will be more comfortable with you now. Do I make sense?

Oh, don't hate me now. :)

[WannaBePassingFair]

18. i don't hate you!

but I still want to go to India now.

[rockymountaindem]

19. I just spent a month in the Czech Republic

It's very nice and inexpensive, but the language is confusing and not easy to work with. I did learn how to get by in a restaurant, though. So, I can recommend the Czech Republic as a fun, interesting and safe place to go that is also located near many other places you might want to visit (like Vienna, which was great, and Krakow, which I really need to get back to). That is one reason to recommend against places like Japan (which is an island) and India (which is huge), because once you go there, that's probably all you're going to see. With Europe you can visit lots of unique places with relatively little expense or effort.

Having said my piece on the Czech Republic, let me say I've really wanted to go to Finland for about a year now (I hear English is an official language there now), and I hear that Croatia is a great place to visit.

[WannaBePassingFair]

21. Everyone who knows the Czech Republic,

loves the Czech Republic. Which is why it is in my top 10, and I really want to go but I don't know if I want to spend my entire year there. A friend of mine who is from Slovakia said she would stop being my friend if I didn't go there. and yet, I still don't know.

BTW, do you know anything about Hungary or Romania since you were just there?

[rockymountaindem]

26. I can help you here

Now don't take what I have to say as gospel, but here's my humble opinion...

Firstly, I thought the parts of the Czech Republic I saw were very nice. I spent most of my time in the eastern part of the country called Moravia, which is generally considered more pastoral and less industrialized. I lived in the city of Brno, which is the second-largest in the Czech Republic. Brno has some very nice parts, some cool historical stuff, but suffers somewhat from the residual effects of the communist era. I guess my biggest complaint is that certain parts of the city really do look like they're in disrepair. The good parts are good but the bad parts are just crumbling away. The countryside was nice though.

Prague, IMHO, was kind of stereotypical and rather overrated. I don't know why anybody would say "Prague is the new Paris" unless they mean it's clogged with tourists. Tourists aside, I felt that Prague didn't really have anything to offer that can't be seen in lots of other cities in that area. There are all the usual suspects: cathedrals, a palace, a fancy bridge over the river, but nothing that in my opinion really sets Prague apart. And again, the communist buildings you see outside the old town are really decripit. I probably would have liked Prague a lot more had I not gone to Vienna first. If you want I'll tell you more about Vienna when I get back from the gym, but suffice it to say Vienna is stupendous and awesome (drains your wallet though).

I did visit Budapest but not Romania. Budapest was like Brno writ large. There were significant portions of old communist apartment blocks, to be sure, but much more of the old city was preserved and in good condition. Plus, the touristy stuff was really, really great. The national parliament, the national cathedral, the palace and all that kind of thing were fantastic. I'd say Budapest was somewhere on the scale above Prague but a little below Vienna, but I'd go back to Budapest in a heartbeat.

A warning: if you want to learn the language don't go to the Czech Republic or Hungary. Hungarian in particular has a reputation as being nearly impossible to learn. Czech is not much easier. However, enough people speak English in the main areas that you can get by with English and a good phrasebook. I had a great time and I'd recommend it to anybody, but I haven't visited India et. al. so I can't make a comparison for you. If you have any more questions feel free to post, but I really must go to the gym now so you'll have to "Czech" back later. PM me too if you want. ttyl.

[nosillies]

22. CONGRATULATIONS!

After I graduated college, I decided to take off and move to a foreign country just because I was bored. I got a work visa, and I, too, had a choice of many places to go. So here's my $0.02.

I chose to go to England. I realized that moving to a foreign country was going to be very different and overwhelming no matter where I went, so I wanted to go somewhere a little less foreign. That was a very wise decision. The move itself was very hard, and I'm glad I had a little less culture shock.

That said, even England was a bit of a culture shock. That's when I learned about terrorism. The IRA was very active in different ways at that point in time. A rash of nail bombs killed and injured many at gay bars when I was there. And I was right next to the MI6 building at Vauxhall Cross when it got hit by a rocket. I encountered people from loads of different cultures -- and saw both the good and bad sides of some of these cultures. I was attacked by a radical Muslim gentleman one day because I, a woman, boarded a bus in front of him and took the last seat. And I saw a British royal bride who walked a few feet behind her husband because it was proper. So there!

Once in Europe, though, it was easy and inexpensive to travel to other, more "exotic," places if I chose. I got to visit other countries, thoroughly enjoyed the trips, but was glad I wasn't living there!

And since I've gotten older, I've had the chance to visit much more exotic places -- Africa most recently. I totally agree with the earlier poster -- at a younger time in my life, I would not necessarily have gotten as much out of these experiences.

So tread carefully. It will be the most nerve-racking, stressful, amazing, and growth-inducing experience of your life. HAVE FUN!!!

P.S. I'm sure you'll go to another country and fall in love. There's something about foreign boys. I happened to marry mine. You don't do this -- you're too young!!!

[WannaBePassingFair]

24. yep I would say I'm a bit too young...

for marriage that is. HAHAHA. I don't really know if the culture shock would really be such a bad thing, you know? I mean for me at least. I'm in a bit of a cultural coma right now.

[Deja Q]

27. India's economy is booming.

[WannaBePassingFair]

28. this is a good thing...

..or a terrible pun about bombs?

[WannaBePassingFair]

29. Does anyone...

have any insight about Croatia and Slovenia?

[Midlodemocrat]

31. Well, it just so happens that I have neighbors who

harken from Croatia. They return there every year to visit family. Don't know about the safety, but it must be okay; they have five kids, one being a new baby and they don't appear to have any qualms about going. :shrug:

I'll try to get some more info and PM you with it. It will probably be anecdotal, but that might be pretty interesting.

[WannaBePassingFair]

32. thanks.

that would be cool.

[Whoa_Nelly]

35. You don't sound confused...you sound determined re: India :-)

Here's a book you may want to give a look:

The Exchange Student Survival Kit
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/187786417X/103-4995593-1907042?v=glance&n=283155




There are a few other books that may interest you as well on down the page at the above site.

Good Luck! :hi:

[WannaBePassingFair]

38. thanks,.....

from all the reviews it sounds quite helpful. (Now i just need the money to buy it.)

maybe subconsciously i'm not confused, but it sure feels like I am.

[SoCalDem]

37. Flip a coin or draw from a hat...or let them choose

It will be a real adventure, no matter wher you go :)

If you are not a cold weather person, you might consider that when choosing :)

[WannaBePassingFair]

39. i have considered the route of letting them choose.

One of the programs I applied with before rotary gave a discount off the prices if you took spots no one else wanted. But it wasn't a big enough discount because it still would have cost $6500 to go + insurance and spending money.

[NYdemocrat089]

41. I'm 16, and I spent a month in Spain last summer with a Spanish family.

I lived in the northeastern region of Catalonia (in Barcelona), but I also spent about a week and a half in Majorca. Spain was a wonderful, and very beautiful, country and the language isn't that complex. I loved it and I can't wait to return. I also have a friend who just returned from a year in Japan, and she loved it there. I don't believe she had any trouble with the language. Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll love whatever location you choose!

Barcelona

[ScreamingMeemie]

43. Well, Vicky....

I hear South Carolina is nice this time of year. :hug: