my 16 yr old son is interested in an exchange program to germany for the summer of '04. does anyone out there have any suggestions/experience with this? thanks, becky

I went to Switzerland for a year with AFS after high school. There are not enough positive adjectives in any language to do their programs sufficient justice! Go!

Both my daughters did this through YFU (youth for understanding). If your son is gutsy enough to want it, I totally recommend it. It made them both far more global thinkers and was in invaluable experience for all of us.

I second AFS! I went to Finland for a summer with them and it was the best experience for me at 18. I highly reccommend it and they have good guidelines to protect the kids..i.e. you are not allowed to drive even if you have a licence so there is less of a risk of kids having car accidents driving in a foreign Country etc.<BR><BR>ALso they choose the country for you so it's a surprise....I asked for France, Switzerland or the UK and I got Finland...It makes sense now as My parents are from Ireland and this would be a compltely new learning experience as I had no idea of the language and culture. <BR><BR>Check out all the organisations and go with who you are comfortable with, just make sure the kids are not &quot;abandoned&quot; and can have a resource ito talk to if the family is not working out for them.

thanks jen,grasshopper and siobhan for helping us get started. do any of you,(or others out there) know a good webside to compare/research the various programs available. thanks again, becky

Many years ago while I was in high school I had the opportunity to &quot;exchange&quot; to the Netherlands for my senior year. I got talked out of it by my parents, friends, and my teachers.<BR>To this day that is the single greatest regret of my life!!<BR>GO FOR IT!!!!