AFS Intercultural Programs: High School Abroad in Italy

AFS is a great organization to study abroad with in high school, and not obscenely expensive. Host families are entirely volunteer, so they usually are super excited and looking forward to hosting an exchange student. My host family was great, and I still keep in contact with them 3 years later! I made some of the best friends through AFS. Starting with a pre-departure orientation in the US, orientations in Italy, and usually the placement of multiple other exchange students in your high school,...

My most memorable experience is living with my host family, and getting to eat lunch with them, as a family every day after school. In the south of Italy they even let classes out at 1 pm so that you can go home to have lunch with your family. Italy was great! The people, food, and culture is fascinating. I had my own small bedroom in a house with my two host parents, and 2 host sisters. We all shared one bathroom, which got difficult at times with two other sisters because everyone seem...

AFS in Italy was the best year of my life. They place you with host families anywhere in the country, and I was placed in a suburban town in the south. It was one of the best places to be, because I was really forced to immerse myself in the culture, as I was the only international student in my area. They carefully choose the host families, and the Italians I lived with were some of the most generous and kind people I know. This program changed me as a person, and although there were tough mome...