To the Editor:
My dream started in Feb. 2009. That’s more than one and a half year ago.
I was 14 years old and at school, then I saw this information table with flyers about a “High School Year in the USA.” Sounded interesting for me and I began to read. Soon I came to the decision to go 10 months abroad.
The USA is more than five thousand miles (5000) away from my home city, Heusenstamm in Germany.
Do I really want this?
My answer was and will always be “yes.” Of course I have had doubts. (Could I really leave everything I knew for something unknown? My family? My friends? Could I?)
But I always know, that I would regret it my whole life, not doing an exchange year and to miss this adventure.
I wanted (and I still do) to know, how the really Americans are and their way of life, not just what the movies or all these stupid prejudices say because the USA is more than McDonalds.
I have been already several times in the USA, but always just as a tourist, and when you stay in a hotel with other tourists, you don’t meet many Americans.
I wanted to see all this, so I apply by my German organisation “Treff! – Sprachreisen” (or rather their American partner “World Experience”) and, yes, I was accepted!
Then the stress began.
For my application I must answering thousands of questions like, who I am, why I am like this and what my favorite color is, etc.; even everything about me, my personality and my environment, after that I must went to a doctor and a dentist for a full-body examination to check if I’m healthy.
At least I must get a visa from the US consulate in Frankfurt, so that I’m allowed to stay in the USA.
The most difficult part is to persuade your parents to let you go. That is really a hard job, when you’re 15 years old and want to go alone 10 months away from home.
But I overcome all this obstacles and my dream came nearer and nearer.
The whole time, I was imagining how it would be. I – of course – still do. I’m ready to go, my backpack is almost packed; the only thing that is missing – the most important part, is my host family. How could I go to the USA without any place to stay and live?
I have time to find a host family and to become my dream true till the Aug. 31, that’s the deadline, after this time no exchange student without a host family are allowed to came to the USA. And my dream will be destroyed and all this work for nothing. Like a soap bubble.
It’s not only me… there are many, many other students like me from each part of the world; they hope their organization will find a host family till this date or they will stay also home.
Alone my organization “Treff! / World Experience” have just placed 60 percent of their students, there are still 40 percent hoping, or in words 50 pupils, who are waiting.
Of course, till this date there will a few get placed, but its relative for sure, that many will stay home.
Because of this, I wrote this letter to ask, if YOU could become a host family for an exchange student; when not me, than some other student; we all have this dream and want it to become reality.
With an exchange student you will learn a lot about another culture and see new aspects of live and in return show them, why you’re proud to be an American or how to do the best BBQ in the world. (We don’t have BBQ in Germany.)
Of course – you will win a new family member, whose part of your live!
To become a host family is not difficult.
Just search one of the thousands of possible organization (just Google it) like World Experience and apply for the one of your choice.
Then they will check if you’re possible to host an exchange student.
You don’t need any special skills, or something like that: just a bed, meals and love.
At least you should ask in the local High School, if they are willing to open their school for an exchange student.
I hope with this article I can find a host family for me or any other exchange student.
In “the country of unlimited possibilities” (so it’s called in Germany “Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten) could be this possible?
In the moment it looks dark, but I don’t want to give up!
Thank you for reading this letter!
Julia Müller
Heusenstamm, Germany
