just one friend , this limited interaction hinders the chance for exchange students to spend time meeting other people and enjoying the many nuances of their new lifestyle .
Romantic Relationships . YFU discourages exchange students from engaging in serious romantic relationships while on program . Romantic relationships tend to limit an exchange student ’ s opportunities to get to know a wide variety of people , they can impact the student – host family rapport , and they can cause the exchange student to become overly dependent on a single individual , isolating him / her from other sources of support .
22 - Study Abroad Family Handbook
ATTENDING SCHOOL
While enrolled in school in the host country , in addition to studying new subjects and experiencing new teaching styles , your child will gain a unique insight into the culture of his / her host country . Spending too much time comparing the host country ’ s school system and classroom culture to the home school can inhibit your child ’ s academic and social progress . Instead , YFU encourages students to learn as much about the schools in their host country before they leave the US and then embrace the cultural experience while immersed in it . Former exchange students can offer several suggestions about attending school abroad . Contacting a returned YFU student from your child ’ s host country is the
best way to get specifics about his / her school . You can do that through the YFU website : yfuusa . org / alumnireferrals .
While not part of all summer programs , if school is in session s / he may attend school for a few days or weeks .
Classes . The classes that your child takes will be determined by the school program in the host country . They may also be determined by the arrangements that have been made with your child ’ s American high school regarding transfer of credits . YFU encourages students to take courses that represent typical programs in the host country ; courses that give them additional information about the host country , and courses in which they are interested but which they have been unable to take at home .
Uniform . Many YFU students on semester and year programs wear school uniforms while abroad . Ultimately , it is best to ask a member of the host family whether or not your child will have to wear a uniform . Generally , school uniforms are required in Australia , Japan , Korea and some private schools in other countries .
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media will play an important role in your child ' s exchange experience , just as we suspect it plays a large role in your child ' s life here in the US . YFU recommends that students connect with their host siblings on social medias sites such as Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . It is a great way to share their experience with their new friends and make more friends .
When using social media sites , it is important for your child to remember that they are expressing their feelings and thoughts in a public manner and therefore , they need to use their best judgment and consider their host family ’ s feelings when posting messages .
It is common to use social media as an outlet to express feelings , however it is important to keep others feelings in mind . Please encourage them to not react quickly and respect their host family .
Remember that your child ' s host family might be able to read whatever s / he posts or tweets . Online translators allow for people to read postings even if they are in a different language . If your child is having some negative feelings towards their host family , they should be encouraged to speak directly with them rather than posting comments on a social media site . Negative postings will hurt their host family ’ s feelings and possibly jeopardize their relationship with one another to the point of being asked to leave their host family ’ s home . Cases of host families requesting that a student be moved to a different home has increased due to