After flying all night from Buenos Aires, Argentina (where I live) to Atlanta and on up to Grand Rapids, Michigan by noon,
I was tired but excited to be a guest at the Rotary Youth Exchange Central States conference. Tonight, I will be speaking
to 1500 of my favorite people: parents who are sending their high school students on a year-long exchange abroad, studentswho have returned from, are in the U.S. during or are preparing to leave for their exchanges, and the tireless Rotary volunteers who make this outstanding program possible.
As a parent of three former Rotary Youth Exchange students, I know how hard it is to say goodbye to your child for a year
when they are only 16. I know about the worries, the excitement, the heavy heart from missing them and the crazy crying
and hugging when they return as triumphant young adults. And I know that it takes courage to do this, to send our kids out into the world and even more so when we hear the opinions, often quite harsh, from those who feel we are putting our sons and daughters at risk or at the very least ruining their chances to get extra AP credits and a higher SAT score.
And I love these parents. They GET IT. They are strong enough to do what’s best for their kids. They understand that all
the worries are worth it and that they are giving their kids a tremendous boost and an astounding advantage over their peers back home who are struggling through AP History and obsessing about prom dates.
Going on a year-long high school exchange is, hands down, the most challenging, brain-boosting, confidence-building, and world-expanding experience possible for any typical 16-year-old. They will be stretched. They will have some very hard days. And they will also have the best experiences they’ve ever had, make friends from around the world, and learn so much about the world and their own possibilities. The year abroad will change them forever–it changes their brains and it changes their hearts. For years to come, they will recall the feelings they had, the people they met, and the brave things they did in a place they’d never heard of until just a few weeks before their arrival.
I wrote a whole chapter in my book about the value of the year-long high school exchange and included many stories from former Rotary Youth Exchange students. I could have written a whole book about it–and probably would have if my editor had let me. 
But I’m so proud and thrilled to have had the opportunity to describe the benefits of high school exchanges and I know many more parents will consider this option for their kids after reading it and many more students will have this remarkable opportunity to go abroad at a most malleable age–and they all will be transformed by it.
I can’t wait to give my speech tonight. I want to thank the students for their boldness and their sense of adventure, thank the parents for giving this most heart-ripping of all gifts to their kids, and thank the Rotary Youth Exchange officers for their passion for this work and their extraordinary efforts in getting our kids out into the world and bringing others here so that we might share our homes and our lives with them.
My favorite bumper sticker is the one that goes, “I love my country, but I think we should start seeing other people.” This is the Rotary Youth Exchange philosophy in a nutshell, the main premise of my book, and what I believe is the message with the most potential to impact the world in amazing ways.
Okay–off to the conference!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Maya,
I read (and loved) your book. I agree with your assessment of the current “helicopter parent” situation. I do think the state of the world (and 911) have had a great deal to do with this, and I agree that travel abroad is one of the best cures for what ails our country. Here’s an angle I don’t remember reading in your book. (Did I miss it?) Not only do parents want to keep their kids safe, comfy, and happy (and think they know the way to do this), but also I think they are afraid of losing them. You know, “how you gonna’ keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paris?” They don’t want their kids to think about living abroad or to (oh, dread!) fall in love with someone who lives there. What do you think?
Cindy
Thanks, Cindy!
And you are right–I did not really address this in the book but many parents do have the fear that their kids might end up living far from them and feel it’s “safer” to have them limit their time abroad to quick vacations with the family. Also, they fear that their kids might “outgrow” them–they may think differently than their parents, adopt new opinions that might be contrary to the way they were taught/raised or may even (gasp!) come to recognize that the US is not necessarily the only place to live.
Again, it comes down to choosing fear over love. Some parents understand that their role is to give their kids their best opportunities to live happily in the way THEY choose to do so. Other parents choose to limit their kids’ options with the hope that they will remain close by and live a life that is similar to their own.
Watch for a post on this local/global concept!