Exchange Stories written by Program Alumni and Host Schools

Out with the old, in with the new

      By Joanne Bartie
      Vereeniging, South Africa

      Elverson, Pennsylvania, 2005-2006

Life can take people to many different and exciting places, but I never dreamed it would lead me to America. The decision to move to the United States pulled me out of my comfort zone, onto my first flight over the ocean leaving everything I knew and loved behind. I had to start a new beginning and I was terrified.

I arrived after a nineteen hour flight with emotions running high, reality slapping me in the face that this was not a dream. My family and I decided to come across to the United States of America to support my mother as she was chosen for the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. Consequently, we would have to stay in a America for a year. Not knowing much about the area and having no one we knew to turn to, it was certainly a new beginning. On top of all this drama, my brother and I had to start school, learn a new vocabulary, make new friends, and participate in new sports. We attended a public school in South Africa, wearing a full school uniform, so wearing normal, everyday clothes was very different and challenging. Taking the school bus for the first time, which we had only seen in the movies, was an experience I will never forget. Waiting in anticipation for the bus to stop and pick me up, was nerve-wracking. I was especially nervous not knowing who or what was on the big yellow vehicle! I anxiously made my way on the bus to be greeted by the bus driver.

School was difficult at first, but once I adjusted, there was no stopping me. I started playing soccer, a sport I had never played on a team before. I had the greatest time learning from the coaches and the amazing soccer girls. Eventually prom rolled up on my calendar, and I was thrilled. All the excitement of getting ready for the big, glamorous event is not an everyday experience for a South African. I was also very impressed with the graduation of the seniors, the throwing of the hats after they get the "pass to their future" was amazing. As the school year came to an end, I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends who were going off to college. However, summer was on the way and I had exciting adventures to look forward to and many amazing and beautiful places to visit!

We first visited Disney World in Florida. This was my favorite place; everything about Disney World was breathtaking. It is impossible for anybody to be angry or upset there because it really is the "happiest celebration on Earth." I visited big cities like New York, saw all the impressive sights and a Broadway show, Philadelphia with its insightful history, and of course Washington DC, where the President lives. I also went up as far north as New Hampshire with its crystal blue lakes and New York State's Niagara Falls, where the water is so inviting I just had to walk below the falls.

Living in America has been a great adventure, and no matter where my life may take me from here, I will always have the memories of the experiences I have gained. There are many unknown factors in going back home. Missing out on my eleventh grade year in South Africa may cause a lot of academic distress when I start my senior year there. However, I do not regret having taken the chance to be in America, because every second was worth it.

To Turkey, With Children

      By Clay Kaufman
      Silver Spring, Maryland

      Turkey, 2000-2001

Before I applied for the Fulbright Teacher Exchange, my wife and I had long discussed the idea of living abroad, and when the envelope arrived from the Fulbright commission, my wife simply couldn't resist ripping it open to see where we were headed. When I returned home, I found the envelope hastily taped up. As I started to reopen the package, she could wait no longer and blurted out "Turkey!!" It actually seemed like a perfect place for an exchange: exotic enough to provide us with a completely different experience, yet just modern enough to survive in with two small children (aged 3 and 8 months) while my wife was on maternity leave. Friends and family initially thought we were crazy to take our children on such a trip, and I must admit, we were nervous viewing the world map and seeing Syria, Iran and Iraq on Turkey's eastern border. But our fears of living abroad with our small children were assuaged by a college friend of mine who lived in Ankara with her Turkish husband and her own two small children and worked at the US Embassy there. We learned about life in Turkey from her e–mails, and just before we left, found out that disposable diapers had arrived in Ankara–the biggest relief of all for us, perhaps! Overall, my college friend spoke with confidence about life in Ankara, and so we eagerly prepared for our adventure. As one of my wife's relatives put it, "Why wouldn't you go?" Indeed, with e–mail and the Internet providing easy access to our families, our trusted pediatrician and American newspapers, we were ready for our adventure.

We contacted the Turkish Fulbright Commission, which actually recommended the same preschool for my daughter that my college friend had recommended, and the next day someone from the Commission had already put down a deposit for tuition for the year and reserved our spot. In retrospect, had we known whom to contact, we could have learned even more about living in Ankara with children from the US Embassy staff. As it was, my college friend helped us immeasurably, and the exchange was the experience of a lifetime, not only for me and my wife, but for my children, who were sponges for language and have learned to adapt to almost anything. Whether traversing the ruins at Ephesus, watching the Whirling Dervishes in Konya or making new friends on long inter–city bus rides, our children proved portable and insatiably curious. My daughter still counts and names her colors in Turkish and asks about her Turkish friends. And until recently, my now–2–year–old son called me baba (Turkish for father) instead of "Daddy." It's hard to predict the long–term effect of our excursion, but even through the challenges we never for a minute regretted our decision to go, and our kids will have quite a story to tell when they grow up!

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Chocolate Heaven: Taking my daughter on exchange to France

      By Regina Doyle Sternlicht
      Rockport, Massachusetts

      France, 2000-2001

One of the greatest benefits of the Fulbright experience was seeing France through my child's eyes. My greatest concern before leaving the U.S. was whether I was doing the right thing for my child. I continued to ask myself this question until October "Toussaint" vacation. From that point on, my daughter, who was spending her kindergarten year in France, was speaking French beautifully, forming beautiful friendships, skipping home from school singing the French songs she learned. Somewhere midyear, while dining, she asked me (in French) if we could come back to Boulogne when our experience was complete. At her dance recital in May, I shed tears of pride as Rachel, who didn't understand dance instructions in September and who said, "Don't worry, Mom, when I don't understand, I just follow the others" led her class on stage and followed it with a duo! All year her teacher said, "Elle a une bonne tete, Rachel..." and she let her shine! Rachel and I continue to speak French together and share a common passion for the language, people and culture. Rachel hopes to open up a French pastry shop some day and return to what she calls "chocolate Heaven."

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