Short and simple:
Because international exchange is the smartest thing I ever did!
Growing up I was the odd duck - the nerd, the brain, not interested in sports at all. I was a quiet little mouse who preferred to blend in with wallpaper. I was very good at languages and in the 8th grade I came up with the idea to travel on exchange.
My dad thought is was a great idea. We were advised to wait until I was sure to placed in 12th grade in the States. So I left Denmark when I was 17. I was placed in a family with no kids and spent a year in a catholic private school in Michigan. Didn't make a whole lot of friends but that year changed me forever and I returned home a confident and strong 18 year old.
At home I quickly became a volunteer for the exchange organisation I traveled with; Youth for Understanding and soon all my friends was from YFU. I was very involved in the organisation for many years and tried out so many different things and had loads of responsibility at a very young age.
I met my husband through YFU and most of our fundamental values stem from our international experiences.
Having an exchange student living with us has been just as rewarding as our original exchange experiences.
