YFU Handbooks 2015 Family Handbook (Study Abroad) | Page 28

be difficult for you to keep listening when you can't easily
envision the experience. It is important for your child to talk
so s/he doesn’t feel alienated.
For the first few days after your child is home, s/he may
experience jet lag and be too exhausted to talk, so planning
a special time to sit with your child to hear about the trip
and look at souvenirs and mementos might be a good
idea. Remember though, that your child’s international
experience hasn’t ended now that s/he has returned; your
child will continue to gain perspective and understanding
for several months and may want to keep talking about it.
There are a variety of ways you can support your child and
encourage integration of the YFU experience into your child’s
life back at home. One of the most supportive gestures you
can make is simply to listen. Exchange students have an
enormous amount to process. Having a supportive ear to
listen to their stories, experiences and feelings upon reentry is invaluable. Ask about the small details rather than
overall impressions. During this period, students tend to
talk most easily about the daily routines they established,
the food they ate, and the people they met and are now
missing.

in orientations for both American and international
students. Encourage your child to contact YFU after his/her
experience and continue the learning process with other
returning students.
Please visit yfuusa.org/alumni to learn more about alumni
opportunities. Also, YFU asks that alumni share their story
with students considering studying abroad with YFU. To do
so, have your child click on "share your story" to post phots
and blogs of their experience!
Host. Your child’s experience has likely had a long-term
effect on you as well. Your awareness of his/her host
country has undoubtedly increased significantly and you
too, might find yourself inspired to learn a new language,
travel abroad, or host an international student. American
parents can host a YFU student for an academic year or a
semester.

You can help your child adjust by encouraging him/her to
maintain a journal or blog or to stay in touch with her/his
host family and friends.

Families willing to host a student for a short stay are always
needed too. Some students stay with Arrival Families for
a few weeks, while their permanent placement is being
completed. Students being moved from one host family to
another may need a temporary home while the prospective
host family is being recruited and interviewed, or you can
be that second host family. To see the profiles of some YFU
students, visit the Host Family screen on the YFU website
yfuusa.org.

Volunteer with YFU. You and your child can also become
YFU volunteers. YFU is always looking for people interested
in helping provide orientation programs, do school
presentations, provide assistance to international students
and host families. There are also a number of other virtual
tasks you can get involved with that can be done from
anywhere.

Tell your YFU Story. By talking positively about your child’s
overseas exchange experience, you can help interest other
teens and take advantage of YFU programs and families in
hosting international students. Feel free to contact a local
YFU volunteer or call 1.800.TEENAGE x4 (1.800.833.6243
x4) if you would like more information about becoming a
YFU volunteer.

Call 1.800.TEENAGE x4 (1.800.833.6243 x4) if you would like
more information about becoming a YFU volunteer.

STAYING INVOLVED WITH YFU
Your child has joined a population of YFU alumni numbering
approximately 250,000 worldwide. That is a group worth
staying connected to.
Finding local ways to keep the international part of your
child alive is a great way to help him/her read just into
American life more quickly. Encourage your child to become
involved in high school diversity or intercultural clubs to
maintain his/her language and cross-cultural skills. Beyond
the high school, there are also several ways YFU alumni can
get involved with local YFU activities, such as participating
28 - Study Abroad Family Handbook