Testimonials
The exchange experiences recorded below illustrate the the fruit of the hard work of everyone involved in ATAD: board members, liaisons, parents who agree to host, and siblings, all of whom offer friendship and a taste of American home life to students from far away.
“My time in Iquitos, Peru opened up a lot of doors, and gave me the opportunity to really use my Spanish and learn things that I wouldn’t have been taught in a classroom, or from a book – to be really submerged in a culture.”
“My days in USA were…Well, just cannot think of a word which can describe those days, that’s how wonderful they were. I think we have to add a new word to the dictionary.”
“Since I was three years old, I have wanted my dream of traveling to a different country to become a reality. Now that I have embraced that dream, I am more willing to try other countries as well as to explore in the future.”
“My family hosted Irmak, a wonderful girl from Izmir, Turkey. She became a daughter to my husband and me, a sister to my daughters, and a member of our large extended family. When we agreed to host Irmak we had no idea the experience would grow into an ongoing connection between two families on different sides of the world.”
“Last year was the hardest but the best year for me. Being an exchange student and living this experience totally changed me.”
“Our exchange experience was one of adding members to our family when we hosted students from Italy and Peru. From adding dimension to conversations around the dinner table each night. It was a terrific experience for our whole family!”
“Bonjour, I am one of the four girls who returned from France…I had the best summer of my life there! I’ve grown as a person in so many ways.”
“Five years ago my family hosted Irmak, a wonderful girl from Izmir, Turkey. She became a daughter to my husband and me, a sister to my daughters, and a member of our large extended family. When we agreed to host Irmak we had no idea the experience would grow into an ongoing connection between two families on different sides of the world. Irmak’s parents, brother, and grandmother came to Rochester at the conclusion of Irmak’s year with us, and we formed a friendship with the family we had previously seen only in pictures and on the computer. This past summer Irmak and her brother returned for four weeks. Irmak is now in law school in Turkey and her internship in Rochester this summer allowed her to personally observe many aspects of the American legal system. Her brother, like most twelve-year-olds, went to camp and played video games during his visit to Rochester. What is next for our families? I do not know but I am absolutely certain that our connection will continue far into the future.”
“Germany was amazing. I’m so glad that I got the chance to go. I just want to say thank you to ATAD for awarding me this opportunity. I don’t regret choosing to spend my summer away from my family because I grew closer to another family and I also made more friends….I will never forget my host sister Elisabeth, “Liz”, she was such a joy she was like a little sister she would always want to talk to me about America and it was a joy just sitting there for hours sharing stuff with each other. I made so many new friends that I still keep in contact with but because of the huge time difference it’s a little hard to keep in contact on a daily basis. Nonetheless I still write them and they still write me. I am glad I went and I will remember this forever, I would encourage every kid to take this experience because it’s not only a joy but it’s a learning experience it teaches you about yourself and it teaches you acceptance and how to adapt to change. My grandmother says that I’m wiser but I just think I’m more open-minded about the world around me. I wish that I had known about this program years ago or that I would have stayed longer. Thank you ATAD once again for this amazing experience.”