"How do I sum up six incredible months of my life?" asked
Susan Kuzniak
on returning home
from serving as an International 4-H Youth Exchange
Representative
to Belgium. Kuzniak is a
graduate student at the University of
Georgia.
Putting her experiences into words was tough, Kuzniak said.
After all,
she now intimately knows
another country and its culture. And she owes it all, she
said, to
4-H.
Kuzniak said it's a trip she will always remember. "I became
fluent
in French, made friends in
Belgium and with the other U.S. students on the trip with
me, saw a
lot of Europe and tried new
things I otherwise would not have tried," she said. "Anyone
with an
open mind can benefit from this
program."
More than 300 Georgia youths have taken advantage of the two
international
exchange
opportunities the IFYE program has offered since it began 75
years
ago. With several programs to
choose from, 4-H makes traveling an incredible experience.
The IFYE Representative program is open to all 19- to 30-year-
old 4-H
alumni. During their
three- or six-month stay, representatives live with several
host families
for three to six weeks at a
time.
Representatives can take part in day-to-day family life. They
also may
pursue special interests
through self-study and receive academic credit through their
university.
They may travel to countries
in all areas of the world, including Western and Eastern
Europe, Latin
America, Australia, Asia and
Africa.
The IFYE Ambassador Program is open to
any 15-
to 19-year-old 4-H'er. It offers many ways
for young people to explore another area of the world, live
with host
families in other countries, learn another language and culture,
experience
youth programs and enjoy the sights and sounds of other
lands.
All IFYE ambassadors stay with host families. Some take an
added educational
tour. The Ambassador programs begin in June and last five to six
weeks.
Ambassadors may explore
Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
The 1998 fee for the Ambassador program is $2,650 to $3,250.
The cost
ranges from $3,775 to
$4,775 for the Representative program. Prices vary depending
on the
area of the world and type of
program selected.
The fee includes the international airline ticket, travel in
the host
country, food, lodging,
supplemental insurance, orientation and evaluation programs.
Financial
support and fundraising help
may be available through county and state 4-H offices.
Greg Price, an Extension
Service 4-H specialist with the UGA College
of Agricultural and
Environmental
Sciences, coordinates
the IFYE program. He encourages students to take advantage
of the life-changing experience.
"We always tell our 4-H exchangees they won't come back the
same person,"
he said. "And they
don't. They find out who they really are, how they handle
challenging
situations and how they
absorb another culture. They always learn a tremendous
amount about
their host country. But they
really learn the most about themselves."
The student is not the only one who benefits from the
program. "Everybody
learns from an
exchange program," Price said. "The families back home and
host families
abroad see the world
through new eyes.
"And when the exchangees return," he said, "their communities
discover
they have a grassroots
ambassador on hand to speak for another culture."
Kuzniak is still using the knowledge she gained in Belgium every day.
"I am getting my Master's degree in teaching English as a
second language,"
she said. "My
experience in Belgium helps me relate to my students because
I was
forced to communicate in my
second language (French) while I was on my trip."
