How is international exchange different than travelling?

Sharing thoughts about international exchange and travelling is quiet hard because the impact is mostly defined by how the experience fulfill the expectations of the individual.

Instead, I prefer to tell you how has exchange shape my life and the life of many people I have met in the past 12 years of my life.

I have done two exchanges. First, I went with AFS to Australia in 1997 where I did one year of high school in Sydney. I lived with a local family, attended a local high school and played football with a local team. That's the time when I learnt English. (Check video: JFK addressed AFS students)

Then, a year before I finished my University studies, I went to Romania. I did an international internship in ANTARES SRL for 1.5 years working on Operations and Production. I lived in a small thriving city in the west of the country, Cluj-Napoca.

Besides that, I have travelled to more than 30 countries in all continents of the world.

What made the exchanges unique was the fact that beyond visiting the places, meeting the locals and sharing their food, I was able to dive into their culture and take the oxigen tank off.

We managed to forget that we come from different places and that we have different sets of values and beliefs. I believe that happened because of the systematic, ordinary and challenging task of working and achieving together. Something I never felt while travelling.

At the same time, while reflecting on how I was feeling, reacting and behaving a door was opened to improve and see my self evolving as my choices were made. It gave me the power to drive my development and my life.

My best friends during the exchange also shared that path and an unbreakable connection was made between us and our countries.

I have also learnt a lot on how other countries have faced the key challenges that hold them back and the passion that drives me back to my country makes me think a lot on how can Costa Rica moce forward much faster.

I don't judge my choices to go on exchange as better or worst than the ones made by others. I just know that they drove me to a point on which I can't stop thinking that the world is full of opportunities and that the gap to leave in a connected world is much bigger than we think and that we are able to experience through internet and social media.

Explore it yourself: www.aiesec.org

"So that in your own country you can be the kind of citizen of which they are proud, which they will support, and that they will look for leadership"

JFK - July 18, 1963