By Caroline Purnell Tompkins
Princeton High School (PHS) student, 18-year-old Takuya Takahashi, has completed his one-year student exchange program with American Field Service (AFS). One of six AFS students in the Princeton area and 34 in New Jersey for the 2011-12 academic year, Takuya, a native of Japan, lived with his host family in Cranbury, N.J.
“The language barrier at first was difficult for me, but making new friends at Princeton High School helped make it a temporary challenge,” stated Takuya who had studied English in his home school in Japan. In addition, Takuya’s host family included a sister who had lived with the Takahashi family during her own experience as an AFS student in Japan. A recent graduate of PHS, she is headed to Princeton University in the fall to continue her study of Japanese.
Each year, more than 2,500 international high school students from more than 90 countries come to the United States with AFS-USA to study in high schools and live with host families. This past year, 22 New Jersey high school students participated in AFS programs, ranging from three to 12 months, in China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Italy, Argentina, Panama, Spain, Ecuador, France, Turkey, Costa Rica and Thailand. Government Sponsored Programs and scholarships are available.
AFS host families are carefully screened and matched with participants, and volunteers are always on hand to make sure that family and student have the support and tools needed for a positive experience.
More than 42,000 volunteers worldwide make the work of AFS possible. Sue Fershing, Area Team Chair for AFS-NJ and a volunteer for 25 years, states that “being a volunteer for AFS has opened my eyes and allowed me to appreciate the differences that exist between cultures and the similarities that exist among people. We teach the kids the motto ‘It’s not right or wrong, it’s just different,’ and that helps them to adjust to and appreciate the cultural differences they encounter every day of their exchange year.”
Since 1947, AFS has helped more than 400,000 students and young adults embark on journeys of personal growth through intercultural learning experiences. Participants develop new skills and gain a broader perspective on the world while building meaningful and lasting connections with the people they meet along the way.
For more information about becoming an AFS intercultural exchange student or a host family, please visit the Web site at www.afsusa.org.

