Stories from Academic Year in America

Host Family Stories

Announcing the AYA Host Family of the Year!

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Each year, AYA students and Local Coordinators (LCs) nominate host families across the country for the honor of Host Family of the Year. These families open their hearts and homes to show international high school students the very best of American culture and hospitality. … [Read more...]

AYA Students Honor Host Fathers and Show Appreciation

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Father's Day is a special time to show our appreciation and celebrate all the fathers, host fathers and father figures out there that work so hard to bring joy to all those around them. In honor of dads everywhere, we’re thrilled to share … [Read more...]

Exchange Student Spotlight: Andi from Indonesia

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Today, we are delighted to present an exchange student spotlight on Andi from Indonesia. Andi's host mom, Jocia, wrote in to share her pride and appreciation for her host daughter's accomplishments as a high school exchange student in the state of New York. Andi is a great … [Read more...]

The Gold Standard of International High School Exchange

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Life is a series of twists and turns on a great adventure that we can plan for, but you know what they say about best laid plans... In short, life is unpredictable. This trickles down to everything we do, and what you realize after a while is that planning is important, but … [Read more...]

AYA Students Celebrate Host Moms, Share Memories and Give Thanks

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Mother's Day is a special day to show our gratitude and celebrate all the mothers, host moms and mother figures out there that do so much to bring happiness to everyone else. In honor of mother's everywhere, we're delighted to share the following submissions from AYA students … [Read more...]