The Covid-19 virus has come through and rocked all our worlds and continues to cause havoc worldwide. But it seems that things are slowly improving and moving towards a semi-normal. So how normal will this up coming exchange year be? The first half will probably be trying and everyone will need a lot of patience. The school day/week might look different, your usual family activities might have to change to accommodate physical distancing or cancelations, students might arrive late due to difficulty getting visa appointments, among other things that we just don’t know about yet.
So how does one prepare for an unpredictable year?
We are going to have to practice patience and flexibility, all of us. The organizations, the host families, the students and their families, and the schools. While it is frustrating waiting to see if this year is actually going to happen and happen smoothly, we need to remember to breathe and try to go with the flow (which I understand can be difficult).
What are we fearful of for next year?
The visa situation. American consulates are currently closed across the world with no date of return to normal services; so will students coming this year be able to get appointments and their visas in time to arrive before school starts?
One of our students is coming on scholarship from her country’s government and if they feel that it is unsafe for her to come they can cancel her year. She is hopeful that this year will go (as close to as) planned as possible. But I’m holding my breath until she hears from them on the matter.
The school year looking different. Are they going to miss out (like our students from 2020) of major “American school” events: like homecoming or pep-rallies. Hopefully if anything is limited it will only be for the fall and things in the spring will be more normal.
Activities outside school: festivals, theme parks, beach days, going to the mall, concerts, and everything else we are already missing out on because of the need for physical distancing. Are we going to be able to enjoy those things as a family with our students and show them how America does those things. Fall festivals and Halloween are my favorite part of exchange year because they are some my favorite things; so will be watching demolition derbies and fireworks and going on haunted hayrides and carving pumpkins? I do not know, and that is the hardest part.
Having last year (class 2020) cut short so abruptly has really put us on edge with preparing for this coming year. But we are lucky that our school is still on board and excited, while some schools have pulled the exchange student plug for this school year. We are lucky that our students coming are still so excited and determined not to let this situation ruin their year. I love their optimism. Our organization fully believes that next year WILL happen, even if some students are late, and they are in regular contact with the government agencies that deal with foreign exchange students. So we are hopeful.
We will make the best of the year. We have talked to our students about expecting a slightly different version of exchange this year and they are still excited. We are preparing ourselves and them to be adaptable to any changes or curve-balls that are thrown at us. Patience and flexibility is this year’s mantra.