"I hope more students take the risk of going outside the country and experiencing a new culture. It is a way to learn about others in the world and yourself. Just go for it. Get on that thirteen hour flight and own it. Because once you get off the plane the changes begin.”

—Angelicca Telles
U.S. to Thailand, Summer 2010

"I was able to meet my host family; the people that would take me in for six weeks and I would end up considering part of my true family... I still cannot believe that in just one summer I met so many kind and interesting people."

—Alexia Sanchez
U.S. to Turkey, Summer 2010 & U.S. to Thailand, Summer 2011

"Ahlan Wassalan from Egypt! This weekend I went to the Giza Pyramids and Islamic Cairo with some friends from AFS. I was walking on the same land as the pharoahs once did and when I put my hands on the hieroglyphs I felt so in awe that my hand was touching ancient history."

—Mary Margaret Yapp
U.S. to France, Summer 2008 & U.S. to Egypt, Year 2010-11

"I met unforgettable and interesting people during my four weeks in my AFS community service program. I sometimes forgot that it was community service because I was getting as much out of it as I was giving.”

—Erika Marte Carrasco
U.S. to New Zealand, Summer 2010

"Faces of America helped me grow by challenging me and exposing me to new experiences. I was able to go to New Zealand, where I studied ecology. I helped guide the students through various activities and taught them about nature myself."

—Ulises Duran-Martinez
U.S. to New Zealand, Summer 2010

"Traveling abroad certainly changed my life, which is why I'm constantly sharing my experiences with as many students as possible. I feel grateful to have been shown an entirely different way of life, which influenced my decision to major in Asian Studies."

—Samantha Marquez
U.S. to Japan, Summer 2008 &
U.S. to South Korea, Summer 2010