Are you thinking about applying for a YFU exchange to Germany? We would be delighted to meet you in person!
On the following pages you can learn about Germany, about YFU in Germany and about the programs we offer to our students from abroad. We are very much looking forward to receiving your application for an exchange to Germany.
See you soon - Bis bald!
Host students at a trip to Berlin
A German host family with their "daughter" from Brazil
It's like having real siblings
Host families love to get to know the culture of their host student
Some host students discover snow for the first time in their lives
Saying Goodbye after one year can be hard
With 9 neighboring countries, Germany connects north and south as well as eastern and western Europe. What ever image you might already have of Germany, you can be sure to discover a country with many surprising facets:
As an exchange student in Germany, you have the unique opportunity to learn about this country, its people and its culture. Take your chance!
Depending on your home country, different programs are offered. YFU Germany usually offers semester and year programs.
YFU carefully chooses a host family for you. Host families vary in many ways: Some have young children, some teenage or grown up children. You could also live in a single parent household or with a couple without children.
Despite these differences, all host families have one thing in common: They welcome you as an additional family member. YFU host families do not receive any payment. Their main motivation is to show you their way of life, to get to know you and to learn some things about your culture.
One aspect of German family life is very tasty: It is a tradition to invite members of the family or friends over for coffee in the afternoon. People get together to chat and to enjoy a piece of cake.
During your exchange program, you will go to school like any other German teenager. Depending on your school, you will have classes starting in the morning until lunch time or until the afternoon as well. Some schools offer additional sports or other leisure activities.
You will notice that school is the ideal place to make friends and to develop your language skills.
For more details about the German school system take a look at Wikipedia.
Most German youngsters spend their leisure time practicing sports in a club or playing an instrument. Of course, German teenagers like to meet with friends, go to the movies, to a café or to discos. You can be part of it!
To help you understand the differences between your home country and Germany, YFU offers seminars that are all lead by motivated young volunteers. Apart from learning, you will have a lot of fun with students from all over the world. The first course prepares you for your stay before you travel to your host family. Depending on your level of German, you will participate in a language course.
After half a year, you will meet with other exchange students during a one-week seminar in an exciting German city such as Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, or Munich. You will have the chance to share your experiences. Of course, you will also have the chance to explore the city!
YFU will stay in touch with you throughout your stay: Your host family and you will be assigned a counselor. This is a trained volunteer who can meet with you regularly and support you.
Many YFU organizations around the world offer grants and scholarships for one school year abroad. Please contact the YFU office in your country for details.
You can apply for a YFU exchange to Germany from around 50 countries in the whole world.
To apply, please contact the YFU office in your country. On the international YFU homepage (www.yfu.org), you will be able to find out if there is a YFU office in your country and which exchange programs you can apply for.
We are looking forward to meeting you!
YFU is one of the world's oldest and largest organizations for international youth exchanges. It is a non-profit organization committed to the support of intercultural understanding and education. The organization has its origins in the aftermath of World War II.
From 1951 on, the Government of the United States organized and financed stays for German young people in the United States. The objective of this program was to give them the chance to spend one year in a democratic and prospering country, hoping that they would bring positive impulses back to their devastated home country.
After the end of this initiative, former exchange students founded the German Youth For Understanding Committee in 1957 to keep the exchange alive. Today, YFU Germany is run by 4.000 volunteers that are supported and coordinated by the organization's national office in Hamburg.
Since the 1950s, more and more countries have joined the YFU community: Today, apart from sending students to 41 countries worldwide, YFU Germany welcomes around 500 students from 50 countries every year.
