I was looking for some more information on SYA (School Year Abroad) in high school from some alum or parents of kids who participated. I heard about the independent travel and it seems really interesting to me, is it hard to earn these ‘privileges’ as a student? Also, you can go with friends, does that mean you could theoretically go with a gf/bf - would probably make much more advanced relationships than regular high school ones. Is there a limit to travel, every weekend, only three day weekends? How far can you travel, do you have to stay within Europe, or can you explore Asia / Africa also. Also, drinking laws are much more lenient in Europe, especially Italy. How does the school regulate substance abuse? Is it a big deal, or is drinking a part of living in Italy, as 16 y/o+ can legally buy and drink wine and beer. Any other comments or information about SYA would help, the program sounds amazing!
I didn’t participate in the Italy program, so I can’t really give you my thoughts about the Italy program. I know that independent travel is offered to everyone with good academic record (probably above a C average). You can go with anyone you want (just not alone) as long as your parents approve. You can travel anytime when there is no school. I’m not sure about your traveling limits, since I did a different program, but I’d assume you are limited to European destinations.
I don’t know about this particular program, but we lived in Germany when my daughter is in HS and we hosted an Exchange student through Youth For Understanding.
Things to keep in mind:
The progam and your parents have to agree that this is a good idea. Probably you parents will be in contact with your host family to know if this is a good idea for you at this point.
If you had a girl/boy friend and wanted to travel with them…your program director/parents would know and they may or may not be cool with this.
Since you are asking about alcohol…it makes one wonder if you would make responsible decisions.
You must adhere to Alcohol laws of where you are…so if you can drink at 16, then you can drink at 16. However, if you are not responsible about drinking no one will let you travel indepently.
You have to have $$ for this travel.
You still need to do homework and the like…so you can’t travel all the time and finish school work.
I personally would not let my HS age child travel to Asia or Africa alone (or with friends). Many people in Europe know English and the culture is similar to US (western culture).
In fact i did not let my underage HS age child travel to Spain from Germany unsupervised after graduation as it did not seem like a good situation (unsupervised teens drinking). I did let her travel to France with her BF with his family.