Why You Shouldn’t Go On Exchange

So, it’s the summer. You want a thing to Do. We at AIESEC like to talk about exchanges a LOT. But are they really all that they’re hyped up to be? After all, what could you POSSIBLY hope to gain from a glorified holiday? Anyway, let’s go through a few reasons why you perhaps can give going on exchange a miss:
  1. It’s scary Going away abroad is so scary! You don’t have any friends there, you don’t understand the culture and the food probably isn’t very nice. Why bother going somewhere else when you can just stay here, like everyone else?
  2. Experience? Pffft Experience on your CV? You should already have that, with the university studies? And besides, everyone has “experience”, so what’s the difference a change in location going to make?
  3. Holiday! If you must go somewhere else, why would you want to work or volunteer? If you’re traveling abroad, it’s exclusively to enjoy yourself, by doing NOTHING OF VALUE!
  4. Change the World??? As old people often tell us, the things are the way things are. Nothing can change, and we certainly can’t. You know, it’s not like volunteering and contributing to communities or startups can POSSIBLY CHANGE ANYTHING EVER. Old people are always WORTH LISTENING TO (they’re old, and therefore wise).
If you still want to go on an exchange after reading this TOTALLY COMPREHENSIVE LIST of why exchanges totally aren’t worth it, then you’re probably stubborn enough to change the world in a good way, and probably should go. 😉