La Sandwichera

Study abroad should be one of the best experiences of your life. You should have a great host family that adopts you as one of their own, looks out for your welfare and teaches you about the country and its culture. You should come out with a good mastery of the local language. However, it looks like things went horribly wrong for this kid. His parents sent him off hearty and healthy -- he came back looking like Karen Carpenter.

From personal experience, it seems like this kid got placed with a family that uses the Exchange Program as a means of additional income. It's pretty obvious from the host father's comments that it all boils down to money. There's nothing inherently wrong with this -- as long as you provide your exchange student with enough to eat and a safe place to live. Indeed, I like the idea that both parties gain something from the exchange experience. However, there's a serious difference between mutually beneficial, and pocketing all the money for yourself.

I hope that the kid mentioned above had great experiences outside of his host family, and is able have some good memories of his time there. Hopefully, he'll be willing to do another exchange in the future. And hopefully, he'll get a much better family.

[Note to BMC: Does this remind you of anyone?]