Exchange To Japan : How I Became An Exchange Student !

Hey guys !
Today's post is going to be about how I became an exchange student :)

Before I start , I just want to point that this is basically based on my experience and it maybe different for everyone and anyone :D

How I became an exchange student !

Okay so let's start !

1- Parents permission !
So before you decide to apply an exchange program , please discuss this matter with your parents or guardian. Ask their permission, opinion and many things ! Many things can happen if you don't discuss this with your parents/guardian x( so make sure you discuss this with them :)

2- Choose country,program and know the fees cost !
So if you choose AFS , you  can go on to their website which is afsmas.org. In their website , you can see all the countries that they offer. After you decide the country that you want , you can choose the program. As I mentioned from my last post , each program have their on duration that you'll be spending in your country and of course, each program cost differently. The most expensive program is the YP(year program) and the cheapest program is SP(short program).

3- Apply !
After you decide the country, program and know the fees cost, you can go ahead and click the apply button. When you click the apply button , it will automatically download a pdf file which is your application form. The application is really easy and basic , you just need to fill all the details that they ask but there's one part where you needed to list 3 countries that you want to go. So make sure the 1st country is the most country that you want to go and the last country is the less country that you want to go. Finish fill in the form ? Go ahead and send it to AFS by post!

4- Wait !
At this time , you need to wait few months ( depends when you submit your application ).

5- Interview !
After April or after the application ended , AFS will send you an email and letter to you saying that you need to go an interview. So before the interview , make more research about the countries that you choose or want to go and also , think outside the box when researching. For an example , what can you present as a Malaysian in the country that you choose, Other than that, make another research regarding your religion. Like myself as Muslim , they gonna ask you about the diet restriction (pork and alcohol ). All the research will make your interview process easy peasy :D and don't forget to be yourself and confident.

6- Wait !
Yes , you need to wait again !! Remember , its a long process :) So this actually took about 4 months for AFS to send me an email saying whether I was shortlisted or not. Luckily , I was ^^

7- Pre-application !
If you are accepted to be an exchange student, AFS will sent you an email saying that you are shortlisted to this country and this program. In the email, they also provide a specific link to a certain website for you to fill in your online application (pre-application). The pre-application is really easy and basic. Just follow the instruction that they provide ^^ after you fill it in, you just submit it online and print out the form and post it to them so that they have the physical form. Few days later , AFS will sent you another email saying that they received your pre-application.

8- Full Application !
So for the full application , you need to be more details and specific because you will needed to attach your health medication , school academic , principal signature and many more. Trust me , its not easy to fill this in because its a time consuming because you need to do a health examination etc. My tips is that you just take your time and fill it in slowly but not to slow. I have a bad experience in my full application but I'm gonna tell you guys in a another post :) anyway , if there's anything you don't understand or don't know how to fill it in , you guys can just ask a volunteer or returnees for their help orrrr send an email to AFS itself. Done fill it in ? Go ahead and submit it ! :D

So after the full-application, the process going to be different for everyone because of the host country.

9- Visa Application !
Again more application ! xDD yea,visa application is easy for me, However , the form is in Japanese ( I'm applying to Japan ) but no worries , they did provide a guide to fill it in. That's it ! :D

10- Pre-departure Orientation !
Yay ! Time to meet other exchange students ! Of ccourse , AFS will send you an email about the place and the time ^^ the orientation usually takes few days so you need to stay in with your other exchange students :) So during orientation, the returnees will will tell you their experiences and teaches you a lots of things about your exchange :)

See my pre-departure orientation vlog !!

11- Visa Interview !
So for the visa interview , it can be different for anyone because some countries require interview and some of them don't. For me , I don't have to go to interview. If it there's was an interview, I'm sure AFS will help you throughout the interview :)

12- Host Family and Host School !
What about host family and school ? As I mentioned earlier , it can be different for everyone. Some people received their host family and school early but there are people received their host family and school a day before departure! Anyway , you will receive your host family soon :) For my case , I received my host family and school after the visa application , however , I didn't get their contact details until like 2weeks before my departure (22ndMarch'16). No worries :)

13- Departure dates !!
At this point , you already became an exchange student !! After all the process , now you just need to prepare you for exchange such as the luggage, host family gift etc and also wait for your departure date !!!

So that's it !!

The whole process to become an exchange is a long process (took me more than a year) but its all worth it :)

Have fun becoming an exchange student ! Leave a comment down below if you have any question , I will surely try to reply asap :D

Exchange to Japan : Q&A

Hey guys !
Today's post going to be about the questions that people has been asking me about my exchange program :)

Let's start with the 1st question :D

1. How I know about my exchange program ?

In December 2014 , I was browsing around on Youtube ( as usual ) and watching Japan video. Then I came across this video talking about an exchange. So I became curios about it and what I did is that I research more about the exchange program. Luckily in Malaysia , they have the exchange program :D

2. How I apply AFS/ Exchange Program ?

First of all , I went to their website which is http://www.afsmas.org/ and in their website , they have this Study Abroad thingy right there.

After you clicked the Study Abroad thingy , it will move to other page which have the list of the programs they have.

which is :
Year Programme - 11 months
Semester Programme - 6months
Intensive Programme - 2months
Very Short Programme - 2-6weeks


So the reason why I choose a year programme is because my main aim is Japan and I want to experience all the 4 seasons in Japan xP so yeahhh!

After you choose the programme that you want , below of the list they have the apply button.

Just click that button , then it will automatically download the application form and you just print and fill the form and send it to AFS office :)

p/s : I will make another post about ' How To Become An Exchange Student' in details in the future ! so stay tune !

3. How long do I will be staying in Japan ?

Like I said earlier , I will staying in Japan for about a year. To be exact time that I will be staying there is actually 11 months but let just call it a year ( since its called a year programme xD )

4. How old do you need to be an exchange student ?

In their website, they already stated the qualification to be an exchange student. For Malaysia the age limit is 15-17 years old which is also known as form3-5. But I heard other countries the age limit is 16-18 years old. So yeah , its kinda depend on where you from :)

5. Do you need a good grade or need to be smart ?

I'm not sure about this but for me , my grade are pretty bad when I first apply the exchange application. But I think grade are not that really matter and I think they just wanted to know wether you still can learn or not xP and also in their website , they already mentioned that good grade are not that important but you need to passed you exam  ( at least laa )

6. Interview ??

During the interview , is not that difficult. You just need to be yourself and be confident. If you worry about the question that they ask, what you can do is do researchs about the country that you want to go and just  know what to talk about during your interview. Just be yourself and be confident. What I did a week before the interview, I go and have a talk with the teacher that I feel conformtable with which is my school counsellor. She gave me a lot of advice and motivation on just to be myself and be confident :)

7. Is it worth it to go on an exchange programme ?

Even if you choose to go to an intensive or very short programme , is really worth it. When you go on an exchange programme, its not like you wasting your time there slacking off and do nothing. Everyday you have new activities upon you during the exchange.Its really different from your own country. For me, I from Malaysia and I will be going to Japan and I know my life would 100% different when I in Japan soon! I heard lots of returnees experience saying how they life went after going to an exchange programme.

So its really worth it! Its like once in a lifetime opportunity!

And also for me, I'm 17years old last year and the age limit is 17years old. So if I didn't go , that is.. No next time for me! But if you 15 or 16 years old, there's still be next time for you guys !

Just remember ! If you get it ! Just grab it !

8. Price ??

For me , I'm going to Japan for about a year and its cost RM27K ( the price can be vary depend on what country and programme that you choose ) In the payment , they cover a lots of things in you home country and your host country.

So here's some of the things that they cover :

-Orientation in you home and host country ! which your pre-departure and arrival orientation.
-Flight ticket from home to host country and the flight ticket to your home country after you finished the programme.
- They also cover the transportation in your host country ! For an example , in Malaysia we have the Touch&Go card that we can use to ride public transport right ? Well , worry no more because they cover that thing also in your host country !
- They also gave you an emergency cellphone that you can use during your exchange.
- When they gave you a cellphone , they also gave you a simscard and monthly paid pre-paid. So you no need to worry about the communication in your host country !
- They also provide 24hours medical thingy. Meaning that if you get sick during the exchange , you just go to the nearby clinic or hospital and no need to worry about the payment.
- Of course your host school's fees and textbooks!

There's many things that the payment cover and the only thing that they don't cover is your pocket money which is the money that you want to have fun !

9. How do I pay the payment ?

The payment is pay by instalment meaning that in the beginning you pay this much , the middle this much and the end you pay this much. As long you pay all of it before your departure date. If you fail to pay all of the payment, they have the right to cancelled out your name from the programme!

10. Do I know my host family ?

Well actually yes and no xD Because yes I know my host family and no , I don't know that much ! When AFS sent me an email about my host family, they just said this is my host family and that's it.. but I'm still waiting for their email to give me my host family details T_T

11. How many subjects we learn in our host country ?

It depends on which country that you choose because the educational systems is different in each country.. For me , I will be learning the same subjects as the Japanese students but I will mainly focus on Japanese language :)


Well that's about it for my Q&A ! If you guys have more question about my exchange programme just go ahead and ask me :)

Ask me anytime and I'm sure will reply to you ASAP !!

Bye for now !!

Welcome To My Blog !

Hello Guys !

Welcome to my blog ! My name is Afy Fatien and I'm 17 years old.. I currently living in Malaysia and I will be going to Japan soon as an exchange student for a year :) I think its a great idea for me to blog about my journey.. Since I haven't depart to Japan yet, I will make blog about my activities in Malaysia before I depart :)
I'm not that good in blogging but I will try my best to make my blog post interesting :) I have a youtube channel where I made videos about my exchange and some other videos as well :D --> Afy Fatien's Youtube channel ! 
Well I think that's it for now ! Please subscribe to my channel and follow my blog to follow on adventure with me :D

Sayonara minna-san !