American Field Service exchanges have been operating around the world for more than 60 years now, and there are also Rotary and a host of other organisations helping teenagers spread their wings as far from the gaze of doting parents as possible.
When you meet the sort of people who have been away on an exchange, you can see that they are not the shy, retiring types. Trade Me's Sam Morgan, MP Nick Smith, and our own Graeme Todd, Greg Ross and Sandy Turner are all former exchange students.
All three of these locals still keep in touch with their host families and Sandy is off to visit her old family near Sao Paolo in Brazil next month for the first time since she lived with them 30 years ago.
She thinks that next to having children, her Rotary exchange year was the most exciting thing that happened to her. Her Portuguese needs a bit of a brush-up, but she is sure it will all come back once she gets there.
When Karen Boulay's daughter went off to school in Switzerland for six months recently, Karen filled the gap by hosting a Swiss student, Philippe Schaefeler.
He came to Wakatipu High School for the year, and has been spreading his passion for music and dance throughout the local school communities.
Apparently the primary school camp was the best so far, thanks to the break-dancing lessons Philippe gave everyone when he went along as a helper.
It probably goes without saying, but young people who apply for positions as exchange students do not fear the unknown.
Lukas Huber, also of Switzerland, has put his hand up for everything during his year in Queenstown.
He didn't let his total lack of knowledge about rugby or rowing stop him joining the Wakatipu High School's rugby and rowing teams.
His host family let him experience the other two parts of rugby - racing and beer - as well.
A foreigner's look at the local culture can often be very insightful. Lukas loved the Cromwell races and especially the bit where he won a few dollars choosing the horses with the best names. The following day, he was taken to Dunedin to his host sister's school athletic races and found it less interesting than the horse variety.
He suggested that painting numbers on the girls and betting on them would have made all the difference. It's not hard to see the fundraising potential for that!
The beer bit is the big problem. All the exchange students find the New Zealand drinking culture extraordinary.
So, what are the best bits about being an exchange student?
Lukas and Philippe both found the freedom from parental supervision very liberating. Exchange students don't have many rules to worry about but the punishment for breaking them is a prompt return to the home country.
The rules are: no driving, no hitchhiking, no breaking the laws of the host country, and you have to go to school. As long as you obey all those, you are treated like an adult and make all your own decisions.
For them, those decisions have included skydiving, bungy jumping, jet-boating, and trips all over New Zealand with their families and with other exchange students. They both went on the Spirit of Adventure, which was the highlight of their stay.
They have loved the openness and friendliness of people here, the way they hug each other so much and don't have doorbells or locked doors. People joke more with each other and school isn't so hard here.
It might be a shock for them going back to Switzerland, where at 17 years old, they still have another two years of high school and then a year in the Swiss Army.
And the best bits about hosting an exchange student?
Having a motivated, intelligent teenager in the house is a real joy. These students want to come and experience everything about their new home; they bring new ideas and skills to share and are enthusiastic and excited about taking part (quite an unteenagerish attitude, really!)
It's impossible not to learn a lot about their home country and the culture and cuisine. The major down side of hosting is that once they learn how to make pavlova, you might find yourself having to eat it rather more frequently than you want.
The intention behind the exchange programmes is to create understanding and friendship between different cultures. The experiences our local inbound and outbound students have had seem to prove that it certainly does that.
• To find out more about exchange programmes you can contact AFS on www.afs.org or Rotary on www.youthexchange.org.nz
