All Over the Map
New Places
Get a glimpse into an exchange week in some of the newest towns we call home
At The Met
BRonx, New York
On this exchange, you’ll feast on both art (The Met Cloisters, the Whitney Museum of American Art) and food (New York classics like bagels, pizza, and bodega chopped cheese). You’ll find green oases in the city at the New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. And you’ll have the chance to see what’s “downtown” in the rest of NYC as you catch “Aladdin” on Broadway and greet the marble lions at the New York Public Library.
“When I was on the subway, I had the fan…I just felt like, ‘Dang, this is New York. I feel New York.”
—Kimberly V. (Naples, Florida → Bronx, New York)
CHAPIN, SOUTH CAROLINA
Whatever you’d hope to experience during Travel Week, you’ll probably find it on the Chapin exchange. Water? Tube the Saluda River and enjoy dinner along Lake Murray. History? Three centuries’ worth of architecture and the state capitol building are a 30-minute drive away in Columbia. Shopping and local crafts? Head to Soda City Market, “Columbia’s original town square,” where everything sold is produced directly within the Southeast region. For good old-fashioned fun, you won’t beat making the drive to the amusement park Carowinds, a backyard seafood boil at your host family’s home, or a day trip to Charleston—closed by splitting pizza with your new friends on Folly Beach.
Tubing the Saluda River
“I’d never really heard of a Southern country boil, so I’m glad that I got to experience something like that. Trying chicken and waffles for the first time was cool, too.”
—2026 student
Bridal Veil Falls
OREM, UTAH
Your week in Orem begins with a hike up Bridal Veil Falls, where glimmering water cascades over the rocks of Provo Canyon. Then it’s time to float in the expanse of the Great Salt Lake. You’ll stand under the breathtaking rock formations of Arches National Park, peruse stores in downtown Salt Lake City, and do handstands at sunset on the otherworldly surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Cap it all off with an Endless Summer from Swig (that’s Mountain Dew + pomegranate + grapefruit + fresh lime) and Animal Style fries from In-N-Out (if you know, you know).
“Mountain ziplining had to be my favorite activity. It’s something that I can still look back on and feel proud of because I faced my fears and I did it.”
—Hayden M. (Kingston, Massachusetts → Orem, Utah)
WAIPAHU, HAWAII
The Waipahu exchange is the crackle of preparing a traditional imu pit oven for roasted pig; the bright sands of Ala Moana Beach Park; the shouts of vendors and mouthfuls of parfaits at a local food truck festival; the aquamarine water viewed from a catamaran launch at nearby Waikiki. On this Travel Week, you’ll get an in-depth look at Hawaii’s history at sites like Iolani Palace and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and help preserve the land through volunteer work with the Hawai’i Agricultural Research Center.
Catamaran trip
“A week wasn’t enough to squeeze in everything from the beautiful island of Oahu.”
—Ella P. (Jasper, Texas → Waipahu, Hawaii)
Campout at the Grand Canyon
WADDELL, ARIZONA
One of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World waits for you in the Southwest: Your week in Waddell, Arizona finishes off with a campout at the Grand Canyon, including a walk along its rim at sunrise. (Don’t forget to take pictures of the brilliantly colored rocks of Sedona on your way back.) But that’s far from the only wonder you’ll encounter on this exchange. You’ll feel your heart pound as you watch a rodeo barrel race, hike all 340 winding Verrado Stairs up a rocky hill, and browse under the Spanish-tiled roofs of Cave Creek’s mercantiles.
“Watching someone experience these places for the first time has reminded us just how amazing our home state really is.”
—Naomi Kleinow (host parent, Waddell, Arizona)
“This was life-altering for many of our students.”
—Kris Hemstetter (principal of Kent County High School, Chestertown, Maryland)