Cultural Happenings: Exchange Day 2024

Annually, the exchange visitor community organizes a global celebration of international exchange - Exchange Day. International programs benefit individuals and communities, strengthening global relations and promoting cultural understanding and appreciation. Exchange Day serves to highlight the impact of exchange programs and recognize the exchange visitors in our community. Exchange program affiliates - from host employers to visa sponsors - organize events across the country under a universal theme - Eat. Play. Give. For 2024s celebration, LifeTRAVELED hosted a radical, retro Exchange Day event at Astro Skate in Orlando Florida.

Eat - Introduced to Americans by Italian immigrants, pizza has become a staple in American culture, even creating our own variations (New York Style, Chicago Deep Dish). In the United States, party and pizza go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Play - Whether you’re gracefully gliding or toppling over a comedic amount of times, it’s hard to have anything other than a good time at a roller rink. Exchange visitors enjoyed a freestyle skate session under the glow of neon lights.

Give - Every exchange program is educational - from international students studying at American universities, to interns developing through mentorships at an American employer, to camp counselors teaching American children about their culture. Supporting the transformative power of education, LifeTRAVELED invited the exchange visitors to donate classroom items (markers to express creativity, notebooks to collect dreams, calculators to problem-solve) to A Gift for Teaching, a central Florida non-profit ensuring teachers have access to supplies for their students to thrive.