PAX - Program of Academic Exchange is a program of PAX Laurasian Exchange and is designated by the U.S. Department of State as a J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program sponsor.

Mateo has a few words...and a highlight video!

 Life is made of experiences, dreams, and moments. Minutes that seem to matter the least at some point will be the most remembered.

I've been here for five months, but it seems longer because the people I've met have made me pause and appreciate every little detail of my days, whether they are bad or good. It's weird trying to restart your life, searching through memories, trying to be something of fiction, found only in the worn pages of a book. But the truth is that everyone is as they should be, and that simply makes each of us special.

I’ve learned a lot of things being here, but the most important thing is feeling free, feeling involved, and feeling love for people that were complete strangers at first. They taught me how big kindness can be and how pure love can be.

I learned and am learning the best part of every single person. I’m learning how to be strong, how to be funny, how to be responsible, how to be independent, how to be curious, and how to be me. They are teaching me how to live in a way that few people can.

Friends, family, and coordinators gave me a break, a break in my life, to realize that everyone is here for a reason. And this is definitely the best thing I could have learned. I feel that every day is a new opportunity to be better and fulfill my dreams. Most of the time, I try to be happy and make others happy, because that's what life is about, right?

—Mateo (Ecuador), hosted by the Miller family (IN)