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There was a term I read years ago, probably in my college course on childhood development, and for the life of me I cannot remember the actual term.

It describes a trip or experience where a pre-adult leaves their home for a period and experiences life away from their parents and household rules and such. After the trip/experience, the youth returns home. It's either implied or explicitly more than 1 day, and usually between a week and 6 months in length. Typical examples are summer camp and boarding school. It could also be an extended field trip, living with a relative during the summer, or going on a camping trip (provided their parents don't go on the same trip). Kiki's training period in a new city in Kiki's Delivery Service would fit the bill.

I think it started with ex-, but I could be wrong on that since the word often goes with "experience".

Example sentence: "My son is 12 now, and he should really have a(n) _____ experience soon."

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  • M-W defines extramural in general terms: adjective 1: existing or functioning outside or beyond the walls, boundaries, or precincts of an organized unit (such as a school or hospital) – Edwin Ashworth Sep 22 '17 at 16:34
  • I think the closest English gets to that is an adventure or to the extent trip can be related to road-trip, a trip. – Robbie Goodwin Sep 24 '17 at 20:17
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Aussies (I think) use "walkabout," tho not exclusively for that age group.

Maybe 'visionquest,' for the meditatively inclined.

The only 'ex' word that comes to mind is "expedition."

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For some Amish and some other Mennonites, it's rumspringa.

It's a Pennsylvania German noun meaning "running around". It serves as an adolescent rite of passage, before deciding whether to commit to the community.

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  • While this is also what sprang to my mind, it's a very special case of the more general types of activities that he asks about. You wouldn't use this to refer to a typical child going to camp or boarding school. – Barmar Sep 22 '17 at 22:29
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The word extrafamilial exists and both Merriam Webster and the OED have entries for it. (MW spells it as a single word, OED hyphenates it) The OED entry, with the sole example given is:

extra-faˈmilial adj. outside the family.

1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics: Galton & After xi. 312 Their nutrition is surprisingly average—doubtless due to extra-familial feeding in schools.

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