This year for spring break, I spent two weeks living in Versailles, France with a family of seven. While there, having the time of my life might I add, I attended a Private Catholic school, Saint Jean Hulst, as well as going to various tourist sites like the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Palace of Versailles. I meet some of the most amazing people and can honestly say I have never felt so welcomed and cannot wait to see all of their faces again.
That being said, since returning the questions have not stopped, so here are the answers to all the questions everyone wants to know after you go on an exchange trip!
1. What did they ask about America?
The better question is what didn't they ask about America.
Given the current political state of the United States, the questions about my opinions on gun control, the March for Our Lives Movement, school walkouts, Russia investigations and Trump's presidency were asked by everyone from sixth graders to adults and teachers.
2. How was the school different?
One of the biggest differences between the school I attended in France and the school I attend in the United States was the overall structure of the school day.
The French school was based on a schedule in which the classes and their end times changed every day, whereas, in the United States, I attend the same classes every day ending at 3:30 p.m.. Another big difference was that the teachers, rather than the students, changed classrooms, so the same group of students were together for the entire school day. The last big difference between American and French schools is that when a teacher calls in sick for class, the students get to go home rather than staying in class with a substitute teacher.
3. Who did you get along with best in the family?
I can honestly say that everyone in my host family was extremely kind and welcoming of me into their household, and I would gladly host any of them at my home in the U.S.
4. How was the family different from yours in mannerisms?
Family mannerisms were pretty similar in that they always ate together as a family and joked around a lot. I would say that they only thing that was really different was that they didn’t really do anything together after dinner; the little kids would just go to sleep.
Since their family ate very late at night compared to my family, dinner would normally end around 21:00 or 21:30 (9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.), and the little kids would have to go to sleep. This was really different for me because my family usually does something together like watching the news or a movie.
5. What was your favorite thing you ate there?
French cuisine is absolutely amazing and so unique in comparison to a lot of the foods that I am used to. I had so many different dishes that it is really difficult for me to choose a favorite, but some of the most memorable dishes I had were crepes, Easter dinner and a simple picnic with cheese baguette sandwiches.
6. What was your favorite thing you saw there?
My favorite thing that I saw there would probably be Mont Marte, which is this really large hill in France with the Sacré-Cœur on top. The view was absolutely breathtaking and the church itself was so beautiful even though we did not get to go inside.
7. What is one interesting thing that pops into your head right now?
One interesting thing that just pops into my head right now is the windows. The windows were different from the ones we have here in that you just twist a nob, push, and they open. I don’t know why this stood out to me or why it's popping into my head, but they were so cute.
8. What is one thing you would like to do again?
One thing I would like to do again if I were given the opportunity to go back would be to go to more middle school classes. The kids were so adorable and so curious about American culture and so excited to speak English.
9. Were there any differences in values, like clear examples of "Oh, this is SO French?"
One interesting thing that I learned about their culture was how much they walked. Nearly every day, I would have walked between 15,000 to 20,000 steps. The entire time I was there, I was in a car on three occasions total.
This really made me reevaluate how much I use my car and when it really is a necessity rather than just a privilege. The thing is, the way that their cities are set up, everything is within walking distance — school was only seven minutes, grocery store five, the market 15, the grocery store eight. I cannot speak for everyone in the U.S., but I have never really lived in a place in the U.S. where walking everywhere was truly possible, and I really enjoyed that.
10. How diverse were the students at the school?
The kids my age at the school were very stereotypically French and a lot of their families had lived in France for generations upon generations. Whereas in the younger grades, there were a lot of immigrants and kids from locations all across Europe and various Francophone (French-speaking) countries.
11. How did interactions between students and teachers differ?
In most of my classes in the U.S., there is a very open relationship between student and teacher where there is a lot of back and forth talking and joking around. This was very different to school interactions in France. While some of the teachers were open to joking around with students, most of the teachers were much more strict than the teachers I have experienced in my classes.
