This whole story started last year when the French teacher at my school needed host families for the French exchange program. Even though I have been studying Spanish since fourth grade, my family and I thought it would be a good experience. Thankfully the French teacher matched us with a very English fluent student, Arnaud. He had lived in South Africa and attended a British international school there. He currently lives in Belfort, France but also has a house near Marseille.
Arnaud came here for two weeks in April 2019. I was a 7th grader at a local school, and the French teacher set up a special schedule so the exchange students could be together and meet all of the teachers. That first evening, we went to the Downtown Mall and got ice cream. Arnaud always came to school with me, but we also did a lot of other activities outside of school. We took him to Bodos, Riverside Lunch, and Krispy Kreme. He came to one of my soccer practices. We hiked Humpback Rock. He helped decorate eggs for Easter and we did an egg hunt at my house together. We took him to UVA to see the Rotunda and to his first baseball game ever. He also went to Monticello with the other French students.
The school had a return trip for the French class to visit Belfort. Since I don’t know any French and still wanted to visit Arnaud, we planned family-to-family instead of through the schools. We planned for me to visit Arnaud over summer break. My mom and her friend Cindy flew over with me to Marseille. We all spent the first night at Arnaud’s house near Marseille, and then my mom and Cindy went to Paris for their own trip.
I stayed with Arnaud and his family for three days in Carry-le-Rouet, which is a small town outside of Marseille. While I was there, a German family who is friends with Arnaud’s family was also visiting. They had a son who was our age, so it was fun to hang out with kids from several different countries. We explored the cities around there and went to some beaches. One of the beaches was surrounded by huge salt flats and I could walk at least 300 feet from shore without putting my head underwater. In one city, I saw an ancient Roman amphitheater that is used as a bullfighting arena today. There was one city that they called the Venice of France. It had a lot of canals and cool alleyways with awesome restaurants. All over the towns and cities, there were amazing flower pots that were huge and beautiful. We always had home-cooked meals for dinner. My favorite was a sort of quiche with pizza toppings.
After Marseille, we drove six hours to Arnaud’s uncle’s house in the Alps. That night we had a really delicious dinner with potatoes and cheese called raclette. We also went on a hike through the Alps. The next day, we drove to Arnaud’s hometown, Belfort. He and I explored the city both days I was there. We went to the Belfort fortress, which was the last standing stronghold for the French in the Franco-Prussian war. We also saw the Belfort Lion. The lion was built by Bartholdi, the same guy who built the Statue of Liberty. He built it to commemorate the soldiers that fought to protect Belfort and all of France.
I am very glad that we hosted Arnaud in the spring and was thrilled when I heard I could go see him again. It was a very good cultural experience. This exchange program was organized through my middle school, but I know several local high school language programs do something similar and there are independent organizations as well.
Arnaud stayed with us for a few weeks and I was in France for about 10 days, but lengths of stay can range from a week all the way up to a year.
I’d encourage anyone who has a chance to participate in an exchange program to take the opportunity. It is amazing and a fun way to make new friends across the globe.
Have a Kidspective to Share?
Rudy G is a class of 2024 student at a local public high school. He was a devoted soccer player until age 13, when he switched to baseball. He still plays recreational soccer and referees local youth games. Rudy is passionate about animals and, since he could first talk, has said he wants to be an animal saver when he grows up. These days, he thinks that will lead him to a double major in biology and data science in college and a career in animal migration and conservation. As a 14 year old, he started Rudy’s Rapturous Recycling for his neighbors and he’s diverted over 1700 pounds of material from the landfill. Rudy loves to read, play with his puppy, and come up with “what if…” questions for his family. He looks forward to family trips; his favorite vacation was a safari in South Africa.