Photo by Annabelle Elmaleh
Jessica Wu
News Reporter
A group of South students and teachers left for France with annual French Exchange trip, which hopes to immerse students in French culture through attending school, staying with host families, and exploring the city.
The exchange is part of a program between South students and students from a French school. Every February, students from South travel to France to stay with host families. In April, those same French students get a chance to travel and stay with host families in Newton.
During the first week, the students will attend classes with their exchange partners in the morning according to World Language Department Head Suzanne Murphy Ferguson, who is also one of the chaperones.
“[Students] observe classes and are often enlisted to participate and interact with the students. Especially in classes such as English, they are sometimes asked to lead conversations and talk about their lives in America,” Murphy Ferguson said.
In the afternoon, the group will take the metro into Paris and get a chance to explore the city and see major monuments including the Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versaille, and the River Seine.
“In addition to that, they will go on several walking tours, which give them another chance to interact with local French people,” Murphy Ferguson said.
The students’ second week in France remains more open as the French students have their winter break, so many South students will leave France with their host’s families to go on their vacation.
During that week, the teachers organize a few optional outings that are open to South students and their exchange partners, who have stayed in the city.
Junior Rebecca Shepherd says that she chose to go on the trip because she has always wanted to go to Paris. Moreover, many of her friends went on the trip during their sophomore year and found it to be a life changing experience.
However, other students such as sophomore Isabella Villafuerte, who had visited France previously, also chose to go on the exchange trip.
“The first time I went [to France] I had just started to learn French, so now that I can use the language better. I want to go back,” Villafuerte said.
Not only does the trip give students a chance to explore France, but it also allows them to interact and develop relationships with their exchange partners and host families.
“My exchange partner, Constance, and I have been messaging each other every day since December break and we get along really well, so I’m really excited to stay in her home and go on all the adventures we have planned together,” Shepherd said.
Adding on, sophomore Anna Zhang says that the homestay is a unique and valuable opportunity that really allows the South exchange trip to differ from a typical trip to France.
“If I was going with my family, I would be staying in a hotel and only visiting typical popular tourist places. The exchange trip allows us to be more immersed in the culture because we stay with a host family, allowing us to see lives and get to know what they do and eat everyday,” Zhang said.
Not only do students learn about French culture through the homestay, but they also are challenged to speak the language. Shepherd explains that for her, the language barrier is the most nerve wracking part of the trip.
“Speaking French for two weeks straight is something I’ve never done before. I’m hoping my seven years of French learning will pay off. But at least I know that even if my grammar isn’t perfect, my host family will still be able to understand what I’m trying to say,” Shepard said.
However, Murphy Ferguson explains that this alone time is crucial to developing students’ confidence in their language skills.
“It can be kind of scary and alienating at first when you leave the safety of your group and you go home with people who you have yet to meet. However, the time [students] spend alone with their host families is where they learn they have the tools and the resources to communicate,” Murphy Ferguson said.
For many of the teachers, the trip serves as a chance to discover and rediscover France through the perspective of students. Murphy Ferguson recounts one of the special moments she had on a previous exchange trip.
“One night when we got off the metro, the students saw the Eiffel Tower with all its lights lit up. To hear students gasping with delight was wonderful,” Murphy Ferguson said.
