Everywhere I turned there was something that shouted look! you cannot find this at home: a centuries old balcony, architecture reflecting old taxes on base floors, a statue without a nose for students to break off with small pebbles, a collection of noses for that very statue, alleyways and streets so narrow you could touch the cars as they go by, trails through open fields, fig trees trimmed down the summer before, gated yards, and houses that resembled French culture so much you knew you were in France.
I was staying with an amazing family in Bergerac, France. I had a host mom, two sisters, and a brother. One of my host sisters, Lea, and I are around the same age, so I spent most of my time with her and her friends. In my family stay, I was able to learn about the French culture you hear about but might not experience as a tourist in France.
My first day in France consisted of a trip through customs, a bus tour I mostly slept through, an attempted order of pizza for lunch, four and a half hours of train rides, and meeting my host family. Needless to say, speaking in French to my host family that night while being extremely jetlagged was difficult. I gave my host family a book about Minnesota and my host sister a copy of “Looking for Alaska” by John Green in English. My host brother Hugo made a bowtie out of the ribbon from the presents.
I attended school with my host sister for two days while I was in Bergerac. On the first day, I attended a French History course, and I still have no clue what they were talking about. I left class early to meet up with the group for a tour of Bergerac and had lunch at another host family’s house with my host sister Lea and some of her friends, another girl from my group and two Canadian exchange students.
Having lunch with all of them was one of the best experiences I had. Meeting other exchange students from different groups was a blessing because they had been there for six weeks already and had advice to share.
On the second day of school, I attended an Art and French Literature class to speak to younger students taking English courses, so that they could learn about us and our culture. I think the most popular question was “Where are you from in America?” When we told the kids, none of them could really pinpoint where that was.
On days I was not visiting school with my host sister Lea, I spent time doing many activities with my host family. I went to a grocery store with my host mom and Lea to get breakfast foods and some other things (including an orange and nectarine juice that I wish we had here).
Lea was not feeling well one day, so I walked around Bergerac with one of her friends I had met the day before. We attempted to communicate with my broken French as he did not know much English. I learned a lot about different parts of Bergerac that were less touristy that day.
Another day, Lea and I met with Gwladys and Megan for Nutella crêpes and hot cocoa after going shopping. I also managed to visit a bakery, where I got my first French macaroon while in France. The next morning I woke up early and my host mom had prepared breakfast including croissants (which are at least 100 times better than American croissants that I’ve had) and fruit. As we ate, we talked about many things, and I was proud that it was the first actual conversation I had in French.
One evening, Lea and I went bowling with three other host families. The bowling program had to have been from the late 1990’s, making all of us giggle at the retro language that was used.
The last morning was filled with breakfast, goodbyes and many hugs. I remember leaving the station seeing Lea and Gwladys blowing kisses and waving at me.
I will forever remember the amazing experiences I had while in France. I was blessed with a wonderful host family and friends that will hopefully last a lifetime.
I still talk to Lea and the many friends I made in France. Thanks to my trip, I have a deeper understanding of the French language, and my experience in the French culture has confirmed my desire to live in France someday.
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