AFS Year and Semester High School Abroad in France

Hi! I spent three amazing, whirling weeks in Paris in July 2015. The focus of my program was cooking and learning French. We made all sort of food at our culinary school, everything from chorizo stuffed chicken to seared duck breast in honey wine sauce and won ton wrapped fried prawns with mango. Of course desserts were not neglected either! We hand whipped vanilla cream filling for our pastry, were handed blow tourches to lovingly kiss the tops of our meringue, and made lime Madelines, the official cookie of France! The staff were all really great. One time the culinary instructer, Remy, (yes like from Ratatouille)tested whipped cream doneness by turning the bowls upside down over our heads! If it fell out, well you had to keep whipping by hand. If not, it was time to dollop on apple tarts! The only thing I wish was different would have been our housing arrangements. We stayed in a youth hostel which was cool since we got to meet lots of different people our age from not only france but England, Germany, and Spain, but due to cost had to stay six to a room. Fortunately I loved all my new friends, in fact I just received a Christmas card from one of them! Seeing the sights was not neglected, we had tons of free time and were allowed to go where ever we wanted as long as we had a buddy or after dark, two buddies. We had tours of a few places such as the Louvre, but most places we explored on our own. Our favorite place to be was on the banks of the Seine river, near Notre Dame. We would buy pain de chocolat, (chocolate filled croissants) or crepes avec Nutella and sit or walk for hours there, admiring sights or artwork or writing in our journals. Nothing was more beautiful than Norte Dame at sunset, when it looked as if it has been gilded in golden splendor, the magnificant towers and face, painstakingly carved, with the fading blue sky behind it, only serving to make the contrast between the golden church and its surroundings more apparent. Every moment was perfection in itself, three weeks was not enough time, I hope someday to return for good, teaching languages abroad.

This was the absolute best year of my life! I'm from Los Angeles , but my experience was different because I was placed into a farm in Northern France. My friends are my everything and my life is so much better because I've decided to go abroad for a year! I would totally recommend anyone who wants to share life connections to travel abroad!

I spent my junior year of high school in Fontainebleau, France with AFS USA, and it was sincerely the best experience of my life. I got to learn French, experience something other than my hometown, for lifelong bonds, and broaden my horizons.

I didn't feel as if AFS France was organized and truly cared about their students. Obviously there were lovely volunteers I had met who welcomed me into their home but there were some who didn't bother to learn the names of the students or overall I didn't feel as if they were there to make a positive experience on the students stay. I also had difficulties with AFS when my host family and I were not getting along-it happens when spending so much time together but AFS sent someone to talk to me who didn't improve the situation and promised she would call back to check up on me but never in the 6 months following the incident. I also lived 2 hours away from my fellow AFSers in the region so meeting up for the AFS get togethers next staying at a volunteers house--once the volunteer forgot to pick me up. Lastly because I was further away from most of the AFSers in the group nobody invited me to the meetings until about 2 months into my stay...AFS meetings become an important part of your stay because you get to see your friends so I felt as if I was alone for at least the first 2 months when nobody told me we were having meetings. Overall it was a great experience and I wouldn't change going on the year abroad BUT I may think differently about AFS although I understand all organizations have their faults and unfortunately AFS is the best of the organizations. Lastly not all regions and countries are the same! AFS USA is fantastic where as AFS France is t...it depends where you choose to go and what region you end up with.

My experience while in France was one I will never forget. The program allowed me to discover the type of person I was and am today as well as prepare me for college. The experience allowed me to meet a ton of people. Not only did I meet many of the French but I was able to share this experience with 256 other student from 50 different countries who were in France with me at the same time, it was great. Through the program I was also able to find myself a second family which is not what I ever expected and at this point my host siblings have really become my actual siblings. I honestly wouldn't change a thing and would do it again if I could!