High School Study Abroad Program in France

My 6 month study abroad program in France helped me not only gain fluency in the french language but it helped me gain a much stronger independence and confidence as well as self-understanding that I feel can only be accomplished through an experience like studying abroad. I met amazing people in my host community as well as other exchange students from all over the world, and was able to see some of the most beautiful parts of the world in my travels throughout France, and it was all possible thanks to Greenheart travel who connected me with an amazing host family and school in a really cool town.

I just got back from spending 3 months in Lyon living with a family and helping them with English. It was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it. I absolutely loved the family I stayed with. They really made me feel apart of their family.
Teaching English there was hard but really fun. It was hard because my family knew English very well and it was difficult to come up with lessons where they learned something new but it was very rewarding when I could teach them new things.
I think one of my favorite memories was having Thanksgiving with them. I made the whole dinner by myself. I got to share with them different dishes they have never tried before and I got to explain to them the story of the First Thanksgiving.
I think it was difficult at first because I spent a lot of time at home alone because my family was at school or working but I put myself out there and met new people that I would never get the opportunity to meet.
I think knowing French is important. My family and I spoke in French and in English. I took French in high school for 4 years but your dont reallyknow your proficiency level until you're there trying to communicate. I struggled with French when I first arrived but it is amazing to see how much I improved over the 3 months.

I was a junior when I first came came along Greenheart, I was immediately enthralled with the idea to go live in a foreign country and witness their customs and traditions.
I was in France for 5 months and I got back in the end of January of 2015. I loved my exchange to France! I met the most amazing family and had the most amazing friends. I got to really see what life was like in France.
The only advice I have is to be careful with what form of money you bring to France, as a lot of times Traveller checks don't work and neither do visas (because they don't have a chip) be safe and take a debit card!
I had no difficulty with homesickness as I felt really comfortable with my host family. It's a good idea to really stick to the calling of parents once or twice a week.
The only issue I had was with my school. The amount of people who told me in France that the French were very exclusive was incredible. Io can admit that I had Zero friends at school but It didn't really affect me because I had a ton of friends outside of school.
I feel like since I have been back, I have had more homesickness to going back to France than I have ever had while I was in France.

Everyday living abroad is a complete adventure, and with adventure comes excitement and it isn't a good adventure unless you run into some problems. I became very very close with my host family and I couldn't imagine how I could have ever possibly been placed better. My match was PERFECT. Although the overall experience was wondrous, I did run into some hard moments. I learned the hard way that being sick away from home is really quite hard. However a life on exchange, like life at home, cannot be always perfect. No matter where you live you'll have good days and bad days.
But choosing to study in high school is quite different than studying abroad in college. In high school, you live with a family and are truly confined to the household and the house rules. You are accepted as a family member, not as a privileged guest, which is very important to remember.
My best experience from study abroad was the travelling we did. With my family I was able to go to the French Alps, London, The Maldives, and Cannes. They really made sure that I saw the country I was living in and I was really grateful.