Teen Summer French Language Camp in Paris and Arcachon, France

Hello! I was the Global Explorer Scholarship winner for the France Teen Summer Language Camp and life as a student in Paris was everything I dreamed of yet nothing like I could've anticipated. My day typically consisted of taking language class in the morning, thinking about how to order gelato in French in the afternoon, and sleeping very well at night. The ability to experience the culture of France was thrilling, educational, beautiful, and even a bit overwhelming at moments. Classes took place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on weekdays. The group next would hop on the metro, follow through with the excursion on the itinerary, have a couple of hours to explore during free time, and then we went home to have dinner with our host family. In class, we were separated into groups of beginning, intermediate, and advanced language proficiency. However, we all remained in the same classroom so there didn't feel like a divide between levels, and we were able to interact with each other consistently. There are also some students from WEP (World Education Program) who are a part of our group. We went through lessons by using workbooks, speaking out loud, and conversing with each other. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner was provided by our host family and if you wanted anything else you could get them at the supermarket on the way home or out on excursions. My host mother and our group's director were absolutely wonderful. We were given free time to explore our host city, mine was Bondoufle, which was about an hour away from Paris on the metro. It is a very fast-paced, adventure packed program. Everyday was very exciting. From the Louvre to the Champs Elyseés to the Arc de Triomphe, I could look forward to taking the metro to a new adventure every day. I also must say that my entire experience with the Greenheart Travel group of teens was one huge favorite moment. From the moment the group met, we clicked and by approximately day three it was like we had known each other for years. It was truly special and made my Paris language camp experience even greater. It was awesome to learn about Belgium and Ecuador from girls who live there, and to meet other kids from all over the States. This trip has fostered in me an electric curiosity and the traveling bug has most definitely bit me. I can’t thank Greenheart Travel enough for making this trip even a possibility for me.

Traveling abroad with Greenheart Travel was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The two weeks abroad in France were both incredible and I had a blast completely immersing myself in a different language and culture. I feel like I changed so much mentally and physically (definitely more buff from all the walking) from my time in France. It’s such a rewarding feeling- taking the skills we learn in textbooks and utilizing them in the real world. It feels surreal. From purchasing a train ticket à la gare de La Hume to asking about the oldest church in La Teste, my French skills came to life and gave all those verb conjugations and French vocabulary cards meaning. I was fortunate enough to live with a wonderful host mom who is one of the most kind people I’ve ever met. In the morning she would always ask if I slept well, wanted to know about my day when we came back from school, she drove my host brother and I to get ice cream and to watch the sun set (which was my favorite memory from this trip). I am still in contact with her and email her regularly. The school was challenging, as I was placed in the most advanced group (I had 3 years of high school French prior to this), but was equally as rewarding. The camp was a ton of fun most days, but a couple times our afternoon activity would be badminton in the park or volleyball at the beach, which was fun for a few hours, but could get boring. Luckily, I was surrounded by other teenagers my age from around the world. I didn’t expect to become such close companions with kids halfway across the globe from the United States, but I am so grateful and happy to have met them. We became inseparable; we shared food with each other, lent each other bathroom money practically daily, and compared our cultural differences. I was able to use the “tu” (informal) form with them and practice lots of French, as well as learn words and phrases in Swiss-German, German, Italian, and Chinese. I taught them the word “hella” which they found hilarious, but is actually a very commonly used, colloquial word in California. This trip actually helped me solidify my choice on declaring my major as French in college! I'm currently in the process of applying for colleges, and I am considering studying abroad in college because of my amazing experiences I had in France this summer. I would highly recommend this program.

My experience in Paris was one I will never forget. I met some wonderful people who will remain in my mind and heart forever, and I saw some beautiful monuments in and around Paris. One of my favorite memories about camp was going to Sacre-Coeur the first day out in Paris. It was my first experience with the metro in Paris and the street life in Paris, so it was an eye opening opportunity in that respect. The church was pretty and the weather was sunny, so the day was perfect for sight-seeing (minus the heat and humidity). After seeing the gorgeous inside of the church, I got to experience more city life as one of the guides took me on an adventure to find a French SIM card for my phone. After finding my SIM card, I got a crepe and then called my mom from Sacre-Coeur while eating a crepe and it was amazing! I also bought some Starbucks with some new friends, and it was a great bonding experience.

This is a great program if you want to explore various parts of Paris and French culture while learning the language. The whole experience is packed with activities from day one, so there is never much time to feel bored or homesick. One experience that was particularly memorable was seeing the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day (July 14th). Alongside seeing all the big attractions like the Notre Dame and Versailles, we also saw a variety of attractions such as a famous cemetery and old neighbourhoods which you wouldn't typically think of when you think Paris. Don't be scared off by the sample itinerary posted on the website, as there are never full activity days at the residence and the only group activities are fun nightly games. I went with a friend, and while it made the entire experience significantly more fun and enjoyable, it didn't stop us from making good friends and socializing with everyone. However, if you're unused to being abroad and away from home, I would recommend bringing a friend to make the entire experience even more memorable. There were a variety of cultures present, but most of the kids were American and Spanish. Although there were occasional language and cultural barriers, we all spent the trip sharing various things about our own countries which made for an interesting mix. There was also another camp going on at the same time as ours, and we sometimes had activities with them. The guides were fun and flexible, they accompanied us everywhere whilst still giving us free time everywhere we went, and even allowed us to go out for dinner. Some of them only spoke little English, which sometimes made communication difficult, but also made for a great opportunity to practice French. They were also not Parisian, which sometimes made navigation through the city difficult, but we survived the whole trip without any major mishaps. The food at the residence was very good. While it was cantine-style and nothing fancy, there was a variety of meals throughout the trip, with lots of local cheeses and fish. Keeping an open mind is important. The French classes were also good. We had proper professors who came in to teach us every morning, and my teacher used the time to teach little things and review concepts we'd gotten wrong as a class on our placement tests. This was very helpful and effective, as 2 weeks isn't really enough time to fully cover any major new concepts. We also spent the time writing and putting on a skit which was a lot of fun.

One thing to note that doesn't seem to be clear is that we were not actually in France with Greenheart themselves, but with a French agency titled CEI (Centre d'Exchanges Internationaux). This did not pose a problem in any way, as the two agencies are partnered, but was merely confusing when it came to details such as airport pickup.

if u want to have fun choose this program. food is nice. friends are nice. paris is nice. i was happy to have attended here and at first being the only indian there i was a little shy but then when i got to know everyone there, i made friends arond the world and apart from french i learned a little spanish and german. I needed this to go well and it went better than i had ever expected and if i were asked to do it all over gain i would do it gladly!! my trip was perfect you can see my pictures on: marcherlemonde.tumblr.com

Summer of 2013 was the most memorable summer of all time! Greenheart Travel offered the bet experience. The trips, the morning classes and the overall experience was amazing. The day would start off in the morning, with breakfast, then going back upstairs to our rooms and grab our stuff to go to class! Class consisted of a small group of international French leathers, with a 20 minute break halfway through. We would walk back to the residence (which was like not even 2 city blocks) and have lunch. Afterwards, we would have like downtime to get ready for our daily escursion! We would wait her take lunch with us, or return on time for dinner. After dinner we would have nightly activities at the residence which you could participate in, or hang out with your new friends! Overall, great experience.