The teachers made this trip so much fun, and they will make sure you have an awesome time! Basically, in the France and Switzerland trip, you will be put in a class depending on your level of French. We had three classes – French Immersion (Grade 11 and 12), Core French for Grade 11, and Core French for Grade 12. In my experience, the immersion kids always did their lessons together and all the core kids (Grades 11 and 12) did their lessons together too.
Now let me start telling you about these teachers. If you get one of them on your program, they will make your trip a lot better.
First up, we have Ayanna. Ayanna was the only girl teacher on the trip, and I thought of her more as the “boss”. She was the teacher of the Grade 12 Core Class. She’s had the most experience of teaching on the France and Switzerland trip and she even went on this program when she was a student! She definitely knows everything you need to know and what to do. Ayanna loved to socialize with the kids and was a really nice and sweet person to approach. The one thing that really amazed me about Ayanna is that she was always so calm and chill no matter the situation. I never saw her get stressed if we didn’t get somewhere on time or anything; she always thought of the positives in everything.
Next, we have David. David was one of the male teachers on trip and he taught French Immersion. He was my teacher. It was David’s first time on the MEI France and Switzerland trip but he already was a natural. Throughout the trip, he thought about how he can make learning more fun. We would have interactive quizzes where we would have to do a challenge before answering the question. He also always loved to play sports with us.
The thing I liked about David is that whenever you needed help on anything, no matter where you are or what time, he will try his best to help you out. I remember it was 11:30 PM and everyone was tired from walking back from the Bastille Day fireworks, and I asked if he could help me with my subjonctif, and he did! The whole walk back. He really cared for everyone’s safety and did his best to make sure everyone succeeded.
Finally, we have Alexis. Alexis was the other male teacher who mainly taught the Grade 11 Core Class. My first impression of Alexis was that he is this super friendly guy that you just want to talk to. It was his second time on the France and Switzerland trip, but he’s also a French citizen! Alexis is a great guy who loves to make sure that all kids had the best time. He had all of these stories to tell and life lessons to keep.
One of his passions was for sports, and he loved playing sports with us. The one thing I really liked about Alexis is that he could talk his way into anything. He could convince people to get us access to go to the top of Notre Dame or bargain for a sale on t-shirts. He taught me a really good life lesson, “you never know until you ask.”
If you get any of these teachers on your program, you should look forward to an awesome trip!