Why did you decide to enroll with Greenheart Travel in France?
Helen: After doing a lot of research on different programs, I picked Greenheart because I thought it was the best one for me. I didn’t want to go with one of the larger organizations like YFU, AFS, or Rotary simply because they were too large.
Many people travel with them which means they need to place many students each year, so they have predetermined schools that usually host exchange students. Also with the volume of kids, it wouldn’t be unlikely to have another foreign exchange student in the same school as me, and that was something I really did not want.
Greenheart Exchange seemed more thorough about who they’d look at to be your host family and where they placed you in school. The staff at Greenheart swiftly replied to my email about my interest in studying abroad, and they helped me along the way with my application.
It helped that their departure date for doing a semester abroad lined up with when I was able to go, seeing that my first semester in the U.S. finished in mid-January.
What was the most interesting cultural difference you encountered?
Helen: This question had been asked many many times to me by the French I met and my family and friends when I got back. I could name many tiny differences, and probably a few more obvious ones, but one of the differences I found more intriguing were the table manners.
It’s widely known that Europe uses silverware with their opposite hands; the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right, but that isn’t the difference I found interesting.
From what I have noticed (mostly since I’ve gotten back), is Americans don’t really like to use knifes, unless of course they’re cutting through a piece of meat.
But in France we used knifes with meat, quiche, pasta, rice, salad, etc. This might contribute to the fact that in France it is actually considered improper to leave a hand on your lap while you eat, which is a habit I had to break while eating there.
Tell me about one person you met.
Helen: One of the greatest people I met was my host dad’s dad. His name was Serge and he lived only about 20 minutes away from the house. I didn’t see him all the time, but that didn’t matter because the times I did were some of the best memories I have while in France.
My very second day in France, literally the morning after the morning I arrived, my host family had a little party/gathering with friends and family to kind of welcome me to France. There he gave me a really fancy bottle of wine from 1997 because he knew it was my birth year.
When we went to his house he showed me his wine cellar and explained a lot about wine. And that afternoon he let me try a white wine from 1959!!!!! We would look at his book of Monet paintings and he’d tell me where the painting was done because more often than not he’d visited that area before!
Then in May, we got to go to his house in Cannes where he took me and my host sisters to Saint Tropez as well! We went for a walk through a park and he explained a lot about the trees and flowers that grew there. Those memories with him will last me a lifetime and I think it’s needless to say I cried when I had to say goodbye to him.
Was it difficult to navigate around language barriers?
Helen: Of course the language barrier was difficult. But it wasn’t impossible and soon enough it didn’t really exist at all. The beginning of the exchange is difficult because you don’t really speak the language and everyone still speaks a little faster than you wish they did.
There are nouns you don’t know so you have to describe them, then there are adjectives you don’t know so you don’t know how to do describe the nouns. Verbs are always tough, especially picking up on verbs from native’s conversations as you’ll find the usage of particular French verbs differs from the usage of the English equivalent.
However, do not worry! Especially in the first month, your host family and new friends will probably talk slowly for you and be willing to explain what things mean with a simpler description. You just can’t be afraid to ask for help, and can’t be afraid to make mistakes!
If someone came to your house to learn English and made mistakes while speaking, you’d find them admirable for trying to learn another language! It’s amazing the progress you’ll notice.
My first morning when my host family picked me up from Charles de Gaulle Airport to their house, that hour and a half car ride was quite silent and what my host dad did ask, I didn’t understand much. But by the end of my exchange, I could speak without thinking ahead, and understand like my native tongue.
What was the best moment of the entire trip?
Helen: My best moment from this trip is truly nothing special. Although I had countless unforgettable memories, my favorite moment is quite unordinary.
I was with my two host sisters one afternoon after school and the older one, Clarisse, decided to “do my makeup” (I put that in quotes because she did it absolutely horrendously). When I looked in the mirror I had a thick black unibrow and a goatee. Immediately I reached for the brown eyeliner to draw a unibrow and a curly mustache on Clarisse’s face as well.
I don’t know if everyone is familiar with Vine, but to sum it up; it’s a social media application where you make 6 seconds videos. And that’s what we did until dinner time was make these ridiculous vines in weird accents some in French, some in English, and a bit in Spanish. This is such a great moment in my exchange because I really want to show that your host sisters can truly become your real sisters.