French students joined Haven hosts in their daily lives to experience a new culture and way of life.
Students arrived on October 9, and departed on October 19, spending a little over a week at Haven.
Sophomore Jocelyn Kurchan was eager to join the program and was able to do so with a quick sign up.
“We were told it was a fun experience a few months in advance,” Kurchan said. “When the time came, we were sent a Google form and the first 15 people who signed up were the ones who got in.”
The lead up to the trip on the French side of things was a bit more lengthy.
“We heard about it, like, three years ago, so we’ve been waiting for a long time. We weren’t sure we could come because of the [government] shutdown and everything, but finally we made it,” Kurchan’s paired student Louise Jullian Vedel said.
Host families took into account the long, exhausting journey that their partners, nicknamed “Frenchies,” endured, going all the way from France to Philadelphia. Sophomore Natalie Jensen and her student Joséphine Barbier adjusted activities accordingly.
“They came October 9, and we kind of just got settled at our house,” Jensen said. “It was definitely awkward in the beginning, because she was really tired, so she wasn’t really speaking English that well, but then we warmed up to each other, and it’s been really good.”
After getting some much needed rest, the pairs had quite the adventures, filling every moment with excitement and plenty of things to do.
“We arrived on Thursday, then went to school on Friday. On the weekend, we went to Top Golf and to the King of Prussia Mall,” junior Josh Lund’s paired student Nicolas Chauvigne said. “Then on Monday, we went to Washington, DC. So we visited the National Mall, all the monuments, the White House and so on. Yesterday we visited the Independence Hall, the Museum of the American Revolution, and more.”
This large array of activities ensured that there would be something for everyone.
“I think my favorite thing was Philadelphia, such a historical city,” senior Luc McPherson’s student Swan Girard-Mayeux said.
Haven hosts have exposed their French students to a number of the more stereotypical American activities as well.
“They’re going to come to [homecoming], and after, I think we’re going to go to Nifty 50’s and eat a lot of fast food. It’s crazy how much we’ve had, I think Sienna Ferraiolo and her student have had Chipotle around three times now,” Jensen said.
The prospect of Homecoming excited the Frenchies, as they don’t have anything quite like it back home.
“We have something at the end of senior year, after we pass the exam, but it’s not such a big thing,” Jullian Vedel said.
American cinema contributed to the anticipated perception of the experience.
“It’s like in the movies,” Chauvigne said.
Students were able to compare aspects of their lives with one another, a major difference being the American versus. French school schedules.
“In France we start at eight, and we have about 12 different classes. Our schedule is way more, so we start at eight in the morning and we end at 6 p.m. We usually don’t have school on Wednesday afternoon,” Chauvigne said.
Haven students will head to France during spring break and reunite with their Frenchies.
“I’ll go to France, and basically do the same thing there. I’ll go to school with her, and then I’ll go on some trips to go see other stuff,” Kurchan said.
Overall, the trip has been beneficial to both hosts and visiting students, each person able to gain a new perspective from the unique opportunity.
“They love it here. My exchange student, Josephine, she’s fluent in English, French and almost German, so she knows everything really well,” Jensen said. “Since I’m like an only child, it’s really nice to have someone at the house and with me like 24/7. It’s kind of like a built-in friend.”
