The Paris exchange away leg took place over the Easter holidays with 33 enthusiastic LEH and Hampton School pupils. Our partner school, Notre-Dame de Sion organised a very eventful and exciting line-up of activities during our stay including a guided visit to the Louvre museum, a river boat trip on the Seine, a climb to the summit of the Eiffel tower as well as an excursion to Disneyland. The exchange was a very rewarding experience for our pupils to develop their language skills and cultural awareness staying with Parisian families – many of whom are staying in contact and planning to arrange another visit in the near future, perhaps over the course of the Olympic Games!

By M. Agulian - Head of French

During the Easter holidays, 13 pupils went to Paris to reunite with our French exchanges after their visit to London, just 10 days before. With the families’ gifts packed in our suitcases, we caught the Eurostar to have a nice Friday night dinner with each of our families. Though it was difficult to tune into my French, especially in a crowded restaurant, I managed to get to know my exchange’s family who were so sweet and patient with my very questionable French. After insisting multiple times that they could speak French with me, the weekend began with a soggy game of golf, a game I have never before played and doubt I will play again. However, she played golf with a friend who also had an exchange which gave me a much-needed break from the exhausting but very rewarding task of speaking French. Since I had asked to do a couple of specific things in Paris prior to my arrival, it meant that the weekend was very enjoyable and probably the highlight of my trip. On Sunday, when I spent the entire day with the family, I visited Montmartre and Sacré Coeur and then saw the beautiful Musée D’Orsay as well as a slightly challenging lunch at a typical French restaurant with the grandparents.

Without much time seeming to have passed, it was the start of the week. It felt as though we walked to every little corner of Paris - my sports watch was very impressed! We visited the Louvre, the beautiful Tuileries gardens, a guided trip along the Seine, Disneyland and the Eiffel Tower, with evenings and mornings spent with my French family which had a theme of delicious French delicacies. With each passing day, my understanding of French improved and, with that, my confidence to speak which allowed me to further my relationship with both my correspondent and her family.

My whole experience in Paris has confirmed my dream of one day living and working in this beautiful city and overall, it was a fun and eventful trip with lots of laughs. I got much closer to some of the LEH pupils who went and we are now bonded by the shared challenge of doing the French exchange, and closer to my own exchange where we have both agreed to see each other again in the near future. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is taking French for GCSE or would just like to improve their French. It provides knowledge of the language, friendship and great immersive joy of being in a new country while living as the French do.

By Isabel (L5)

On the morning of the 22nd March, I left England, suitcase by my side, to the beautiful city of Paris. After a speedy Eurostar trip, I bid my English friends adieu to spend a weekend with my host family, and what a welcome I received! A delectable dinner of galettes avec fromage et jambon followed by endless scoops of ice cream and a warm bed. Good food became a theme of my trip, sampling delicacies such as snails with parsley butter, Croque Monsieur and Boeuf Bourguignon. Guided by my knowledgeable exchange, I explored all the nooks and crannies of Paris. Montmartre, Les Invalides and L’Arc de Triomphe to name a few, learning the lesser-known sides of these touristic hubs. For instance, I was guided to the former house of pop star Dalida and told of her shocking history, including an untimely suicide due to fear of old age.

On Monday, activities with the schools commenced. Reuniting with my friends, I must admit, it was a relief to speak English once again. After debriefing on an eventful weekend, we set off towards the Louvre, an overwhelmingly impressive gallery, followed by a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries. However, the day was not yet over! Another lengthy stroll (Paris was certainly a walking city) brought us to a boat docked on the Seine. Sat on the deck, listening to good music, surrounded by friends and waving to those on the banks was certainly a highlight as we were taken on an all-encompassing boat tour of Paris.

The next few days followed similarly as we visited Disneyland and the Eiffel Tower (slightly losing our way in the latter and being late back to the school in Parisian fashion). Once Thursday rolled around , I bid my exchange à bientôt and boarded the Eurostar back to England. Armed with knowledge, I reflected on my experience, having immersed myself in the life of an ordinary French family, a rare experience (particularly during typical, hotel based trips). Whilst I occasionally felt a fish out of water due to the different culture ( for instance, I did not expect every Parisian to expect a kiss as greeting which resulted in a few embarrassing encounters), I learnt to embrace the differences and live as a Parisian would. I applied the same principle to language and whilst I certainly forgot a conjugation from time to time, when I threw myself into the deep end and attempted conversations with natives, I improved significantly. In fact, by the end of the trip a cashier in French mistook me for a Parisian when I greeted her in french! Slightly surprising considering I was buying an ‘I love Paris’ shirt but regardless, a testament to my improvement! Whilst this trip’s main purpose was to expand the breadth of my French knowledge, what I didn’t realise when I stepped onto the Eurostar months ago, was that it would (more importantly) result in valuable friendships that I will cherish for life. Therefore, I can only encourage the programme for others.

By Maryam (L5)

 

Notre-Dame de Sion interviews LEH pupils Anessa and Aimée about their experiences of the Paris Exchange in French…

Une interview avec les collégiennes de LEH – Aimée et Anessa.

1.       Est-ce qu'il a été facile de créer des affinités avec votre correspondante?

J’ai trouvé que c’était un peu difficile d’abord de créer de la bonne affinité car il y a toujours une barrière linguistique, mais après quelques jours c’était mieux. Maintenant grâce à cet échange je pense que j’ai une bonne relation avec ma correspondante.

2.       Comment avez-vous trouvé l'immersion linguistique dans les familles d'accueil et/ou dans les activités?

À mon avis, l’immersion dans la famille était plus utile que les activités parce que vous devez parler français, mais j’ai trouvé tout cela agréable. 

3.       Votre meilleur souvenir du voyage à Paris et votre meilleur souvenir à Hampton avec votre correspondante…

À Paris, j’ai aimé faire du vélo et voir tout Paris depuis la Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. J’ai adoré aller au cinéma pour regarder un film et jouer au bowling avec ma correspondante à Londres.

4.       Racontez en quelques mots votre ressenti / expérience de cet échange

J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette expérience. J'ai appris plus de français en pratiquant mes compétences d'écoute et d'expression orale avec ma correspondante. Les activités étaient aussi très amusantes et intéressantes!