Each student was asked to write about their experience during the family stay. We suggested that they include each of the following:
1 – something that was really fun
2 – something that was surprising or shocking
3 – something that was difficult
4 – something that was different
Here are the responses that we received:
]]>I was always very surprised when everyone would give me a kiss on the cheek. When I had never even seen them before. It was so natural to them though.
In France, they don’t use bread plates, so the table gets very messy. My family would cut and eat all the bread, cheese, and salami directly on the table. It was very different because in my real family, the goal is to keep the table as clean as possible!
The most difficult thing for me while staying with my family was understanding what they said, though it became a little easier eventually as I got used to it. They sympathized with me though, telling me that Bretagne is known for incredibly fast accents.
Though everything we did was really fun, I would have to say that the most unique thing I always enjoyed was spending time with the four girls before dinner, either playing outside or sometimes watching the world cupt. The family lived in a forest, so their backyard was essentially a huge field with a gorgeous view. I especially liked playing badminton with the little ones.
Overall, this was a fantastic experience that I will never forget. It has made me think a lot, and I will miss them very much!
- Julia W.
-Kiley K.
]]>- Beth L.
Dear Readers –
Today we woke up and left our families :( It was extremely difficult for some of us (Yes...I cried.).
Thanks and ciao!!
- Nina J.
The family stay was actually enjoyable despite my preconceived notions.
]]> Marion (my fost sister) turned out to be really nice and fun. During the stay, I actually saw most of my friends everyday and I loved meeting everyone’s correspondents, they were so French and cute and nice. After all the hype about table manners it was shocking that the family was so casual about dinner. The most different part of the whole family stay was their eeating habits because they eat later than us for every meal. I enjoyed shopping in Rennes with everyone and their correspondents. The most difficult thing was to speak French the entire time. By the end though, I got used to it.Hey mom and dad!
Looooove,
Rachel
The most shcoking thing about the family stay was how small the language barrier was.
]]> Between my French, Cécile’s small amount of English, and some acting, we all understood one another. One of the most different things was the meal schedule – late large lunch and late small dinner. The food was mostly good except for a tomatoy/fishy muffin thing. I loved getting to know my girl and her friends and family. As the stay progressed it became very easy to speak and understand French. I learned more about the culture too. At the Fête de la Musique, I asked one of Cécile’s friends if this boy next to Cécile was her boyfriend, and the friend burst out laughing. It turns out the boy was her cousin. The hardest thing was becoming comfortable with a family of strangers. ]]>1) Somthing that shocked me during the family stay was ...
]]> the tradition of kisses. I never always knew the amount to give and it was a constant surprise. Is it 4? 2? 1? or even 3? This was a shock.2) The most different thing was the amount they ate! They ate so many courses and I realized that I was barely ever hungry.
3) My correspondant took me to her friend’s birthday party. It was so much fun! We played games and had a water fight. It totally reminded me that body language is a key component in communication. It was so much fun!
4) Talking in French constantly was really difficult to adjust to. They spoke really fast and I didn’t always know all the words.
]]>The most surprising thing was how warm everyone was.
]]> They all welcomed me. The most difficult was understanding people at school. The most different was that they were almost never home. The most fun was playing soccer with the family.When I arrived I was nervous about how I would be accepted by my family. I did not need to worry because they were nice. They were actually very similar to my family. The most shocking thing was the number of youths who smoked and drank. The most enjoyable thing was the appreciation of football. The food was different but better than in the U.S. The stay was a great experience and I wish I could haved stayed longer.
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]]>Overall, my family stay was a great experience and I really learned a lot.
]]> At first I was rather shy and very unsure of myself whenever I said anything. As the days progressed I learned many new words and was able to understand more of what they said. Cassandie, my buddy, was very nice and we did a lot of fund things together. We shopped, talked, learned about each others cultures, met new people, went to the night club and watched French movies and ate. When I first got there I was expecting everything to be different but I was shocked to find that their lifestyle was very similar to mine and nothing they did really shocked me. The most difficult thing that I had to do was constantly speak and comprehend French. It was tiring and sometimes frustrating. The thing that was most different was the method of transportation they used. First there was the tiny cars, then the metro which is very practival and nice. The best thing was going to the night club and seeing how different it is compared to the U. S. I loved my family stay and I became close with my family and their friends. It was very fun and interesting to learn such new things and see everything from a different point of view.unsigned
]]>At first the family stay was very akward and nerve racking, but gradually we both (the family and I) got used to each other and loosened up.
]]> One thing that shocked me was at the first dinner, (and at all the meals) the family was very casual. My host girl, Mrise, had one hand in her lap, the entire meal. That was refreshing and relaxing after all the hype about having perfect manners. At first almost everything they said was complete gibberish, but every day I gradually picked up more and more and by the end of my stay I could understand most of what they said. the most rewarding part of my experience was probably bonding with my family and understanding more of their culture. One thing that was really different was how the bathroom and toilet were separate rooms. Another thing was my family seemed to have shortage trash recepticles. The most difficult thing was trying to speak to them, an analogy that I thought of was that speaking to them was much like playing the game taboo. For those who don’t know, in the game Taboo, one has to convey a certain word to the members of one’s team (or their host family) without using a certain list of words, because of this, one ends up describing things like one’s nose as “the protuberance on one’s face” – explaining things in ridiculous ways, in a desperate attempt to get the point across. Speaking French to my host family was much like that, especially because they did not speak any English.]]>I really enjoyed the music festival and meeting all of the friends of my correspondant.
It was difficult to adjust to speaking French at all times. Expressing strong emotions is always challenging in a foreign language.
Hi Mom & Dad!
The family stay was better than I expected.
]]> We had each day planned out for us, which was unexpected, but welcome because I was worried that we might be searching for things to do . We went to the beach, pool, went to a movie, a concert, shopping, a modern dance show and a few French festivals. The most shocking thing for me was that they wore the same clothes most of the time. What was the most different thing was that eating habits because they eat a lot in the afternoon and morning and we eat a lot at night. Plus we eat an earlier meal rather than a later one. The whole stay was fun, but it was really difficult to speak in French all the time though it was fun seeing them try to speak English.Bye!
Megan