A year ago today, I was sitting on my overly packed suitcase to zip it shut and heading to the airport to take a 14 hour plane ride to the place I had always dreamt of going to. I can remember the excitement building up inside as I approached the the metal detectors. This was really happening. I was an hour away from getting on the plane that would take me to Paris, France! Several months before, I had an exchange student named Gala come and stay at my house. It was finally my turn to go visit Gala in France and stay with her and her family! So I said “au revoir” to America and flew to France!
But before I got to go stay with Gala, I got to explore the streets of Paris! I went with other classmates from my school who were also taking French. Marysville High School and Fairbanks High School teamed up and went together! When we first arrived, a large charter bus took us to the youth hostel we were staying in. Youth hostels are much cheaper to stay in than hotels in France because they are somewhat similar to dorm rooms. It was quite a petite, elegant looking hostel with a high glass ceiling!
I roomed with 9 other girls when we stayed at the youth hostel! One of the things I remember most, is the showers. In France they like to conserve water so the showers in the hostel would only stay on for 30 seconds. So while taking a shower you would have to constantly press the button to get more water. In a way I guess this is a good idea for conserving water. Though it was a little painful for us Americans who were used to taking long, hot showers. For me though I loved getting to experience a real stay in a youth hostel in France. For the next 4 days we toured around Paris and saw the great monuments in the area, such as L’Arc d’Triomphe, Le Sacre Coeur, the Lock Bridge, and of course Le Tour d’Eiffel, or as many of you know it THE EIFFEL TOWER!
Here is L’Arc d’Triomphe…
And Le Sacre Coeur…
And the Lock Bridge…
…. and last but not least, THE Eiffel Tower!!!
While touring Paris we had the chance to try to speak to people whose native language was actually French. But most of the time they could tell by our poor accents that we were American and so they would respond to us in English. Though when they did respond in French it was like a dream come true to us! We had actually had a conversation in French! French culture was so different from American culture. Wherever you go there are petite pastry stands with all sorts of delicious pastries! 
I admit I spent a lot of my euros on pastries because it was so hard to pick only one! The four days we spent in Paris were packed with fun-filled adventures to places that were so fascinating to me! So many amazing structures with such intricate details! But our trip had only just begun. On the fourth day we took a train to Rochefort, where we would be staying with our exchange students!
You can see we were very excited to be heading to Rochefort! It was only about a two hour train ride before we reached Rochefort! Excited and a little nervous, I finally got to meet Gala’s parents! Our French teacher had instructed the families we were staying with, that they should speak to us in French and we should attempt to respond in French. Being in my 4th year of French, I knew quite a bit, except I was used to hearing my French teacher speak the language, rather than someone whose native language is French. At first it was a little overwhelming, but I started to get the hang of it! We took about a 30 minute car ride from the train station to their house! Like moi (me), Gala and her family lived a little more out in the country. Their house had beautiful blue shutters with an orange clay-looking roof.
On Monday, I got to go to school with Gala! It was much different than the way my school runs, as it was set up more like college classes. There I got to meet some of her closest friends, which I really enjoyed! We both have a best friend named Julia! While meeting all of her friends, I received many cheek kisses because in France to greet someone they touch cheeks/ kiss each others cheeks! This was very cool to experience because everyone there does it!
Gala’s school (lycée)
On the other days when Gala had school, I met up with my classmates and teacher to go exploring in Rochefort! It was exciting to see the countryside of France! One day we borrowed bikes from the school and went on an extremely long bike ride through the streets of Rochefort. Being able to experience the countryside in this way was amazing. We saw so much in one day! During lunch on that day, we got to eat our packed lunches (from our host family) under a massive bridge, which of course made for beautiful scenery.
After school, I got to hang out with Gala and her friends! One evening we played basketball at her school, but I wasn’t too good. I even helped her with some of her English homework! I made so many new friends, both American and French on my trip to France!
It is an experience that I’m so glad I got! Getting to dive right into the culture and see what it is really like to live in France was by far the coolest experience I have ever had! I loved getting to stay with Gala and her family! They were always so nice to me, especially when I wasn’t understanding the French. I hope that one day I will be able to return to France! Until then, au revoir mes amis de France! C’etait un plaisir!
Alex Warner 