Chatenay-Malabry and Paris, France April 2024
Fifteen Woodstock French students, along with chaperons Marie Anderson and Colleen O’Connell, returned from a ten-day trip to France, landing in Montreal in the darkness of the much anticipated solar eclipse. This rare event marked the end of this year’s version of the French exchange, exchanges and trips that are in their 20th year of existence.
This year’s participants prepared for this educational experience by attending “immersive” bimonthly meetings that began in September of 2023. The meetings helped students become familiar with both the geography and culture of the sites they would soon visit. In this way, travelers could maximize the travel experience by having some knowledge of what they were doing and seeing. The meetings served to enhance students’ knowledge of French lifestyle and cultural norms. Additionally, once WUHS students were paired with their French counterparts, they began to communicate via email and text to get to know one another. Participants shared what they were learning about their “correspondants” during these meetings.
The departure date was Friday, March 29th. The group flew from Montreal and landed in Paris, where they enjoyed a typical French petit-dejeuner (breakfast) at the airport, then boarded a bus that took them to the host community of Chatenay-Malabry, a town located about 35 minutes southwest of Paris. The group was warmly welcomed at the school, Sophie Barat, by the French advisors as well as the fifteen French hosts. Woodstock students went on to celebrate the 3-day Easter weekend with their host families. Throughout the weekend, students traveled to family holiday celebrations, a wedding, a birthday party and various other activities in and around Paris.
Woodstock students became ‘members’ of their French families and took on the role of French students by following the schedules of their French correspondents. Days were long and activities varied. Woodstock students learned to endure the long days of a French student, a day that starts at 8 am and often does not end until 5 or 6 pm. Both Madame Anderson and Madame O’Connell were very proud of the way Woodstock students truly succeeded in adapting to their new surroundings. Woodstock students shared Vermont/American culture with the French students, while appreciating the French culture all around them.
At the end of the week Woodstock students, along with their French correspondents, traveled to the Palace of Versailles to visit this former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV. Fond farewells were extended after the visit, and the Woodstock group made their way to Paris to enjoy a comprehensive tour of the city. Based in the 5th arrondissement, on the right bank of the Seine, and just streets away from the famous Sorbonne University, students moved through a very busy Paris by bus, metro, train and foot. The group visited such iconic sites as the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, the Tour Eiffel, and Sacre Coeur. They made a significant contribution to the local economy of Paris through their consumption of fine French foods as well as purchases for family gifts!
Despite some unforeseen city complications, a swollen Seine river that denied us a boat cruise, as well as long lines and traffic jams due to the Paris City Marathon, Woodstock students rallied and demonstrated an adaptability and curiosity that is the mark of so many WUHS students. In all, between participating in classes at Sophie Barat, in sharing their culture with their host families, and in sharing their enthusiasm for new sights and sounds, these students once again represented what makes us so proud of being a part of the Woodstock community. We look forward to hosting these students and their teachers in October of 2024!
