Short but sweet, French exchange students do much in eight days

By ANN ST. MARTIN STOUT
NEWPORT — As the charter bus pulled up at Newport High School on Sunday evening, April 8 and French students began to emerge, there was no warm April breeze to greet them and no budding trees in sight.

But there was a crowd of adults and their slightly nervous teens waiting to act as hosts for eight days. Of the 32 students that came off the bus, approximately 20 would attend classes for two days with Newport students, a dozen would accompany students to school in Claremont at either Stevens High School or New England Classical Academy, or in Sunapee at Mount Royal Academy. Another dozen students had already been united with their host families in Nashua where they would attend Nashua High School with their host student.

For many families the first hours were a challenge of communication and pronunciation. Most of the French students spoke English well, but host family members learned to speak more slowly and try different words with the same meaning to make their point understood. Monday morning brought the new experience everyone was waiting for, the American school day.

Mike Wilkinson’s Goshen family hosted Thomas and Mathis. Mike was impressed with how well the students did in school including participating in class. “Also, the French students were surprised at how much freedom our kids have in school. They said that the schools in France were very strict,” said host mom Lauri Wilkinson.

On both Monday and Friday guests attended school with their host students. If after-school included sports practice, the French guest went along too. On Wednesday the Newport and Mount Royal visitors walked around Newport and learned about the town. Mother Nature smiled on them with the best weather of the entire week.

Marissa Cota, of Newport, host of Clarice and Ryan, said, “I had such a blast with my new friends. The way they adapted so easily to my family’s busy lifestyle made it so much fun.” She described Ryan as funny and Clarice as “such a kind-hearted girl who always went along with the flow of things, even when we dragged her to Newport Recreation’s Boot Camp.” Marissa called her time with the French students “truly an amazing experience.”

Trying American foods was high on the wish list of many guests. More than one household served mac and cheese. “Brice loved mac and cheese and Village Pizza,” commented Cindy Conroy of her student. “He really enjoyed everything about his stay.” Conroy wished they had been able to show Brice everything they had shown their Spanish exchange student in the three-and-a-half week stay last summer. “We had a great experience; it was a short stay, but sweet.”

The students, who are from Macon, flew from Lyon to Boston. Lyon is about one hour from their hometown, and about six or seven hours southeast of Paris. It is a partly rural area and many students take the bus or train to arrive at their own school each day.

A trip to Boston on Tuesday brought home a busload of tired and cold travelers. The favorite Boston activity of many students was the Duck Boat Tour. Once home, the cell phones came out and photographs were shared, including 365 degree panoramic views of the city from the top floor of the Custom House Tower.

As the week progressed, groups of Newport and French students gathered at one another’s homes for pool, ping pong or foosball games, video games, or to watch the Red Sox and Bruins, or to play with the family pet. Together students enjoyed a trip to Village Pizza or to the Newport Opera House production of “Once Upon a Mattress.” Angie Stephens shared a photo of her son Isaiah, his guest Antoine and others gathered in the dark of evening around the flames of the firepit.

A second trip to Boston included two notable landmarks – Harvard University and Fenway Park. Tours of each were provided and many of the students returned home with a bit of the contagious Red Sox spirit. The Burlington Mall provided shopping and eating experiences.

When asked if his trip to America was what he expected, Romuald, guest of Caleb Palmer and Greg and Ann Stout replied, “Not at all. In France we learned a lot about the history and about the south, like Texas. He continued with a smile, “It looks like it does in the movies.”

On Sunday afternoon a group of seven went to The Escape Factory in Claremont. Finding the clues to escape the locked room presented another layer of communication and interpretation challenges.

Nearly everyone was together for a Dessert Buffet held in the Newport Ball Room on Sunday evening. Clusters of students stood together laughing about good times during the previous week. French and English could be heard throughout the room.

Margaret Drye of Plainfield, who coordinated the exchange through Carousel Tours, thanked the families, and one of the French chaperones using impeccable English, also thanked the families and students, and assured them they would be welcome in Macon should they ever travel to France.

When the French students gathered to board the bus on the snowy Monday morning of April 16, there was one final hurdle to overcome – the weather had caused a two-hour delay for Newport schools and Mount Royal Academy. Warm, friendly farewells were said in the school lobby instead of watching the visitors board the bus and depart as planned. On that morning the cool, wintry weather had one final say, but the warm memories of hospitality and new friendships trumped even the slush and snow.