Photo Courtesy of Ashlin George
Airplanes, new smells, a different culture and language, and new sights to be experienced.
This year, Hastings High School’s French III and IV classes are traveling to Bordeaux, France for 10 days, staying from March 5 through March 12.
The class left Thursday at 6:30 a.m. from the high school to Omaha’s Eppley Airfield and took off from there. They will have a six-hour layover in Chicago, Illinois, before heading to France.
“If we don’t sleep on the planes, then that is 36 hours with no sleep, and I’m scared,” senior Sam Rogers said with a laugh. “But, I do hope it will be worth it.”
Once they make it to France, they will spend Friday in Paris until 1:00 p.m. CST or 8:00 pm CET, when they will meet their host families.
“I’m very excited to meet my French sister, but I am nervous to interact with her family,” Rogers said.
Earlier this year, the students wrote letters to their host families during their application process for the trip. They were either emailed back or received a letter from the host family that chose them. “My French sister emailed me right away. We have lots of the same interests, which is pretty cool,” Rogers said.
While with their host families, students will get their own experiences and get to do different things than other students.
“My host family has some stuff planned for me, but they have mostly kept me in the dark, wanting to surprise me,” senior Yadriel Fonseca said. “I am just excited to meet them and see how they live compared to us in America.”
There are 15 students going, all juniors and seniors who have been in French for at least three years, and now get to experience European culture firsthand.
“Overall, I am pretty excited to meet my host family and also just enjoy the French culture,” Fonseca said.
While the students are in France, they will go to school with their host sisters for two days and get to witness a day in the life of a French student.
“I’m a little scared because they are teaching in French, so I just keep thinking ‘What if I don’t understand?’ or ‘What if I can’t keep up?’ which also makes me nervous,” Rogers said.
The trip is an opportunity for the students to practice speaking French and hearing it firsthand from native speakers.
“I’m worried about sounding like an idiot while speaking French,” Rogers said. “I’m nervous but also very excited.”
Two years of a language class is required at Hastings High, while students need at least three years to go on a foreign language trip. Trips to France are hosted every other year for the French class.
“I think as long as you take a language… you can start absorbing more information and broaden your scope,” Rogers said. “That is my advice for anyone considering a language class. I highly recommend French.”
