The’ve learned the nouns and verbs, practiced their
pronunciation and stood in line for passports. Now, a group of 17
San Benito High School students will be heading to France over
spring break, where they will spend almost two weeks living with a
French family, touring Paris and practicing what they picked up in
the classroom among locals.
Hollister – The’ve learned the nouns and verbs, practiced their pronunciation and stood in line for passports. Now, a group of 17 San Benito High School students will be heading to France over spring break, where they will spend almost two weeks living with a French family, touring Paris and practicing what they picked up in the classroom among locals.
On March 25, the students, who have been studying French for at least three years, will travel to Pau, in southern France, for a four-day stay with a local family. The students will live separately from others in their group to give them a chance to test their language skills in an all-French setting.
“They are definitely being very courageous,” said Michelle Lassaga, a French teacher who will accompany the group on the trip.
Although the high school has had an annual spring break trip to France since 1992, this will be the first time students stay with local families, dining at their table, going on outings and even helping around the house. Afterward, the group will head to Paris, where they will spend the remainder of the time visiting famous monuments, touring the Seine River and dining in the Eiffel Tower restaurant, before heading home April 2.
Stefanay James, 17 and a junior at San Benito High School said she was eager to see France after studying about it for three years. And although she is a bit anxious about being left on her own with new family in a new country, she said she is looking forward to the experience.
“I think it’s going to be a good obstacle course for us,” she said.
To raise the nearly $1,700 required for the trip, James and other students held a rummage sale. She also asked for small donations from her family and dipped into her own savings for the rest.
“I really want to see what it’s like to live there in case I want to come back and study while in college,” she said.
Lassaga, who has been teaching French at San Benito High School for 20 years, thinks her students stand to learn much from the experience. Many of them have preconceived notions about the French being rude or not as modern as Americans, notions Lassaga hopes are dispelled with the visit, she said.
She also praised students who managed to gather money for the program, a sign that they valued inter-cultural exchange and learning and were willing to invest a bit of their own money for it, she said.
“They are giving up the iPod or the car, or at least pushing it back, to do this,” said Lassaga.
The spring break trip was organized through Vistas in Education, a student travel group in Minnesota that helped the high school arrange the house stays.
Karina Ioffee covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or ki*****@fr***********.com
