Shadow Week is the annual period when French classes welcome foreign exchange students.
Imagine stepping off a plane and arriving in a whole new country with different people, languages and traditions. A new place to call home for three weeks. Imagine staying with a different family and attending a school with unfamiliar curriculum and students. This was experienced by three French exchange students from Feb. 14 to March 8.
The three students are from a small town in the middle south of France called L’Hermitage. There were six foreign exchange students in Colorado and 45 throughout the U.S. The exchange students stay with American families and pair up with a different student each day at school to follow their classes and activities.
The exchange students arrived on Feb. 14 and departed on March 8. While in classes, they interacted and learned with English students. Rachel Christensen ‘26 met the students in her period six AP Lang class.
“It was really interesting to talk to [the exchange students] if someone was in my class. It’s fun to hear how their life is like in France and it’s to see them learn and experience something so different,” Rachel Christensen ‘26 said. “It’s not hard to communicate with them either, they know English very well.”
Outside of the classroom, exchange students stay with host families. Families included the students in activities to show them Colorado’s sights and culture. Mason Rowan ‘26 hosted junior French exchange student Mathilde Pechet.
“We went to Red Rocks, which was really fun, and a wildlife refuge. We took her to Costco just so she could see what it was like because they don’t have it,” Rowan said. “I think there’s just so many differences with their culture and our culture that I’ve been able to learn. It’s so important because when you grow up you’re going to be with people from all different cultures, so I feel like it’s so important to have experiences earlier.”
The exchange program aids students in expanding their understanding of different places and cultures around the world.
“Everything here is very different, school is very different. Everything, even food, you have so much fast food here,” Exchange Student Mathilde Pechet said.
In all, the exchange program allows students to broaden their views on other places and cultures around the world. The exchange students came to live an entirely new life for a few weeks. They went to different restaurants, saw different landscapes and learned different things. Students exhcanged numbers and social media handles to stay in touch after the departure of the exchange students.
