The best aspects of the United States, according to exchange student Lauryane Christophel, are bagels and the grocery store can return. While these might be ordinary for America, neither is common in Lauryane’s home country, France.
Lauryane, along with around 40 classmates, arrived for a two-week exchange experience this March. The students attend the school Lycée-Collège Jean-Monnet, located in the city of Strasbourg, which lies on the border between France and Germany.
Unsurprisingly, aside from baked goods and recycling systems, one of the biggest differences Lauryane observed between the two countries is their schools.
“Here, [high school] is very, very big,” Lauryane said. “In France, [high school] is very little. Here, it’s very clean. In France, it isn’t like that. Here, it’s like a dream: it’s the school that everyone wants to have.”
Notable for Lauryane, in the United States, students have more freedom with their lunch period. While FHC offers a range of food options, in France, students aren’t given the same choices. Instead, only one meal is provided, and long lines tend to take up much of the treasured lunch hour.
In a more general sense, her normal school day is longer than the average one in the United States. Typically, her day lasts from 8 a.m. until around 5 or 6 p.m. In addition, France’s high school equivalent is composed of three grades rather than four, so middle school students also attend Lycée-Collège Jean-Monnet.
Similarly to Lauryane, exchange student Nermine Raouj emphasized school as a fundamental difference between the two countries.
“I was really excited to go see a big city—we went to Chicago—and to see the high schools here,” Nermine said. “Everyone’s always like, ‘It’s the same as the [TV] series and the movies.’”
According to Nermine, FHC lives up to the cinematic reputation of American schools. In addition, FHC offers a wide range of after-school activities, unlike her school in France. Generally, students dress more “chill” as well, wearing sweats and pajama pants regularly. While they don’t have uniforms in Strasbourg, students generally dress formally there, at least by American standards.
The Windy City, likewise, met Nermine’s expectations. When the students traveled to Chicago, the sheer diversity of people and looming skyscrapers were some of the most impressive elements.
As the French students shopped and explored the city, they were accompanied by their host families, all of which are families of FHC students. Nermine stayed with senior Estella Yaw, who neither knows French nor has hosted an exchange student before. However, with Nermine’s strong proficiency in English, communication wasn’t an issue for the two. And as Nermine is Moroccan, she spoke with Estella’s family in Arabic, even though their dialects differed. (If three languages aren’t already impressive enough, Nermine knows German as well.)
Similarly, communication wasn’t a difficulty between Lauryane and her host, senior Norah Hemsley.
“I think [we primarily communicate] in English,” Norah said. “I mean, she’s here to work on her English, so I think I’ve been speaking a lot of English. But, I can translate [into French] sometimes if Lauyane doesn’t know a word. I feel like it’s kind of a mix.”
Lauryane and Norah could meet in the middle, as they both know the other’s native language. Lauryane has been learning English for six years—since age 11—in addition to studying German. Norah, for her part, is currently dual-enrolled at Calvin University for French and has taken classes for it throughout high school.
Beyond language, the two share similarities in their childhood experiences, as both of them grew up in Europe. For six years, from ages five to eleven, Norah lived in a small town in Italy. There, she attended a Catholic elementary school that was both smaller and had fewer teachers than FHC.
While Norah has lived in Michigan for years, her opinions on Europe—compared with the United States—are similar to those of the exchange students.
“I love Europe,” Norah said. “The food is so good [there]. I love history, so I love traveling around and going to castles, churches, and museums. It’s very fun, for me at least.”
One of the most significant differences for both Lauryane and Norah lies within the public transportation systems. Or, for the suburbs of Grand Rapids, the lack thereof.
In Strasbourg, using a bus or tram to travel is common, for the city is closely concentrated. In addition, simply walking to destinations is considerably easier than in Michigan, especially in the more populated center of the area. However, even in the outer areas of the city, small shops and homes are congregated together.
Understandably, Michigan’s car culture influenced Lauryane’s perception of the area, as it is greatly different from her norm.
“I think Strasbourg is a sweet city,” Lauryane said. “The central city is very beautiful. I don’t really know [how it compares to Michigan] because here we just take the car and then go around when we want to go buy something to eat [or otherwise].”
Around town, Norah has taken Lauryane to fast food restaurants and, notably, the American sensation that is Crumbl Cookies.
Similarly, Estella and Nermine visited local spots such as the large grocery stores (e.g. Target) that carry “everything,” the mall, and Sky Zone trampoline park. Also, so as to not miss out on the sports, Nermine got to experience both a hockey game and an FHC basketball game.
For both Estella and Norah, hosting an exchange student has led to feeling a bit like a tourist themselves. As they showed Nermine and Lauryane the area, they revisited some of the overlooked—yet nonetheless fun—activities in the community themselves.
For both the students and their host families, participating in the exchange program allowed for a unique cultural experience and, in general, fun. Having the opportunity to experience the United States, Nermine would encourage American students to, if possible, be exchange students in France.
“I would encourage [an American student to be an exchange student in France] because it makes you see other perspectives from a totally other country,” Nermine said. “It’s clearly not the same, the way people think, the way people dress, [and] the classes that they [take]. It’s a good experience.”