A few weeks ago, many Lasallians noticed a few unfamiliar faces around the Academy. Twenty-eight students from the Lycee Charles de Gaulle in Dijon, France, were able to spend several of their nine days in Rhode Island shadowing at La Salle. These students had been pen pals or “correspondants francais” of La Salle students currently in French 3, 4, and AP French since September. On Monday, March 26, they got to meet their new friends face to face.

The French pen pal program was organized by our French teachers here at La Salle, Madame McVay and Mademoiselle Culpepper. For the most part, students from Dijon stayed with the families of their pen pals. During their time here, the French students were able to go on organized field trips to tour Harvard University and Brown University. They also spent three school days shadowing their American pen pals at the Academy. During this time, it became clear that the students and teachers in La Salle’s French department were not the only ones excited to get to know them. The La Salle community welcomed the students from Dijon with open arms. La Salle students were fascinated to learn more about their language, culture, and interests. It was especially interesting and surprising to learn about the differences between high school culture in France versus in the US.  La Salle students were shocked to hear about the 9 hour school days in Lycee, but were admittedly jealous upon hearing descriptions of French high school cafeteria food.

In addition to these differences, La Salle students found many similarities between themselves and the French students as well. As our French friends sang along to our favorite songs with us on car rides, and joined in on discussions of our favorite movies we realized how much of our American culture they’ve embraced. La Salle students made a special effort to make the French students’ stay a memorable and full experience. Outside of school organized activities, students brought their pen pals to their favorite places in Rhode Island. From the Newport Cliff Walk, to afternoons on Thayer Street, to sampling the best seafood spots in New England, it was ensured that the Lycee students got the full Rhode Island experience.

The nine days with the pen pals flew by, but the friendships formed during their stay made for some tearful goodbyes last week. La Salle students agreed that the pen pal program had been a huge success, and were thankful to the language department for allowing the opportunity to get to know some wonderful people. Saying “au revoir” was more difficult than many imagined, but La Salle’s French students plan on keeping in close contact with their friends from Dijon, and hope to see them again one day.