Parting Is Sweet Sorrow For French Students

They weren't ready to leave, but they had no choice.

Their trip was only a two week stay and it was over Wednesday.

"I don't want to go back to France," Olivier Mallet said. "I want to stay here. Monday I go back to school - it's no good!"

Asked if he was ready to go home yet, Guillaume Delaire declared, "No!"

Delaire and Mallet are part of a group of students from La Roche sur Yon, France, visiting Warsaw from April 7 to 21 as part of a cultural exchange. Once here, they found many reasons for staying longer.

Mallet said he likes American church better than church in France because they don't play music at church in France. Delaire agreed.

Mallet also liked the Kosciusko County courthouse and a local coffee shop.

"I like the courthouse," he said. "I think it's beautiful."

On Monday, the French student group visited Petro Brothers dealership, where they discovered more to like about the United States.

"I took a lot of pictures of cars," Mallet said. "It's not very expensive. In France, (cars) are very expensive."

Their chaperone, Pierre Loizeau said, "That was great. We had a chance to see new models and how different they are from French cars. They are very impressive."

The French students discovered their favorite American food is hamburgers, pizza, Mexican and Italian. And the type of food eaten in the United States is a little different than that in France.

"We have, to eat, a different sort of meal," Delaire said.

"It's more regular than here," Simon Ripaud said.

Delaire said, "It's less expensive (here) for the food and the same for other products."

One food they encountered here they said they don't have in France is doughnuts. But Delaire said he wanted to try everything while he was here.

Loizeau said, "It's a great success and I think they've had a good time (here). The host families have been wonderful.

"We deeply hope that next year, American students can come to France. We'd like that very much."

Loizeau said he's anxious to get back to France to be with his family because he misses them, but otherwise would like to stay longer. He said he hopes to one day teach in this country.

As for the students, he said, "The first two or three days, I'm sure a few of them were homesick, but it didn't last too long. I'm sure leaving will be intensely emotional."

Host families weren't too eager to see the French students leave.

"We loved it. Simon (Ripaud) has been like a big brother to our boys," said host Carol King. "It's been fun."

She said the highlight of the two-week stay was the trip to Chicago. Carol's husband even took Simon up in a plane Wednesday.

"My dad was an exchange student 50 years ago so I have a special place in my heart for them," King said. She said she was also an exchange student once herself. By having Ripaud in her home, she said, she was able to brush up on her own French and learn the new French slang.

WCHS principal Paul Crousore assessed the two weeks by saying, "I think it was a great experience. More importantly, the cultural experience was in the homes, the opportunity to share was with students and families."

He said the entire high school gained in the sharing, too.

On April 14, as part of the cultural exchange, the French students made food from their country for WCHS students. The main dish they prepared, ham with white beans, is a specialty from their province of Vende. They also made a salad and crepes.

Discussion on differences between France and the United States was another way students shared in the exchange.

Delaire said he and his friends go to nightclubs, discotheques, soccer games and friends' wine cellars at night on a regular basis in France.

Nicolas Maupetit said, "There's no curfew for young people."

The three young men said they can't believe Americans are so restrictive about alcohol, smoking and driving. They believe interaction between people, especially between boys and girls, is vastly different in the United States than in France.

"Between Americans, Americans are superficial between one another," Delaire said.

They said in France, neighbors will invite one another over for a drink. Americans, they said, only say hello to one another and don't even know their neighbors.

Sophie Barbereau and Nireille Retailleau gave their impression on American boys.

"He's very shy," Barbereau said. She said she's met several who are very nice and flirt. However, she said, they are still very different from French males.

"The boys are friendly. The boys won't just come up and talk to girls. But, if they have a friend introduce them, they'll talk," Barbereau said. "In France, it's just the opposite."

She said American girls are more straightforward than French girls.

One difference Retailleau noticed is the way boys and girls greet each other. In France, when two girls meet or a boy and girl meet, they will kiss each other on the cheeks three times: first on the left, then on the right cheek and then left again. In the United States, she said, Americans seemed a little shocked to see that, and Americans only shake hands.

But, with the end of the French students' trip came an end to the discussion - for now.

"Hopefully, the sharing and friendships will go on for a lifetime," Crousore said.

As for the possibility of WCHS students traveling to France to continue the sharing of cultures, Crousore said, "We have to work with (superintendent) Dr. Harman and our school board and establish some guidelines to allow that to happen. Right now, our guidelines don't allow that to happen."

He said he is positive about changes happening, however, and it is possible that a school exchange could occur every three years to allow students to go at least once in their high school careers. But, he said, he wants the exchange to be a school exchange and not just a single student exchange.