On Thursday April 23, four French boys landed in America, some for the first time. These boys, Paul Dufour, Pierre Debouy, Elouan Kaminski, and Francois Soulard are 15 to 16 year old exchange students from the School of Union Chrétienne de Saint Chamond in Poitiers, France.

During their two-month stay in San Diego, they will shadow at Cathedral Catholic High School for one week, to be a part of, as Mrs. Conroy said, “A day in the life of the American high school student.”

Upon arriving at Cathedral on Monday April 27th, each of the four boys received a CCHS iPad, a list of classes they would be attending, and met the Cathedral students they would be shadowing. At the beginning of each class period, the boys said that they received a wave of questions about themselves and about France. Exchange student Elouon said, “Everyone keeps asking if we eat a lot of cheese in France. I don’t eat a lot of cheese.”

Although the four boys were paired with Cathedral students currently enrolled in French classes at CCHS, learning English has been an obstacle for the exchange students. As Elouan Kamimski said, “I like studying in the U.S., but English is very hard.”

Not only are the French exchange students learning, but their Cathedral counterparts participating in the host program have had a unique opportunity to learn the French language outside of class. William Bacon, CCHS Sophmore, said of his experience as a host, “It was a really good way to practice my French,” he said. “I lived in Canada where many people spoke it, but here no one speaks much, so it was nice to practice with someone fluent.”

In addition to attending core classes, the exchange students have been a big hit in the French classes. French teacher, Madame Chaillou, took this opportunity to prompt the class to talk to the French students to help them learn the language and about the culture. AP French student, Celine Aubry-Dumand said of these conversations with French students, “It helps us recall and speak French,” she said.

Coming from a small town West of Paris, Poitiers, the boys found many differences, other than the language, between America and France. Exchange student Elouan said of the U.S., “I find the cars are bigger. We don’t eat the same food. In America, this is bad food.” He continued and said, “and the people are more tolerant in America.” Elouon said of the French education system, “In France, they are more strict and more narrow-minded. We have a lot of bad teachers.”

Exchange student Paul Dufour said that the nearest beach to his hometown, Poitiers, is around two hours away, so he was excited to take part in the Californian lifestyle by skimboarding and surfing at beaches in La Jolla.

The four boys will left Cathedral Catholic at the end of last week, leaving their impact on the Cathedral community by showing the students a different international perspective. They left to shadow at a local middle school, Notre Dame Academy. They plan on perfecting their English and experiencing American culture until they return back to France in late June.