French Students Visit NWA

Four French exchange students have joined Northwest Academy, shadowing freshmen and living with their families. They come from Saint Michel in Annecy, France and are split up between schools in Corvallis, Salem, Seattle and Portland. 

Lylia Tabai started learning English in primary school where she was taught colors and the alphabet. She has been dancing since age three, primarily ballet and contemporary forms. Her favorite subject is math but she also enjoys reading. Tabai speaks not just French and English but also Spanish.

Tabai said she has enjoyed exploring Portland and going to both Washington Square mall and Pioneer Place. 

“One of the coolest places I have went to is the mall because in France they are not like that, they are much smaller,” said Tabai.

Tabai said that she was surprised by how different Portland was from what she imagined. The amount of houseless people surpassed her expectations.

“It’s more of a negative point but probably the amount of homeless people here is I think very shocking,” said Tabai.

Tabai said that a lot of French culture is influenced by the United States.

“Even the music, all the fashion in France is inspired by fashion and music in the US,” said Tabai. “So I think it’s important because we have different parts of your country.”

Ayoub Mhammedi has been learning English for the past nine years. He plays both tennis and the piano in his free time. He describes himself as an extroverted person and a very proactive learner. When he is older he wants to get into stock trading. 

“I’m not here [Northwest Academy] to fulfill any expectations, but to discover your everyday life,” said Mhammedi. 

Mhammedi is really interested in American culture and hopes to understand the differences between the United States and France. He was fascinated by the structural differences between downtown Portland and where he lives.

“The way Portland is organized in blocks, which we don’t have in France, like every single block and street are parallel, and it’s really nice and easy to find your way, but we don’t have this in France, and it kind of surprised me,” said Mhammedi.

Mhammedi is shadowing Anthony Casuga, but unlike the other students he is not living with him. Mhammedi’s host goes to Benson but the school didn’t allow him to attend there, so Casuga stepped in. 

“I’d say overall, it’s been a really good experience so far and I’ve had a great time getting to know him,” said Casuga.

Gabin Vignon is the oldest of the four exchange students at 16. He loves to hang out with his friends and go to the gym. Vignon is a swimmer and practices multiple times a week. He loves multiple different types of foods, but his absolute favorite is lasagna.

Vignon really enjoys how hands-on the schools are in the USA and feels that the discussions at Northwest Academy are more interactive than at his school. However, Vignon does have some criticisms.

“I think that some subjects are missing from the curriculum though, like history and geography,” he said.

Eloise Desprez loves watching all types of sports. She is 15 and practices skiing and yoga. Desprez has been learning English since primary school. One of her favorite hobbies is going shopping and getting coffee with her friends.

Desprez has shared how surprised she was by the cultural differences between France and the United States. She has enjoyed the amount of freedom the school gives the students specifically during lunch.

“It’s a funny city with a lot of people who have colored hair,” said Desprez. “In American high school, the students are more free: they can go get a drink when they want.”

Desprez has also learned a lot of new words and phrases from both her host family and peers. She finds the differences in language very interesting and exciting.

“I learned a lot of typical phrases in English, like how children say “go wee wee,” “who knows,” “so badass,” “It doesn’t matter” and “never mind,” said Desprez.

Norway Vo, Desprez’s host for the two weeks, and her family have explored shops and most of downtown Portland with the exchange student.

“Usually our life is pretty boring, but now we get to do all the fun, exciting American things,” said Vo.

NWA has been preparing for this visit since October, when On The Go, an organization which gives children a chance to go abroad, contacted French teacher Emilie Berger. Berger grew up in France and had done this trip before so she was excited to make this happen.

“So they reached out and we got in touch and we got on a Zoom call and they talked about their programs and I thought it would be really cool, because there’s not a lot happening for languages here, so I thought it would be like a fun way for students to use their French,” said Berger.

Every first year high school class goes on a trip abroad at the exchange student’s school.

“The idea is that the kids who come here, the French kids, get to experience life here as normal as it possibly can be, you know, and get that kind of immersion,” said Berger.