Bethany Students Travel to France

by Chris Minter ('11)

article from August 27, 2010 Reflector

Goshen area students whose families hosted French Mennonite youth last year were returned the favor this summer. Alena Yoder ’12, Grace Whiteford ’12, Josh Helmuth ’13, Sadie Gustafson-Zook ’13, Katie Shank ’14, and Wade Troyer ’13 were all part of a Mennonite Mission Network Youth Venture group that traveled to Alsace, France. The France/USA Youth Exchange program is designed to provide a two-way learning opportunity for youth from both cultures.

The group met in Chicago on July 13th and flew together to France on the 14th where they met up with their individual host families. The whole group of American students and French host students met for activities a few times, but for the most part, everyone was on their own with their families.

Grace Whiteford enjoyed spending time with her host student, Anouk, and found the rest of her family entertaining as well. “They were very nice and hospitable. [My host mother] didn’t shave her armpits. I giggled a lot at that. The [host father] spoke french with a lisp. It was hilarious hearing him speak. He knew a bit of English but only felt comfortable speaking to me about cheese.” Apparently cheese is a major part of French culture- the group tasted endless types and learned more than they could ever care to know about it.

Wade Troyer recounts his experience with his host family, “We lived in a small village by the name of Biederthal five minutes from the Swiss border. During my time in their house we spent a day in Basel, grilled at a castle, and ate lots of baguettes. But for one week we took a vacation to the area known as Normandy. We visited the beaches, ate lots of cheese and crêpes, and went to Mt. Saint Michel.”

Students remarked that while in the US many people only speak English, in France everyone seems to be fluent in French and English if not a third or fourth additional language. Therefore, even though the American students only knew a few words in French, communication was easily possible.

Each day of the trip was jam packed with different things to do, see, and experience.“We stayed at a camp and took a bike ride,” says Alena Yoder about the activities she did with her hosts. “We also did service at two different locations and went swimming and broke a bridge...but you should ask Sadie about that.”

Students also explored castles, a bridge to Germany called Park of the Two Boarders, and other tourist attractions like Europa Park (the French equivalent to Cedar Point.) The last three days of the trip were spent in Paris. Visits were made to the well known Notre Dame and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.

While it was exciting for the students to visit Paris and see other world-famous places and architecture, that wasn’t really what the trip was all about. “Truthfully, it was just seeing the friends I had made last year again.” says Whiteford, “When we left the French kids to go to the airport, I cried for such a long time. The French kids said that we would see each other again, and that is what I’m hoping for.”

See full issue of August 27, 2010 Reflector

Read more about the French-American youth exchange from Mennonite Mission Network.