Fifth Grade Exchange with Paris
Posted October 10, 2012
Sunday night, our French exchange students were greeted at the airport like celebrities by a mob of excited FAIS students holding welcome signs. After a class breakfast Monday morning, the French students were given a tour of the campus. On Tuesday, the French students visited the Oregon Historical Society and then came back to school to grade their correspondent’s science projects. This week, all of the students are going to Fort Vancouver and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Next week, the students will take a tour of downtown Portland, the Forestry Center, the Oregon Zoo, and the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center. As you can see, the teachers have planned many fun and cultural activities, as well as special programs and activities for the kids to do together.
The French students are taking in the sights and sounds of Portland as they get to see what life is like for an American family. Seemingly small things, such as what we serve for breakfast, can be a source of fascination. Portland seems exotic to our guests, especially since everything is on a much larger scale than Paris. The Halloween decorations, and of course, the giant bags candy filling up the stores, are also a curiosity. The host families are hoping to take the kids to the pumpkin patch this weekend, even though it seems we will be getting some real Oregon weather soon.
