French students are looking for host families for the 2010 summer.
French Teacher Paul Kirschling is looking for a few good families to host French students this summer. artwork by Rebecca Holt
Every other year some of TJ’s French students take a trip to France and get to stay with a host family during their time there. Now, in addition to this year’s trip to France, students from France will be traveling to Denver, something that hasn’t happened in the community for a long time.
Vistas in Education (VIE) as well as Paul Kirschling, TJ’s French teacher, have taken time to organize the stay of French students in the TJ community. VIE has been organizing trips for American students to France since the 1970s, and now they want to give French teens a taste of the Colorado lifestyle. The company specializes in French/American family stays, successfully having families host students for the last 35 years.
“(VIE) is looking for fun and active families that are interested in hosting a French student from June 15th to July 5th,” said Kirschling. “Students will be here for the July 4th weekend in order to be able to experience an American holiday as well,” he added. The only requirements for hosting is giving the students their own bed, welcoming them into your family, and including them in day-to-day activities with people of their own age.
“Being with a host family is the ideal way to experience another country and culture; it is the ultimate way,” said Kirschling, who has traveled to many countries himself, and understands the benefits of having someone on whom to rely. “It will be an incredible and unforgettable experience for the students,” said Kirschling, who began working with VIE two years ago, encouraging his students to take part in the host-family stays in France. He now encourages them to host students here, as well.
The students from France are required to know some English in order to be able to interact with their host families. They are selected by their English teachers based on their maturity and abilities. VIE tries to connect families to students with similar interests, selecting them based on their adaptability, sensitivity to other cultures, and good health.
Coming to the U.S. can sometimes be a slight culture shock for the students. “They tend to have a lot of family around them and are usually very social. The food is often better and meals tend to be longer,” said Kirschling, stating some of the differences between the American and French culture. “French teens are less casual, and tend to be a bit more fashionable. Teens in France are usually better dressed in public,” he added, but despite these few difference he believes American and French teens to be similar and will interact very well.
Just as TJ’s students are excited to travel to France, there are many French teens hoping to be able to visit the U.S. If your family or any other families in the area that you know are interested in hosting one of these students, please contact Paul Kirschling at paul_kirschling@dpsk12.org or at 720-423-7009.
