Two Gould students are in France for the rest of the winter term: Lucy Towle ’23 and Emalee Coffin ’21. Their exchange is part of a larger collaboration with two French schools: Lycée Marguerite de Valois in Angoulême and Collège St. Louis in Orange, France. Two French students will also come to Gould in the Spring, and there is a two-week trip planned for June for other interested students.
Gould is also participating in a new program this year that connects several of our classrooms in the World Languages, Humanities, and STEM departments with classrooms at both schools.
From Lucy:
I had never flown without my family before now, and I had never flown internationally. In other words, I was pretty nervous to fly to France! Once I got through customs and found Emalee at the gate, however, my anxiety disappeared. I was excited to begin my journey, and felt better with a friend who felt the same way! The seven-hour flight went smoothly, though I could not fall asleep. Note to self: Do not watch sad movies on planes (I cried, but everyone was asleep so it was fine)!
When we arrived in Paris, Emalee and I had to wait for her luggage. As we waited, we saw our host families waving at us through the glass! We couldn’t leave baggage claim, but we ran to the wall to say hello! After getting our luggage and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we began the long drive to Angoulême, where we would be living for the next two months. We sang along to the Frozen soundtrack in the car (in English and in French), and within an hour, most of us were asleep. Camille’s parents took pictures of us, but those will not be included in this blog, as they are very embarrassing!
Lucy and Emalee greeted by their hosts at the Paris Airport
I celebrated New Years with my host family and their wonderful relatives! We played foosball and danced until midnight. Later, we walked around outside and the kids taught me my surroundings in French! 
The next week, we spent a lot of time with the whole family, and I learned more about their culture. Camille is 15 years old, and her brother, Gabriel, is 11. Their parents are Marion and Nicolas. They are all so nice and funny – everything we do is a little adventure! The weekend before school started, we went to the city. It was so beautiful! There were huge paintings on the walls of some buildings and cute shops all over the place! When we have free time at home, we play video games and watch movies together. I learned how to say “loser” in French during our intense matches of Mario Kart!
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