“Living with a foreign high school student, overall, everyone wins! The young people from Périgord, who will be rubbing shoulders with them, the teaching staff in the high schools where they are enrolled, and the families who host them.” All smiles, Patricia Le Rouzic, president of the AFS Vivre sans frontière Périgord-Limousin association, awaits the new class of foreign high school students, Sunday, September 15, on the platform of the Périgueux train station.
Intercultural adventure
They are seven young Europeans (from Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Italy and Ireland) and Americans (United States, Canada and Mexico), aged between 15 and 18, out of the nine planned (two will be hosted in Limoges), coming to the family exchange site in Dordogne. This year around Périgueux, Sarlat and Ribérac. Stays supervised by the association recognized as being of public utility since 1965 and approved for youth and popular education (1).
Around the referent, also a volunteer, there are smiles, full of enthusiasm but also sometimes a hint of apprehension among the volunteer families and volunteers who will receive them for ten months, or a little less. For some, it is the first time. “We have three daughters and the youngest is in her second year of Staps [NDLR : sciences et techniques des activités physiques et sportives]there was room at home,” explains Stéphanie Rossard, with her husband, both teachers in Ribérac, delighted to welcome Alexander, 16, a Bavarian.
Others, like Stéphanie and Étienne Roumier, who came with their youngest daughter, Marguerite, 15, are regulars. “Our daughters are very demanding. We lived abroad for nine years, we wanted to continue living the intercultural adventure at home,” says the mother. “I grew up with a lot of sisters, I like filling the house, but especially discovering new cultures,” says Marguerite, very happy to finally see Amélie, 17, a Norwegian.
No drugs or alcohol
Tired but happy, the high school students take the traditional photo in front of the station before heading to a small decompression chamber nearby for a welcome snack. Patricia Le Rouzic shares a few final instructions, supported by Isaline, 18, from Bertric-Burée. The young girl, who also spent a year on exchange in the United States, translates everything into impeccable English.
“No drugs, no alcohol. You don’t get into a car with someone who isn’t authorized by the host family. You also can’t drive a motor vehicle, except for electric bikes, it’s for your safety,” the duo reminds us. “The young people are not guests. It’s not a hotel, it’s not a restaurant, they’re part of the family. It’s not a tourist vacation, nor a strictly linguistic stay, either, but an intercultural exchange with an educational purpose,” adds the volunteer.
AFS Périgord-Limousin supervises stays in both directions, for young people from Périgord as well as for foreign high school students.
(1) Information from AFS Périgord-Limousin. Contacts: [email protected] or [email protected].
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