October 12, 2026
My first month in France
I am going to start by saying I am loving my time in France. Rotary sure was right though, there are lots of ups and downs. Im not going to lie and say it has all been sunshine and rainbows, my first week or so was very hard and the idea of being away from home for a whole year was very daunting. The hardest part is leaving but after that it really does get easier. Something that really helped me were the people I met along the way. Before I had even started my journey the woman checking my airplane tickets saw my jacket and realized I was a rotary exchange student, apparently she had also been a part of rotary in her youth so she decided to change my seats. I ended up flying my first eight hours flight with three seats to myself and my second shorter flight in first class! Later in the airport I met an older couple that kept me company and told me that they believed in me. after a week in France I met some other inbounds and realized that every feeling I had was completely normal. And since then I have been so glad I pushed through!
My host family is wonderful, it's just me and my host mom and every moment with her has been nothing short of perfect. One thing that really stood out to me was when she put my picture with all of the family pictures. I am staying in a town only a few bus stops away from Lyon, Frances third largest city. Lyon is a beautiful city with history dating all the way back to the romans. Everything here has such rich history including my high school. I attend a private catholic school that was built in the 1800s the best way I can describe it is a real life Hogwarts. Fun fact my school was actually used as a sanctuary for injured people during ww2. On the topic of school, right now is definitely a crazy time to be a student in France. There have been many protest throughout France advocating for better school conditions and it has been very cool to see history be made in front of me. I have recently visited Paris and it was truly a dream come true. The Eiffel Tower is spectacular and I was even able to understand two little boys speaking in French on the bus!
I have so far really enjoyed my time in France and my French gets better everyday. To the future students who are reading this, if you are ever struggling on exchange lean on the people around you whether its rotary, your host family, or random people you meet along the way. I have only been here a little over a month and I am forever grateful for the experience.