Homestay

« My host family was really nice and I felt very welcomed. They were very helpful in correcting my French and including me in their dinners. Every Sunday they would also spend time together before dinner and I was always invited to join them which was nice. I felt very comfortable speaking French to them and making a lot of mistakes. They also knew a lot of English vocabulary so they could help me fill in my vocabulary gaps by telling me the French words for English words. My host mom would make dishes that were special to different regions in France and she'd tell me which region it was from. 

I had a grocery store and a church really close to me which was nice. I took the tram every day, but I also took the train home if that was faster and it was only a 10-15 minutes walk away from my house. I'd sometimes get home pretty late and I never felt unsafe. The only con was that everything was usually 40 minutes to an hour commute wherever I was going, and it wasn't just one stop, which could be tiresome.»

- Savannah S. about a family in Garennes Colombes, west Grand Paris:

« I became accustomed to the rhythm of French life, especially the traditional apéritif before Friday and Sunday dinner, when we would always have interesting guests. These were the most fun. I learned about the sacredness of dinner itself. I was quite on-the-go and independent during my time in Paris, but dinner was sacred and that united the whole family regularly. Food was delicious and French was the exclusive language in all of our exchanges. I only could have gotten that in the home stay.”

- Christopher J. about a family in Paris "intra-muros", 9th arrondissement