Sunday, February 25, 2018

Host Family - Kathy



Our family has had the opportunity to host French students through USMD. We have hosted twice and had amazing experiences both times. Both students, Aude and Theo, have been very respectful, pleasant, and eager to learn more about American culture. It was our pleasure to host Aude and Theo, we have kept in touch and visited Aude in Paris and plan to visit Theo in France this summer!  Our family would highly recommend this program to others as it has enriched our lives and created lifelong friendships!
 

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

French Students 2018

In total, 10 French students will travel here with our wonderful French chaperone Samira (the kids love her and so do we!). They look forward to spending time in a family and experiencing life as a typical American teenager while improving their conversational English.  Please contact the coordinator if you'd like to know more about one of these students - there is a complete application including photos and a letter for the potential host families.

(Placed!) Aliénor turned 16 in May and she has written a letter to her future host family in which she describes herself as curious, open-minded, considerate, and easy going.  She enjoys meeting new people and making new friends. She outlined her goals to come here to  learn about the history of the state of Tennessee; as well as to improve her conversational skills, learn new vocabulary and improve her accent.  Aliénor says, “By living in a family during my stay, I’m sure to live ‘the American way’ of life, discover a new culture, traditions". She loves history, reading, drama, cooking, biking, swim, classical music, and travel. Last summer she went to a camp and learned to sail. She lives in Paris with her parents, her mother is a military officer and her father is a contractor. Aliénor has an older sister who is 18, and two brothers who are 14 and 12 years old. They are a close-knit family and she will enjoy being part of yours too.

(Placed!) Augustin, is 13 year old, and lives in Paris. Last year he was in the United States in a 3 week camp. He is the third of 4 children in his family - he says that has helped him to be someone who is cheerful, sociable and enjoys being with people. Augustin is really into sports and enjoys following the NBA, swimming, playing tennis and soccer, however, rugby is his main sport. He is a fan of American culture, tv and cinema. His favorite foods are pasta carbonara, hamburgers and steak. Augustin enjoys cooking and trying new foods too.  In his downtime, Augustin enjoys computers, drawing and listening to music. He is a typical French teenager who is very engaged and ready to live as a young American. Nashville seems to be a very interesting city to discover while he works on his English comprehension skills. At the end of the USMD stay, rather than return to France with the group, Augustin will go visit his aunt, who lives in Memphis. Next summer, Augustin and his family are prepared to welcome his American host teen in Paris should you wish discover his city and culture in a reciprocal visit.

(Placed!) Alexandre, age 17, is returning to the United States after having come here with his family when they visited New York, California, and Florida.  Alexandre loves traveling and is eager to experience a homestay which is quite different than being a tourist. He believes Tennessee will be the perfect state to learn all about the American lifestyle. Alexandre wants a true immersive experience, without any French spoken during his 3 weeks here to get the greatest benefit possible. Alexandre plans to go into the commercial sector for his future career, and the degree of proficiency in comprehension and speaking English will be very important.  He pays attention to politics and is interested in economics. Alexandre's family lives in Liege, Belgium which is one of the main French speaking cities there. He has two brothers, age 19 and 10. His father is a builder/real estate investor and his mother works in marketing. Alexandre loves all sports, motorbikes, cars, skiing and tennis. He is looking forward this experience and hopes to be in communication with the family who chooses him soon.

(Placed!) Diane is 16 years old and comes from north-central France in Beauchery Saint Martin. Her parents are both farmers and they also have sheep.  She has one older sister, and she helps a neighbor take care of her daughter on weekends. She chose to be a boarding student 3 years ago to live in a community of friends while in school.  Diane has had 6 years of English and is looking forward to coming to Nashville to improve her speaking ability and see what life is like for an American teenager. She participated in a similar program that allowed her to spend 2 weeks with a family in Spain. She enjoyed boosting her Spanish and experiencing a city that was really different from her village in France. She thinks coming to Nashville will be a very rewarding experience too.  Prospective host families receive the student’s entire application, and this bio provides just a quick overview of the student to highlight their interests and goals in choosing this homestay experience.  Diane's favorite activities are horseback riding, swimming, volleyball, rock climbing, skiing, boating, windsurfing, biking, cooking, shopping, nature and travel. It's worth noting, however, the USMD application has a list of about 40 different kinds of sports, hobbies, and interests that the students check: and Diane likes 90% of all the things listed! It’s easy to say, she’ll have a great time spending 3 weeks with your family!  

(Placed!) Lola is a motivated and mature, despite her young age! She will be 12 years in June and is excited for the chance to visit the USA again. She went to NYC with her parents before, but the USMD home-stay experience is a really neat opportunity to experience more than you can as a tourist.  Lola has also traveled to Spain, the Dominican Republic, Greece and Portugal.  Her top 3 interests are horseback riding, animals, and cooking. She also likes boating, dance, swimming, going to the beach, fashion and of course, travel.  She has two siblings who are in their 20’s;  her mother is a florist and a painter, and her father is the director of a company.  They live in Port Vendres which is in the south of France, near the border to Spain on the Mediterranean sea.  Tennessee will be an exciting place to discover a our beautiful area, the Southern lifestyle, and many unique American experiences.

(Placed!) 15 yr old Héloïse lives close to Paris and has been studying English in school for 6 years. For her birthday, she got a host family for her summer trip here!  She is the youngest of 5 children who have all enjoyed the USMD homestay experience and the children of the American families have enjoyed spending summers with Héloïse's family! She is really looking forward to her turn to discover our country and meet a new family too. Héloïse likes dancing, reading, traveling, and she is a girl scout too. Her host family also shares these interests, and we expect they will create a lasting friendship and wonderful memories this summer!

(Placed!) Estéphe  is a friendly 16 year old who lives in the heart of Paris, with his parents and two younger siblings. He is responsible and looks forward to learning firsthand what it is like to live in America. His family is ready to host your teen in return next summer. Estéphe loves both sports and literature – he plays water polo every week, and is also writing a book.  He likes all sports, computers, hanging out with friends and going to the movies or escape games. Estéphe has traveled to several different countries, and has been to United States previously, in Seattle and Miami.  He enjoys exploring history museums and discovering other cultures. He is also involved in community service that walks a weekly patrol to give aid to homeless people. Estéphe goes to a school that teaches some subjects in English, so his comprehension level is good and he seeks to build upon it.  He looks forward to spending part of his summer with your family.

(Returning Student - Placed!) Constance - we are excited to hear that Constance is returning again with USMD to stay with the same family as last summer. In fact, her American family is going to France to stay with her family in June, and then she will travel here with the exchange group in July!  These bridges of discoveries and friendships are what USMD is all about!  Bon Voyage to and from France y'all!

(Placed!) Charlotte turns 16 in June.  She has taken 5 years of English and also Spanish. Charlotte has a younger brother who is 13 and an older sister who is 17. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a physical therapist.  She’s been active French Girl Scouts for over 6 years and appreciates how it has taught her to be resourceful, a good companion and to be able to live outdoors. It sounds like the camp is a highlight of the experiences she has had with Scouting! She also likes swimming, boating and all water sports. Charlotte plays rugby and several other sports and also enjoys riding horses. She has many interests and will enjoy doing anything and everything your family wishes to share with her. In France, she and her friends like to listen to music, go to the cinema and just have a good time laughing. Her friends say she is sociable, enthusiastic and sincere. Charlotte loves children and has interned for three years to gain experience to become a teacher for young children. She is excited for this adventure, and while she has a love of travel and visits family in Hong Kong, this will be her first time to the American continent.  Charlotte is already thankful for the opportunity to stay in an American family for three weeks and is very motivated to make the most of the great time she has here.

(Placed!) Lorraine, age 13, is easy-going and independent, a musician and singer, and a big Harry Potter fan. She is a very good student and skipped a grade so she is an 8th grader now. She’s already had 8 years of learning the English language so she’s ready to jump into this immersive experience to improve a very good level of fluency. Lorraine proudly supports PSG soccer (Paris Saint-Germain) and her favorite meals are pizza, fish & chips, and Japanese food. She loves travel and has been to 4 continents so far, and will love learning about the United States by living with a family for 3 weeks this July. She will easily get along with a girl her age enjoying playing board games, sailing/boating, art, cooking, shopping, theatre, going to museums, or photography. But, because Lorriane is an avid learner, she would also be thrilled to take part in completely new and different activities that you love! She has prepared a great introductory pdf for her host family and hopes to start corresponding with you soon.