USMD Nashville - June 16 Through July 07, 2019

(Placed!) Théo is 15 years old and has been studying English for 5 years. His comprehension & speaking skills are good and he decided to come to Tennessee so he could improve even more. He is looking forward to meeting new people and discovering a different way of life. Théo has been to New York, Miami and Los Angeles with his family and loves the United States. His favorite foods are pizza, sushi, and hamburgers. He describes himself as outgoing, active, independent, and good-natured. Théo plays tennis with a club in Strasbourg where he lives, and he also really likes snow-skiing. He enjoys other sports and likes to play basketball and soccer with his friends for fun. Théo has a brother and sister, ages 25 and 23. His brother came here with USMD when he was 15 too. His mother is a real estate agent and his father is a lawyer. Théo hopes to form a lasting friendship with his American host family and to one day show them France.

(Placed!) Faustine will be 17 years old this June. She describes herself as responsible, joyful and energetic. Her favorite foods are ribs, hamburgers and fruit. English is favorite school subject and she has taken it for 5 years. She is nearly fluent, understanding almost everything and speaking it quite well. She also likes her classes in Spanish, history and science. She loves horseback riding, animals, running, and travel. Faustine is very close to her younger sister and older brother. They have a cat called Jazz because her father works in the music industry. Her family makes it a point to support the Arts and travel as often as possible. Faustine is easy going and curious about the world around her and has a great attitude. She writes that she is very motivated to come to Nashville to further improve her fluency in English and also because this city is the heart of music in the U.S. Faustine wants to find out more about the American way of life after spending last summer in Chicago with a host family there. She had such a great experience she can’t wait to return to discover another American city and meet new friends.

(Placed!) Lucie is 17 years old and lives in the beautiful city of Laon, which is in northern France about 85 miles from Paris. She is the youngest of three daughters, all close in age. Her mom is a homemaker and her dad works in the field of engineering. She is very enthusiastic about coming to Nashville to meet new people and discover what our culture is like. Since we live in such a global society, Lucie feels improving her English is very important. She has taken 6 years of English language in school. She was able to practice conversational English during two trips to New York with her family (they experienced Hurricane Sandy!) but she hopes to really improve during her 3 week stay here. Travel is one of her favorite things and she has visited Rome, Valencia, London, Luxembourg, and Brussels. Lucie loves most sports, especially swimming, hiking, gymnastics, basketball, and handball. She can play guitar and enjoys modern music as well as classical. Lucie loves the beach, boating, history, nature, shopping, and watching TV or movies. Lucie describes herself as independent, responsible and easy-going. She can’t wait for this summer and the memories she will have of her time spent with an American family. If you would like to consider hosting Lucie and view her complete profile, just click on the contact email.

(Placed!) Charlotte turns 15 in June. She has taken 4 years of English and also Spanish. Charlotte has a younger brother who is 12 and an older sister who is 16. 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!) Clément will be spending his 15th birthday early in July anticipating his upcoming trip to Nashville. He lives near the Eiffel Tower with his parents and two sisters. His mother works in communication and his father manages a company in the broadcast TV business. His family comes from the Mediterranean island Corsica where many of his cousins, grandparents and family still live. They enjoy spending part of every summer there. Clément is learning English and Spanish at school and has had 4 years of language study. He likes water polo and French boxing, and last summer he discovered US football. He very much enjoys all snow sports as well as sailing and the beach. He likes video games, astronomy and sciences, but his favorite hobby is playing the guitar. Clément enjoys all genres of music. He says he is curious about everything to do with the American lifestyle, which he only knows by music, history and movies. He chose to come to Nashville because of its history and musical culture, both things he enjoys in France too. Clément is enthusiastic about sharing 3 weeks as part of an American family vs. being a tourist. He is positive this experience will have a great impact on him, especially as he observed during his school’s discovery training with the Cisco Company that English is the language of the business world. He wants to speak and understand English perfectly. The best way to increase comprehension and speaking ability is through an immersive experience and Clément plans to make the most of this opportunity. A talkative family who enjoys spending time with each other and is willing to add one more to the dinner table will help Clément discover all the things he can’t wait to find out about America.

(Placed!) Clara is 15 years old and lives in northern France with her parents and older brothers. She is happy to come to America because her brothers had such positive experiences and memories of their exchange trips here. They are a tight-knit family and they often go on holidays with their many cousins. She has taken 5 years of English, and also studies German. Clara takes the Art Option in her high school and loves art, drawing, and sewing clothes and bags. She would like to be a dressmaker. She is also a very accomplished cello player which she has played in orchestra for 8 years. Another favorite pursuit is traveling and taking pictures to document her travel. Clara was in the U.S. last summer on a West Coast road trip through California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. She’s also been to the U.K., Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Argentina, Germany and Croatia. Other favorite activities are shopping and going to the movies with her friends. Clara describes herself as a sociable person who is determined and curious about other cultures. In her letter to her host family, she explains that she is coming here on exchange to meet new people, and be part of an American family. She wants to improve her English while discovering another way of life. Clara can’t wait to experience the city and see its architecture, learn about our cultural heritage, fashion trends, sports, food and music!

(Placed!) Daphné lives in Paris with her parents and older sister. Her 17th birthday is the day before she returns to France and she will have great memories to celebrate from her time here. Daphné has taken 6 years of English language, and studies in the European section of her high school which means that courses such as math, history and science are also taught in English. Her future career aspiration is to become a pediatrician as she loves children. Daphné is very active and loves practicing a modern pentathlon on Saturdays which includes fencing, shooting, running, swimming and horseback riding (which tops her list of favorite activities). She also likes skiing, gymnastics, swimming, modern music, playing the piano, movies, and spending time with friends. Daphné especially enjoys travel abroad. Her family has been to New York and they also visited some of our National Parks such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Other trips were spent in Japan, Germany, Madrid, Vienna, Rome, Istanbul and Italy. She also participated in linguistic stays in Ireland (2014 and 2015) and London (2016). What Daphné likes most about going abroad is the opportunity to discover new places, appreciate both city environments and beautiful landscapes, and to learn about different cultures. She is very much looking forward to experiencing Nashville and meeting the friendly people who live here.

(Placed!) Constance will be our youngest French student this summer. She is 12 years old and very brave for this adventure. Constance is a good student, and very responsible and mature for her age. She is eager to discover the culture of Nashville. Her father is a top physician in the field of nuclear medicine and Constance lives with her parents in the 7th district of Paris with a view of the Eiffel tower. Constance likes to play soccer and the piano, and she also really enjoys dance, fashion, going to the movies and shopping. She also likes bowling, golf, computers, history and science. Her family traveled to the US before, so Constance already knows that she likes American food and is excited to have an American life experience and make new friends.

(Placed!) Flore is 15 1/2 years old and lives in Paris with her parents, brother and sister. Her brother went on a home-stay last year to Maine and is going back there again this summer. Flore has been waiting for years to realize her dream of coming to the USA too. One of the reasons she chose Nashville is to experience a city built around music which is something she loves, but she’s not very familiar with Country music. She is looking forward to learning more about its history even though she prefers rock and alternative music. She loves going to outdoor music concerts and venues and watching movies. She would be excited to binge watch a good series with you this summer. Cooking is another favorite activity and she especially likes to bake desserts. Flore would enjoy learning how to make some of your family’s favorite dishes. She likes dancing and has been taking jazz for 3 years and is classically trained in dance since a very young age. She took a year of boxing and has also tried windsurfing and wakeboarding. Traveling and sightseeing is high on her list of best adventures; she’s been to Sweden, Belgium, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Berlin. This will be the first time she visits the United States since the age of 1 when her parents lived in Houston for a year. Flore would like to improve her English in an immersive experience that will cement 4 years of language study. She indicates that she understands almost everything and speaks it quite well. She is eager to meet new people and welcome her host teen in France during French holidays.

(Placed!) Hélóise is 15 years old and has been studying English for over 5 years, as well as German. She is a good student and prefers literary subjects in school. She lives in Paris and has two sisters aged 12 and 18. She stayed with a host family in Chicago last summer and is returning again with USMD this July to Nashville. She has also traveled to Berlin and Rome on school trips. Since she is familiar with the home-stay experience, Hélóise is ready to hit the ground running on this trip. She seeks to add vocabulary and improve her accent, and of course to have fun with your family! Hélóise writes that she is not very sporty but likes swimming, horseback riding, movies, sightseeing, and going on walks. She also enjoys reading, writing, animals, playing guitar and music. Her favorite foods are red meat, pasta and chocolate. She describes herself as curious, friendly, enthusiastic, meticulous and imaginative. She is traveling with her cousin who will be staying with another family; they are excited knowing they will be sharing their experiences with each other on the return trip to Paris. Hélóise is looking forward to discovering Tennessee and enjoying 3 weeks of summer fun with your family.

(Placed!) Fanny will be 14 yrs old at the end of August. Her brother stayed with a family here last summer and was a very sweet and fun teenager to hang out with. She comes from Chatanay, a town in northern France. She has traveled with her family to England, Belgium, Spain, Singapore, Bali, Thailand, and South Africa. She is very excited to come to America for the first time. Fanny likes hands on activities and especially enjoys cooking, art, tv/movies, shopping, nature, the beach, animals, swimming, and dance. She describes herself as active, fun, responsible, and caring. She has taken 3 years of English language and is eager to try the immersion experience to increase her comprehension and speaking ability. Right now, she lacks confidence in her language ability but with her easy-going personality and motivation, by the end of summer she will have learned so much through spending time with your family. She looks forward to doing the things your family enjoys and experiencing a new culture, as well as seeing the sights and natural beauty of Tennessee.

I first heard of the USMD French student exchange program when I came across an announcement at middle school. It sounded like a unique experience and an interesting way to spend 3 weeks in July to share our home and normal everyday life with a teen from another country. We met with the local coordinator and she matched us up with 14 yr old Felicie. My youngest daughter was the same age, and they shared common interests, so we said yes. I was a bit nervous because we don't typically go on summer vacations and I wasn't sure what we could do without breaking the bank. Turns out there are too many things to choose from once you start looking around! And we discovered there was alot of "touristy" stuff that we hadn't done which we really enjoyed! The girls shared a bedroom and were close sisters all summer. The following July, my daughter visited Felicie in France for 3 weeks. She got to experience a lifestyle and culture that is very different from ours, within the safety of a family that entrusted their daughter to us the summer before. She saw all the sights of Paris, spent time in the country, and also a week in the South of France enjoying water sports. We felt the entire USMD experience was incredibly rewarding.

That next summer we heard there were still a couple boys who were due to arrive here in a few days but were without host families. Since we had a bedroom open with my daughter going to France, we "adopted" a French son we nicknamed Tebow (kind of an American version of Thibault). He quickly became part of our family and some of my fondest memories of being a host family came from sharing our life him. Tebow had a wonderful sense of humor and adventure. He and my son got along very well together, just hanging out the way guys do. I'll never forget their Rambo movie marathon during a rainy week when all other plans got cancelled. The most memorable part of his stay was going on a family Scout campout at the lake. It was Tebow's first time tent camping and something he would never have done in France! The picture of Tebow above was taken on that trip, while tubing at Tims Ford Lake. Listening to Tebow and a troop of Boy Scouts interact with each other and their families was simply amazing. Everyone loved Tebow and if we could have him back, I would in an instant.

Our last hosting experience was a couple years ago, when 17 yr old Romaine came to stay with us. I had learned not to over-schedule, and to focus on activities that were culturally unique and showcase Tennessee. At the beginning of her stay I asked Romaine what she most wanted to do and what she hoped to gain from her time here. This helped us open a dialogue and concentrate on a couple of things from her bucket list. Between every scheduled activity were a couple days of normal summer stuff - like going to the pool or grocery shopping. I found this to be the most helpful way to keep a steady yet fun pace going. We participated in lots of activities with other host families - something that appealed to the older teens, but I also noticed in groups the immersive language experience takes a hit. By balancing the social life with family life both goals of having fun and increasing fluency were met. A couple unique experiences we had with Romaine were going to outdoor concerts and getting to meet a Cajun musician at a singer-songwriter performance. And we shared a favorite family activity with Romaine of going to the horse races. She really enjoyed this because she would never get to do that in France.

I have seen so many people experience something so unique and rewarding each and every summer, that I knew I would love helping other people connect with their soon-to-be French sons and daughters. It's a wonderful 3 weeks that goes by so fast and leaves everyone with the fondest of memories.