For the second year in a row, Saint Ursula families hosted students from Etablissement Marie Pila, a school in Carpentras, France, and those students attended Saint Ursula alongside their hostesses for three weeks. On Friday, February 22, SUA students hosted a pizza party to give the French students one last opportunity to say goodbye to all the friends they made while visiting Cincinnati.
The students visiting from France were part of a special program that concentrates on the English language. A goal of the program is to immerse students in the English language as they experience the culture of the United States during their sophomore year of high school.
Margo Bouix, Gloria Busato, Hildegard Champy, Orane Decker, and
Marie Guillet spent three weeks in Cincinnati, experiencing school at SUA and the culture of the area. While visiting, students took a ski trip to Perfect North Slopes, visited historic sites in downtown Cincinnati, and even sampled local cuisine such as Skyline Chili and chicken and waffles.
Two things were most surprising to the students from France. They were amazed at how tall the “skyscrapers” were in the downtown area. Some had never seen buildings of that height before. They were also intrigued by the relationship between the Saint Ursula Academy students and their teachers. In France, they described the teachers as very strict with a very “formal” relationship. The students commented on how respectful and caring the teachers seemed to be at Saint Ursula. They believed that a less formal relationship between students and teachers provided a more comfortable environment for learning.
Olivia Clever ’21 of Liberty Township and her family hosted Marie Guillet during the exchange period. “I had a great time while Marie was with us! I learned so much more about school and life in France. I was happy to show her everything about Cincinnati, and she taught me a lot about another culture.”
Saint Ursula Academy hopes to continue a relationship with our fellow sisters from France.
Shown L-R: Foreign Exchange students from Carpentras, France: Hildegard Champy (hosted by Megan Mancini ’21 of Miami Township), Orane Decker (hosted by Caitlyn Hyland ’21 of Cincinnati), Gloria Busato (hosted by Megan Balda ’21 of Union Township), and Marie Guillet (hosted by Olivia Clever ’21 of Liberty Township), recently spent three weeks attending Saint Ursula Academy. Not pictured: Margo Bouix (hosted by Skylar Stimson ’22 of Terrace Park).
SUA is hoping to do the 2020 Homestay/Immersion experience in Carpentras and the vicinity, so the French department can continue to build our relationship with Marie Pila.
"Our sponsoring organization, Language & Friendship, has made this all possible," said Saint Ursula French teacher Kim Icsman. "We are so grateful to them for providing us with such a wonderful match!"