The French exchange students from Chamonix arrived on February 23, 2014. They stayed until March 2 and lived with the families of multiple students here at Aspen High School. Over the week-long trip, the French exchange students went skiing, ventured around town, attended some schooling, and became culturally immersed in our society.

Surprisingly, one of the last things the French students voiced as a whole was that American’s are actually very friendly. They said that they we’re welcoming and willing to be your friend. It was nice to hear that we’re not as unfriendly and malignant as everyone says.

Also, the French students concurred that everything is large in the United States. There was no surprise there, but it is an interesting point, as people who live here become institutionalized to the size of buildings, meal proportions, and roadways. In France the roads are narrow and cars are unlikely to stop for crossing pedestrians, making the number of crossing pedestrians scarce unless there is a designated walkway with a traffic light. My exchange student, Dominic Roberts, was surprised when we sauntered out onto Main Street when there were cars ahead. He told me that that was not something we would be doing while in France.

In Chamonix, the students are pretty much doing the same thing students do here: skiing on the weekends, watching endless hours of Netflix, and playing video games until their eyes begin to strain. Students listen to electro and dub step, varying from mainly a lot of Flume and Calvin Harris to older French house like Daft Punk.

Overall the exchange went very well and the students were happy to be in the United States. The American students will depart for Chamonix on March 21.