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An exchange student can bring different perspective to your eyes.

Sophomore Manon Dejardin is a student who visited Bellwood-Antis from France, spending two weeks here. She accompanied sophomore Olivia Rishel in her experience with American culture.

She comes all the way from a southeastern city in France, Avignon. The population of Avignon is 91,760 residents who fulfill the dense area. Avignon is known for its beautiful skyline and substantial urban areas, which makes the city an eye-catcher to live in.

For Dejardin, the trip was more than switching from different countries. There’s also a switch in routines such as time zones, school, and home life. Therefore, there’s more to handle than staying with a “stranger.”

”My family is very kind to me,” she said about staying with the Rishels in Tipton.

Your life alters perspectives on what other people do, and Manon says that “It’s so cool here. There’s a lot more to do.”

It can be difficult to familiarize yourself with a new time zone because the rest that you get is important for enjoying the new adventures that are ahead. But Manon didn’t let that disrupt her stay in America, she already adventured to New York City, York, and Chocolate World in Hershey.

Ultimately there’s a chance to discover paths education  in different countries, and in the French educational system, there are similarities and differences with America.

In France, according to Dejardin, the education system moves in a stern manner towards a stiff routine colliding with extracurricular activities that are held at the school.

Similar to the US, the education system flows in three central directions:  primary, secondary, and any higher education.

Manon shared some information about her schedule attending a catholic school in France. She stays at school until 5 p.m., after arriving at the earliest of 8 a.m. Seems like an adult work day, right?

Their curriculum matches with that in America. Students learn French just like we learn English while English class in France is a language class and not a grammar class.

Typically, students are involved in fall and spring sports in America but French schools only offer participation in one sport. For Manon, she chose basketball.

She shared that the sports at B-A sparked her interest the most, but “mostly everything,” she added.

After wrapping up her stay in America, she was asked if there was one takeaway from here that she had learned, what would it be?

”I’ve learned that if you do something bad, you can do a good thing after,” otherwise known as justice.

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For some, a new country can be exciting. For others, it can be a stressful and confusing mess. Fifteen year old Adam believes the former.

Adam Cascales is one of Bellwood-Antis’ most recent French foreign exchange students. From Marseille, in the South of France, he hoped to learn new things and meet new people when he arrived at B-A two weeks ago.

“It’s a very cool experience to experience new languages, cultures, and people,” he said.

Bellwood-Antis has been an easy adjustment for him. Compared to France, it’s a lot more laidback.

“It’s very chill. In France, it’s very strict, and we can’t drink in class or go to the restroom.”

France’s school schedule is a lot more rigorous. He begins the day at 7:30 to get ready for school, where they have 7 periods a day; each 1 hour. School begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 5-6 p.m.

Adam has a very interesting life in France; he lives with his big brother and three pets: two dogs, and one cat. He goes to a boarding school located in the center of the city, with a lot of restaurants and pubs. Marseille is right by a beach and includes a heavy dose of nature, with parks scattered throughout.

While in Bellwood, he stayed with the Gormont family. Taking care of a random stranger from a different country can be a difficult experience, but they adjusted well.

“At first it was harder to adjust, but eventually you get used to it,” said Rachel Gormont.

The family figured it would be a fun experience to get to know what other cultures look like, and the most interesting part of housing a foreign exchange student to them was getting adapted to the language barrier.

“It’s interesting to try and figure out what they’re saying at first,” Rachel said.

The Gormont family did their best to give Adam the authentic central Pennsylvania experience. They took him to Urban Air, ice skating, Penn State campus, Irvin’s, and even to see Rachel’s horse.

On Adam’s second to last day in Bellwood, he gave a very positive review: “Bellwood-Antis is a very cool place. Everyone is nice and the snow is beautiful.”