By Torre Peña
Don't be surprised to hear children chattering in French on Saratoga's streets and surrounding scenic sites come April 28.
Foothill Elementary School will host 19 students, ages 10 and 11, for three weeks as part of a French exchange program administered by the Association of French-American Classes. This is the sixth year Foothill has participated in the program.
The group will be the second wave of French students to visit Saratoga since March. Twenty-four students attended Blue Hills Elementary School for three weeks in a similar program before leaving on March 25.
"It was an eye-opener," said Blue Hills parent Judy Borah, describing the differences in the two cultures. She added that despite cold weather, the French students at Blue Hills would make a beeline for the nearest pool in the neighborhood.
"The main goal of the program is to foster appreciation for different cultures," said Foothill Principal Helen Sullivan.
Assigned their own classroom at Foothill, the French students will continue their normal curriculum with their teachers, who will accompany them. But they will be immersed in American culture while hosted by families of fourth- and fifth-graders from Foothill.
During their Saratoga sojourn, they will visit Hakone Gardens, Villa Montalvo and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, take a cruise on the San Francisco Bay and accompany Les Landin on a walking tour of Saratoga.
The same French students get a chance to return the hospitality when 17 Foothill students, two teachers and a parent fly to France for three weeks on June 13. They will visit the French students' hometown of Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. On the same day, nine students from Blue Hills will fly to Montmorency, France, to be hosted by the families of the children who visited in the school in March.
The opportunity to travel to France was made available to all fourth- and fifth-graders at Foothill, Sullivan said. Participation was based on interest.
"I think it's a unique opportunity," said Foothill PTA president Shelly Newberry, who will be hosting a French student. Her son, Ryan, and other students participating in the exchange have been taking French classes every Tuesday since January in preparation for their guests and their trip to Boulogne-Billancourt.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 16, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.