With spring break quickly approaching, students are doing final prepping for their adventures, whether gathering all of their homework or last-minute packing for trips. One group of Jefferson students is getting packed and ready for their April 8 departure to France.

Every year, the French program at Jefferson offers an exchange program to their students, with eligibility in order of seniority. In the fall, 19 seniors from a school in Reims, located about an hour from Paris, came to America for about two weeks and stayed with Jefferson families. Now, the students of Lycée Roosevelt will be hosting 20 Jefferson students.

“I’m so excited to reconnect with international friends and experience such a vibrant culture,” junior Azeez Abdikarim said.

The trip entails total emersion into French culture; the Jefferson students are with their host family on the weekends and at the high school on most week days, allowing them to practice their French with native speakers. In addition to the time with the host families, the students will have a two day overnight excursion to Paris to see monuments and visit museums.

Although the participants are excited for Paris, for many the most intriguing part of the trip is the unique exchange experience.

“I’ve been to France before, but I’ve never stayed with a French family. It dawned on me that I’ve never spent time with French people, which I want to do because I’ve been studying the language for so long,” junior Sophie Bennett said.