Former host family fun comments and observations…

 

“We would recommend this program to any family who wants a little adventure and a lot of fun.  All the French students we met were wonderful.  I don’t think we could have gotten a better fitting student placement.  Benjamin will forever be a part of our family”.

 

“Thank you for the opportunity to be Benoit’s host family.  We miss him a lot.  He fit in so well with our family.  It was fun to watch his English improve.  He was such a fun, energetic personality and he was always well behaved and helpful.  We commend ECI for the great job of planning such a wonderful program.”

 

“This was really fun.  We laughed, we cried.  We would do it again.  It felt like I had a sister and not an annoying one !  We felt like a family.”

 

“The French students are just like American kids.  They just want to hang out and enjoy life.    We found all the French students friendly, polite and outgoing.  We were sure lucky to have Isaure.  She is a lovely girl and will always be in our hearts.  We wouldn’t have thought such a close bond could develop in such a short period of time.  She is like a fourth daughter to us.”

“It took only about 12 hours for Laura to go from a shy beautiful young lady to an outgoing, sarcastic, humorous joker, in other words she fit smack dab into our family.  We cried when she left.”

 

“What a great program!  Our student was enthusiastic, free and easy to get along with.  And a bonus: Now we have friends to go visit in Paris!”

 

“Awesome experience, so glad we decided to host a French student.  It was a blast”.

 

“We all became very attached to her in the short time she was here.  She was a joyful addition to our family.  We will share many special memories from this experience.”

 

“Marion taught us how to make quiche, crêpes and French chocolate cake.  We taught her how to make shish-ka-bobs, cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies. We made 10-12 dozen chocolate chip cookies and three cheesecakes in three weeks !  What an awesome experience for the whole family, not just for our daughter studying French.  We had a wonderful exchange of food, culture and language.  And bi-lingual Scrabble was really fun !”

 

 “Philippe’s first impression, in response to the size of our house, was that our first floor was the size of his whole three bedroom apartment in Paris.  Everything was huge to him – houses, yards, the way our town was so spread out, and the distances we drove to get places”.

 

“Hosting a French student was like taking a vacation but never leaving the comfort of home. It allowed us to see things through different eyes as we did many local outings in our own town. We discovered new places to visit and enjoy right here where we live.  We had a great time doing things we otherwise would not be motivated to do”.

 

“We were so excited to participate in the program.  We had such a great time with Christian, and he was an excellent match for us!  We were so sad when our time with him was over.  We can’t wait to do this again.”

 

The entire program was an absolute JOY !!!  Isabelle was polite, talkative, energetic and a pleasure to have in our home.  We would do it again in an instant.”

 

Their favorite American food discoveries and “delicacies”...

 

French students like most American food quite well, so you don’t need to go out of your way to provide anything beyond your normal routine.  They will also discover “precious” items not so prevalent or available in France, and ECI will not pass judgment on the worthiness or nutritional value of some of their newly cherished American food favorites.  Let’s just say that exploration of food is a highly valued joy of traveling to another country, and full of wonderful surprises too.  And now you have an excuse to break your diets !  Have fun !  Bon appetit !

 

Among the favorites… fudge bars, rice krispy bars, chocolate chip cookies, pancakes and maple syrup, French toast, Double Stuff Oreo cookies, s’mores, cupcakes, banana and corn bread, cinnamon and caramel rolls, smoothies, roasted marshmallows, BBQ sauce, grilled cheese sandwiches, Pringles potato chips, hot dogs, hamburgers, bacon, peanut butter (sometimes), corn-on-the-cob (only maybe, because in France it’s mostly given to farm animals), Jello (but initially rather scary due to the blazing psychedelic colors and its wiggling movements)

 

“Our French student did not like peanut butter, but loved sauerkraut and huge American pickles”.

 

“Marion hated root beer and could not believe we mixed it with vanilla ice cream”.

 

“Our student’s favorite food item that she took home with her?  Pepperidge Farm Swirl Cinnamon Bread !  And she would have eaten Rice Krispy Bars at every meal !  She was willing to try anything new like S’mores, Spam and waterskiing!”

 

“Our student couldn’t get enough Double-Stuff Oreos until the “Vanilla” Oreos were introduced.  Then they became the most popular.  Brownies and Rice Krispy bars were also high on the list.  I’m not sure who had the better time – our French student or my daughters.  It was a win-win learning experience for everyone.  So fun!”

 

“We couldn’t believe that Victoria had her very first cupcake at the host family picnic !  Our American children have theirs at the very latest at their 1st birthday party !”

 

“Apparently the French don’t have ready-to-spread cake frosting”.

 

“We got a kick out of how much they like ketchup!  Ketchup with noodles, with hard boiled eggs and even toast”.

 “Buy some Nutella spread ! The second our student saw it he relaxed and felt at home.”

 

“Our student went absolutely bonkers for popcorn!  They only have one flavor at home, similar to our kettle corn, and he thought that buttered popcorn was amazing, until he tried cheese popcorn.  The Chicago Mix (butter, cheese, caramel) was a home-run hit.  We sent him home with a couple jars of the cheese powder, which is ironic since he comes from a land of amazing cheeses and he flipped for the artificial powdered stuff.  And he was a real trooper about trying new foods – he was a bit suspicious about corn on the cob and cole slaw but enjoyed them both.  But he was appalled by many of the desserts and sweets – completely grossed out by S’mores, Mello Yello, Mountain Dew, root beer, deep-fried Twinkies, and Uncrustables.”

 

“Food choices of French students are interesting.  Our student loved Red Bull, marshmallow cream, homemade blueberry zucchini bread and bacon, but hated peanut butter and jelly, root beer and barbecue sauce.”

 

 

Contact us via email at: info@eciusa.org  or call us at (651) 646-4476