During Feb. break, juniors and seniors studying French at Lexington High School had the opportunity to participate in NeuLex. This cross-cultural exchange program took place in Lexington and Neuchâtel, a town in Romandy, the French-speaking region of Switzerland. The program featured two exchanges: one for Swiss students to experience everyday life in Lexington, and the other for LHS students to explore Neuchâtel. Through organized field trips and time spent with host families, students were able to learn about the unique cultures and lifestyles of the other country.
LHS exchange students recounted that the host families were welcoming and considered them a part of their family.
“I remember one time I needed to do laundry. I thought, ‘I’m going to do it myself,’ but the mom offered to do it for me. When I came back, she was ironing my pants, and she burned a hole in the pants. She felt so bad, she bought me a brand new pair of pants. I thought that was cute,” Stephen Gordon, an LHS senior and NeuLex participant, said.
Students also recall making memories with their host families through meals and daily conversation.
“One of my favorite parts of being with my host family was the dinners we had at the end of the day. I really enjoyed listening, and then occasionally chiming in and participating in the conversation as well,” Rucha Daphal, an LHS junior and NeuLex participant, said.
Living with a different family gave students the opportunity to reflect on their own routines back at home.
“In Lexington, we’re so wrapped up in extracurriculars, sports, studying, work, whatever it is, that we forget to live in the moment and have dinner with our families,” Daphal said.
Staying with their homestay families, the exchange students were exposed to different Swiss foods, such as raclette and fondue.
“For breakfast, it was bread and jam, and sometimes they would offer me charcuterie and cheese. And of course, I brought around ten pounds of chocolate back to give to other people,” Gordon said.
The homestay families also brought their American students on individually-led excursions, such as visiting the CERN museum to see the largest particle collider in the world; seeing the Swiss Parliament building in Burn and meeting lawmakers involved in sustainability; and going to Lucerne to witness Carnaval festivities and visit its Olympic Museum. Gordon recalled sledding in the Alps and visiting his homestay family’s apartment in the mountains.
“It was a clear day. You could see Mont Blanc and all the other cool peaks. It was really high up, like 11,000 feet,” Gordon said.
After their travels in Switzerland, the exchange group ventured to Belgium to visit museums and historical sites. One notable visit was to the African Museum in Brussels, where students explored history through a different lens.
Outside of traveling and sightseeing, students found it interesting to make a friend from another country.
“Getting to know someone from a completely different country that I never would have [met] before was interesting,” Daphal said. “[Seeing] how they live and [making] a new friend that’s across the ocean.”
For many of its participants, the NeuLex exchange program was an eye-opening opportunity.
“I think it really broadens your perspective and shows you that there’s so much more in the world to explore and so much more that you haven’t seen,” Daphal said.
Participants in this year’s exchange highly recommend NeuLex and future French exchange programs to underclassmen.
“For a lot of people, [the program] is something they can say was one of their first real lifelong memories, and I think that’s true for me as well. I think it was definitely worth it,” Gordon said.
