A New Family

At the end of my program, one thing truly stands out to me as life-changing: my experience with my host family. I was lucky enough to be hosted by the Babous (pictured above) and I had the most wonderful time living with them for a month.

I had a mom (Collette), a dad (Cyprien), and two brothers (Stephan and Aurélien). Although at the beginning I connected more easily with certain people in my family, by the end I had made fully developed relationships with each person. I had unique memories from everyone in my family and loved all of them dearly. The bond that one has with their host family is indescribable. It is so unlike any other relationship in my life, yet is one that I will never forget.

I was very priviliged to stay an extra day in Rennes as well. My mom from the United States flew out to France and was actually able to meet my host family in person. It was so incredible to watch because even though my mom had never met my host family, she had a complex bond with them. Funnily enough, my mom was even more emotional when we left my host family than I was! If I could recommend one thing to someone that I learned on this trip, it would be to stay with a host family during their life. As I said before, it's a special bond that feels so incredible to develop.

À la Prochaine...