FOR EDUCATORS WHO PLAN STUDENT TRAVEL THE LEADING SOURCE

teachtravel.org mMany people (particularly Americans) believe that the French people are rude and unwelcoming to foreigners who do not speak their language. In high school, I took two years of French classes where I learned to say the basics: hello, goodbye, my name is, how much does this cost, where is the toilet, please and thank you. I was so nervous on my first trip to France because I had heard so many stories of impolite French people. I knew that my French speaking skills were limited, plus I knew that I would not properly pronounce the words or use proper grammar. To my surprise, I was given a warm welcome. Often, I heard, “Bonjour, je m‘appelle Celine. Comment allez-vous? Puis-je vous aider.” This is French for, “Hello. My name is Celine. How are you? How can I help you?”

Since that first trip to France, I have returned numerous times and always had a pleasant interaction with the locals. Year later, I went to Siberia and studied Russian. My language class had five French people, in addition to