CPBC Hosts Lunar New Year Festival French Exchange Program 2023

By MADISON YEE News Editor

For the 2022-2023 school year, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) French program welcomed a second group of students from France for two weeks. Residing in Arcadia from Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, the French exchange students created lifelong bonds with their hosts, who brought them around AHS to give them the opportunity to fully immerse in the American experience.

From Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles to Hollywood and Little Tokyo, the French students visited famous California landmarks, exploring the Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Huntington Gardens, The Broad, and the Arts District. Additionally, some of the hosts brought them on exciting trips to go to Six Flags, play laser tag, go bowling, go shopping, experience parties, and go dancing.

During their two days at AHS, the exchange students also had the opportunity to stop by various classes such as Sports Medicine and Food Science, while learning more about what it is like to go to high school in America.

Reminiscing on the memories made, se nior host Agnes Eng voiced how she loved embarking on all the activities, in which her favorite part was “staying up on the weekends, doing late night drives, and taking [her] French student Anais to [her] favorite places in town.”

This program is truly a once in a lifetime experience, and not only does it allow hosts to share the fun aspects of living in Arcadia, it also gives them the chance to grow their French knowledge at the same time.

“I learned more about [Anais’] life back home in France. My French is horrible, but she was willing to speak and learn more English words. I learned to be more open minded be cause I made new friends stepping out hosted by Girl and Boy Scout troops, offered cookies and boba.

Lastly, other stands were hosted by AHS clubs, like Robotics Club and AHS’ Choir. A fan favorite booth was the photo booth! Constantly crowded, the photos were free and there were many decorative props to enhance pictures and create goofy memories. Adjacent to the photo booth was a hanfu stand. A hanfu is a traditional Chinese dress that often represents a strong sense of national pride and identity. The hanfu stand was completely free, allowing anybody an opportunity to wear one and embrace Chinese culture and reflect pride.

With many performances, guests were entertained for hours. Some notable performances included Orchesis’ performance, Choir, Drumline, the Chinese folk dance, the lion dance, and more!

“The Lunar New Year Festival was so fun.

I ate a lot of food and there were a lot of different activities and everyone was just feeling the vibe. Although I’m slightly biased, my favorite performances were definitely the choir performances,” excitedly shared junior Peter Zhang, one of the performers of AHS’ choir.

The CPBC’s goal is to connect the school and Chinese-speaking parents. Holding many fundraisers similar to this festival, they hope to support varying school organizations such as Orchesis, Band, and Apache News.

Ms. Tong, the CPBC’s co-president, shared her thoughts on the festival with Quill, “This fundraising event is awesome! We’re so happy to see so many people attend this event. This is the first time we’re hosting something like this, and we’re amazed at the turnout.” of my comfort zone!” Eng exclaimed. “It was dent Nathan de Joannès also reflected on the two weeks with a similar outlook.

“Like [Tong] said, this is our first time hosting an event like this. It was a great turnout and although there were some hiccups, everything turned out well, and we’re so happy everybody had a good time and enjoyed their celebration with us,” added Ms. Cheung, the CPBC’s other co-president.

Thank you to the CPBC for hosting an amazing Lunar New Year Festival and special thanks to everyone who showed up and enjoyed their celebration. The CPBC is looking forward to hosting their next fundraising event, and hopefully, we will see you there!

“This trip allowed me to improve my English skills, but it was also very rich in exchanges between different cultures,” said Joannès.

“The closeness with the pen pals and all the activities we shared with them made this exchange exciting and unforgettable.”

All in all, the French exchange program was once again a success, and we look forward to the exchanges in the future!

By MICHELLE HO