Friends School Spring Break Language Trips Take Students to France and Latvia

During Spring Break in March, many Friends School students from both French and Russian classes embarked on immersive educational journeys abroad. These two separate trips, one to France and one to Latvia, offered students the chance to bring classroom learning to life through direct engagement with the language, culture, and history they study throughout the year. Whether exploring monuments or navigating daily conversations in a second language, students returned with a deeper appreciation for the subjects they love.

The French immersion program, which had 21 students total in both 11th and 12th grade, began and ended their trip in Paris, France. The first three days in Paris included sightseeing to famous monuments such as l’Arc de Triomphe, la tour Eiffel, and Notre Dame, tours through French museums, such as Le Musée Rodin and Le Louvre, and a wide range of cultural and linguistic activities, such as a scavenger hunt, to fully immerse students in French culture and enable them to have interesting interactions and conversations in French.

The bulk of their program, however, was a 10-day homestay that each student did with a host family in Quimper, a city in northwestern France, in a region called Brittany or La Bretagne. Each student had a host sibling around their age with whom they spent time and attended school during the week. Since each student resided with a different host family in different towns of Quimper, each student’s experience, both in school and in activities, looked different. Friends students attended one of six different schools- either a private school, public school, or vocational school (lycée professionnel)- and participated in various activities, including hiking, horseback riding, surfing, and taking a small plane ride above Quimper. One thing that remained the same for all students in their homestays, though, was their improvement in listening and speaking in French through daily conversation with native French speakers.

Russian students participated in a two-week Russian Immersion trip based in Riga, Latvia. Every morning, students attended a cultural class at Liden and Denz, a language school, where students learned about Latvian history, societal culture, and Russian terms that students would need to know and use later in the day. Students attended classes that took on different forms; some days the classes were structured as lectures, and other days they were structured as hands-on workshops, where students created the things they were learning about. 

The Russian program worked with “Young Folks,” an organization that gives Russian-speaking Latvian students opportunities to develop clubs and leadership skills outside of the classroom. The days typically revolved around activities planned by Young Folks, including guided walks through the city, excursions to neighboring cities, karaoke, and more. Friends students got to teach Latvian students about life in America, such as popular games, dances, music, and food, and in return learned about life in Latvia.

Each day started and ended at the students’ host family’s house, where Friends students ate meals with their host families and participated in conversations, which helped to grow their Russian vocabulary. Friends students noted that learning Russian in Latvia differed greatly from learning Russian in the classroom, as they were expected to learn and use new words in the moment. Students ended every day by working on their photoblogs, which were reflections each student presented at the end of the trip that required them to upload three photos and write 300 words after every day in Latvia.

Both trips exemplified Friends School’s commitment to experiential learning, global awareness, and language development. In both France and Latvia, students embraced the opportunity to learn in new and meaningful ways, returning with broadened perspectives, strengthened skills, and unforgettable memories.