French exchange student

[Holidayqueen1]

Hi
we have a 14 year old French student staying with us for a week next month and struggling to think of what to do with him!
the school have organised amazing trips to london x2, Oxford and Windsor and not sure what we can do to top them! I’ve tried Harry Potter world but no tickets. We’ve booked a pub lunch at a v old pub nearby and he likes walking so we’ll go for a walk in the local woods but any other ideas? My DS is a bit clueless too!!! I suggested bowling, swimming , both met with a shrug!
also food, thinking of lasagne, roast beef, going for curry ( he likes curry!), toad in the hole but conscious there is a lot of red meat going on there. Much more than we usually have! Any help gratefully accepted! Also gifts? Now there are new rules on what can and can’t be taken into France, the nice box of shortbread biscuits I was planning to give him for his parents will have to be eaten!!!

sorry for long post and thank you!

Sorry for bringing bad news but he can take food to France, and vice versa.

Sorry I mean biscuits are fine. Don't send him back with sausages

I would aim for things that are typically English, rather than bowling etc. Pub lunch and a walk is a great idea. Don't forget simple things like going to a supermarket, round a market etc. Is your DS interested in sport? Maybe a trip to a local football or rugby match.

Food wise pasta or pizza are a safe bet. Meatballs go down well with DDs friends. Careful with anything hot, the French idea of spicy would be along the lines of a Korma.

Don't forget to allow for some downtime. It can be really tiring coping with a foreign language.

I didn’t know you couldn’t take shortbread biscuits?
How about tea bags
chocolate
chutneys
fruit cake

id drop lasagne if you’re worried about red meat, I’d offer
fish and chips
toad in the hole
a roast dinner etc would all be good
but also he’s 14 he might be a bit homesick! He might want some things that are more familiar to him too or at least not screaming ‘British’ though it’s definitely good for ideas of what he can try if he wants to

are there any national trust places, Tudor houses that sort of thing near you. Or can you take a train a bit further north, even Scotland or the lakes for a weekend?
can you don’t afternoon tea? Will he want to go see some football? Or another sport
cinema in English may be interesting to him too

Keep trying HP as they release more tickets in batches. Something like a group bowling evening or swimming where you can share supervision with other families and they see friends. They might get quite tired so don't overschedule in advance. Can they go to regular clubs with your dc?

Playing board games? Does your DS have a Ps or XBox? Get some extra controllers.
Go and see typically English things ? Supermarket, local park. Ask him what he does in his spare time and try it here.

Don't know how far you are from Bristol but we took ours on a graffiti tour there and it was his favourite event on the whole exchange, so much did he rave about it, that some other parents took their guests the following weekend and all seemed were equally impressed.
Generally the group were in to skateboarding- far more than the British teens- and we found a great skatepark which was a big success as well.
A top flight rugby match was another hit (or maybe a premier league football game).
Seeing as it in November, any Guy Fawkes events around? Or some of the light trails will have started; Blenheim, Warwick Castle etc.and usually have good street food venues.
Whilst in the Cotswolds, we came across some Morris Dancers and the memory of his astonishment amuses me still.

Do you have a local cathedral or similar? Museums if he speaks english well enough, or local landmarks?

Fish and chips, pub lunch, pie and mash, curry, crumbles etc all good english food staples to show him. Just offer him snacks too, in case he doesn't like what or when you eat

Skateboarding is a good call. All the town's and many of the villages here have a skatepark and that's where the teens hang out.

When the kids here go on exchange trips they are far more interested in hanging out with their friends than doing cultural stuff.

So please don’t buy him loads to take back. You are talking about a 14yo. They can chose what to bring back (their choice might surprise you too).
Tea for example might not be well received, esp if we talk about Yorkshire tea.

After that, they are here to get a feel of how you are living. Going walking and visiting the countryside is great. Not many stone walls and sheep in France.
Go to the beach, the nearest town, shopping centre, whatever you have around you is good.
Give them the opportunity to try out ‘British food’. From fish and chips to a curry, jacket potatoes, baked beans or a English breakfast.
And yes let them hang out together, speak English with their peers and generally experience life here, normal life.

And yes good call about Bonfire Night etc….

Acting on advice from friend who had hosted previously, I got my child to find out who the French pupil’s pals were and then we had a couple of the pals and their British hosts round one evening for pizza etc. Was a big success - gave everyone who was there a rest from solo hosting and the exchange kids got to relax a bit with their friends. We also asked another host and exchange to join an outing to a local attraction which provided headphones with commentary in French. Admittedly that was a 2.5 week exchange.
They’re pretty young and it’s a big strain having to stay with a family and try to speak in another language for extended periods , so knowing they will see their friends /have some respite is good.

Portsmouth? You could do spinnaker tower and maybe one of the ships. Victory would be my suggestion (battle of Trafalgar against the French). Went down well with my boys. Then you can have a bit of shopping/lunch at Gunwharf. Or do seaside at south sea.

He likes walking so you are going to the woods! How about something a little more exciting. So many beautiful places to visit and walk!

We had a French student on exchange the same age a few weeks ago. To be honest we just ended up ferrying her and DD around as they were planning their own meet ups with DDs friends who also had students.

We had a gang of them to the house one night early in the week because a get together early on helps them get to know each other rather than a good bye party just before they go home.

Also don't be discouraged if they are disappearing into their room at times. It's quite overwhelming and tiring to speaking in another language all the time.

Thanks all
@pompomdaisy i should have said they are more than woods, we live near Chequers so going to do a walk which includes Coombe hill- highest viewpoint in Chilterns and around chequers.
We live slap bang in the middle of the country and don’t really want to spend the whole day in the car so sadly beach is out. We’re doing the curry evening with other host families but love the idea of a pizza evening for them all, great shout!
looking at post brexit rules they suggest no dairy or products from dairy- random I know!
thinking of taking himto our local market and supermarket pre lunch on the sat good shout!
no to museums as he’s doing the British museum, Windsor castle and the Pitt rivers with school as well as the tate so maybe enough culture!
he’ll go to badminton club with our son but school have suggested not too much socialising with other French kids in the evening as they’re here to improve language skills 🤷🏻‍♀️
we’re in contact with his parents so know his likes/ dislikes, guess I just want to make sure he has the best time and feels comfortable!
thanks for all the ideas, really appreciate it

Also yes to board games and x box and national trust- we did think about that. Loads of ideas thank you, think we’ll
play it by ear and see what he fancies! Sadly he’s here just after bonfire night and looks like we’re too early for some of the light trails!

Nothing to add except he can definitely take back biscuits!

We played Dobble a lot with one of our French exchange students and went to Cambridge, which went down well.
The other time we booked a Harry Potter themed escape room. The French student’s English was excellent, so that went really well.
All French exchange students will find Zizi hilarious as it means willy in French. Take them there for lunch for a laugh!

Dd's french exchange loved Starbucks !

When we had an exchange one evening we had a takeaway night at ours where others with an exchange student came and they played xbox and ate. Another night group of them went bowling. They liked it as if other French their in an evening for a bit let's them speak own language and chill after a day spent speaking English.
Ds played football so they went with him to training.

They will mostly want to hang out with other teens, either in someone's house, going shopping, etc. I agree board games are good, and they will pick up lots of good colloquial language too.
Other food ideas: pork pies, baked potatoes (with beans of course!), cooked breakfast one day.

I’ve tried to think about what was good when I did the French exchange in the 90’s, probably can take hanging around HMV listening to new releases off the list though. A historical, real life museum is a good idea (along the lines of the Black Country Museum where Peaky Blinders was filmed), less demanding of language than displays and reading about exhibits. Bonfire night (or Christmas lights switch on if end of the month), I loved the Bastille Day celebrations I went to. Catching public transport, always a good learning experience. The one thing I remember my pen friend being fascinated by was the selection of crisps in a little corner shop! Comparing the McDonald’s menus also has to be done.