Bonjour. My name is Kathryn McFarland and I am a senior at Mount Si High school this year. I am spending the first part of my senior year abroad in France. I live in Jouy en Josas, which is in the suburbs of Paris. I am about 20 minutes away from Versailles. I am living with the Monet family.

The school that I am attending here is very different from Mount Si. It is a small private school called La Source. There are about 50 seniors, and about 300 students total. La Source is four stories high, with twisting stair cases connecting the floors. It is really small compared to Mount Si and takes up no more room than a big house.

Each classroom is painted white and has a simple blackboard in the front of the room. There are not computers in each classroom, overhead projectors, decorations, or teachers’ desks. This is because the teachers change classes. They bring all their materials with them.

There is a small library/computer lab at La Source; it is about the size of two small Mount Si classrooms put together. This is where the only computers in the school are, and there are only about 12. This I find very weird because there are computers in every classroom at Mount Si and computer labs, as well.

The students here are not told when class begins by a bell. It’s up to each individual to know the time and be there. The reason that there is no bell is because the classes start at different times and vary in length. There are different sections in French high schools, each student chooses the section for the BAC that they are going to take. The BAC is a huge test that you take after senior year that determines if you can go to a university and what you will do in the future.

Their senior year is very stressful and there is no slacking off. The three sections that are offered at La Source are litterature (literature), scientifique (scientific) and economie (economic). After you have chosen your section, you do not choose much more. The schedules and classes are all planned out.

I am in the literature section. Classes start around 8:30 a.m. and finish anytime from 1-5 p.m. Sometimes I have a 30-minute break in the morning before my next class starts. Another thing that is different, and hard to get used to, is that classes can last for up to two hours. Unlike Mount Si, my classes here switch every day, along with the time that I’m finished.

Classes are taught differently, as well. Schools here consist of lectures and taking notes. On Tuesdays I have PE in the morning. There are three different PE classes you can take. I chose the basketball, table tennis and running class. There is not a gym at La Source. We meet at a local park and play there. It is about a 10-minute walk from school. Having played basketball before I was put with the boys, who I would say weren’t much better than the girls.

I immediately made friends in this class. I am with the same people in most of my classes, the people taking the literature section at La Source.

At La Source we have an hour for lunch. During this time I take about a 10-minute walk to the cafeteria, which also is not on campus. Here is where the middle and elementary schools are. There is one thing served every day. If you don’t like it, there is no other choice.

The seniors have their own special room to eat in. Each table seats six. There is real silver wear, real plates, a pitcher of water and sliced bread waiting. One person then goes to the main cafeteria and picks up the food. There is usually a salad or cold vegetables first; followed by a meat and side dish. For example, chicken and rice. Then afterward there could be cheese, fruit, yogurt, or a small dessert cookie. We eat family style and then clean up after ourselves. This is very different from the normal American lunches.

Besides the lunches, there are other cultural differences. In my class, Pauline and I are the only two students who don’t smoke cigarettes. In the mornings during breaks and after school, all the students stand outside smoking. The teachers smoke, as well. They have a teachers’ lounge on the third floor with an outdoor terrace where they smoke. There are a lot of differences between schools and people.

I have a lot to get used to, but I’m excited for this opportunity and the opportunity to share what I find with all of you.