Since 2004, Athenian middle school students have traveled to Quebec to visit Petit Séminaire de Québec (Collège François-de-Laval). They in turn have sent students to San Francisco and Athenian. We just discovered an article from this past May from the Petit Séminaire’s blog. This has been loosely translated from the original Québécois French.

A LANGUAGE EXCHANGE!

Since 2004, the Petit Séminaire has partnered with a private school in San Francisco. The Athenian School offers optional courses in French and wants to enable its students to experience French immersion in a homestay for a few days. From 2005 to 2010, we had the pleasure of visiting California families for a period of more than a week. Also, each year we welcome two students 12 and 13 years from The Athenian School to our school. This year, 12 students from the Minor Seminary, accompanied by English teachers, had the chance to experience this unique immersion. We welcomed students from Athenian March 18-25 and our students visited California May 3 to 11.

Students aged 11 and 12 years from The Athenian School came to visit the beautiful city of Quebec in March 2011 and it was now our turn. Students were accompanied by Anne Parent and Catherine Mercier to visit the beautiful city and the golden hills of San Francisco.

At 4am on May 3, the adventure began. All the students were eager to travel. Some had never flown before, so a little bit of stress prevailed.

Once in San Francisco, we met Suzanne, our guide during our stay. With charm and thoughtfulness, she showed us the city. We did various activities and visited various beautiful places. Here is the list:

• Golden Gate Bridge
• Alcatraz
• Pier 39
• Berkeley University
• Trolley Tour
• Chinatown
• Fisherman’s Wharf
• Athenian School
• Saulsalito

The warm sun and beautiful weather were with us! During the weekend, we had our Athenian counterparts to learn more about the lives of Americans.

In short, this trip was an unforgettable experience! An extraordinary adventure that marked our lives. Some said they would like to live in San Francisco it was so majestic!

Click here or on the image below to see a video of their trip in French!

Take a look at the pictures from Athenian’s interim trip to the Petit Séminaire de Québec (Collège François-de-Laval) in March 2011.