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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Peter Briggs: The Pursuit of Language

Peter Briggs participated in the 2015 Lexington-Deauville High School Student Exchange Program.  

The Pursuit of Language

At dinner, I’d often hear “passez le-fromage” from across the table. Going to swim practice in the morning, Kathryn, one of my four older sisters, would often yell “ALLONS-Y” as we ran to the big van, late once again. All throughout my youth, my family and community emphasized the importance and significance of appreciating and experiencing other cultures. In middle school and high school, the pursuit of language excited me, knowing that people just like me had entirely different methods of communicating. That’s why the Deauville Sister Cities exchange program seemed like a dream come true when I heard about it.

The program itself isn’t extraordinarily long or especially fancy - but it facilitates what matters, the connecting of people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. I remember when we all walked off the bus in Deauville, and I met my host family for the first time. Naturally, I immediately forgot all French I had learned, and realized for the first time that maybe my expectations of immediate fluency had been a bit unrealistic. That’s my first piece of advice - don’t expect every day to be awesome, or just like you expected, because it takes time, energy, and hard work to be in a new and different culture.

There were days where it felt as if my brain was clogged, unable to process language, and I wanted to speak with my American friends, eat my American food, and watch Netflix. There were also days where I couldn’t stop talking because I felt like the words were flowing, where my French community felt like it was blooming, and where I felt as if I’d never want to go home. Being in a totally new environment isn’t easy, but it is completely worth it. Learning to push yourself when you feel like you’re failing will make or break any new experience. But you have to want to learn, because you get out what you put in. Many times, I just wanted to talk to home, but I forced myself to talk to my French family, to eat new foods, to get out of my comfort zone, when it would’ve been way easier to just stay on my phone in my room; and that radically changed my experience.

Eventually, I started wanting to engage more, longing to speak more French, and learn more about their culture. Slowly a switch flipped in my head, and it no longer felt like a burden to socialize, because I started really appreciating the culture and experience for what it was, not what I had expected in my head. But what really helped was not being afraid to make mistakes - and believe me, I made many. Whether it was declaring “I’m pregnant” instead of “I’m full” after a great meal, or using the wrong verb agreement, you will inevitably make mistakes, and that’s part of the fun once you realize its okay.


I loved my time in France, and I loved my French family - I wouldn’t trade anything for it. Paris was incredibly beautiful, Normandie will take away your breath, and cheese will forever be inadequate in America. I’d highly recommend anyone considering to apply; you won’t regret it if you’re invested in your experience and you actively work towards learning about their culture, and view mistakes as a learning experience.  


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