Apex expands global connections

Amanda Nash and Matt Wotus
Arts & Entertainment Editor and Features Editor 

Charles Azam and Pierre Reinartz

For many of us, “excusez-moi,” or, “bonjour” is the extent of our French vocabulary. Apex High School students, however, had the opportunity to practice their French by hosting a foreign exchange student from France for two weeks. For some of the 14 students from École Saint-Martin-de-France in Pontoise, France, it was their first time in the States. While here, the students visited the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Museum of Art and Museum of Natural Sciences, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and some toured our nation’s capital.

  

Avia Kinard, who hosted Orane Lemba, said, “She [Lemba] was excited to see all the typical high school stuff.” In addition to visiting classes at Apex, Lemba accompanied Kinard to Washington, D.C. to see American monuments and museums. Kinard also gave Lemba a taste of the U.S. when they went to several American fast-food specialties. “The American style that everyone thinks of is fast food, so we went to Chick-fil-A and she really liked the milkshakes.” They later went to Cook-Out for more “fine dining.”

Nick Madrid, on the other hand, treated his foreign exchange student, Pierre Reinartz, to Southern traditions by taking him to Bojangles’. As for Reinartz’s hobbies, Madrid said, “He likes the Walking Dead. He plays Xbox with me; he’s so real at Black Ops.” Madrid said the most exciting part of hosting a foreign exchange student was being able to practice his French at home.

Caveh Davari, who hosted student Charles Azam, compared the highlights and struggles of housing a foreign exchange student. On the plus side, he said, “It’s good to be able to try to make him think America isn’t what the media shows.” However, Davari also expressed that hosting a student can be a challenge. “It’s hard to always be doing something interesting,” he said.

A handful of Apex students, including Legacy’s own Matt Wotus and John Santos, will be traveling to France over Spring Break to complete the exchange with École Saint-Martin-de-France. Upon returning, they will write about their experiences for readers of Legacy.