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News: Friendship Spans Atlantic - Summer Exchange with France

August 29, 2008

Two 16-year-olds have formed a lasting friendship this summer after traveling across the ocean to meet.

Erin Rieder of Fond du Lac and Jade (Zhad) Guyenne of Cognac, France, were participants in a foreign exchange program sponsored by Rotary International.

Rieder dreamed of seeing France, Paris, in particular. Guyenne said because of the influence of American television shown in France, many French youth dream of seeing Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

After e-mailing for back and forth for three months, Rieder decided it was time to travel to France and meet her new friend in person. She left from Appleton on July 5 and flew to Bordeaux, France, where she was met by the Guyenne family.

Rieder lived with her new French family for 3½ weeks and during that time traveled by train to spend a few days in Paris with her friend. She was thrilled to discover that the majority of the French also speak English. Guyenne said that around age 10, French youth learn to speak English in school. Guyenne has been speaking English for six years.

The teens also traveled through the Cognac area, giving Rieder as much exposure to French culture as possible in the time allowed before she brought her new friend home to the United States.

During the four weeks that Guyenne spent in Fond du Lac, the girls took a weekend trip to Chicago, a city that Guyenne was hoping to visit, and spent time at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum of Contemporary Art and enjoyed the sights, sounds, tastes, and rides at Navy Pier.

She returned to France on Aug. 26.

Guyenne, who has dreams of becoming a finance engineer, said the trip to the United States gave her "a chance to use language skills and experience a new culture and to see all the places in America that we watch on TV!" She chose sporting event foam fingers as souvenirs for friends back in Cognac.

Rieder, the daughter of Randy and Dawn Rieder of Fond du Lac, would like to become a social worker.
"My dream job would be to become an international adoption worker," she said.

Rieder sums up her experience by saying, "This program gives me the chance to travel, to experience new cultures and to deal with small cultural differences."

She participated in the program through Fond du Lac's Morning Rotary Club, and Guyenne applied through the help of her grandfather, Roger Grellat, of Six Four Les Plages, France ("Six Ovens on the Beach"), a member of Rotary International.

Rotary International encourages overseas friendships and sponsors an exchange program that pairs teens from America with teens from other countries. The purpose is to allow youth the opportunity to experience other cultures and build a foundation of understanding.