LMS French Exchange 2016

In honor of my upcoming trip to France, I wanted to look back on the event that serves as a catalyst for my soon-to-be adventures across the ocean.

Every March, Mark participates in a French Exchange program through his school. Over the past three years, he and two other teachers have either traveled to Clermont-Ferrand, France with over 20 students or welcomed three French teachers and their 20 plus students to our hometown. Luckily for me, I've been able to tag along and take part in many of these US activities and events.

Last March, we spent one of our weekends exploring Hendersonville, Dupont State Forest, and Asheville in North Carolina. It was a blast!

View from our stellar cabin!

Our first stop was Hooker Falls. The easiest waterfall to get to in Dupont State Forest.

While the water was too cold in March, this is a popular location for swimming in the summer. 

Group shot of the American and French teachers.

Next stop, Triple Falls. If you're a fan of the 1st Hunger Games movie, you will need to check this place out! It was one of the movie's locations :)

Finally High Falls!

After a morning of hiking, we spent the rest of the day walking around Asheville, NC. We enjoyed people watching, listening to street performers, shopping, and beer tasting.

We even honey tasted at Bee Charmer!

A few of my favorite photographs from that weekend were of the numerous bridges located within Dupont State Forest. For me, those bridges perfectly embody the purpose and spirit of the French Exchange program at Mark's school. Rare experiences, like a foreign exchange, provides opportunities to celebrate and discover what makes our cultures so similar, while embracing our differences. These moments, help forge my opinion of the human experience as one of extreme diversity with no one way of life being more essential or significant than the other. We all have something of worth to offer the world. 

Perhaps we should all cross those bridges in our lives so we can meet people whose backgrounds and experiences differ from our own. Don't you think those interactions will do more to open our mindsets and expand our knowledge of the world around us than being solely focused on our own being? To cross the known into the unknown and to have faith to walk over the bridge to welcome the opportunity to learn about other ways of living is the stimulant for growth and truly amazing adventures.

Just think of all the bridges i'll cross this summer... Here I come France!