CHOLET EXCHANGE UPDATE – August 12, 2022
229 JOURS!
Dear Travelers and Parents,
Bonjour! I've been working primarily on the October portion of the exchange. Although I have been in touch with EF Tours over the past few weeks (wrapping up the evaluation from the June trip and working on details for your trip), I haven't updated you in quite a while. So, here are a few items I'd like to mention.
1. The June trip I bring this up only because it is the same exact tour you will take (except for the Cholet homestay). I don't know if any of you have had a chance to speak to the students with whom I traveled (or to Mrs. Nelson, she was with us). In my opinion, the trip went very well! All of those students, with the exception of Isabel Owens, have graduated. If you are in touch with any of them, feel free to get their thoughts, opinions and advice.
2. $110 This is a mix of good news and bad news. As you know, I always want to be up front and honest with you regarding costs. With that, I always want to assure you that the EF costs I give you at the time of your enrollment will not change. Unfortunately, the cost of one of my stipulations ("in-city hotel guarantee") was not factored into the quote. I apologize for not catching that until recently. What helps a little (and may be considered good news or bad news) is the fact that EF only makes this guarantee for Paris, not in the other three cities where we will spend the night. You will notice a difference of $110 on your balance to cover the guarantee for the three nights we will spend in Paris. Again, my apologies for that change. The costs for tips, transportation from Paris to Cholet / Cholet to Paris and the Cholet portion of the trip are still to be determined.
3. October As of this writing, there are seven Cholet students who need host families. If you are not hosting, I'm not going to try to change your mind. But if you've been thinking about it, or if you have friends that you feel would be great hosts, we could use the help. You can see (or show your friends) the expectations / responsibilities of the Fairview hosts here, and this will take you/your friends to the list of Cholet guests [with their letters of introduction] and Fairview hosts. Merci!
4. Who is traveling? Here is the list of travelers who have enrolled in the trip so far. As it stands right now, we are a group of 18, which includes two chaperones; Mrs. Hitt and myself. I would not be surprised if others show an interest after the October exchange ends.
Class of 2023: Colin Bolla, Adam Chiocco, Mitchell Myers and Alexa Tofel
Class of 2024: Marguerite Bolla, Syl Canaan, Clara D’Silva, Riley Hickman, Lilly Moctezuma, and Lola Post
Class of 2025: Gabe Farkas, Lydia Morgen
In addition, we three other adults (Riley's father, Syl's mother and Lilly's grandmother) and Gabe's younger brother Michael. There are others who have expressed an interested and have not committed yet. Plus, I would not be surprised if other students show an interest after the October exchange ends.
5. COVID For our June trip, we were very lucky! We took care of the requirements when we needed to. Throughout the trip, nobody from our group got sick at all, let alone caught COVID. I learned through a Facebook group of French teachers that not every school had our luck. Hearing the stories of students and teachers who were unable to enjoy the trip due to quarantine while in France was sad. So even though things went well for us, that doesn't mean I expect the same next spring. In a future update I will let you know the EF requirements regarding vaccination. As you are all aware, vaccination is a requirement to travel as are boosters (unless the initial vax process was recent enough). In the aforementioned future update, I will explain the time frames.
C’est tout. [That’s all!] If you have any questions, please let me know. Au revoir!
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