Trams, trains and automobiles bring students from far and wide, unless you live in the city where it is a brisk stroll through downtown Le Mans.

Our first day at Le Lycée Notre Dame was as stressful as a regular first day of school. I received texts that asked: “What are you wearing?” “What classes do you have?” “Who are you sitting with at lunch?” Lots of stress went into the first morning and it was a relief to see the rest of the St. Dominic group standing in front of the school.

If you think the St. Dominic schedule is complicated, you will be shocked to hear that there are one to two hour breaks randomly interspersed in every students schedule at Le Lycée Notre Dame. This is also in addition to a two hour lunch period and not all classes are the same length of time.

The city is open to all students throughout the day and instead of enduring a cafeteria meal, it is common for students to seek food from cafes or run a couple errands at the multitude of shops. The school is within a ten-minute walk from just about anywhere. If your host brother or sister is taking a test, the exchange students are able to sneak away and do some highly anticipated shopping.

Le Lycée Notre Dame allows its students almost complete independence outside of the classroom with a 15-minute break after each class.

The classrooms are all painted a bright lime green which contrasts against the dark clothing worn by all French teenagers. They dress to impress 24/7 and would never be caught in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Scarves are a staple and almost every girl prances about in heeled boots. Comfort has long been forgotten and was exchanged for style and sophistication.

The boys are the same, each dressing with the style and all wearing edgy black skinny jeans. Hair is always quiffed, gelled or swept to the side and they are not shy about starting up a conversation, no matter how shell-shocked you look!

Monday afternoon we visited the Mayor’s office and received a guided tour of downtown Le Mans, which boasts having the oldest standing wall in Europe. It is a city rich in history also seen in its enormous cathedral, with rare blue stained glass.

Tuesday morning we visited Le Panetière, a French boulangerie and pâtisserie (bakery and pastry shop). Our group was taken behind the counter and directly to where the magic happens. A 16-year-old apprentice laid pre-rolled dough onto a fabric conveyor belt, which slid the dough into a large oven where it would eventually become a delicious baguette. The owner walked us downstairs and everyone had a chance to shape dough into a baguette, or to embodied the pillsbury doughboy and roll puff pastry into croissants or chocolate pastries. After our lesson on French baking, Mr. Morshed’s own French host parents from when he was in high school gave us a tour of the center of Le Mans. He has continued to have a close relationship with his French “parents” and really demonstrated the kind of quality relationships you can come away with during this experience. After a quick stop at a Monoprix general store, it was back to school.

Every American’s favorite class is Anglais (English). We give presentations on St. Louis, O’Fallon and St. Dominic. During presentations the English teacher will reprimand us for slipping into French, which is happily welcomed.

Some teachers found fun in singling out the “United Statesians” in class and almost everyone loves to listen to our American accents. We easily stand out in a crowd, all huddled together like penguins, but in the end we were warmly welcomed and continue to meet many friendly faces.