Lycée St. Vincent – Senlis, France Helen Osterman ’12 Though not a Round Square school, St. Vincent is still a great school for exchange. They have a lot of students from all over the world (Germany, Italy, Australia, Argentina) attending the school at different times. It is a coed school located in Senlis, a little town just outside of Paris. There is so much history there and it’s beautiful! Though the school is Catholic, there are no religion classes and the affiliation isn’t very strong. St. Vincent makes a particular effort with international students. Many of them don’t speak French very well so for two hours per week, they offer special French classes. When I was there we discussed French culture in the language with a charismatic teacher, fascinated by our culture and us. Quite entertaining! To add, every Thursday the exchange students visit Paris for the day. Fabienne, a student’s mother, who knows the city very well, accompanies them. She was also so welcoming and friendly, and open to where what we wanted to do. The school days there are a little bit different than here, ending at 5:30 pm instead of 3:30 pm, but with spares in between. During this time you can work or hang out with your friends. Also, instead of switching classrooms, you always stay in the same one. Lunch is served in the school cafeteria but you can also go into town to a café or the market. Lastly, there is no uniform. I absolutely loved my stay in France. Everyone I met was so surprised by my level of French (which improved a lot during my stay) and they were extremely friendly. The school and town were beautiful and I fell in love with Paris. I highly recommend this exchange; I had the time of my life. .