Hi, my name is Sean. I’m 16 years old and in 2013 I spent 4 months in France from  January to May.  My exchange student, Louis came first from September to December 2012. It was hugely important to me that Louis came first and I got to know him in my own environment.  This helped me a lot in France as I was the quieter and shyer of the two of us. I was really nervous about going when the time came around but as soon as I met Louis and his mother at the airport I felt relieved and at ease.  At the start I didn’t understand a word but it was fine because the family were very encouraging and helped me to understand. School was a big change for me, I had to get up at 6am to get the bus at 7am, school started at 8am and finished at 5pm or 6pm.  I went to school in 2nde with Louise’s brother David.  David was really nice and patient and helped me with my French but at the start I stuck by him a lot.  I made a few friends but not very much because I was always with David.  After the second month I decided I had to try to move away from David more and become more sociable and after that I had the best two months of my life.  One thing I would recommend is to be in a class without your exchange student because this will encourage you to make friends more.  Luckily my family in France managed to get a guitar for me while I was there (I couldn’t bring mine on the plane)  I had guitar lessons every week on a Wednesday and I loved this.  My teacher was great he introduced me into new music and encouraged me to sing in little concerts and he put me with a girl to sing duets which I really liked.  I loved every second of the music experience in France.  I would advise anybody who is doing an exchange to bring your instrument if you play one.  By the end of my stay I understood nearly everything and I loved talking French.  I was very sorry to leave France and I hope I’ll go back again to see them all.  It has changed me for the better and I was very lucky to have had this experience.