Chantal Gagné, Stéphane Belisle, Raphaël Lacasse, and Alisa Trachtenberg at the Montreal Biodome shopping for souvenirs in the Montreal Biodome gift shop.
Ridgefield resident and Bethel High School French and Spanish teacher Alisa Trachtenberg has been busy the last four years putting together international exchanges for Bethel students.
The most recent exchange was with L’École Secondaire de Bromptonville (ESB) in French-speaking Sherbrooke, Quebec, from April 3 to 11. It was the second phase of the exchange. Last April, Bethel families and Ms. Trachtenberg hosted 24 Canadian students and their teacher.
Highlights from the trip included a visit to a circus school and the opportunity to experience firsthand Quebec’s “temps des sucres” (“sugar shack season” or “maple syrup season”).
The first exchange was with a school in St. Affrique, France, but Ms. Trachtenberg opted to move the program to Canada, in part to allow more students to participate. Coincidentally, a former Bethel teacher now living in Québec, Chantal Gagné, saw a story about the exchange online and contacted Ms. Trachtenberg to let her know about about ESB.
“Students learned firsthand what it is to be a global citizen, forging bonds with people of other nations, using their linguistic skills to communicate and discovering the richness and uniqueness of both the American and Québécois cultures,” Ms. Trachtenberg said.
Students tested their knowledge of the culture with a pop quiz. For example, if your bill is $10.11 you will be asked for $10.10. If your bill is $10.17 you will be asked for $10.20. Why? Because Quebec no longer uses pennies. Instead, people just round up or down.