Individual Exchange Program to France, family stay

Exchange Program: France
Who else other than a French enthusiasts to create REAL Exchange Programs in France!

Project profile

Energy Required :

Group Strength: Individual participant
Age: 7 to 20 years old.
Flight: Taiwan → Paris → Taiwan
Getting around: Metro, bus, boat, tram, car, bicycle, walking (as per the city)
Accommodation: With the French families from the French school
Food: Breakfast and dinner at the French family's home, lunch in the French school
Local responsible: Outside the school: The French parents. While in the French school: A person from the French hosting school (Teacher, principal...). The Milna team member in France in case of emergency.

Highlights of the Project
Yes, this is that timeless land whose people have a natural joie de vivre and savoir-faire for centuries. But change is on track, France is inspired and it is on the tip of everyone's tongue.
Experience and savor art in the shining capital and enjoy the serenity on the banks of River Seine. See the glorious pasts of the blazing fort at Versailles. Travel south for Roman civilization and the sparkling blue Mediterranean. Ski in the Alps. Sense the subtle infusion of language, music and mythology in Brittany, brought by 5th century Celtic invaders. Smell ignominy on the beaches of Normandy, battlefields of Verdun and the Somme, and know that this is but the tip of that huge iceberg the French call culture.

Our Strengths:
  • Stay with motivated French families, selected carefully from the host French school.
  • Improve your French level with daily French classes and get a certificate for the entire Exchange.
  • Understand the French culture by being immersed in the real French life.
  • Participate in various activities and discover the area over the weekend with your host French family.
  • Choose your stay duration from 1 to 8 weeks.
  • Get the possibility to welcome your French partner in your home in Taiwan.
  • Even if your French school is not in Paris area, you get to visit the Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysée, Bateau mouche, Sacré-cœur (Montmatre)... with your French host family or with a Milna team member present in Paris.
Safety:
  • We follow the security instructions strictly, especially when outdoors;
  • We follow the French law protecting the youth while organizing a travel;
  • A French person (Teacher, principal, HOD...) from the French hosting school will be personally taking care of your needed and making sure you are adapting well in the French school;
  • A Milna French person is reachable at all times.
Responsible traveller:
The participant will be using the public transportation/walking/bicycle (when possible) and will learn recycling with his French family, a practice largely used in French cities, this to limit the impact of this project on the environment.

This is an example of a typical week of an individual exchange program, depending on the city where you will be.

Wherever you will go, you will do the local activities with your French family (sea, countryside, mountain, city...) and you will also visit Paris. (Eiffel tower, Louvre, Champs Elysées, Bateau mouche, Sacré-cœur...)

Sunday: Flight from Taiwan - Paris. Your French family or French teacher will be waiting for you at Paris airport. Transfer to the city of your French family. Presentation of the house, the family members that you know already via the several emails/phones exchanges you had with them since weeks. Dinner and night in the house of your French family.

Monday: You are the star today, as you will attract the attention of the school students. You will have to answers to lot of questions and "Hello, Namaste...". You will be welcomed by the principal who will show you the school. Then you will go with your partner to assist to the classes. At noon, you will have your lunch at the canteen or the French family house. (You will have one or two hours for that) Then, back to school in the afternoon. At the end of the day, you will go back to your French family with your French partner. Evening and dinner with the family.

Tuesday: After a breakfast with your French family, you will head to school to assist to the classes. Same as Monday, but today, everyone in the school knows your name and from which city you come from. You will be going to several classrooms as you will be giving a presentation of your country in a Geography class or being the centre of interest in an English class where you will need to answers to all the questions the French students will have about you and your country. This time, you will be much more comfortable and can find your classrooms, canteen, toilets... without any help, you are almost a real student in the French school!

Wednesday: The French students love Wednesday, because they have class only half day. At noon, you will go back to your French family to have lunch. In the afternoon, French people usually have activities like sport, music, dance or simply relaxing by going to the city, park... You will be part of the French family program.

Thursday: Once a week, French students have 2 hours sport where you can practice climbing, handball, swimming, basketball... you will be doing that with your French partner. After lunch, you will continue your involvement in the classes and can even impress the mathematics teacher with your level of knowledge!

Friday: Everyone in the school is exited as when the bell will ring at the end of the day, it means the end of the school for this week. If you know some dance/song or want to play an instrument and show your talent to all the school, this is your celebrity moment and your chance to be noticed! If this is your last Friday, you will be saying bye bye to all your new friends and probably you will cry a little or a lot knowing that you might not meet them soon ;-(

Saturday: Youpi! Today is Saturday and the French family is available to take you discover the area and do shopping (As we know, you love shopping).
If it is your last Saturday and you have not visited Paris yet, your French family will be taking you. If it is not possible for them. No problem! Our super Milna team member will come and take you for an entire day in Paris (Louvre museum, Notre dame, the top floor of the Eiffel tower, the Champs-Elysées and lot of shopping!)

Sunday: Sunday in France is a relaxed day. Your French partner might go for a sport competition (Handball, Judo, football, dance...) The participant will be more than welcome. Sunday also is the day of the street market, where you can feel the real authentic France with its fresh products!
If this is your last day, according to your flight timing, you will be heading to Paris airport with your French family or French teacher. They will help you to check in. The participant will be constantly in touch.
If this is not your last day, it means that you have another week full of excitement waiting for you!

Possible activities in the French school: Participating to classes (English, French, Sport, Arts...), teaching your own language to the French students, making presentation of your country, its culture, festival, traditions..., having practical French classes as per the participant level, preparing a show you want to perform at the end of your stay...

Possible activities with the French family: In France, the school day is over after 16h00 or 17h00, except Wednesday where the school day ends at 12h00. If the French family members (Father and mother) work, it means that they will come back home after 16h00. They can have the time to take you out mostly during the weekend (Museums, monuments, cultural center, beach, city-center, bicycle ride in the forest, meeting with the mayor, Ice skating, French pastry class...) and time to time during the weekdays. As per your age, you will be allowed to go out with your French partner after school.

(This is an example of program and given just for information, the program will depend on the French family, their availability, the location of the school, the school calendar (Around 180 days a year are spent in French schools, this means that more than 180 days a year, French people don't go to school), flight and local transportation timing. The final program will be finalized with the participants and the selected French school)

Departure and rate per person

The Terms and Conditions

An exchange to France is possible throughout the year except the days mentioned in this calendar.
For an Exchange Program (Family stay) in September or October, the "I'm going Form" has to be submitted no later than the 31st May to have enough time to get the confirmation of the French school. (July and August, all the French schools and their administrations are closed)
Duration of a multiple of 7 nights in France up to 8 weeks according to your possibilities. (Want a duration longer than 8 weeks? Contact us)

 
120 days
Starting 1350 EUR*
Stay 1 to 8 weeks
Possible anywhere in France
French family stay
3 daily meals
Visit of Paris in all the cases
Permanent available contact person
Book it!
 
90 days
Starting 1450 EUR*
Stay 1 to 8 weeks
Possible anywhere in France
French family stay
3 daily meals
Visit of Paris in all the cases
Permanent available contact person
Book it!
 
60 days
Starting 1550 EUR*
Stay 1 to 8 weeks
Possible anywhere in France
French family stay
3 daily meals
Visit of Paris in all the cases
Permanent available contact person
Book it!

Rate including:
  • Rate all included
  • 3 daily meals in France
  • Paris airport return transfer
  • Accommodation at the French family
  • Local transportation
  • At least, one day visit of Paris (Bateau mouche (Cruise on the river Seine), Louvre Museum, Sacré Coeur, Champs Elysées, the top floor of the Eiffel tower...)
  • French visa (Schengen)
  • Travel insurance. (Bajaj Allianz Travel Elite Gold or Tata AIG Gold plan with a minimum coverage of USD 2,00,000)
  • Project starting and ending from the concerned departure airport
  • Certificate for each participant
The rate does not include:
  • Transfer to/from the starting concerned airport
  • Personal expenditure
(*) The prices mentioned above are subject to availability. The official rates are in Euros. The rate of exchange used for calculating cost in SGD is subject to change and the final rate applied will be at the actual time of order on our "Shop" section. The final amount in SGD will be displayed by selecting SGD as currency.
Eventual options:
Formalities
Valid passport + Visa (As per your citizenship).

Health
  • The French health system is one of the best in the world.
  • Anywhere you go in Europe, no vaccination is mandatory.
  • The French family, the French school and the Milna team member will take care of the safety and security of the participant during all his presence in France.
  • In case of an emergency, the traveller will be taken into care by the nearest hospital. If needed, he will be repatriated in the best conditions.

What is an Exchange program and what happens in an Exchange program?
An Exchange program is an opportunity for the participants to experience the life in another country while studying, traveling, learning and sharing their knowledge with others. Participants attend a school in the morning where they do different academic and extra-curricular activities. In the Afternoon, they visit the local city and its famous attractions and some organizations. In the evening each participant spends time with his/her French host family. This continues with a different schedule each day. The weekend is spent with the family according to the plans of each participant’s respective family. An Exchange program happens for 1 to 3 weeks but we feel 2 weeks is an ideal duration for the participant.

 

How does the payment deadline work?
The principle is simple: The earliest you book your project and pay, more you will save. By paying us in advance, we can book the accommodation, transportation etc in advance.
We get them for a competitive price so we make you benefit from this saving, hence the different deadlines.
Let's say you select the 90 days' deadline, it means, that 100% of the payment needs to reach us no later than 90 days before the departure. If you have already paid 10% with the Milna Booking Form, the remaining payment will be 90% to send us no later than 90 days before the departure.If your payment is not reaching us before the 90 days' deadline, then the  60 days' deadline will apply. (Check our rates to know the exact amount).
If today is the 91st day before the departure and you want the 90 days' deadline, you have to send us 100% of the amount to respect the deadline and avail the 90 days special offer, but no later than that.

 

At which destination will the project take place?
The Exchange Program can happen anywhere in France. If your school has any particular preferred area, then it has to be requested for, at the time of enrollment and we'll do our best to find a school in that area matching your preferences.

 

What do we do about the visas?
Milna will facilitate the visa formalities of the participants and the teachers. Our team will provide you the list of required documents for the visa. Please make sure that all the documents in the list are submitted with us as soon as possible or within the duration communicated to you.

 

What about Travel and Health insurance?
Travel and health insurance is not always compulsory to obtain a visa or the right to access a country, since many participants might already have an insurance covering them yearly, each participant is required to check if he/she is already covered.If not covered, Milna recommends the participant to have one covering him during the project.

 

What happens when the participant arrives in the host country and how will I know if she/he has arrived?
Milna maintains a 'Before/During/After the Exchange program' blog in which we mention the itinerary and the calendar of the participants. During the exchange program we put our best efforts to update the parents about each activity of the participants through articles, pictures and videos on our blog. The blog’s name would be communicated to all the participants and their families.

 

Where will the participant live?
Each participant will be provided one French family according to the participant’s age and gender. For ex: A 12-years-old male participant lives in a family of 12-years-old French boy. A female participant is also placed in a family of a French girl of the same age. All efforts are put in order to put the participant in a family according to their age and gender.

 

Will the participant be alone Or with his/her friend, at the French family's home?
Yes, each participant lives alone with one French family. We do not put two participants together in one French family unless we have less hosting families.It is for the benefit of the Exchange Program, that each participant lives alone with a family, as two participants in one French family will just communicate with each other instead of conversing and sharing their knowledge with their French correspondent student and its family. If you insist for staying with another participant, please mention it before enrolling to know the feasibility of it.

 

What will the participant eat?
The participant will be enjoying local delicacies that will be respecting his/her diet and preferences that has been mentioned in the "I'm going!" form.

 

Who will take care of the participant?
In most cases the French teacher of the participant shall accompany them to France. In other cases if the French teacher cannot go, then any other teacher chosen by the participant's school shall go along with one Milna person. Our Milna person knows France and its culture very well and stays with the group during the entire Exchange. The participant can contact the French teacher and the Milna person for any assistance at any time.

 

Who will the host family be? Please send full details about the host family.
The host family would be the parents of the French student studying in the French school who hosts/invites the group. All the host families are selected by the French school in collaboration with Milna. The full details of the respective host family will be given to you, before the departure.

 

Does the French Family speak English? What if the participant doesn’t speak good French or any French at all?
Most French people are not so good at English. But by agreeing to host a foreign participant in their family, they already cross the barrier of language. Generally, such families speak English or at least, one parent i.e. The Father or the Mother of the family speaks English. And even if not them, then for sure the French correspondent (student/participant) of the family speaks English as he/she learns it at school. Hence, even if the participant knows very little French or no French, it is never a problem.

 

Should the participant bring a gift for the host family and siblings?
Yes, the host family will be happy to receive something from your country as a gift. It is not necessary to buy an expensive one. Anything representing your country will do. Otherwise, simply you may ask the host family.

 

Do I have to host my French partner if he comes to my country?
A real exchange program is supposed to be like that. However, if you can't host your French partner during his possible visit to my country with his school, we will have no problem with that. We will always be able to get him a new partner from your school.

 

How much pocket money should the participant carry?
For sake of the participant private expenditure (shopping etc.), you can give some pocket money, it all depends on what the participant would like to buy from France. In general, we believe that 15 Euros per day is largely enough to fulfill the normal shopping desires.

 

What if my question was not answered here?
Please feel free to contact us.

 

  • Understand the project

Read the details of the project and contact us if you need more information

  • Book it

Go to the Rates and departure section and click on "Book it!" by paying just the deposit (10%)

  • Provide your details

Fill up the "I'm going form" which will help the French family understand your profile and accept it.

  • We will call you

We will call you to discuss your answers given in the I'm going form".

  • Wait for our confirmation

Once we have the green signal from the French family, we will share the news with you and ask you to make the second payment (50%)

  • Communicate with your French family and partner

We will provide you the profile of the French family and your French partner. Start communicating with them by phone/email.

  • Your flight details

We will share with you your flight details

  • We stay in touch

We will send you several emails and call you several times to prepare you for the exchange.

  • Before the selected deadline

Made sure to send us the third payment (40%) before the deadline you have selected. In all the cases, make sure that we receive 100% of the payment before the deadline to avail the selected rate.

  • Your visa

60 days before the departure, we will share with you the list of documents you need to gather to apply for your Schengen visa.

Milna will provide you the necessary documents to complete your application.

  • Your visa application

No later than 30 days before the departure, you will need to apply for your visa.

  • We stay in touch

We will send you the recommended list to have in your bag

  • We will send you your free Milna French sim card

To be reachable the moment you land in Paris, we will send you your free Milna French sim card to your home address. Milna will offer you a free Milna French sim card if you have paid your Exchange program by credit card, otherwise you can order it here Milna French sim card

  • Before the D-day

We will call you to provide you advises and answers to any question you might still have.

  • The D-day

Reach the departure airport at least 3 hours before the departure. A Milna team member will stay in touch with you till you take off.

  • The arrival in France

A Milna team member will call you the moment you land to assist you if needed till you meet your French family waiting for you at the arrival level of the airport.

  • The "Milna" / The meeting

Congratulation, you are now with your French family and French partner, enjoy the experience, you will remember it all your life!

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