By: Eileen Jaksik
Foreign exchange student Paul Vallez.
Paul Vallez is a foreign exchange student at Pleasanton High School. He has come to Pleasanton, Texas all the way from Centre-Val de Loire (Center West France). Paul is a 17 year-old junior here at PHS. When asked why he chose to come to America, Paul stated, “[I came]To improve my English and spend one year in high school, because in France i’m grade [school] so I have to choose something to do and I don’t know.”
Paul wants to participate in extracurricular’s at school. He explains, “I want to do sports. I do baseball, but it’s in the day and it’s in December. I think it starts after spring.” In France, students don’t get to experience sports, so he wants to see what it’s like to play sports in America. He hopes to make the team and meet new people while doing so.
Coming to a new school was very hard for Paul. he said “… it was hard coming to a new school… I knew the other foreign exchange students but it was still hard.” Over time Paul met new people and started making new friends.
In France they do not partake in very many of our traditions, Paul said “We don’t do the homecoming.. Uh, the burning of the P, we don’t have this.” They do have some similarities though- they celebrate Christmas and Halloween like we do in America. Although Paul has never gotten to go trick-or-treating in America, he said “I’m very excited to do Halloween here.”
Paul is very thrilled to be attending Pleasanton High School, and cannot wait to learn and try new things. We hope you enjoy living here in the states, and have fun learning new things the American way!