Eye-catching memories. Head full of good times. Ethan Keutzer, 17, and Austin Wald, 18, are high school students at Saint-Louis University high school (SLUH), located in Missouri in the United States.
After three weeks in Chartres and Eure-et-Loir, they are leaving this Saturday, January 28 for their country. But, they will keep fond memories of their experience.
If the Notre-Dame Institute (IND) has been organizing exchanges for fifteen years with the Saint-Louis school establishment, “this is the first time that we have taken part in this humanitarian and international project. Two important values for the IND”, underlines Élisabeth Piat-Percie du Sert, in charge of international relations at the school.
Food Bank and Thanks to the Garden
This project was led by Isabelle Fabre, English teacher. The two young Americans, who were staying with the families of two IND high school students, Clémence Authier and Henri Desveaux, did not discover that the French school system, they mainly participated in humanitarian actions with five local associations: Bercail, Secours Catholique, the food bank, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and Grace in the garden.
A new step towards the international
Their meeting with Jean-Marie Lioult, who founded Thanks to the garden, this association, which notably allows people in integration to discover the methods of market gardening of living soil and to follow the precepts of integral ecology, particularly touched the two Americans.
To plant trees
“We planted trees, it was a great meeting. He is very kind,” admit Ethan and Austin, in French.
Austin also really liked going to the Parc des Princes to watch a PSG match.
Thanks to the Garden, a model to discover
In July, it will be the turn of Clémence Authier and Henri Desveaux to go to Saint-Louis, in order to immerse themselves in the association Boys hope girls hope.
Claire Beguin
