Cultural and linguistic immersion, a new family, a new culture, a new language
Jairo 
and Thibault 
: two new brothers, from two different families, living in two different countries, each spending 6 months immersed in the other’s home ⇒ Living together for 1 year, a new family for each of them, a new language, a great individual and family experience, and lots of memories!
From the beginning of March 2019 to the end of February 2020, Jairo and Thibault lived together in cultural and language immersion. In Spain, near Madrid, for the first 6 months. In France, in Toulouse, for the next 6 months. During this year, they had the opportunity to discover a new family. For Thibault, a Spanish big sister, and for Jairo, a French little brother. There were also cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. Together, they went to school and then college, and made friends. And, to top it all off, they learnt the language of their new country. Thibault discovered torrijas (Spanish-style French toast) and scouting in Spain. Jairo, for his part, enjoyed quiche, circus arts and snowboarding in France.
In 2023, Thibault went back to Spain for 3 weeks for the scout camp, an opportunity to see Spanish friends and family again. Then Jairo came to France for 10 days. He was able to enjoy winter sports and rediscover the thrill of snowboarding. It was like being part of a family!
Today, they’ve kept in touch with each other and have a taste for change. They’ve become more open-minded and continue to venture abroad, building on their past experience. Thibault has embarked on a new exchange to Germany in 2022. He is currently doing his final year at the Lycée Français in Vienna, Austria, and has applied for the UWC programme for the rest of his studies. Jairo plans to return to France as part of an ERASMUS+ programme.
So there’s a lot to look forward to, and that’s all we can wish for young adults in the making!