French Exchange

We have had an amazing French exchange student called Elouan help us out at Pells over the last few weeks, which has been set up via the twinning association! We asked Elouan to write about himself and his experience in Lewes to share with you!

Lewes is twinned to a French town called Blois, located in the Loire Valley between Orléans and Tours (South of Paris).

Blois is a historical city, built over 2,000 years ago. There are many beautiful places, green spaces, and many historic buildings to visit, and the centre of Blois is a very touristic area, where almost half a million tourists visit the Castle, and many other cultural places per year.

In terms of sport infrastructures, Blois has 2 swimming pools:

-            Tournesol Swimming Pool:

o   25 x 10 meters indoor pool

o   100m² area with a waterfall and a current

o   100m² indoor paddling pool

o   500m² outdoor area with playground and solarium

-            Agl’eau Aqua ludic Centre:

o   The Sports Pool: 25 x 15 meters, 1.9 to 5 meters depth, heated to 27.5 degrees

o   Leisure Pool: four 20 meters lanes, a “fun part” with geysers, a counter-current river, massage benches, heated to 29.5 degrees

o   50 meters indoor slide

o   The Nordic Pool: 1.30 meters depth, four 25 meters lanes.

I am Elouan, I am a French student, and I live in Blois. I will study next September Law and Languages (English, German and Spanish) at Tours University. As a hobby, sport, and passion, I am a Football Referee. I came to Lewes for a student exchange (meaning that a student from Lewes came to Blois) for four weeks. I came here thanks to the Twinning Association, to have a job (and English) experience. During those four weeks I have done a lot of different things, such as volunteering in a food bank, working at the Town Hall, Climate

hub and working here, at the Pells Pool.

In Lewes I am staying with four different hosting families (one per week).

I heard about that project when Mr. FONTAINE, Chair of the Twinning Association in Blois, told to my English Teacher that he was looking for a student who would be interested in that project. My English Teacher asked me if I was interested, and I told her that I was!

After that, I had to apply by sending a letter to Mr. FONTAINE, explaining why I wanted to come here. I said that as I want to study the English Language and Culture, it would be the best way to improve my knowledge about the United Kingdom, its culture, traditions, etc…

Following that, I had an interview at Blois’ Town Hall with two members of the Lewes Twinning Association. The same day, in the evening, I received an email telling me that I passed the interview and that I had been accepted for the project to come in Lewes.

After my time working at Pells Pool, the thing I enjoyed the most was to serve people because it has been useful for me in terms of speaking and understanding English. I also loved the atmosphere with the Lifeguards, and felt very welcome in the team.

Elouan also came along to Barcombe FC's football training and then even refereed a friendly match against their local rivals Ringmer!