france update week 24

or as you know it now, week -1!! SB has completed her penultimate week in france. In a weeks time she will be home having lived with a french family as one of their own for 25 weeks. It is the last phone call we shall have with her in France. It seems like things are suddenly ending, it has all come rather quickly in the end.
SB has had a good week, she has been feted by her school friends, had 2 sleepovers, a swimming trip, eaten cake and generally felt well loved. She has remembered to take some photos of her friends and some video. She is really REALLY going to miss them. She is also going to miss her french family, in particular big sis C who she has got on well with. This week she is going to ask for permission to take her camera into school. She does have a school photo :) and will be asking all her friends to sign on the back.
Really, en famille exchange for SB does seem to have been exactly what she wanted. the initial worry as she settled into the rhythm of life in france is long forgotten. She has had an adventure. She has become french, speaking it with ease and being comfortable there. She has been immersed in the culture. It hasn't all been plain sailing or easy, but it has been wonderful. No doubt we will hear more about everything when she comes home next week :)
So, am i glad we did it, would I do it again? Yes, I would. It has been difficult at times, and certainly harder for BB left behind, as well as us as parents. Leaving SB and driving off was a real heartbreaker. but she has gained something wonderful from this, and so an absolutely unqualified yes.