French exchange student eager for American holiday

By Zoe Juanitas,

HUB Staff Writer–

Carved pumpkins, costume parties and teenagers trick-or-treating are all new experiences for the French exchange students at Davis High.

They arrived in Davis on Oct. 25 and are staying until Nov. 8, just in time for the start of the holiday season.

Exchange student Noé D’oria explained his view on American Halloween traditions: “I had heard that trick-or-treating is very popular and that people our age enjoyed having large costume parties.”

Although Halloween is also celebrated in France, its main demographic is children under the age of 10.

D’oria’s exchange partner, junior Olivia Stroud looks forward to showing him that Halloween isn’t just for kids.

“We plan to have the whole American experience. We’ll be carving pumpkins and dressing up in costume. We also might be doing some trick-or-treating with friends,” Stroud said.

Stroud is going as a figure skater, while D’oria is opting for a traditional zombie costume.

The exchange students spent the early part of their week visiting San Francisco, Coloma and Sacramento, while also taking in the sights of Alcatraz, the Capitol and the opening Sacramento Kings game on Wednesday.

They can be seen roaming through the DHS halls in the following week while shadowing their partners, and seeing what a normal American high school experience is like.

D’oria eagerly awaits the end of the week when the students can choose what they want to do. “I hope to have fun with Olivia this coming weekend. Perhaps we’ll go bowling,” D’oria said.