Highlights of the Project:
Yes, this is that timeless land whose people have a natural joie de vivre and savoir-faire for centuries. But change is on track, France is inspired and it is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Experience and savor art in the shining capital and enjoy the serenity on the banks of River Seine. See the glorious pasts of the blazing fort at Versailles. Travel south for Roman civilization and the sparkling blue Mediterranean. Ski in the Alps. Sense the subtle infusion of language, music and mythology in Brittany, brought by 5th century Celtic invaders. Smell ignominy on the beaches of Normandy, battlefields of Verdun and the Somme, and know that this is but the tip of that huge iceberg the French call culture.
Our Strengths:
– Stay with motivated French families, selected carefully from the host French school.
– Involve in the daily life of a French School.
– Improve your French level with daily French classes and get a certificate for the entire Exchange.
– Learn about French culture from a Milna French team member, with you during the entire Exchange.
– Participate in various activities and discover the area in the afternoon and over the weekend.
– Even if your French school is not in Paris area, you get to visit the Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysée, Bateau mouche, Sacré-cœur (Montmatre)…
Safety:
– We follow the security instructions strictly, especially when outdoors.
– We follow the French law protecting the youth while organizing a travel.
– A Milna person is with the group during the entire Exchange, who’s reachable at all times.
Responsible traveler:
– We use the public transportation when available
– We use small and recent vans, fuel efficient, when the public transportation are rare
– We limit the group detritus to reduce the impact of the carbon footprint caused by this project.
Briefly, the program consist of time spent in the French school with the French students, usually in the mornings. The afternoons are dedicated to the visits and the evenings and weekends are spent with the French host family. At least two days are spent in Paris during the exchange.
Below, an example of an exchange program depending on the city where you will be.
Wherever you will go, you will do the local activities (sea, countryside, mountain, city…) and you will also visit Paris. (Eiffel tower, Louvre, Champs Elysées, Bateau mouche, Sacré-cœur…)
Day 1
Flight UAE → Paris. Baggage dropping at the hotel. A visit to Paris: Monmartre area. Dinner and night in Paris area.
Day 2
Visit the Louvre museum. Lunch. Train to the hosting city and meeting with the host families.
Day 3
The weekend is spent with your French host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 4
The weekend is spent with your French host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 5
Visit of the school and an afternoon visiting the city with French students. Evening with families.
Day 6
Meeting in the morning at the French school. Whole day dedicated to the exploration of the area. Evening with families.
Day 7
Talk about your country during the English and Geography classes. The Mayor of the city will meet you at the Town hall. Lunch and afternoon with your French family.
Day 8
Meeting in the morning at the French school. Whole day dedicated to the exploration of the area. Evening with families.
Day 9
School activities in the morning. Afternoon activity. Evening with the families.
Day 10
The weekend is spent with your French host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 11
The weekend is spent with your French host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 12
Last morning of interaction with the school. Lunch. A visit in the afternoon. Back to school to prepare the farewell party, Dance and Music performances by the students. Last evening with the families.
Day 13
An early morning departure for Paris, visit of Paris (Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysées etc.). Night in Paris.
Day 14
A Seine river cruise on the Bateaux Mouches, then return flight to UAE.
Possible activities in the French school: Participating in classes (English, French, Sport, Arts…), teaching your own language to the French students, making presentation about your country, its culture, festival, traditions…, having practical French classes as per the participant level, preparing for the final show with the French students, …
Possible activities in the afternoon: Museums, monuments, cultural center, beach, city-center, bicycle ride in the forest, meeting with the mayor, Ice skating, French pastry class…
(This is an example of a program and given just for information, the program will depend on availability, the location of the school, flight and local transportation timing. The final program will be confirmed with the participants and the selected French school)
Rates:
You need to select the appropriate options to see the rate displaying
→ “Age“: Select the age you will have during the project. Let’s say that you are now 15 and before or during the project, you will be 16, then please select 16.
→ “From“: Select the airport from where you want to start your project. If your desired airport is not displayed, please contact us.
→ “When“: Select the month you want to do your project. In case you have several options, please select the earliest month.
→ “Payment terms“: It needs to be coherent with the selected month in “When“. Let’s say that we are the 25th January and you’ve mentioned your wish to go in April. In such case, your departure is in more than 60 days but less than 90 days. You need to select the 60 days payment terms if you plan to make the payment at least 60 days before the departure.
Contact us, if you need clarifications.
Who can go?
– Participants up to grade 14. (Up to 20 years old)
When can I go?
– An exchange program to France is possible throughout the year, however, when the school is having holidays, it is not possible to access the school. In such case, the moments spent in the school will be replaced with moment spent with local educational organisations having teenagers of similar age. Contact us if you are planning to go during a period where the French schools are closed.
– Each participant will still have a French host family with a French student of similar age.
– Here is the calendar displaying the dates when the French schools are closed.
For how long?
For 7 to 14 days according to your possibilities, the rate will remain the same irrespective of the duration between 7 to 14 days. However the program will be more intense when you decide to have a shorter duration. (Want a different duration? Contact us)
Rate including:
– The accommodation
– The meals (Breakfast, lunch and diner)
– All the transportation from the selected airport of departure
– The visits and activities as per the program
– The management of the group by at least one Milna person during the entire project
– Preparation meetings before the departure (Online or on site as per your location)
– Assistance for the eventual Visa application
– One adult from your group for every 10 participants (It can be a teacher, parent… willing to be a positive contribution to the project)
– Certificate for each participant
The rate does not include:
– Personal expenditure
– Eventual Visa fee to the country/ies of the project
– Transfer to/from the starting concerned airport
– What is not mentioned in “Rate including”
Eventual options:
– French Sim card
– Extra days in Paris
– Excursion in a neighboring country
– A TGV tour to experience the legend
– Stopover in another country (As per the airline stopover)
– Departure from another airport, upon request
About the “150 and 120 days payment terms”:
For the 150 and 120 days payment terms, we will do our maximum to respect your preferred date of departure, however, the dates of the project must be flexible /- 7 days.
The flight:
– Possible from the displayed city/ies above, in the “From” dropdown. For other airport, please contact us.
– Dates are changeable /- 72 hours.
Formalities:
Valid passport Eventual Visa (As per your citizenship).
Health:
– Our team has a pharmacy adapted to the destination.
– Anywhere you go in Europe, no vaccination is mandatory. (With Covid situation, vaccine might be compulsory to ease the travel)
– A member of Milna is present with the traveling group during the entire length of the stay. He/ She will ensure the security and safety of the group.
– In case of an emergency, the traveler will be taken into care by the nearest hospital. If needed, he will be repatriated in the best conditions.
Reachable:
– The parents of the participant will have the full details of the French family and the eventual hotel before the departure (address, phone, email…)
– Milna will share the contact of the Milna person who is going to be with the participant
– Milna will update the parents by daily messages/photos/videos on a specially created Whatsapp group.
– Milna will provide the participant and his parents with a 24h number to reach someone from Milna at any time.
Where I will stay? (2A)
You will be provided one French host family according to the preferences given in your Unique Form Participant.
If the project is taking place far from Paris area, up to 2 nights will be spent in a hotel in Paris area to do the visits and be close to the airport.
Who will be my hosts? ( 9A)
You will be staying with a French family in which there is a student from the French school you will be going to.
That same French student would come and stay in your home if he/she is able to come to your country.
You will get the details of your French family before the departure.
How the payment deadlines work? (10A)
What will I eat? (11A)
Who will take care of me? (12A)
In most cases the Accompanying adult (usually a teacher) from your school shall accompany you to France. During the entire project, a Milna person, who knows France and its culture very well, stays with the group. You can contact the Accompanying adult and the Milna person for any assistance at any time.
What will I do during the project? (14A)
Three main elements revolve around the project: The French school, the French family and the visits.
This is how we divide the program into three parts: Time of involvement in the school, generally in the morning, visiting time in the afternoons, and time with the family in the evenings and weekends.
Without forgetting the visits to Paris in general, at the end of the program.
How many nights I will spend in the hotel? (16A)
You will be staying up to 2 nights in a hotel if the project is taking place far from Paris and does not allow easy visits to Paris. The hotel is usually in Paris area to facilitate the visits of Paris and be near the airport.
How many nights I will spend with the French family? (20A)
If the project is taking place not far from Paris, you will be staying during the entire duration of the project at the French family.
If the project is taking place far from Paris not allowing day visits, you will be staying during the entire project at the French family, minus up to 2 nights that will be spend in a hotel in Paris area.
How do I get my visa? (23A)
If you need a visa, Milna will facilitate your visa formalities. Our team will provide you the special list of required documents for the visa and the steps to follow. We also remain available to have a look at your documents and reply to your questions, doubts or special cases.
What about Travel and Health insurance? (24A)
A travel and health insurance is included in the given rate. It is protecting you as per the insurance coverage. The insurance is in compliance with the Embassy criteria. Milna will provide you a copy of your insurance policy before applying for your visa.
Who is the French families hosting the participant? (25A)
The French families are having a daughter or a son going to the French school where Milna will take the participant. That son or daughter will be your partner during the exchange. That son or daughter will be the one visiting you in UAE if a travel to UAE is feasible.
Before the start of the project, Milna will provide you the complete profile of the host family and your partner (Address, email, phone numbers, description, photo and video), so you can communicate and get to know them.
What is the exact program? (26A)
Two Milna projects are never alike. Milna creates a tailor made project for each new group taking into consideration the group age, size, Girl / boy ratio, the location, the time of the year, the expectations of the participant. That is why, the final program is finalized once the enrollment is done and the location is confirmed. The “Detailed program” tab in each project helps to have an idea of what the project contains.
At which area will the project take place? (27A)
The project can happen anywhere in France. If your group has any particular preferred area, then it has to be requested for, at the time of enrollment via the “Unique Form Organisation” and we’ll do our best to select an area matching your preferences.
During the project, how, we parents, can stay in touch with the participant? (28A)
Before the start of the project, Milna will invite the participant and his relatives to join a special Whatsapp group, in which, we send daily update with photos, videos… to keep everyone updated.
Each participant is advised to have a local sim card to be reachable at anytime.
The Accompanying adult(s) and the Milna person(s) will be reachable and will facilitate the communication in case a participant is “too busy” to give news to his parents…
Will the participant be alone or with his/her friend, at the French family's home? (30A)
Our norm is one participant per French family to create the best immersion environment possible. However, we listen to your preferences via the “Unique Form Participant”, where you can mention, according to the availability, if you wish to stay alone or with another participant in the same French family.
In the rare case where we have less hosting families and have your approval, we will put you with another participant in the same family. Similarly, if no French family is able to welcome two participants in the same house, your preference of being with another person won’t be fulfilled and our norm of 1 participant – 1 French family will apply.
How much pocket money should the participant carry? (33A)
For sake of the participant private expenditure (shopping etc.), you can give some pocket money, it all depends on what the participant would like to buy from France. In general, we believe that 15 Euros per day is largely enough to fulfill the normal shopping desires.
How, we parents, can have updates about our daughter or son? (35A)
1- A Whatsapp group will be created and the participant and his family are invited to join it to get updates. The Milna person sends a lot of pictures, videos and information about the group.
2- Milna maintains a project’ blog in which we mention among other information, the itinerary and the calendar of the participants. So the family of the participant can know what he/she going.
3- Each participant is requested to have a local sim card to be easily reachable. The parents can get update directly.
4- The Milna person and the Accompanying adult will also be reachable in case the participant is “too busy” to update his family.
Does the French Family speak English? What if the participant doesn’t speak good French or any French at all? (36A)
Most French people are not so good at English. But by agreeing to host a foreign participant in their family, they already cross the barrier of language. Generally, such families speak English or at least, one parent i.e. The father or the mother of the family speaks English. And even if not them, then for sure the French partner has knowledge in English as he/she learns it at school. Hence, even if the participant knows very little French or no French, it is never a problem.
Google is always here if needed. And in case of emergency, the Milna person is available.
Do I have to host my host if he/she comes to my country? (37A)
You are supposed to do so if your host is able to visit you. However, if you really can’t host your partner during his/her possible visit to your country, we will respect your decision and we will get him a new partner welcoming him/fher.
Where will the Accompanying adult stay? (40A)
The Accompanying adult(s) of the group will be hosted, usually, by one of the staff (teacher, principal…) of the French school in his/her home.
In case there is a hotel stay in Paris area, The Accompanying adult(s) of the group will be staying in the same hotel, in a room separated from the Participants.
Should the I bring a gift for the host family and siblings? (42A)
Yes, the host family will be happy to receive something from your country as a gift. It is not necessary to buy an expensive one. Anything representing your country will do. Otherwise, simply you may ask the host family.
Where the project will take place? (47A)
The Exchange Program (Family Stay) can take place anywhere in France. Milna selects the best option available for your group. If your group has any particular preferred area, then it has to be requested for, at the time of enrollment and we’ll do our best to select n area matching your preferences.
