Engaging in Family Activities

One of the best things about living with a host family is learning their culture. If you really want to experience a culture, you must participate in their daily activities. Don’t be afraid to try something new, and if you don’t like it, well, you will always have the experience. It’s cherry season, here in France. My host family and I went to my host mom’s brother’s house to pick cherries. The main desserts that they make with their cherries are cherry tarts ( tartes de cerise)  and cherry cakes (g�teaux de cerise). My host mom told me that they leave the pit of the cherry because it helps retain the flavor of the cherry in the tarts and cakes.

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My host dad and host’s mom’s brother cherry-picking.

During my cherry-picking experience, I observed that the men did the hard labor of going up the trees to cut the branches. The women then pick the cherries off of the branches.

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My host mom taught me how to make a cherry cake. We also left the pits in the cherries for the cake. She had me put on an apron and just told me what to do. I practically made the cake by myself. In France, they weigh the flour, sugar, etc as oppose to measuring it in a measuring cup. Therefore, on a recipe you would see “100 grams sucre” as opposed to “1/2 cup of sugar. It was a fulfilling experience. I learned new baking terms and it was also a great final icebreaker between my host mom and I. My host sister visited for the weekend. She took the photos below.


Location: Besançon, France

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One thought on “Engaging in Family Activities”

  1. KELSEY MARGARET ROGALEWICZ

    I totally agree with you! I feel like living with a host family and engaging in their usual routines really helps. I even enjoy just running errands with my fam here in Mexico; it’s pretty cool what you can pick up. Cherry picking looks like it was a lot of fun, and I really liked your slideshow at the end! Hope you continue to enjoy your trip!

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