Four thousand, one hundred and fifty-three miles. That is the distance Parker’s recent Belgian visitors traveled. From shadowing Parker students to exploring Chicago’s downtown, Parker’s Belgian guests had the opportunity to stray from their day-to-day lives and become Chicagoans for ten days.
“We visited the Willis Tower, the Art Institute, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. We went to see The Bean and some murals in the city. We went on a yacht on the Chicago River at night. With my family, I went on the loop and I went downtown to do some shopping. I went to Navy Pier, a volleyball game, and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood,” visitor Romain Deflandre said.
These are examples of when the Belgian students were not in the halls of Parker, but they were experiencing what it was like to be a Chicago local.
“I went to the farmer’s market, Six Flags, shopping, went on a yacht on the Chicago River, visited the Willis Tower, the Hard Rock Cafe, went to the Cheesecake Factory, saw a lot of street art, visited the Art Institute of Chicago, saw the Blue Demons volleyball match, and I went to Navy Pier,” Belgian Jasmin Clément said.
Back in Belgium, the students tend to spend their days a little differently.
“I hang out with my friends, go on my phone, and watch movies and series,” Deflandre said.
Belgian student Pauline Silvestre spends her days the same way.
“I spend time with my friends, I go on my phone and social media, and I play tennis,” Silvestre said.
Aside from iconic Chicago must-sees, the city was its own experience.
“Life is also different because I don’t live in a city,” Deflandre said. “I always need the car or the train to go somewhere.”
When the Belgian students weren’t busy with a yacht on the Chicago River or going to Six Flags, they were at Parker. On Tuesday and Thursday, Parker students welcomed them into the school, but school in Chicago is hardly what the Belgian visitors are used to back in Belgium.
“School is very different: In Belgium, we go to school from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. We can’t leave without asking the teacher and there’s no cafeteria,” Deflandre said.
This contrasts to Parker’s own 8:10 to 3:30 schedule and the hundreds of students who pack the cafeteria lines every day. Deflandre wasn’t the only one of Parker’s guests who thought Parker was quite different compared to their school in Belgium.
“We eat a lot more in America and school is a lot nicer,” Silvestre said.
The students also had host families for them to connect to. “Yes, I felt like it was my new family,” Lou Massin said.
Rather than staying at a hotel, the Belgian students were paired with a Parker family to stay with for the ten days. Deflandre echoed Massin’s sentiment.
“They were so kind and we did so many great things. I had so much fun and I miss them so much. We are still in touch right now, I really felt like they were my new family,” Deflandre said.
Overall, it seems as though the host family was a meaningful experience for the Belgian visitors.
The 2024-2025 school year was not the first time Belgian students have visited Parker.
“The Belgian exchange began around 2010 with the collaborative efforts of Mme. Françoise Ghyse, an English teacher at l’Institut du Sacré-Coeur in Barvaux, an hour outside of Liège,” said Upper School French teacher Cynthia Marker. “Mme. Ghyse had reached out to see if a private school in Chicago might be interested in participating. I replied and we have coordinated the exchange ever since.”
“In the most recent iterations of the exchange, we have continued receiving their students every two years. If there is interest, I would like to look into traveling again with Parker French students in the future,” Marker said.
These teachers aim to send a group of Belgian students to Parker every two years. Even though this is pretty frequent, planning for the exchange takes up to a year or more.
“The coordination involves a lot of advanced work with regard to finding families who are able to host, and the Belgian group’s planning their travel around one of their school breaks. Typically, you need at least a year’s lead time, but the extra work is always worth the new friendships along with the celebration of international cultures,” Marker said.
This tremendous amount of work is not for nothing. The impact an exchange can have is great.
“For many participants, exchanges lead to a lifelong passion for travel and living abroad. In other parts of the world, international exchanges are more common experiences. I think exchanges can be a profound way to gain both a higher level of fluency and cultural competence. That is why your world language teachers are enthusiastic about offering these opportunities to our students when possible,” Ghyse said.
By the end of their visit, Belgian students had experienced what it was like to be a Chicago teen and made lasting connections.
“The people at school were so nice, and I met so many great people. I still talk to some of them right now,” Deflandre said. “This is such a great experience. It can be scary to go live with people you don’t know, but the families were all so kind, and I truly think that this trip will forever be one of the best I ever had.”
This is a common feeling among the Belgian students.
“I think that everyone was so nice. I will never forget it and I learned so many things because of the cultural differences. It was an amazing experience,” Clément said.
This is not the first time Ghyse has seen the Belgian students leave with a new home.
“The Belgian students on their recent visit, once again, had an amazing week with their Parker families and the new friends they made. The group, as in previous years, was in happy tears upon their departure,” Ghyse said.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to the absolutely amazing Parker families from all divisions who opened their hearts and homes to our Belgian visitors — this year and in all previous ones,” Ghyse said. “Without the generosity, kindness, and warm welcome of Parker families in all divisions, none of this could happen!”
