possibly visiting France..

[darcydove]

Okay, so I am currently a senior in high school in the US, and right now, I'm in my third year of French. I really love the language and desperately want to visit France, especially Paris. Nearly every year, my school district takes a few juniors and seniors on trips to France, Spain and Germany. I realize that my vegan diet could possibly pose a problem because for half of the trip, we stay with a host family in the town of Fontainebleau. Apparently, the people who arrange the trip try to find host families with teenagers around our age so we can learn more about French culture. The other part of the time, we will be staying in a hotel in Paris and visiting tourist-type attractions.

I recently e-mailed the woman who is in charge of the trip in our district and asked her if my diet could be accomodated or if I would be too much of an inconvenience. She forwarded my e-mail to the organization that they go through, and who organize the whole trip. She then sent me their response, and her own. The organization almost seemed a bit rude about it and said it's their policy that the student adapts to the customs and the food, and eat what is given to them, and that they couldn't guarantee me a vegetarian family or anything. The other response, however, was much more positive and she figured I'd be able to get along just fine and could bring anything myself to supplement my diet.

Basically, my question is, what do you guys think? Especially if you are French or live there or anything, do you think it will be possible for me to get along just fine or do you think I'm asking too much? Of course I don't expect a host family to completely cater to me and everything and I don't want to be a pain or anything, but I'm just not for sure as to what exactly I can expect and whether or not I will be able to go and get along just fine.

Thanks for any help or advice!

[tipsy]

dear darcydove,
they are your belifs, it is not bothering anyone...what you will NOT be eating... and if it is, oh well, you shouldnt modify your life to fit thier schedule.

just bring your own food and make your own meals...

try to make stuff in advance, in large quantities when no one is around...so when you get hungry all you have to do is pull out a sandwich and

BAM, no problemo at all.

I had this expierience while visiting spain when i was in high school.... everything was fine...

i worked on my spanish translations for all the reasons why i would not could not and did not eat or use the things they offered me... i felt giving them an explination was better than just not eating it...(i didnt want them to think that i didnt want to eat the stuff cause it was thiers, or cause im a picky american)

tofu freezes well, and coolers are allowed on all international flights... i just kept my little cooler of tofu and veggies and frozen smoothies, and every chance i got i put some ice in a ziploc and added it to the stash...

good luck, hun!

[berta_the_aspie]

Wow I never thought of bringing a cooler before.. what a great idea. I went to Spain last year, and I am thinking about going this winter as well. But I wasnt even a vegan when I went there. But I tried living with a host family and it kind of sucked cause of my then vegetarian diet. The family was argentinian and they all love meat, and they gave me some pretty weird spanish tortas/tortillas. Plus; I got the same thing every day. Because I told them that I liked toast, and so I got toast everyday for breakfast. But it wasnt that bad, but I dont think I will live with a family again, unless the family is vegan. Allthough the concept of host families is great. I learned to speak spanish and stuff...