Foreign exchange student Aimé Couty has faced a warm welcome from LOHS students.

All the way from France, he arrived in August to meet his host family. “At the beginning it’s kind of weird and awkward because you don’t really know them, and you’re going to live with them for a whole year. Now I like it because they’re really nice, but it was kind of hard to adapt,” Couty said.

Since arriving in Lake Oswego, he has gotten to explore the city and make lots of friends, as well as attend and participate in multiple school events. “I love the vibe there is in high school: the football games, the dances, we don’t have all that stuff in France,” he said. Besides attending many of the football and basketball games, he has also gotten involved in school events himself, such as attending Homecoming and Winter Formal and volunteering at Ivy Pulls with the Green Team.

Among the positive “vibe” of the school are the friendly people he has encountered, describing them as “really outgoing and welcoming.” The inclusivity makes being an exchange student easier for him and has allowed him to make many friends here. When not busy with school he likes to “hang out with [his new] friends and host family.”

In his free time he loves skiing and basketball, and is a long time piano player. “I’ve been playing the piano for five years. I used to take lessons…but now I’m playing just for myself, not really with a teacher,” he said. As for skiing, he began at the young age of two and has been going every year since. “It’s usually for fun, but sometimes I do races,” he explained. “I really like the feeling when I’m going fast and when I take risks,” he continued. Over the years it has become his favorite sport and he even got the chance to ski at Mount Hood over Winter Break.

He has also had some exciting experiences with travelling. Prior to his experience as an exchange student, he had the opportunity to visit Africa, as well as over five different European countries, his favorite being Spain. Since beginning his trip to the U.S., he has had many new adventures here as well. Before even reaching Oregon, he arrived in New York where he met a lot of other exchange students. “We spent three days in New York together before we were separated into different states,” said Couty. “It was so cool [because] I made so many friends in only [a couple of days].” In addition, to make his year abroad even more memorable, he was able to explore some of the most popular sights in Los Angeles with his host family. “They took me to Hollywood Boulevard and downtown LA, [which was] super cool,” he said.

Despite his busy life in America, Couty has been able to keep in touch with his friends and family back home, calling them whenever he can. “I call them every weekend and spend a lot of my time just [talking to] my friends,” said Couty.

Besides looking forward to being reunited with them at the end of the year, he is also looking forward to continuing his experience in America as the year progresses. The Lake Oswego community will miss him next fall, but wishes him luck as he continues his adventures back in France!