Sharing Oregon with my French exchange student

We live in such a beautiful state

This past February, my family took on a French exchange student for two weeks. I was so happy to meet Janelle from Britannia, which is located in the northwest region of France that parallels Great Britain.

For months leading up to her arrival, I messaged her on WhatsApp, asking her questions about allergies, food preferences, and things she wanted to do in Portland. The question she found hardest to answer was the last one. She didn’t really know Portland and was more interested in doing broad American things like going to Raising Canes.

So, I was left to cultivate a list of things to do here that might impress or entertain a girl from France. You can imagine my hardship.

I became almost self-conscious of Portland. I looked at our art museum and thought of the Louvre. I looked at our rose garden, dormant for the winter, and pictured the sprawling landscape of Versailles. What does our city have to offer?

But with my mother’s help, I started to see Portland as the pinnacle of the Pacific Northwest, and therefore slightly more interesting.

I made sure to bring her to Washington Park — even strolling through the dead-headed rose bushes of the Rose Garden and attempting to see a glimpse of the Oregon Zoo’s baby elephant (which we narrowly missed due to Mom and baby running off into their private barn). As we were driving through Washington Park’s twisting roads shrouded by a classic PNW forest and even a dense layer of fog, I began to realize how lucky I was to be so connected to nature in Portland. Even Janelle was impressed and mentioned how beautiful it was and reminded her of athe movie Twilight (which was a positive thing, if you were wondering).

I also brought her to Mt. Hood — newly powdered with many inches of snow from a bountiful period at the very start of February. Every time I’m on our iconic mountain, I remember how lucky we are to be almost equal distances from this majestic mountain to the beach. I look at the great force of Mt. Hood and marvel at our earth.

We live in such a beautiful state. And I’m taken aback at how lucky I am to live here.

Elisabeth Dellit is an 12th Grader at Jesuit High School. She enjoys reading, writing creative stories, baking/cooking and participating in her school’s drama program.