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Belgium French
Belgium has more comic makers per square kilometer than any other country in the world (even Japan)!
Enquire about Belgium FrenchEligibility Requirements
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- You must be between 16 years to 18 years and 8 months
- Enrolled in an NZ school or Graduated
- Language requirements: French basic-intermediate (2 years)
- Vegetarians are hard to place
Visa Interview is in Auckland with the residence permit being 25€
Notes
- Enquire about a trimester programme and adding peace camp on for an additional $1,000
What's included in your experience
- Airfare
- Airport Pick-up
- Host Family Placement
- Housing
- Meals
- School Placement
- Individual Contact Person
- Medical Insurance
- 24/7 Emergency Support
- School Transport
- Assistance with Application Process
- Visa Application Assistance
- Pre-Departure Orientation
- Orientations during your time abroad
- Continuous Support
- Worldwide Presence
- 70 Years Experience
What you are responsible for
- Vaccinations
- Cultural Tours
- Visa and Passport Fees
- Stipend
- School Uniform
Food
Belgian cuisine is related to the French cuisine, but offers some very distinctive touches. Apart from good chocolate and hundreds of different types of beer, you can also enjoy waffles (wafelen), fries (pomme-frîtes), mussels, and carbonade flamande (beef stew). Belgians take their time to eat, so even with all these options you’ll have the chance to savour each new flavour! Most families consider eating together very important, especially at dinner. Vegetarianism is not very common, but can be accommodated, while vegans and those with gluten-free diets are more rare.
People and Community
Belgians tend to be tolerant, flexible, modest, and open-minded. They value privacy, enjoy a safe and comfortable life, work hard and are self-disciplined. Respect for each other is a core value and necessity. Many Belgians consider themselves Roman Catholic but are not very religious.
Climate and Geography
The Belgian climate is temperate, with mild winters and cool summers. Belgium is also a pretty flat country, with its highest peak at only 694m. With its location in Western Europe and great public transport options, day trips to main cities in Belgium or even other countries like France, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are easy from wherever you might be staying!
School
School in French Belgium is quite demanding – teachers are hard to impress and students spend a lot of time studying 10 to 18 different subjects! School starts between 8 and 8.30am and finishes between 4 and 5pm, with breaks for lunch and snacks. Class groups usually stay together in the same classroom, and the teachers come to you. You will be placed in one of four types of public school according to your preference and skills. General is academic-focused; Vocational combines general education with practice-oriented training for a specific occupation; Arts combines general education with active practice of art; and Technical focuses on general and technical subjects. Arts and Technical are usually best for AFS students!
Host Family
There is no typical Belgian family; your Belgian host family can be a married or unmarried couple, with kids of your age or not, a retired couple, a single mother, etc. Most likely, you’ll find that your Belgian host family is different from your own, both in composition and in their way of life.
Dinner time is a very important family gathering in Belgium, and is an opportunity to share your day, discuss problems, and share feelings. Belgians are kind, fun-loving, and direct in their communication – everyone says what they think. It is usual in Belgian families to talk about oneself and ask for advice.
Life in your host family will be more formal than you might expect! For example, family members will say hello/goodbye to every person in the family when they arrive home, leave the house, or go to bed. Belgian parents are also used to monitoring their child’s social life and school results, and teens are often required to ask permission to go out and to say where they are going, with whom and to respect a curfew.
Peace Camp Info
The PEACE Programme or PEACE through Exchange and Active Citizenship Education is a secondary school trimester programme which aims at empowering and enabling young people to become active citizens. The participants stay with host-families and go to high school in a European country. At the end of the programme, all participants of the PEACE programme come to Belgium for a five day long camp with a focus on Active Global Citizenship in Europe.