A French Twist at North Gwinnett

First, let's get some cultural things straightened out.

"Allez Les Chiens" means "How 'bout them Dawgs."

And "Chez Galleaux" means "Waffle House."

And North Gwinnett teacher Rhonda Archer explained that she would prepare cheese grits for her house guests from France. "Grits?" visitor Manuel Moyen questioned, with a puzzled look. Some things get lost in translation.

There's a lot of cultural exchange going on in Suwanee this week, as 16 students and two teachers from the province of Lorraine, France, are visiting North Gwinnett High. It's part of a program established by the state Department of Education and Georgia Tech, and North Gwinnett began its affiliation in October 2010.

The delegation attends Lycee Jean Moulin in the city of Forbach (population: 25,000), and their institution and culture are about as different from Suwanee and the South as quiche Lorraine (yes, it hails from there) and barbecue.

"It's hotter here, probably by 10 degrees," teacher Olivier Duc said Friday at a reception for the students and teachers at the school.

However, it seems the educational culture here also is much different.

"It's a community here," Duc explained. "In France, the students will leave during the day. Here, they are together ... it is wiser."

It wasn't always that way. Suwanee Mayor Jimmy Burnette, a North Gwinnett High grad who attended Friday's reception, noted that the school had about 600 students during his era.

"I did have a French class, but it was a means to survive my years," the mayor explained. "You will get a chance to share your culture. ... We didn't travel very far back then."

Archer, the French teacher, who is spearheading the cultural exchange, noted that the North student ambassadors will travel to Lorraine, France, next year as part of the program.

The students arrived in Suwanee on Thursday and will stay until Wednesday. While at the school, they will shadow their ambassadors through their entire school routine, including changing classes with them.

In Lorraine, English is indeed a foreign language, teacher Duc noted. "In Paris, you will hear many languages, but in Lorraine (about 250 miles from Paris), French is spoken."

The plane trip was 10 hours, from Frankfurt, Germany. "It's all so huge here," Duc noted.