PESHTIGO – Angers — the capital of the Anjou province — is located in western France, about 190 miles southwest of Paris. It is a vibrant, centuries-old student-predominant town with almost half of its 250,000 residents under 30 years old.
One of those inhabitants is none other than our featured “On Exchange” student this month, Leah Guilet.
After some of Guilet’s initially assigned host family members in Kansas were involved in an automobile accident, the Angerian sophomore — a single child who loves horses and anything artistic — was told Peshtigo, Wisc., would be her final destination for her 2025-2026 school year.
Guilet said her mom had a friend who owned horses and she was able to learn the sport and develop great love for horses at the equine club she has attended since she was very little. In fact, she wants to pursue veterinarian studies in college eventually.
For Guilet, understanding and bonding with horses before riding them is crucial. “The brushing ritual is my favorite part [of riding on a given day] because right there you can tell whether the horse is injured or how they will do,” she said.
She added that she has participated in horse jumping competitions in France and placed at the competitions “sometimes, but not all the time.”
“My first host family had horses at a ranch in Peshtigo. I practice riding every Sunday at a facility,” Guilet said.
After the Christmas holiday season, Guilet switched host families due to other unforeseen circumstances.
Her current host mom, Tiffany Krall, was cheerful when asked about supporting Guilet while the student lives in Northeast Wisconsin.
A recent vacation to Orlando, Fla., had her on the edge — a moment that was captured by a photo of her descending a roller coaster attraction with her host parents.
“I could not open my eyes,” Guilet said, jokingly forbidding her host mother to share the photo.
In school this season, Guilet is enrolled in junior level classes, confirming that the level of education back in France is “stricter” than it is here.
“But I love that class structure here. In France the school is in session until 6 p.m. Here we are done at 3 p.m.”
The simplicity of the taught subjects is something Guilet also likes, as well as being able to take all subjects every day instead of learning different subjects on different days, which she said was, “not as cool.”
Notably, Guilet said she never traveled in an airplane before until she landed in New York City at the end of August last year before she arrived in Wisconsin.
Regarding NYC, she said “It’s so big.”
The Homecoming and Halloween celebrations were among her best memories of her exchange student experience so far.
“It was great to hang out with my school friends and attend the games,” Guilet said.
Food wise, she loves some “yummy cheese curds,” but found that deep fried Oreos had a strange taste.
“At my host family’s place, food is really healthy,” Guilet explained.
As for life in Wisconsin, she said, “I love it here, but I do not see myself moving to live here long term. It is a fantastic experience [being] here. I love snow and do well in cold climates,” Guilet said.
But one thing is for sure very fitting of being in Wisconsin, “I love cheese,” she added.
She can be contacted at krall.tiffany@gmail.com.
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