Exploring France, meeting new people, learning the language, and of course eating croissants every day was the way Anya Fuga lived for two nonconsecutive years. Fuga, French teacher at North Penn High School, has had the adventure of a lifetime, not only visiting France once, but twice.

Growing up, Fuga had always been interested in the French language and had been surrounded by it since a young age.

“Both of my parents speak French, and my dad is from a French speaking country, so growing up around it made it easier to pick up on the language,” explained Fuga. “I remember when I was in kindergarten, and me and my family went to a class in the library, where they taught us French with little ‘bar-bar’ cards, and I loved it. From there on, I’ve always been very interested in learning another language.”

After graduating high school, Fuga attended Georgetown University. During college, Fuga had the opportunity to study in France in her junior year. During that experience, Fuga had a turning point in her life and decided she wanted to be a French teacher in the United States.

“During my stay in France, I lived with a family that had three young kids. The middle child daughter and I after school would play school, so she would teach me French, and I would teach her English” said Fuga.

Fuga loved the experience of teaching her host family’s daughter and felt inspired be helping her learn, which further supported her to desire to become a teacher.

After Fuga returned from France her senior year at Georgetown, she decided to apply to a Master’s programs at New York University to get her education degree to become a teacher. As she was accepted into the program, Fuga had a change of plans.

“I realized I wasn’t that comfortable yet with my French speaking skills, so I decided that I wanted to go back to France one more time to advance my skills” explain Fuga.

This last minute plan was the best thing for Fuga, but she wondered contemplated the best, most cost-efficient way for her to visit the country again. As a result, Fuga decided to apply for nanny programs in France and was accepted. Being caught in between two difficult choices, NYU allowed Fuga to go to France as a nanny and come back the following year to get her education degree.

While in France, Fuga had life changing experiences and adored the scenic view of the country.

“My favorite part of living in France was definitely the view. I really loved just walking around the city; you could walk around for hours and see all the different architecture and all the different kinds of people and never be bored,” said Fuga.

Not only that, but Fuga explained the stark cultural contrast between the life in France and the United States.

“In France, people never go throughout a place without saying “bonjour,” or hello, to everyone they see,” explained Fuga.

Proving to be an important cultural aspect of society, Fuga explained the significance of greeting people in France. However, the United States’ culture proves to be more lenient in such action. Neither cultural detail is correct, but the idea illustrates the differences that Fuga analyzed.

After returning from France, Fuga earned her education degree at NYU and became a French teacher right away. Fuga has been at North Penn for 10 years, and has loved every minute of it. However, Fuga still kindles her love for France.

“If I ever had the opportunity to go back to France, I one-hundred percent would,” stated Fuga.