Our EFBA summer camps ended on August 2nd, 2019 and we want to share the stories and experiences from a few of our camp counselors who worked at EFBA during the 2019 summer season.
Testimonials from our Camp Counselors; Thibaud Marcheteau (Lead Camp Counselor & Community Coordinator of the Mountain View summer camp), Julia Peillon (Lead Camp Counselor of the Belmont camp), Leni Marrot (Camp Counselor & Community Coordinator at the Belmont camp), Simone Bloch (Lead Camp Counselor of the Dublin camp) and Sébastien Callait (Camp Counselor & Community Coordinator at the Dublin and Emeryville summer camps).
Thibaud Marcheteau
I discovered EFBA on a job search site, and then I looked for the EFBA page on Facebook.
At EFBA, this year, I am a Lead Camp Counselor in Mountain View. As a Camp Counselor, my mission is to immerse children in an imaginary world that changes every week and use French to communicate with them.
Sometimes you have to be patient. The children’s ability to learn French is great and easily brings results, which is very rewarding!
All of this has enriched my resume. I can now apply for other camp counselor jobs abroad with this experience. It’s also a big change because you become an active member of U.S society, and this is a great opportunity to visit California!
The profiles of the camp counselors at EFBA are all very different but complementary. They come from diverse areas of France and with different ways of working at camp, which is very interesting. I was so happy to meet these people!
I have loved talking with the kids. So many have parents of different nationalities, and some of the children were born in a different country and they may be here for a few years only. Some speak more languages than they have years
lived, it is impressive and very rewarding!
My best memory was when France won the Soccer World Cup (note: in 2018), the French community gathered in a stadium(note: in San Jose in the South of the Silicon Valley). After the game, French people invited us out for dinner, it was a beautiful moment. My favorite place in the USA is New York for now, but in a few days I’m going to Hawaii so we’ll see!
I recommend EFBA for sure! How could I not recommend such an enriching, linguistic and humanly unique adventure! I came back this year because EFBA offers many benefits to returning counselors, and recognizes the qualities of their employees. So yes, granted the opportunity, I would love to come back! In addition, it’s hard to say no to Silicon Valley!
Julia Peillon
I heard about EFBA in October 2017 on Facebook (on the group “Réseau Animation” which brings together many French camp
professionals) and I immediately applied.
Last year, I was the Leader in the Mountain View camp in Silicon Valley. This year, I am leading the Belmont Summer Camp. I manage a small team of 3 camp counselors, ensuring the camp is organized and functions well, and stays connected with the families. I make sure that the goals and values of EFBA are represented. Recently, I was also promoted to International Employee Experience Director. In that capacity, I support and help the J1 visa employees.
This experience allowed me to meet great people. Gabrielle, the President, is a truly determined woman to develop her nonprofit and promote her values. I work in France in a nonprofit which organizes recreational camps. They completely ignore communication with families and they are not really looking for partners. With EFBA I’ve seen the camps from a more professional lens. EFBA is also a nonprofit which cares about professional development for its staff. We have been trained about crisis management in case of earthquakes, fire, harassment, food hygiene … Finally, working at EFBA allows us to question our way of operating in France, especially regarding pedagogical matters.
It is without hesitation one of the best experiences I have ever had! My coworkers often have a profile similar to mine (young people willing to travel across the world to discover new cultures) and I have met some nice people. The office staff does everything for us and wants us to live a unique experience.
I have particularly loved being with the children. We have a wide freedom in the choice of activities within the weekly cultural theme. I enjoy seeing kids having fun and creating bonds with each other and gaining self-confidence. I love the imaginary world (we wear costumes and encourage children to day-dream).
Last year, after the end of camp, I went on a road trip through California, Nevada and Arizona. This region is crazily beautiful, with rich and diverse landscapes!
Bottom line is that I recommend the experience! I have talked about it to all the camp counselors I meet. It is an investment at the beginning (cost of the visa, airfare, accommodation …), but it is so worth it. It has been very beneficial and a unique experience.
As I am currently responding to this interview, I have 10 days left before the EFBA summer camp ends (after more than 5 weeks) and it makes me feel depressed!
The experience really made an impression last year. Working at EFBA allowed me to live two passions: camp counseling and traveling. 7 weeks of summer camp is not long enough so I had to come back! If I am granted the opportunity, I would return without hesitation for a third year.
Leni Marrot
I first heard about EFBA by searching on the Internet. I was searching for a French Counselor role in America.
EFBA was the key to my biggest professional objective. My goal was to have an overseas working experience in America, for which obtaining a VISA can be challenging.
Working for EFBA gave me the opportunity to develop my professional experience. My supervisor was very professional and the large amount of activities that we needed to organize for the kids made me a way better counselor than I was before.
I always enjoy the activities with the kids because they get to learn and also have fun at the same time. After camp hours and on weekends, I love to hang out in San Francisco and Palo Alto downtowns.
I recommend working at EFBA if you are a fluent French speaker and you want to have an overseas work experience and travel to California. Granted the opportunity, I would love to go back to EFBA next year and visit more of this part of America as well as see all the friends that I met in SF again.
Simone Bloch
I’ve been working with EFBA for almost 10 years. A friend of mine encouraged me to apply as a teacher, because I hold a
CAPES (= French teaching credential) and I had taught German and French. Both of our sons, who share the same birthday, were students in the EFBA after-school program and also enjoyed the EFBA Summer Camp.
I’ve also joined the DELF team and contributed to the writing of the Virgule textbooks.
I started working in EFBA summer camps as a volunteer in Santa Rosa and loved it! After that, I joined the team in the various activities of the Cultural Program with the amazing Rémi Ducom.
I enjoyed working as a counselor with other camp leaders, but learned the most from Rémi who was not only artistically talented, but also professionally experienced and organized.
I only had positive experiences in camps as a counselor with EFBA. I also worked in German Summer Camps in the Bay Area and think that a camp leader needs to be completely involved and not just supervise the activities as a Manager.
I am also a professional actor and working as a counselor allows me to show a more expressive part of myself than I do as a teacher with the children.
This year, I became a camp leader and had a blast with a wonderful young, energetic counselor and his younger brother who assisted in volunteering: Sébastien and Xavier Callait. We worked as a small team, that prioritized kindness and creativity without forgetting the importance of providing structure to the children.
I can only recommend the EFBA summer camp experience!
Sebastien Callait
I was previously a student at EFBA. I had participated in the French Afterschool Program and had gone to Summer Camp in Berkeley. We had originally found EFBA through the French community.
EFBA has provided me with professional and invaluable work experience. It has taught me how to communicate and how to work effectively with a team. It has also taught me how to foster a fun and supportive environment for children of all ethnicities and language levels. I live locally, so I have not travelled far with EFBA.
I had a positive experience at EFBA. In fact so much so, I returned the next year! First of all the team of staff are incredibly diverse in race, gender, age, background, ambitions, and so much more. Everyone is thoughtful, caring, and treats you with respect no matter your age or background. My coworkers have been interesting and funny and we have always gotten along well together.
My job at camp consisted of planning and running fun and interactive activities for the children. We dress up, create skits, create arts and crafts, and of course run many fun games and activities for the children. Plus, all of this is done in French!
My favorite part of working with EFBA was being able to work as a team and personally touch the lives of many young
children. EFBA has allowed me to share my passion for French language and culture with so many.
If you have the opportunity to work with the EFBA, I would highly recommend it.
I would return in a heartbeat. I have had a very positive experience with EFBA whether it was as a student or as part of the staff. I enjoyed my volunteering at the French summer camp in Mountain View last year, and I wanted to come back. This year, EFBA opened up a new camp near my home, so I was excited to be able to help set up the new location in Dublin, CA!
Interviews led by Eva Gimello – Community Coordinator at EFBA.
It could be you next year! If you are interested in this opportunity, visit our career section and apply as early as November of the year before ; visas take time to process 🙂
Stay connected with us!
Follow us on | Facebook | Instagram | #efbaschool
Save as PDF