Maddie Brush and Laura Da Cunha have an easy friendship. Both recently graduated from high school — or “lycée”, in Laura’s native French—and this fall they are headed to college to study science and languages. They enjoy the outdoors, dress simply, and speak plainly — in two languages.
Brush and Da Cunha were paired through the Fredericksburg Sister City Association’s student exchange program and have now completed a full exchange cycle. Last year, Brush stayed with Da Cunha’s family in France. This year, Brush’s family is hosting her international friend.
But Brush, a graduate of Brooke Point High School in Stafford, already had an international connection. Born in Belgium, she has spoken French her entire life. Even so, she found that southern France offered a different experience. Getting to know Da Cunha and her family in Fréjus, along France’s Mediterranean coast, introduced her to a slower pace of life, people who love spending time outdoors, and the region’s distinct dialect.
During her two-week stay in 2025, Brush remembers snorkeling fondly. But one of her favorite memories came near the end of the trip, when there was no set itinerary. Instead, they hiked through the maritime mountains and spent time at a secluded rocky beach away from tourists and attractions. It gave her a chance to experience Fréjus the way locals do.
She said that’s the real joy of the program: living with someone new and “understanding different lives.” While in France, she said she learned “not just dictionary French,” but also the regional accent and local vocabulary.
One example was the French word for cicada, “cigale”, a word she had never encountered in Belgium. The insects, that sing out each summer, are as common throughout Provence as they are in Virginia.
As Da Cunha explored Virginia, she found that America was “not what is assumed, not the cliche like in the movies.”
Brush and Da Cunha are two of 18 students — nine French and nine American—participating in this year’s exchange. Each year, the host country alternates. This year, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — a distinctly American document shaped in part by French ideals of liberty — French students traveled to Fredericksburg to stay with host families, said Cathy Warder, a French teacher at King George High School, who serves as vice president of the Fredericksburg Sister City Association and chairs its student exchange program.
Host families provide students with an American home experience, while the Fredericksburg Sister City Association organizes daily activities, including a walking tour of historic Fredericksburg, bus trips to Washington, D.C., a trip to Kings Dominion, pool parties, picnics, sporting events, and more.
On Tuesday, July 14, the students toured historic sites in downtown Fredericksburg before gathering for a picnic at Chatham in Stafford. Brush and Da Cunha spent the afternoon exploring downtown, including stops at Sky Bar at Castiglia’s for lunch and Made in Virginia to shop for souvenirs.
Since 1980, the Fredericksburg Sister City Association has operated a student exchange with Fréjus, France, located on the French Riviera between Saint-Tropez and Nice. Every other year, students from Fréjus spend two weeks in Fredericksburg. On alternating years, local students travel to Fréjus.
Warder first learned about the exchange through her teaching career, but said she became especially committed after encouraging her own children to participate. They joined exchange trips in 2019 and 2023, and she has remained actively involved.
“It’s really special to consider how long some of the relationships that have been established through the Sister City have been maintained,” Warder said. “In sharing our cultures, we foster a greater sense of understanding and appreciation of one another. It also gives us an opportunity to consider what is special about our own culture and way of life, and what historical and community ties we already share.”
Among those long-lasting relationships is Leigh Perret Dowd, who spent the week helping chaperone students around Fredericksburg and has been involved with the program for two decades.
Dowd, a middle school French teacher in Spotsylvania County, has known the Bagris family in France for 15 years, ever since she hosted their daughter during an exchange. She said the program allows participants to experience another culture in ways that tourists cannot, such as shopping at local grocery stores, seeing families vote in elections, and experiencing everyday hospitality.
“Our sister city relationship and the student exchange are more than just an opportunity to travel,” Warder said. “Our ardent hope is that students and families that participate look at the experience as an opportunity to forge lifelong relationships. For the students, in particular, participants need to be willing to go through awkward moments and to realize that this discomfort is perfectly normal. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone helps to build resilience, independence and self-confidence in a way that they don’t get in a classroom or on a vacation tour.”
This year carries additional significance because of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
“In honor of our long-standing relationship with Fréjus, and specifically the amount of time our student exchange has been running, we were awarded a special Freedom 250 label by the Embassy of the United States in France,” Warder said.
Speaking during Fredericksburg’s Bastille Day celebration on July 14, she described the friendships formed through the exchange as “the living connections we foster every day.”
Teacher and trip chaperone Christel Attali said she appreciates Fredericksburg’s quieter pace compared with the bustle of Fréjus. She described local residents as welcoming and respectful, adding that drivers are noticeably more courteous, even if the cars are much larger.
Another teacher and chaperone, Magali Lapeyroni, described Bastille Day celebrations in Fréjus, where festivities typically include dancing and fireworks over the water.
Bastille Day, or “le 14 juillet”, is France’s national day. Each year, the Fredericksburg-Frejus Sister City Association hosts a public Bastille Day celebration. This year’s event, their 46th, took place at Galvin’s Deli, featuring live music by the Bruce Middle Trio, food and wine for sale, and a raffle benefiting the student exchange program, the association’s primary annual fundraiser.
Organization president Jack East described it during his event remarks as “one of the oldest continuously running student exchange programs in Virginia, if not the country.”
Brush and Da Cunha sat side by side at a table, laughing with their cohort, and were introduced, along with the rest of the exchange students, to the crowd of roughly 50 to 60 people gathered on the deli’s second floor for the event.
Later in the evening, “La Marseillaise” rang out, attendees raised a toast, and they all ate cake.
