Junior Annalie Dern gets ready for bed after a long day and falls into a deep sleep. Come morning, she is interrupted by a blaring alarm clock as the sun breaks over the horizon.

When she wakes up, Dern smells fresh baguettes and Pains au Chocolat. Her two ‘brothers’ are running through the house, much like a typical American household.

Once she finishes her breakfast and walks out the door, Dern meets a scene very different than the one she woke up to several months ago. Instead of driving through the streets of Naperville on her way to school, Dern walks past the quaint sights of Marœuil, France.

“Every day ends up being a little different,” said Dern, a NNHS junior studying abroad as an exchange student.

This fall, Dern packed up her bags and traveled to France for a ten-month foreign exchange program. Each day, she encounters a new experience and creates a new memory. According to Dern, the school system in France is vastly different than the American school system.

“The school here is surprisingly really easy,” Dern said. “In math class, the teachers stay on the same lesson for nearly a week. It’s nothing like the fast-paced classes at North.”

She is also adjusting to her academic schedule. According to Dern, class times vary from day-to-day. Her schedule does not follow the same bell-to-bell routine that NNHS students know by heart.

“It’s really interesting because instead of having the same classes and school schedules like we have in Naperville, I have different classes depending on the day of the week,” Dern said.

After school ends, Dern enjoys shopping, trying the local cuisine or hanging out with friends and host family. Dern lives with her host parents, sister and two brothers.

“I do what any French teenager would do for fun,” Dern said.

On the weekends, Dern explores new cities. She now considers Lille her favorite.

“I’ve been to Lille three times so far, and it’s officially one of my favorite cities in the world,” Dern said. “It’s so beautiful to walk down the cobblestone streets and see all the beautiful architecture.”

Although living in a foreign country is exciting, there are many aspects of Dern’s life at home that she misses.

“I daydream about the time when I’ll be able to go home and be surrounded by Americans wherever I go,” Dern said. “Here, I feel a deep connection to anybody who speaks English just because we have the same language.”

Dern also misses her family and friends. She plans to return home in July of 2015 and cannot wait to see everyone she has been missing.

“I’m so glad that I have such strong relationships with my family and friends that I know one year could not change,” Dern said.