Joshua Rakestraw learned to appreciate good food during his 23-day overseas study trip this summer.

From baguettes to barbecue, Rakestraw loved it all, even if he didn't know what he was eating. “I loved the food, it tasted delicious, but they wouldn't tell you what it was until after you had eaten it,” he said. Often, his hosts would inform him of the food's source by making animal sounds, Rakestraw added laughing.

The 13-year-old Rakestraw is a freshman at Fayette County High School and participated this summer in the People to People student ambassador program initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower. The international exchange gives students the opportunity to explore the customs and culture of other countries first hand, he explained.

During his stay abroad, Rakestraw lived with a family in Heyres, France where the daily routine started with an early breakfast and a trip to the open air market where food was selected for the day. A special meal was shared with his home stay family in the middle of a grape vineyard, under a small lean to.

Despite the tantalizing food, Rakestraw said the best thing about the trip was “getting to know all the people. I even got to use my French; it came back to me,” he noted, recalling language classes he had taken at Fayette Middle School.

He also toured parts of Spain and Italy.

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