LAMBERT ADAPTS QUICKLY TO AMERICAN LIFE; BEING QUEEN WILL BE A U.S. HIGHLIGHT

Lucie Lambert faced a task unusual to most Jackson High School students last weekend, after being crowned 1999 Homecoming queen.

Lambert, a sophomore foreign exchange student from France, had to explain to her parents just what type of honor it was that had been bestowed upon her."I had to explain to them what it was," she said. "They had never heard of a Homecoming queen."Outside of American movies and television, Lambert hadn't, either."In France we don't have dances in high school," she said. "I've seen it in movies and American (TV) series. It was new for me, but when I heard I won it, it was wonderful. That's one real highlight of my time here."Lambert's biggest adjustment has been moving from the 1.5 million-person metropolis of Lyon, France, the city's second largest city, to a town of less than 10,000. In fact, for the first 12 years of her life, Lambert lived in Paris."The biggest difference between our school (in Lyon) and here is the students here are closer to the faculty," she said. "In France there's more distance."Lambert attends an international high school, with some 2,000 students in grades 1-12. She will have two more years of school upon her return; this school year does not count. She has studied English for five years."I'm trying to learn English; that's one reason I'm here," she said. "I want to be in a job where I use English everyday. I want keep (command of) the language."She had to laugh when told the story of young Henri Marie Brackenridge. Sent by his father, a Pittsburgh judge, to stay in Ste. Genevieve at age 7, in 1792, Brackenridge was dropped off in the French community knowing just two words of French: "oui" and "non." In his autobiography, Brackridge related that by the time he went home two years later, he remembered only two words of English: "yes" and "no.""I don't think I'm going to have that happen," she said with a grin.

Other than student-teacher relationships and Homecoming dances, Lambert has lived a normal teenage life. Her father, Jean, is a computer engineer, who travels all over Europe. Her mother, He`le`ne is a third grade teacher. She was active in gymnastics, tennis and piano back home, having played piano about eight years. She has been able to keep up her piano practice while staying with Steve and Judy Snider.

After Thanksgiving, she will be moving in with Steve Burk, boys basketball coach, and his family. She will switch to third home in the spring. The idea is "to see different ways of American life."While the piano and tennis (at Jackson City Park) have continued to be hobbies in America, gymnastics has not worked out. "It's too different from France," she said. "I just didn't fit in.""Fit in" has been an understatement of how Lambert has meshed with the other students of JHS."They're curious about me," she said. "I really want to thank them. It would have been really hard if they didn't come to me and take me as a friend."They all want to know more about me and are curious. They ask me to translate things. It's pretty neat.""Lucie has really fit in well," said Sarah Nussbaum, a JHS counselor. "She got off the plane and got right into school. She's a special person."Other than Americans' taste in food, Lambert has been impressed with most things American."People are really open-minded and friendly here," she said. "They really make you feel welcome. That's really important for foreign students."Still, Lambert looks forward to the day she can relate her Missouri experiences face-to-face to her friends and family back home."I'll be very excited about everything (when I see my friends back home)," she said. "I write to my family and friends and try to tell them about how I live here. It's really great."Would Lambert recommend the foreign exchange program to others?"Definitely. It's an opportunity that many people should take," she said. "It allows you to learn so much. It's something more people should do."