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.