We both hosted a French exchange student for 10 days in February. It was a wonderful opportunity to practise our French while our new friends tested their English skills. Though we were strangers at first, by the time our exchange students left we had made new friendships. The International Affiliate Schools Program provided a fabulous opportunity to live with someone from a different part of the world and learn from them. We constantly compared our lifestyles, and we also learned that they had school days far longer than ours, and marvelled at the length of their lunchtimes—an hour and a half!
It was a lot of fun to show our exchange students around Brisbane. They were fascinated by our vegetation—so different from that in France. Angoulême is a much smaller city than Brisbane, so even the city centre was very different for them.
The School held a final reception for our exchange students on the Friday night before they left, which was a lot of fun as we watched the French students sing Waltzing Matilda. It was unclear how many of our Australian colloquialisms they understood, but we all joined in for the chorus and had a great time.
Lata Warner (11R) and Linda Koorts (11M)
Lata Warner (11R) with her French exchange student
