Au Revoir Lille

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Mirella Carr

Before beginning the blog, I’d like to take a moment to remember the 130 lives lost in the Paris attacks on the 13th November 2015 in an act of terrorism that will not be forgotten and I, along with millions of other people, will stand in support of these devastated families and the French population.

Now only a few hours out of Sydney, on the last leg of this seven-week long journey, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on the adventure my exchange in Lille had been. Not many can say that they’ve been to a foreign city, speaking a foreign language in a new family and school for seven weeks, but luckily enough, 23 others and I can.

We left the city of the Harbour Bridge on the 8th December 2016, sights set on the City of Love (and from there, our respective cities - Lille, Bordeaux and Rouen). Boots and coats in suitcase in head of the long winter ahead, passport in hand - we were ready to set out. The flight was long and boring, as expected, but went without problem. Finally at the famous Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, we were all so excited and equally tired and possibly even a little nervous. The seven of us going to Lille then had a 2-hour bus ride after which we finally met our host families (or part of).

Éric (my exchange’s step dad) met me there and took me to their home…of course stopping at the ‘boulangerie’ on the way home to get me a ‘pain au chocolat’ (the start of what was, WAY too much ‘authentic French’ food). Being a Wednesday, Jeanne (my exchange), returned home at 1pm from school. We had lunch with her, Éric and her best friend – Zoë. For me, the hardest part was over. I was always nervous of first meetings, especially not knowing how much French was expected of me. But, these nerves were wasted, as the family was so nice and if I ever didn’t understand anything, it was never awkward but just funny for everyone involved. They would always help me and it’s important to make it clear you are here to speak French only from the very start, and my family helped me with that.

The next day it was off to school. I was placed St Thérèse D’Avila with one other Australian who wasn’t in my classes but I could always count on for a super quick English conversation during breaks. I was lucky to be in a house a total of 10 metres from the front door of school, directly in the centre of Lille city. Although, it didn’t make getting up for school much easier, when school started in the dark at 8am in the freezing cold, I don’t think I ever quite became used to that part.

The classes and teaching methods in French schools are so very different to Australia. Jeanne took English, extension English, French, Spanish, Latin (4 languages!), maths, PE, religion, geography/history, biology and physics/chemistry. The classes were the same length as my ones at school but they seemed to last for a lot longer because I understood very little. The classes were 30-35 people and there were 6 of these classes in each grade so about 200 people. The days were long, starting at 8am and finishing at 5:30pm, a long day when you’re used to finishing at 3:20pm. We had 2 15-minute breaks during the day and one 1.5-hour break for lunch. But we didn’t eat till 12 every day at lunch – no recess!

Despite all these changes, the food was one of the biggest. My family made it very clear from the first day that I should get prepared and used to a life of cheese consumption for the whole 7 weeks, which was exactly what I did. The biggest meal was at lunch; dinner was generally a small thing with a lot of baguette and cheese. Lots. Not to mention the snails I also had for dinner…not as bad as one would think.

After the initial week I was told that it would be an easy ride from there. However, for me it was a different experience. The holidays were the biggest challenge for me because this was when I discovered I had a lot of differences to my host sister especially because we spent every day all day together. As well as this, missing family and friends was a common trend amongst all the Australians in this Christmas period. But I was lucky enough to have some awesome experiences like driving over the Belgium/France border for extended family Christmas day and then the day after we drove in the other direction to a town in the Reims wine region. We stayed there for 3 nights and here the family took me to many sites such as the cathedral in Reims – a major tourist destination that I was lucky enough to be able to see.

Over the duration of the holidays and first few weeks of term, my family took me to both Bruges and Amsterdam. These were beautiful cities with amazing sights and we had some really fun times here. The weekend I spent in Amsterdam was one of the highlights of my trip especially because I became so close to both Jeanne and her older sister (Manon) over the duration of the trips.

We had New Year’s back in Lille and then we were back into the swing of school where I worked on my French and it was all cemented. The constant listening was enough to dramatically improve my skills and each day it was nerve racking but so rewarding to speak French each day and see it improving.

We had 3 meet ups with the Australians – Christmas markets (and time well spent on the huge Ferris wheel and gazing at the beautiful dessert creations France does too well), ice-skating and the full day battlefields tour. These were some really great experiences and it was always fun to meet up with the others and see how they were doing on their exchanges. We also had opportunities here to go see the more touristy side of Lille and do some sightseeing.

One of the most special days of the whole experience was the last day of school in, which I was asked to do a presentation in English about Australia for their English class. I played them songs such as Waltzing Matilda and Down Under and then their teacher asked them to sing the Australian National Anthem despite the fact they did not know the words or the tune. They then had a surprise ‘class party’ for me with a signed card from them all.

And then it was all over and before we knew it we were at the meeting point in Lille saying goodbye in the cold at 5:30am for the last time to all our beautiful host families. I promised my host sister I will see her again, and there is a high chance she will come back and stay with me during her long holidays, which we are both so excited about. And with that, 7 teary-eyed Australians set off on our journey back Down Under. We were so very excited to get home and see our friends and family but in the same way, we dreaded leaving the beautiful country. I am so thankful for having had the opportunity to go on this trip and know I will remember it for a lifetime and I have made a friend that I will have for a lifetime.

Learning To Love Bordeaux

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Chloe Osborn

Parents hugged their children too tight for comfort, people checked the weight of our too-heavy suitcases (I blame the jumpers), the last few camera flashes were being set off and a few tears were rolling down cheeks when the time finally came for us travellers to check in.


As we sat at the gate waiting for boarding we chatted and played card games (for one game called ‘spoons’ we had to find 8 spoons – the café that gave us them was slightly confused by our request but obliged).

On the plane ride to Singapore, we watched countless movies, read books, desperately tried to learn French from our dictionaries and phrase books, and chatted amongst ourselves. We eventually reached Singapore Airport where we re-grouped for a little bit before we were allowed to go explore for an hour. We promptly found the fast food again. Cards were thrown down triumphantly whilst we waited for boarding on our flight to Paris! We were all exhausted by that point so most us slept for the majority of the 14-hour flight. As we started our descent, we tried to make out some of the landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, as we would sadly be unable to view them ourselves, as we could no longer go to Paris for the first part of our trip.

However it was great as we were able to go see our families earlier! We said goodbye to the Lille/Rouen travellers as they were getting a bus from Paris airport to their cities, and the 7-week Bordeaux and 5-week Lyon travellers found our way to our domestic flights. We then had our first taste of French food as we bought croissants, ‘chocolat chaud’ and even macarons from Laudre! We said goodbye again to the others who were going to Lyon as we separated to board our different domestic flights.

Everyone was feeling a mixture of nervousness, excitement, tiredness and eagerness as we went to collect our bags. People were frantically asking others what they should be saying to their host family once they met them and of course most importantly, “Do I kiss them on each cheek?”

As we all met our own host families and the others’ as well, we said our final good byes to each other and parted to leave to our new homes for the next several weeks.

Once at the house, I gave my family a few small thankyou gifts of typical Australian things, and they were delighted about their jar of vegemite and a new Christmas tree decoration: a small koala bear with a Santa hat on. After that, I told them about my life in Australia and what we do ‘down under.’ We established that I didn’t ride kangaroos to school and that not every living thing would kill you. However, my host sister’s younger sister could not fathom how I would want to leave 35-degree warmth for 5-degree coldness.

The next week we all tried to settle into our new family’s life and daily routine, which of course meant tackling the big thing. School. In French. Help.

Luckily, we all survived and started to relax a bit when we met all our host sibling’s friends and teachers, and tried to understand as best we could what everyone was saying. We soon all started to have fun going to school and enjoyed learning new subjects that we may not have done back in Australia, such as Spanish, physics and French as our English class to name a few. Soon enough, it was time for the Christmas holidays with our families!

We had our first group excursion to the city, Bordeaux. We were taken around and shown the monuments of the city by a student. We were shown the Saint-André cathedral, Le Grosse Cloche, Grand Theatre, Rostral columns of the Esplanade des Quinconces and the Place de la Bourse, which has the world’s largest water mirror. As we filled in our booklets, we walked around the stunning architecture of Bordeaux. We even lit a candle for Antipodeans in the church of Église Notre-Dame. We shopped down Rue Sainte-Catherine and ate crepes in the amazing ‘Marche de Noel’ that was set up in the centre of Bordeaux. We all had a great time and were sad to say goodbye, however we would be seeing each other soon.

The Christmas holidays were full of laughter, eating, watching Christmas movies, and more eating. For the first few days of the holidays, my family and I relaxed before preparing ourselves for Christmas with all the family. I tried eating Fois Gras, oysters, the amazing bread and of course the ‘bûche de nöel!’ After Christmas, we did a few touristy things such as visiting the Bassin d'Arcachon, Chateau Féodal de Beynac and St Emillion. Soon the holidays came to an end and we had to return back to school, but it wasn’t so bad as we got to go see our French friends again. ☺

School resumed as normal, and I started to settle into the normal 6:30am wake up routine. We went to classes, ate baguette sandwiches for lunch and went home at 5pm each night. Living in a different daily routine was so interesting and new, as we really experienced a whole different way of life.

On our last weekend in France, we had our second outing with all the Australians and their host siblings. We all got together and (tried to) create amazing canalés, madeleines and of course, galette des roi. We had an great time catching up, showing off our French skills whilst relishing in being able to speak English and meeting everyone’s host siblings. We all realised that in a week, we would have to sadly leave France so we said our goodbyes to some of the host siblings we had met over the time spent in France. My host sister couldn’t come to the cooking class, however I soon found out why not when I came home to a surprise leaving party for me! It was so nice of my host sister to organise that with all the French friends I had grown close with, and I really had no idea it was happening!

The final week of school was sad, as we had to start say goodbye to everyone we had met. I had my final day of school one day earlier, because on my last full day in Bordeaux my host sister and I were going into the centre of Bordeaux with her friends to go to the University open day there. After we had seen a couple of lectures we went and had some lunch and ate it on the steps of the Grand Theatre, before we exhausted ourselves on the Rue Sainte-Catherine (my poor savings account – and suitcase). It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the beautiful city and all my French friends.

The time had come for us to sadly leave Bordeaux on Friday morning at 4am. It hadn’t hit me until I was packing my suitcase on the night before that I was actually leaving. It had been such a surreal experience and I didn’t want it to end! As I checked in my too-heavy suitcase, the time had finally come for me to say goodbye. Cue the tears. I had managed to keep my sobs under restraint whilst saying goodbye to the family until I had to say goodbye to my host sister – we both couldn’t handle it at such an early time. The bond we had created would truly last a lifetime.

The flight to Paris was very quiet, as we were all tired and upset about leaving, however we were starting to get excited about seeing all our friends and families in Sydney again. As we finally touched down and went through to the arrivals, we were all definitely excited to see everyone we knew.

I have definitely had the most amazing experience on this immersion, and it has benefitted my French speaking so much more than I thought. Not only that, but I’ve had the chance to live in a different country and lifestyle that is so different to Sydney. I’ve made some truly great friendships with people and especially with my host family and sister. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I am truly grateful for everyone who I met and can’t wait to go back!

Farewell to Lyon

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Stephanie Mireille



The 8th of December 2015.

The date myself, and all of my fellow Antipodeans were anxiously and excitedly waiting for. The day we would embark on a journey to the other side of the world!

With our passports in hand and group photo complete, we said a final goodbye to our families and headed to the check in desks.

The adventures had only just begun!

23 hours later and quite a few cups of coffee and Nutella to go's later, we had arrived at Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport at approximately 4:30pm.

With our bags in hand and hopeful smiles, we headed towards the arrivals gate, anxiously awaiting the moment we would meet the families we would be sharing the next five weeks with!

I don't think I have ever seen such big smiles in all my life as I did when the automatic doors slid open revealing our host families standing there awaiting our arrival and I knew in that moment, we all truly realised we had well and truly made it to France!

In the weeks that followed, I had the privilege of visiting the bustling city of Lyon with my lovely host family. I got to visit the famous basilica of Notre-Dame and see the Ancient Roman Theatre, walk the streets of old Lyon and eat some delicious Nutella crepes at Le Marche du Noel.

Fast forward a few weeks and myself, along with my fellow Antipodeans, had all completed a week and a half of school and were heading into a well deserved and anticipated Christmas break. With exciting plans to travel to Italy, eat as much dessert as possible and visit family in the Alps in Grenoble, we were all busy and enjoying every second we spent in the wondrous country of France.

To kick the Christmas celebrations off, myself along with the Cannie Family (my host family), all squished ourselves into a navy blue little Peugeot on the morning of the 24th and took off for Grenoble where we would be staying over Christmas with Grandma Alice, or as she liked to be called; Mammalice!

The next morning I was awoken by the soothing sounds of Dean Martin's Christmas album and as I tiptoed down the spiral stairs, I could smell Mammalice's signature oatmeal with raisins and honey (which is seriously my new favourite food ... aside from Nutella crepes of course!).

And before you could say; 'Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat,' we were all nestled around the Christmas tree ready to exchange gifts.

The remaining two days at Mammalice's consisted of lots of cheese, baking Christmas treats and going for strolls through the close by little mountain towns. We even ended up walking up one! 

The New Year was now right around the corner and as we made plans for our final weeks in France, New Years Eve approached quickly; some of us went dancing while others went to parties with our host siblings and their families.
I know for all of us, it was a New Years Eve we will most definitely remember!

As 2016 headed into full swing, myself and my fellow Antipodeans found ourselves back at school for the last time and ultimately, spending the last week we had with our new found friends at school and our host families.
The week seemed to fly by and before we knew it, we were packing our bags and setting out our Antipodeans t-shirts and beanies, ready for our trip back home early the next morning.

The next morning began well before sunrise for many, if not all of my fellow Antipodeans and our host families when we arrived at the airport at about 5:30am and with handshakes, hugs and teary waves we had said goodbye to the families we had grown to love over our five week stay in France.

Finally on the 9th of January 2016, my fellow Antipodeans and I reached Sydney Airport at approximately 8:30pm after 22 hours of flying!
And for the first time in five weeks; We were home!

And although my fellow Antipodeans and I have well and truly left Europe, I still have days that I wake up expecting to see my old bedroom or walk downstairs to see my host parents and sisters eating breakfast, or even to see my host families cat, Kiwi walk through my bedroom door in the evening.

It's crazy to think that only a month ago my fellow Antipodeans and I were on the opposite side of the world sharing all the amazing and exciting moments and experiences of a foreign place!
All the laughs, late night texting in the group chat, that sharing of stories and sending of selfies.

This whole trip has, in some ways, felt like a massive blur of moments which I still cannot, fathom have occurred But I cannot begin to imagine how truly privileged myself and my fellow Antipodeans have been for being able to go on such a life changing trip and have such a blast!

Every day of this trip begun with me rolling over in my oversized Qantas pyjamas truly amazed and in awe of the fact that I was on the other side of the world, staying with a lovely Lyonnaise family and going to a Lyonnaise school speaking a language I know very little about and making so many new friends and exploring the world around me. Honestly, I still cannot fathom it!

I have tried quite a few times now to truly express my gratitude to my Lyonnaise family, to my new friends, to my parents in Sydney and to Antipodeans in regards to this trip...
But what can I say?
This trip has been indescribable!

I would seriously encourage anyone who is thinking of or wanting to go on an exchange trip to go.
Even if you think you’re too shy or your language skills aren’t good enough, or even if you’re crazy anxious (like me), you can still go on a trip like this and have the most amazing and life changing experience.

So from myself and my fellow travellers; thank you to our parents for letting us embark on such an awesome journey and to our host families, thank you for making the time we spent in France so memorable - we will never ever forget you and we can’t wait to come back and visit you!
And finally to Antipodeans, because without you, we wouldn’t have been able to go on such a fantastic trip!

Merci et Au Revoir! xx

Sad Farewell To France After Seven Weeks

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Eadelin Melloy

On Saturday, Clémence and I went and did some shopping in the sales both in Rouen centre and the docks (shopping centre).

 We went to many of the different stores you can't get in Australia like New Look and Jennyfer, which was amazing. Of course the sales just made it so much better as everything was so much cheaper and some of the clothes were even 70% off!

After going shopping in Rouen city centre we went to the docks and got some lunch at a pasta place before going to see a cute french film 'Le Nouveau', which was about a boy starting at a new school. We had some good giggles and it was a nice break from shopping! After this we did even more shopping and I honestly could not believe how busy it was – so many people! Once we got home we had mini cheese crepes for dinner and went to bed as it was quite late.

On the Sunday we slept in and then went to the markets to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables and other food for the coming week. It was very interesting as I have previously seen a video of this in french class so to see it in real life is quite funny!


After this we had Clémence s fondants that she had made that morning, these were absolutely delicious and I must ask for the recipe before I go! That afternoon we just hung about and had a relaxing evening.

During the last week of school in Rouen, I attended my first audiovisual class for four hours on Wednesday afternoon (due to many of the Wednesday afternoons being excursions) which was quite interesting as they looked at the way film was made. That night I was given a 'Burgundy' meal, which consisted of my first ever snails and Beef Burgundy a famous dish from that area which is world known.

The snails were surprisingly delicious – I think this was mainly due to the amount of garlic and butter put in the delicious sauce.

Snails!

On the Thursday it was my last day so Clémence and I went out to do some final shopping in Rouen and also went to Flunch for some lunch during our three hour break eating 'Galette complet' and a delicious strawberry custard tart. Full to the brim I purchase my last macaron (I was most definitely forced to by my host sister) this time 'ganache' flavoured. After this we did have an hour break where we went into the computer room and watched 'The 100' in french.

After saying goodbye to the people I had met at school, we caught the bus home and I started to pack. It was here the fact that I would be leaving really kicked in and the sadness and excitement filled me up. My host family took me out to a restaurant where we had our last meal and they gave me two beautiful books - a french cooking 'bible' and a book of Normandy.
View outside the bus

Getting up at 4:00am in the morning, I put on my jeans and my Antipodean t-shirt and headed off to meet everyone at the bus. The 7 weeks had seemed to go fast and it really was sad to go. When it came to saying goodbyes i think my host sister and I cried and hugged about 10 times before I could get on the bus (I was the last one).

After goodbyes, we headed to the airport where we caught a 13 hour flight to Singapore and a 7 hour flight home, exchanging stories with everyone of our adventures abroad. Once touching down in Sydney and seeing our parents everyone excited, only truly feeling like home once stepping out into the heat!

Au revoir France!

Honestly I can say this experience has been an amazing one of culture, language and creating connections. I was extremely lucky to receive such a lovely family and I will definitely stay in contact with.

German Language Immersion – Sad to Say Goodbye!

COUNTRY: Germany
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
PROJECT: Language Exchange
WRITTEN BY: Sebastian Hahn

With the goodbyes and tearful hugs a forgotten memory we excitedly handed over our passports and began our long journey. As we boarded our flight we gave a last wave to Sydney and made our selves comfortable for the next 9 hours. The flight was a time spent catching up on movies and getting to know everyone from the rest of the group. By the stop over in Singapore we were all delirious due to lack of sleep which fortunately led to an hour filled of stories, jokes and plenty of laughter. As the hour came to end we all mentally prepared ourselves for the next thirteen hour flight that separated into those who slept (mainly me) and those who wished they could sleep.

After finally arriving we rummaged through our suitcases for our jackets and scarfs in preparation for the cold. After going through the customs door we met (our now beloved and hysterical) tour guide, who would be accompanying our time here in Germany. Before any sightseeing began we could first go to our hotel and eagerly devour a German breakfast. At first the German breakfast puzzled most of our group as it resembled more of a lunch than a breakfast not that it mattered at that point. Shortly after we were back on the train heading towards the city. Here we meet with a Munich tour guide and proceeded to walk Munich flat, along the way we heard many stories of the city culture and history, saw some absolutely amazing architecture and took far too many photos. With some free time before returning to the hotel, we could all wonder the Christmas markets and eagerly practise our German.

To begin our second day we again had a lunch style breakfast and then to keep us on our toes we had a hour long German lesson with our much beloved “Frau”. As opposed to yesterday, today held a more sombre activity which was Dachau. Upon arrival at the concentration camp everyone could sense the melancholic atmosphere as we proceeded through the gates of the camp. It is hard to believe some of the events occurred or how many lives were affected within these walls. All which we see from the remnants around the camp. As we departed the gates of the camp we headed towards a more pleasant site of German history, the BMW museum. Here we could see the history of BMW from the very first car, to it’s planes, engines and to its latest car. To finish the day off we headed off to experience the very best of Germany, it’s food. We could enjoy this at the “Hofbrau Haus” with it’s traditional German and delicious food.

The next morning everyone could feel the anxiety as we boarded the train and began our long journey to Dorsten. On the train we all played cards and talked to distract ourselves from the nervousness. It was only after we boarded our last train that we all eagerly practised our German greetings and fretted over meeting our family. As early darkness surrounded us we pulled into Dorsten Station. My own heart was beating immensely at the concept of meeting my family and I’m sure it was the same for the others. Yet as we looked through the masses of dark figures we found our families, and all worries were put to rest and the concept of staying here for five weeks was less daunting.

The next morning for me and I’m sure for the others was a time to explore our new surroundings and get to know the family. For me this was a polar opposite to my life in Sydney as I was now to living on a farm style house as well as now having two sisters, a brother, two horses, chickens and a St Bernard. However, our time was limited as the Australian group and our host Germans were to meet the Dorsten Bürgermeister (mayor) and then have a guided tour. Here we learnt all the history of Dorsten and surprising facts, one of which is that the esteemed author Cornelia Funkle grew up within Dorsten.

It was the time at home with my host family that I felt the most confident about my German where I could understand and contribute to conversation. However this changed dramatically with the proposal of school, to me this was a daunting experience as it was completely different to an Australian School. Our days began with an early start of six o’clock, from here we drove to the bus station and waited in the blistering cold and dark. It was this claustrophobic darkness that was the most unusual to me especially arriving to school in the dark, attending classes in the dark and then often leaving school in the dark. Classes within the school are relatively the same compared to Sydney with the same subjects. The German schools did however differ in its timetable where one could have either long or short days during the week, when having a short day a student could leave at lunch yet on a long day they could go for a two hour break around lunch -time and then return for two more lessons. It was during these breaks that most conversation was made between students and where I could see the similarities between Australian and German students such as conversation topics and definitely humour.

As a break, a much needed break we had a day trip to the beautiful city of Köln. The gossiping of stories and photo sharing began bright and early at the small station of Dorsten and continued on both train rides. It was only until our train pulled into the Köln “Hauptbahnhof” and we all saw the somewhat unbelievable Cathedral, that we became quiet. It was only when we approached the bottom of the Cathedral that we realised how tall it is. We met out Tour guide who gave a very detailed history of the “Dom” (during its 600 year construction) of it’s tragedy and joy. Köln apparently had it all. When entering the cathedral it’s easy to understand why it took 600 years to construct, due to the architecture, artwork and the sheer beauty. To take this to an even higher level, the entire group climbed the 502 (German accuracy) steps and see the entirety of Köln. Despite the chilly wind we all managed to take plenty of photos and of course selfies. When we descended the endless spiral steps and had made our way to the train where we would pull into Dorsten for the second time and said our goodbyes until next time.

After this it was back to school, unfortunately there was only four more days of school which passed rather quickly and soon we were saying our goodbyes to our new friends.The next days were probably the most insightful into the German culture as they were just normal days which showed what an average family would do. Personally due to me living on a farm style house with three siblings, my days were always eventful. Events ranged from tending the horses, playing soccer, riding the tractors with my younger brother and playing cards games. Aside from these activities my family and I would also go out and see the local sites or see family.

I believe if there was one sole event that explained Germany culture it would be Christmas. This is due to how dear they hold it, and how many traditions they have. The first is how they not only celebrate the day but also the four weeks leading up to is with four candles. A second rather exciting tradition is going out into the woods and cutting down a Christmas tree. Of course like Australia after the tree was set it up in the living room it would be decorated till overflowing with decorations. As the days passed and the tension rose, it was time for Christmas Eve. It was here that my host family and I celebrated with a huge feast of food, games and music all of which was amazing. Yet as the hours of celebrating carried on and I thought it would never end it was time for a midnight Church service. It is this culmination of events that I think Christmas is a time where I fully experienced every part of German culture from it’s food, it’s traditions, it’s religion and it’s people.

As the time of Christmas wore off and the days became less festive and life almost returned back to a somewhat normal state. However, this peace did not last long as New Year was approaching. In the German culture this meant fireworks and alcohol. On the night of New Year’s Eve, family members and family friends arrived and the hours of count down began. After a rather lengthy feast where both the alcohol and conversation ran freely the New Year approached rapidly. As we began to count down the seconds the cacophony of fireworks began. All around the little town of Dorsten people were setting of their individual fireworks to create a spectacular show all around. Yet although the fireworks died down the parties went into the early hours of the morning.

From New Year the days unfortunately were numbered and each day ended sooner than last. As the last night approached the farewells began among our families, some had little gifts, some gave us cards and others simply hugged and wished the best. I think the reason the farewells began early was because we would all truly miss each other, after five weeks why wouldn't we? It was a time where we experienced their normal life and activities and I suppose over time we became a part of their normal life. As the next morning sun shone I said my last goodbyes over our last breakfast and then made the drive to the train station. As the train slowly began to pull off we caught our last glimpses of Dorsten, maybe some of us would return who knows but for now we soaked up the last memory of it.

Although we had just said goodbye one couldn't help but feel excitement for Berlin and as the scenery around turned white from the snow the atmosphere grew. After a long five hours we eagerly bundled off the train only to be greeted by an Artic like temperature of -11. From our usual 30 degree temperature in Sydney this -11 was a shock to everyones system. From here we all eagerly looked forward to the warmth of our hotel and the prospect of food. Our only adventure left of the day was a impromptu walk to the Brandenburg Gate, here we all took photos, group photos, selfies. With the photos sessions over we all walked in to the cold of night with snow falling around us, almost a perfect moment until a snowball hit you.

The next day offered more of an opportunity to see the sights of Berlin as we went on our walking tour. Here we were lucky to experience the beautiful sights of Berlin, with its architecture in the Brandenburg Tor or the Reichstag and it’s history from settlement to present day. Lastly of course is the culture which as we learned not only revolved around curry wurst or Berliner doughnuts but the vast shopping centres most of which visited if not all. To end the day after this amazing yet rather exhausting tour, we went to the Berlin wall which although has a history of brutality and separation, is now a symbol of peace and harmony. This is perhaps due to it being covered in thought provoking art that inspire concepts of peace.

Our next day offered a slightly different array of experiences beginning with the Berlin horror Bunker. It was here that we visited a Berlin Bunker that had been used during war time to protect the surrounding people. It is easy enough to see why this place of war had been turned into a little horror show due to its eerie atmosphere and formidable appearance. As we waited to enter the maze our heart beats rose and our ears filled with the screams of the previous group. All I can say is that I’m glad its over and I'm sure I speak for the rest of the group. After those mornings rather interesting activities we had a more relaxing and pleasant sightseeing activity which was the Charlottenburg Schloss. This magnificent and historic building has housed some of the the most prestiges Royals from Friedrich to Wilhelm and also Napoleon. I myself couldn't help but admire the architecture and paintings that filled the building. Overall, the day had offered rather stark contrasts of Berlin adventures. However the day was not finished. No, dinner that night offered an opportunity for our rather favoured comedian Declan Heim to thank our much beloved tour guide.

Yet with the next morning, the time for the five weekers had come to an end. As we hugged and said our goodbyes to the seven weekers in the lobby we went out into the snowy city of Berlin for the last time. Although the travel went as blur and I was barely conscious from the early start I couldn't help but think of my time here in Germany. Throughout the time we had not only improved our German significantly but we had also created friendships with our host families that will last forever. We had created memories from school friends, from time with our host brother or sister, with the family in Berlin or Munich. I guess, I replayed all these memories of this long journey on the flight and I’m sure they will replay ever so often in the future.

Exciting and Challenging Language Immersion in Germany

COUNTRY: Germany
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
PROJECT: Language Exchange
WRITTEN BY: Sophie Hayes

Arriving at Sydney airport on the 7th of December, 2015 was the most nervous, excited and surreal moment of my life so far.

Dressed in our antipodeans shirts, 12 Australians said goodbye to their family members and departed Sydney for a 20 hour trip to Munich, Germany. Accompanied by our amazing Chaperone, Frau Lewin we arrived in Munich after stopping over in Singapore. Despite the length of the flight, our excitement levels were incredibly high as “the exchange” that we had been talking about for so long, had finally become a reality.

We left Munich airport to be greeted by our phenomenal guide, who made our trip amazing. After dropping our bags off at the hotel we left and went exploring for the day, visiting the gorgeous Christmas markets in Marienplatz and then touring the city, embracing every single aspect. Over the next three days we visited the BMW museum, the Hofbräuhaus, Dachau Concentration Camp, Neuschwanstein Castle and the Rathaus to name a few. It came to the end of our trip to Munich, so we boarded the ICE Train and made our way to meet our host families in Dorsten, North-West Germany. In the final 30 minutes of the train trip, the tension levels were high, with a mixture of excitement and nervousness thick in the air. As we exited the train, we saw a large crowd of welcoming families ready to take us in for the next five or seven weeks.

The next few weeks were action packed with a mixture of group excursions, family activities and of course school consuming every moment of our time. We were giving the weekend to settle in after arriving, but as Monday came we had school. I was completely shocked at first as school finishes at 1.30 and when their teachers are away they just get a free period! All of the teachers were very welcoming and tried to engage me in the class as much as possible. My host sisters friends were lovely and they had conversations with me about life back at home and were mainly shocked about our ways of life, many expecting us to have kangaroos in our back garden, snakes in our toilets and red dirt covering the ground! 

The day following our first day at school, the Australians reunited at Dorsten train station to spend the day exploring Cologne. In Cologne we visited the large Cathedral and climbed to the top of the right tower, which allowed us to have an incredible birds eye view of the city. We were also given plenty of time to embrace all the shops that we don't have in Australia!

The rest of the week flew by with school taking up most of our time. On Friday the 18th, the Australians and Germans met up for a group disco - ice skating party and it was so much fun. We all got to learn more about each other and become more used to the cold! One of the best things about being in Dorsten was that it was very easy to go to other major cities in Germany as the train station allowed for many different trips to many different cities. I visited many different places with my host sister and some of the other exchange students and their siblings throughout the exchange. I visited Düsseldorf, Essen and the local zoo to name a few. Our second group excursion was to Bonn, where we visited the Rhine, Bonn University, Beethoven’s House and of course, the shopping district as well.

School finished later on that week in preparation for Christmas. In Germany christmas is celebrated a little differently to the way we do it in Australia. The celebrations are spread across three days. The 24th of December is traditionally the day where Christmas presents are exchanged and when people attend Mass. The 1st Christmas (25th) and the 2nd Christmas (26th) is spent with extended family where traditional German customs are upheld. Following the Christmas celebrations, the Australians and germans met up again at a mosaic and sculpture workshop where we created our own fish sculptures. It was a lot of fun and really good bonding time with our host siblings.

It reached the 31st of December and the Germans and Australians met up again for a bowling match at the local equivalent of strike bowling! We had a really fun couple of hours and then post all of our hard work we all came together along with our host families for a big feast for dinner which was absolutely delicious and we all had a really fun time meeting each others families and bonding together. Each of us celebrated NYE or Sylvester differently while we were over here. Personally, I went to a party with one of the other Australians and her host sister and we had a really fun time. The highlight of the evening was definitely the fireworks that we did ourselves and then looking across the skyline to see it completely lit up by fireworks, as everyone does their own in Germany!

The first few days of the new year were spent doing activities with out host families, relaxing and embracing the German lifestyle. However, on the 5th of January the Australians, along with a few host siblings departed Dorsten on the ICE Train towards Berlin. Everyone was extremely excited to reach the capital of Germany and fully explore and discover the history of Berlin. We arrived in the evening and were immediately greeted by the cold weather, but along with the -5 degree temperature, snow began to fall and we were all very excited to be travelling around in this winter wonderland. We decided that it would be fun to explore Berlin in the night so we went out later that day and managed to end up at the Brandenburger Tor. It was phenomenal and felt really surreal to finally be seeing it all in real life. Over the following three days we visited so many different sites. To name a few, we visited the Reichstag, The Berlin Wall, Ka De We, The Mall of Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie, Charlottenburg Palace, the Gedächtniskirche, Berlin Cathedral, the Tiergarten and the Holocaust Museum.

After an action packed three days it was time for the 5 weekers to leave Germany. It was so hard to say goodbye to the few people who were leaving as we had all formed such a close bond over the last five weeks and everyone knew that these new friendships would last a life time. We bid our goodbyes at a nice early time of 5am and then the 7 weekers went back upstairs and back to sleep. A few hours later we woke up once again to leave for a quick final sight-seeing tour and then went back to the hotel to pick up our bags and leave. A newly depleted group boarded the ICE Train on our trip back to Dorsten, a place that was beginning to feel like our second home. Upon arrival we were greeted by our host families who brought us back home and into reality!

Over the next two weeks all five of us experienced so much it is impossible to record every activity. However, all of us had one thing in common: we all attended school for the two weeks with our host siblings, and those two weeks were vital to my German understanding. I began to comprehend so much more, as I was getting used to the language and beginning to understand how it functioned. I would definitely recommend going for those two extra weeks as a significant improvement was visible at the end of that period of time.

As well as attending school, I did many activities with my host family and the other Australian exchange students. As a group, we all went on an excursion to an old steel factory in Bottrop in the pitch black and it was one of the coolest experiences of the trip. We climbed up to the very top of the factory and had a full view of many of the surrounding cities and the lights at night was one of the most gorgeous things I had ever seen.

It finally came to the end of the final two weeks and sadly we had to say goodbye to our host siblings. Personally, I found this extremely hard as my host sister and I have become so close and pretty much are sisters! I have to say a few tears were shed, however they were mixed with the sadness of leaving but the excitement to head home after almost two weeks away. As my host dad said when I was departing, “One door has to close for another one to open”. I really hope that my host sister will consider coming to Australia and stay with my family on an exchange or that I will see her in the near future. We have been and will stay in contact for a long time as the tight bond that we have formed will never be broken.

Without a doubt this exchange was one of the most exciting and challenging things I have ever done in my life and I am so incredibly glad that I had the opportunity to do it. I would highly recommend going on exchange to improve your language abilities or just immerse yourself in another culture you are interested in! I have just had the best time of my life and made so many memories that I will never forget. Sophie Hayes

An Amazing Seven Weeks in Paris

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Stevie Young

The adventure of a lifetime began on the 8th of December 2015, with a large group of nervous parents (some more so than their kids), and students all wearing dark Antips tee shirts. 

And what an adventure it was – 23 hours of travel took us to Charles de Gaul airport near Paris. I think that honestly that bus trip was one of the most nerve wracking experiences of the entire trip… because I was sleep deprived, it seemed to me that I could speak absolutely no French. Not to mention that we were all wondering what our host sisters would be like. Would we get along? Would we be able to communicate?

However, within seconds of our arrival, I realised that our host families were just as nervous as us. I had the dubious honour of been the first Aussie called out of the bus (where we were still cowering) and I have never had so many butterflies in my stomach. But I was met with smiles and a hug from my host sister, and straight away I felt a thousand times better.

As we headed home (my enormous bag did earn me one or two raised eyebrows on the bus) I was amazed by how… French everything was. So many of the houses bore the distinctive oak plank design, and my host family’s house had the most adorable garden and sloped roof. I fell in love immediately.

And then, of course, came the food.

By dinnertime I was hungry, sure. But I was not at all prepared for what was soon to become a typical meal. We started with cheese. Little cubes of cheese served with baguette that Blandine (my host sister) and I had picked up that afternoon. And then we had soup, with croutons, which was amazing. Then more cheese, all the fancy French ones like Camembert and Brie – I have never been so full in my life.

And then … dessert came out. Dessert was a cake, and the French idea of a ‘small piece’ is not at all mine. But it was so lovely, and my host family were the best.

Other than eat about that much food every night (my suit case was not the only thing that weighed more on the way home), I was lucky enough to explore Rouen. The beauty of the Rouen Cathedral blew me away and the other churches in the area each time I saw them, and all the Australians on exchange in Rouen were shown the ‘Big Clock’ and the court yard where Joan of Ark was burned as well as given a quick rundown on the history of the architecture behind the Cathedral a week after we arrived, on our first excursion together.

Fortunately, I was able to explore some of the features of France outside of Rouen too! I went to Étretat, a beautiful beach with an adorable town nestled between naturally forming enormous arches that stretched into the ocean from the headland. Whilst all my photos of that day show glowing sunshine, it was not warm at all – we ate lunch on the beach, and all three of us were certain our hands were about to fall off from the cold. (This actually ended up being another common theme of the trip).

During the Christmas Holidays I also went up to Mont Saint Michel with my host sister, her older sister and my host Mum. It was truly stunning and I feel so blessed to have been able to learn about French history whilst seeing such a beautiful place. I believe some of the other Australians went to Paris during the Christmas Holidays too, and that they had an amazing time there!

Speaking of Christmas holidays, we all had Christmas in France, which was amazing! I didn’t realise how big a deal Christmas Eve is in France. It’s almost bigger than Christmas day, and no one sleeps until 3am. We had amazing food, which I got to help make, and we all got really dressed up which was fun! It was hard not being home for Christmas, but I Skype called my family, and my Mum packed me a present from her to open, so I didn’t end up being too homesick (not to mention how utterly wonderful and welcoming my host family was). Christmas day was much quieter, although we still managed to have a massive lunch. Overall, it was a wonderful holiday and I am so grateful for the experience!

After the holidays ended (As they always seem to) it was back to school for us! Blandine was in the science course, which meant a lot of maths and chemistry and physics, none of which I understood (and judging by the diagrams, English wouldn’t have helped much) Still, English class was always a relief, and I could sometimes pick up what was going on in History (Until it morphed into that pure evil, geography)

We had two more excursions before we headed home; one of them was to the battlefields of World War I and World War II, which was a fascinating and sobering excursion. The week after, we all also went ice-skating, and because I couldn’t skate I found it hilarious to watch – we stood out like sore thumbs clinging to the railing and using the aids meant for the small children (which they were too busy zipping around the rink to use). After we’d had enough, we all headed out for hot chocolate, a truly magical thing in France.

But unfortunately, like all truly wonderful things, our time in France had to come to an end. We caught the bus at 5:30 on a Friday morning to Paris, where we nervously checked our luggage (no one was 100% sure that they wouldn’t be over the limit) and talked excitedly with our friends about our experiences. 23 hours later we walked out of the arrivals gate to be met by our families, a wonderful end to a fantastic trip on every level!

It’s impossible for me to describe exactly how much this experience has meant to me, and how impossibly grateful I am for it. I know that all the other Australians feel the same, and that we’ve all had some of the best 7 weeks of our lives!

A Seven Week Journey Of Discovery And Learning in France

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: Language Immersion
PROJECT: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Dara Slarke-Griffiths

After a teary goodbye to our friends and family at Sydney airport on the morning of December 8, we boarded our 9-hour flight to Bangkok with the French ‘five week-ers’ and the German ‘seven week-ers’. On this flight, we were able to make friends with the people near us as we talked and watched movies together. It was a rather enjoyable flight and was full of laughing, joking and just getting to know each other. When we landed in Bangkok airport, we made our way over to the airport accommodation where we spent our 10-hour stop over. By this point we were all a bit delirious but still wanted to spend time with our new friends so while some people slept in their rooms, most of us went to the airport food court and shops, while others stayed around the rooms taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi or playing card games.

The 10 hours passed rather quickly and soon enough we were saying goodbye to our new Germany-bound friends, as they had to board a different flight, whilst we boarded our flight to Paris! While we were all incredibly excited, we were so tired that we slept for most of the 12 hours in the air. When we made it to Paris, we loaded onto a bus outside the airport and had a tour of the city. He told us many stories about the history of the city and showed us many beautiful buildings that were just ‘so French’ (a very popular phrase throughout the tour!).

Soon after, we stopped off at a café and tried ordering in French for the first time. We checked into our hostel in Paris where we stayed for 4 days. We had our lunch and then went to our rooms to get ready for the Eiffel Tower. After taking many (many) group photos and selfies (that would soon flood Facebook) we waited in line to climb up the Eiffel Tower. The line was very crowded and it took a long time to get to the front but when we did, we saw that it was definitely worth the wait. The view of Paris was breathtaking and because it was night time, we got to see all of the beautiful lights of the city that were reflected of the Seine River. After taking many more group photos and selfies of the view we raided the gift shop for souvenirs and returned to our hostel to eat dinner before playing foosball, chatting and updating Facebook profile pictures.

On our second day in Paris, we had our first French lesson in the morning before going to lunch at an Italian Restaurant together. After lunch we took the metro into Paris to the Musée d’Orsay where we saw a variety of different art mediums from different artists. After this, we crowded around a little crepe stall outside the museum (being the hungry teenage tourists we are). After this, we made our way to the Seine River for our boat tour. On this tour, like the one at the Eiffel Tower, we got to see the city of Paris at night but this time from below. It was a beautiful sight and we saw the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower standing out against the night. We ended the day by having dinner at a French restaurant together before making our way back to the hostel.

We started the third day with another French lesson before we visited the Louvre Museum. We had a guided tour around the museum and got to see the famous glass pyramid and the Mona Lisa painting, many of us surprised by its actual size. We saw the beautiful rooms that were once inhabited with the French royal families and stunning paintings that covered the walls. After many selfies with the Mona Lisa (trying to imitate that smile) we went gift and souvenir shopping in the neighbouring shops before meeting up with the ‘five week-ers’ for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

We started our last day in Paris with another French lesson and tour before packing our things and heading to the Sacre-ceour (Sacred Heart) Church in Paris for our final tour. After this, we explored the little shops and side streets surrounding the Church before taking a bus to the train station then onto Rouen.

We were all very excited but also nervous to finally meet our host families in person for the first time. We used this train ride to revise our French and try to calm down a bit. As the train pulled into the station, some of us started to panic and we all shared excited and nervous emotions and expressions as we made our way up the level our host families were on. We were greeted by a large group of families who wore the same expressions as us.

We were introduced to our families and met the host families of our friends. We then drove with our families to a local high school to get to know each other and meet the English teachers that would be at our schools. We then went home with our families to have dinner. My family made me my first Croque Monsieur (which was absolutely amazing) to eat while I told them about my life in Australia. After clarifying that I don’t have a pet koala and that I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to have kangaroos box each other, we said good night and went to bed.

The first few days with our families were a rather daunting experience. We had to try and fit into new routines, meet new school friends, introduce ourselves to our new teachers and, probably the scariest thing for us at the time, meet the school principal. However, after we got into the habit of things, we started to fall into routine and feel like we were a part of the school and a part of our host family.

After our first week of school, it was time for the Christmas Holidays with our families. Some families drove to neighbouring countries (a concept not possible for Australians – unless you want to drown!), others stayed in France with their families and might have gone to Paris for a few days. My family and I stayed in Rouen and went to the grandmother’s house on the evening of December 24 for dinner. We ate 3 courses over 5 hours starting around 9 and ate our way well into Christmas morning. Around 2:30 on Christmas morning, while all the little kids were upstairs, Santa came to visit with presents for everyone. We then spent the next 30 minutes handing out and opening Christmas presents. The families and Santa gave me lots of Normandy chocolates and books about Rouen. It was a very exciting evening/morning and is was a fantastic experience for me, as I am used to having a typical Christmas lunch with my cousins on December 25th. While I was a little bit emotional over the fact that I wasn’t spending Christmas with my family, I still had an amazing time and my host family really accepted me as one of their own.

After Christmas, my host sister and her boyfriend took me to Paris for the day. This was exciting because I got to go see the Paris Christmas markets and the Arc de Triumph. It was a day full of looking at lots of beautiful things and unique stalls and getting to visit all the big shops along the way. I was also able to get closer to my sister by shopping and playing huite americaine (crazy eights) on the train to and from Paris. The rest of my Christmas holidays were spent meeting up with friends, shopping and spending time with the family of my host sister.

The next three weeks we spent going to school with our host siblings. My sister is the literary stream, so I attended 4 different English classes, a French class, a history-geography class, a PE practical class and a science class. This meant that I had at least two English speaking classes a day and I had to take the English tests that my sister sat. After school, I got to go to dance classes with my sister. It was really fun for me as it was the first time I had danced ballet in 5 years. It was also a great way for me to spend more time with my sister while doing something we both enjoyed. Sometimes I would also meet up with my Australian friends and their French siblings and we would go shopping or to a café we had grown to love.

We had our second Aussie meet up to have our group cooking class. We learnt how to make a Galette. We also got to try many different traditional French desserts. We got to make our own little frangipani galettes, each with little fevres to bring home to our families.

For our last Aussie meet up we went to an ice skating rink and skated around for 2 hours. It was easy to tell who was Australian and who was French as we Aussies were generally falling all over the place while our French siblings were practically pros. With the help of our siblings, we were soon able to skate laps around the rink without falling over. It was a fun experience and one that I know we all enjoyed immensely.

Saying goodbye to our families was a very hard thing for us to do. The night before our departure, I had to say goodbye to my host brother (who I had gotten quite close to by watching Grease) as he wasn’t able to come to the airport with us in the morning. I also had to say goodbye to all my friends at school. I handed out my little koala key rings and cried a bit when saying goodbye to all my French classmates. At the train station, lots of Aussies and our French siblings were teary. My sister gave me a little present with a note and a packet of tissues to open on the train (she knew I would cry). After saying goodbye to our host families, friends and siblings on the platform, we boarded the train still waving at our sibling through the window. Before we left she got me to read the note while she was still there. She told me about how happy she was that we got to stay together for the 7 weeks and how proud she was. With that, the train pulled away and we started our journey back to Australia.

These seven weeks were some of the best weeks I have ever had. I got the chance to experience living in a different country and be immersed in a different culture and language. I got to attend a French High School and to experience the French culture and lifestyle first hand. I made some of the best friends I have ever had and I established strong, positive relationships with everyone I was friends with in France. I have some absolutely amazing memories from France that I will cherish forever. It was an amazing experience and I am incredibly grateful for being able to go on this exchange and getting to meet so many fantastic and amazing people.

Reflecting on my time in Paris

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Allie Boyd

When I started high school I wanted, more than anything, to learn to speak Japanese. Yet fate was such that I ended up studying French. When I arrived in France something just felt so right. France is inspiring and Paris is a city you instantly fall in love with. I lived almost every dream I’ve had so far in a mere 7 weeks in France (there was even one week where I ended up in Malta!) and when I arrived back in Australia, I was completely content with life.

It is hard to describe a place and an experience that was so perfect. I’ve made life-long friends from multiple countries, tasted some incredible food and wine, found a love for Camembert, climbed the Eiffel tower, and been to Versailles twice! I went to a truck festival in the racing city of Le Mans, spent (probably) millions on tickets for riding the metro, and bought Pride and Prejudice in French- and I can read it! I taught kids how to say Aussie slang, witnessed sophisticated men and women sipping their coffee and smoking their cigarettes in the small cafes and all in all, just experienced as much of the culture and lifestyle as humanly possible in my relatively short time there.

Languages are beautiful and it's so fun in Europe because no matter where you are you hear up to 4 or 5 different languages in one day! When I left France and arrived in London, it was the strangest feeling knowing that I no longer had to think or speak in French. This trip opened up so many opportunities and ideas for the future. It made me think about what I really want to do, and I’m still without answer, although teaching English as a second language doesn’t seem like such bad idea after all…

Thank you to the Antipodeans team for making this amazing adventure possible!

Until my next adventure… Au revoir!

I’d also like to dedicate this last post to my grandfather Frank Elsworthy who passed away before I left for France; I wish he could see all the amazing things happening for me ☺

GapBreak update: France Language Immersion

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Allie Boyd

It's been another great few weeks here in France. After spending time settling in and getting to know our families, Holly and I finally met up in Le Mans and got to know each other’s families. This was after I moved to Christine's house, who is our in country partner and who is good friends with Muriel, Holly’s host mother. Holly had been very busy going to Muriel’s school to help with English lessons.

When the students learn English, they can learn business vocabulary and English useful for working in retail. Holly also got to participate in the lesson by pretending to be a customer and had to ask questions about the products at the school store. Muriel and Eric’s two children, Romane and Lucas were absolutely adorable (and a bit shy) and Holly would ask them simple questions about their days and what they did at school to increase their vocabulary. The kids would also ask what some words were in English.

“Muriel works in a vocational (agricultural) school in Brettes-les-Pins. Students go there to learn either nursing, selling food products or selling garden products. The classes had prepared questionnaires for me about life in Sydney and were very interested in driving licenses & school, especially the school uniform! “- Holly

We were both so happy we had finally met up so we could talk about what was going well, how we were doing, any concerns we had (there weren’t many really) and shared ideas about lessons or games for our English tutoring.
Because of our families’ busy schedules we had a lot of time to ourselves and met up a lot during the following weeks. We were also lucky that we had the same days off from school so we could go out and explore. We went to some fun places! One of my favourite memories was going to L’Arche de la Nature, which, like the name suggests, was a nature park not far out of Le Mans. It was so pretty and we walked a lot. It was absolutely beautiful and it gave us a chance to actually get to know each other. It was so calming and peaceful and we got some amazing photos.

We also had some interesting experiences here… I touched an electric fence and got electrocuted. Holly got zapped too. It was quite shocking! We learned all about bee keeping and were proud that we could read the information in French. We wandered through a forest and got attacked by a swarm of flies.
Holly faced her fears and climbed this giant ropes course all the way to the top! She was much braver than me. I only made it to the first level and got too scared.

Le Mans is such an incredible place and everything is so close and easily accessible. Getting to the city centre walking along the Roman wall was also enchanting because it’s so old and it still holds strong. The old town was amazing to walk through and was like being in a different century. The Saint Julian’s Cathedral (top picture) was so impressive and no matter how long you looked it didn’t even look real but at the same time looked perfectly in place.

Some of my favourite parts of this experience have been meeting new and amazing people and one Saturday we got to meet other exchange students. Christine organised for every student to make a speciality from their country for the party. Holly made ANZAC biscuits, I made a meat pie and together we made lamingtons (picture second from top). We were very proud of our creations as we didn’t have the regular ingredients like self-raising flour and had to use substitutes. The party was at one of Alain’s factories and we helped decorate the party room with balloons and flags from all over the world. When everyone arrived we had the fun of greeting them at the door and tried to speak some French as we knew everyone would be speaking it. We got to mingle with the other families and spoke, what we liked to call 'Franglais', which was not quite French but not quite English.

If this trip has taught me anything so far its that sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of bravery and sometimes, insane courage to get something done. Whether its meeting someone for the first time and being scared of what to say, or having to speak another language when ordering something to eat or even admitting you’re lost and need help, they are the times you remember because it was a personal triumph were you pushed past the fear of embarrassment and just had a leap of faith that it would all work out.

Macarons, chocolat, baguettes, camembert. Where else but Paris?

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language Immersion
WRITTEN BY: Allie Boyd

I was originally struggling to write this because the friends made, adventures had, and the discovery of new incredible places and experiences in my second week in Paris were equally, if not more amazing than the first. It was a bit scary for both Holly and I when we said goodbye at the Gare Montparnasse because we would both be on our own and be experiencing completely different things in the week to come. I think we both realised we would be on our own and would have to be brave! For me, one week was not enough in the fantastic city. There is so much you can and must do while you’re there. I wanted to get a taste of everything in Paris.

One of the greatest things about the experience in Paris was sharing it with amazing new friends from Paris Langue. Over the week it was awesome getting to know Mira, Eduardo and Mario. We were all living(except for Mario who was living with a host family outside of Paris), so it was really nice exploring the city and making memories together. We were also so supportive of each other in our morning classes. Although I always found it terrifying whenever our teacher would ask me questions because I didn’t feel that I knew enough to form a reply.

One of the funniest moments was when we snuck away from our group at the Louvre and discovered an entire floor. One of the teachers was explaining everything to the group in French and we did not understand a thing. We thought it would be easier to reflect and enjoy the museum by ourselves.
The Louvre is such an impressive building and we thought it was so funny that Louis XIV thought “this isn’t big enough” and built Versailles. The history of France is just so fascinating and my favourite area of the Louvre was the old furniture of Marie Antoinette: The bold colours, wood panelling, huge silver dining plates. The old fob watches were incredibly beautiful as well.

The architecture is truly stunning in France, and Versailles was just beautiful. Sometimes it was difficult to imagine that they were built hundreds of years ago. The audio guides were also very useful and they can come in several different languages. In Paris people working at tourist spots are bilingual so if you have any questions they are approachable and helpful.

It’s an obvious thing to say but the food in France is just divine. I have never tried so many new and amazing foods. Macarons and pain chocolat are my two favourites. One of my favourite memories was sitting in the gardens of Versailles, eating overly expensive (but worth it) macarons.

The week went so incredibly quickly and my time there was the best fun I’ve had in a long time. Mira, Eduardo and myself decided it was only fitting to end the weeks together at the icon of Paris: The Eiffel Tower. We ate baguettes and cheese, drank cheap red wine and watched the city lights light up the sky. When it got dark enough, the tower lit up and we were so excited to watch a proposal in front of the Eiffel tower! Can you believe it? Paris really is a magical city!

To be perfectly honest, the trip from Paris to Le Mans was too quick and I wish I had time to comprehend what I was actually about to do. I was proud I had spent two weeks in Paris by myself where I could be independent and free of any obligations (aside from the school of course). When I arrived, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t tough at first. I didn’t really know as much French as I thought I did and wasn’t brave enough to speak. But it was fun trying to follow conversations and Annabelle and Emma would act as my translators during most meal times. And everyday I had to tell Christophe and Christine what I did each day in French, which only involved a few sentences as I was slowly learning the past tense. Translating French when it was written was definitely easier than trying to understand it when it was spoken as they can speak very, very quickly. I actually found that watching game shows and Peppa Pig in French were incredibly helpful. Learning a new language can be tough but so rewarding! As the title says, life is all about courage and going into the unknown!

My first real English lesson started off as a French lesson as I showed the family what I had learned at Paris Langue and asked for a translation of what each tense would mean. I studied a lot in the first few weeks of Le Mans because I really wanted to make progress and Emma and Annabelle even gave me some homework! Constant and Fernando, another exchange student, were both a bit shy so the lessons weren’t really formal and I talked to them when they would play the X-Box. They usually played Minecraft, which looked like lots of fun, and would explain what they were doing and what their goals were while playing the game.

As I’m sure I’ve said before, food in France is really, really good and Christine really loved to cook, so it was fun helping out in the kitchen. I really loved how we ate lunches and dinners all together and spent time talking about the day. The meals were also quite big servings and would be followed by fruit, yogurt and/or cheese, which is when I discovered my love for Camembert.

The Chevalliers’ were also so good as to take me to the D-Day beach in Normandy, as a 'last weekend' treat and it was where the Western Allies came to get the Nazis out of France. After getting a bit lost, we all enjoyed a nice picnic on the beach and some beach volleyball (which I was quite bad at) and we all tried to count in different languages when passing the ball around. The D-Day beach itself was very beautiful and actually reminded me of beaches in Australia. It was a really nice day and I really enjoyed the history.