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.

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!

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

It seems so incredible that two weeks ago I was saying my goodbyes to family and friends with both excitement and nervousness. The journey is already a quarter of the way through and it seems like only yesterday I took my very firsts steps in the très magnifique city of Paris!

I arrived a day before Holly and didn’t waste any time ! I spent my first day in Paris walking though the beautiful, elegant Parisian streets, passing the sophisticated men and women, and gazing at the mouth-watering pastries and macaroons in little café windows. I think you get the best view of Paris by walking its streets. You catch portions of the language, the style and beauty of the city. After all the days and nights of dreaming of the magic of Paris, I was so excited to finally be there and experience it all. It was so much more than what I expected!

After an excellent walk through Luxembourg Gardens I eventually made it to Notre Dame. After marvelling at the building I went inside and decided to attend the mass service. It was entirely in French but it was a wonderful experience to witness. Towards the end of the service, I decided to head back to FIAP to see if Holly was back after I embarrassed myself by not knowing how to take part in communion. It was an amazing first day in Paris and I was so excited for the following week and all the amazing things I could do.

Having little background knowledge in French other than a basic knowledge and some 'key phrases' from the first semester at university (which have not actually come up in a conversation), we were very nervous for our first day at Paris Langues. At 9am Monday morning we waited anxiously to take our French level tests to see what class we would fit into.

We both came out saying how we thought we knew more than we actually did and we were both placed in a great beginners class. Our teacher, Claudine, was so lovely but only spoke to us in French! Over the week, hearing French continuously became easier to understand but the work on verbs and grammar was extensive and at times quite difficult to understand. But we did feel like our vocabulary was improving every day and that we could construct some basic sentences with the help of our classmates. In our class there were people from all over Europe. We had lots of fun getting to know them and learning about their individual country’s culture. They were so patient and willing to help us out.

Our classes were from 9am-12pm, which meant we had all the afternoons to explore and wander the streets of Paris. Everything is incredibly beautiful and so old. Being from a small country town, I was completely fascinated and enriched by everything I saw, as everything in Australia is so new in comparison! Every piece of Paris holds a unique history and story, and I was enchanted by the gothic architecture and detail in every building, garden or statue. It was also lots of fun to try out some of my French in some of the cafes and patisseries. My favourite was a place called 'Paul', which is all over the city and j’adore the pain au chocolat!

We visited some great places like Luxembourg Gardens, Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre, Catacombs, La tour Eiffel (of course!), and went on a cruise along the Seine River! It was an absolutely incredible experience and we felt so independent and grown up.

After an incredible week, we had an early night on Friday so Holly could prepare for the next part of her France journey: meeting the host family in Le Mans, while I decided to stay in Paris for another week at FIAP.

Best week ever!

Our week in Paris

COUNTRY: France
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Language and tutoring English
WRITTEN BY: Pheobe Laing

Our first week of the French program has been absolutely brilliant but went so quickly! Jaymee and I met again at the 'FIAP Jean Monet' on Sunday, where we would be staying for the week and also taking our classes at the Paris Language School. The FIAP is in the 14th 'arrondissement', which isn't particularly central, but the metro station two minutes walk away made it easy to get around.

On Monday we took the tests for Paris Language School and were put into our classes. Jaycee has only just begun learning French, so she was in a beginner's class by herself - three hours of one on one tuition a day! - whilst I was put in a bigger class of around eight, which included people from Brasil, Germany, Ukraine and Peru. Everyone was lovely, and it was a great chance to learn about their countries and practice speaking French with people who completely understood what it was like to get muddled up halfway through a sentence!

Our classes were from 9 to 12, so we had every afternoon free. We both saw the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the incredible views of Paris, tried to squeeze our way to a glimpse of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and shared half a baguette while standing in line for Notre Dame. The bakeries in France are almost as impressive as the century-old buildings!

Being from Canberra, one of the things that impressed me most about Paris as a city was the metro - it's so easy to get anywhere and the longest we waited was five minutes. Everyone was helpful, usually trying out their English when they heard us speaking it, although we did have plenty of opportunities to practice. On our last night we visited an Aussie bar nearby and met plenty of French people (who were happy to let us try out our French and were very excited that we were from Australia), surrounded by surfboards and the Australian flag. We didn't have too late a night as this morning we're both off to meet our host families and start the next stage of our French experience!