2023 French Exchange Reflections 

The opportunity to go to France is one that I am most grateful for, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed it thoroughly. I am so thankful to my French family for making me feel welcome and comfortable, and making my experience enjoyable. It was a wonderful trip, I loved going to Nice, the water was incredibly blue and the village ‘Eze’ was enchanting with beautiful views and wonderful, picturesque streets. I also loved climbing St Victoire and surrounding mountains; it was some of the most incredible views that I have seen. I also loved all the food that I tried, some of my favourites include, mount d’or, tartiflette, raclette and of course crepes. During our stay in Paris, I loved the winter markets that were at every street, the atmosphere in winter was entrancing and I really enjoyed myself, walking along the Seine and little Paris streets, and of course, the museums, my favourite was the Orsay museum, where we had the chance to see some incredible impressionist paintings and statues.

Lua C (Year 12)

My experience in France was incredible. It was such a great experience and I would love to go again. In Aix-En-Provence we went to our exchange partner’s school, and followed them around to all of their classes, (most of which were in French!). I loved seeing my exchange partner again and making new friends with her friends at school, they were all so nice and accommodating towards me. 

With my exchange family we went on many trips on the weekends, and in the holidays. I went to Nice, which was beautiful, and we sat on the beach and skimmed rocks on the water, as there was no sand. On that same trip we visited Menton, which is a town close to Monaco, and has yellow, red and orange buildings. I was also very lucky and able to go to Monaco for a day where we went to the Prince’s Palace, the aquarium, a car show room and the Monaco Casino. 

We also visited many places with our class during the school week to escape from the long days of school which went from 8am - 6pm. We visited medieval towns, old castles and an immersive art experience. We also visited Marseille and walked through the streets to look at the famous street art. 

One of my favourite day trips was visiting the Cassis Creeks. First we drove to the top of a cliff and walked to the edge to see the view. The cliff was famous as it is the tallest straight cliff drop in Europe, and it also had a view of the town, the ocean and the creeks. We then took a boat tour which went through the creeks, it was an incredible experience as the cliffs surrounded the water which was a turquoise blue. 

I was also very lucky and able to go skiing in the French Alpes. We went for 3 nights and skied for 3 days. I love skiing and the view was amazing from the top. Although it was cold, I still had a great time skiing, and eating lunch in the snow. We went down red and blue runs, which are difficult, but they were long runs that took a while to get down and made the experience unforgettable!

I was so sad to have to leave at the end after forming connections and bonds with my exchange family for the 4 weeks I was with them. I enjoyed every moment, and I would love to go back to France after I finish school to see them all again! I am so grateful for this incredible experience and to be the first year level at BSC to go to Europe.

Sophie P (Year 12)

The French exchange trip was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. I learned so much about French culture, and especially about how they celebrate their holidays, as I was there for Christmas and New Years. For example, the French give their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning, which I thought was interesting. I also tried a lot of new things, like escargot (snails) and foie gras (duck liver pâté). 

Going to school in France definitely made me appreciate the Australian school system more. For example, I had to get up at 6:00 each morning to leave for school at 7am, and only finished school at 6pm. The teachers are also a lot stricter in France, and the students don’t get to choose what subjects they do. 

I think the best thing to come out of the exchange was how my French improved. Being constantly immersed in the language and talking with my French exchange student helped me to improve my speaking and listening skills significantly. It’s really cool to know that I now have a lifelong friend on the other side of the world, and it was certainly an experience that I'll never forget. 

Isaac R (Year 12)