Our French Exchange Student

By Tiana W (11CHKW)

On 1st August at 5:30am, my Dad and I went to the airport to pick up a French exchange student, named Salomé. This was a completely new experience for us, so we didn't really know what to expect. I thought it might be a bit weird having a new person (who we didn't know) in our house for a month, but it turned out to be one of  the best experiences I have ever had. I was able to view Melbourne and the Dandenongs through a whole new perspective, it was interesting to view everything through the eyes of a tourist. 

I thoroughly enjoyed showing Salomé around the city, pointing out the best places to go shopping and taking the tram. She particularly liked going to the football, because it was fun to see all of the crazy football fans and she liked trying meat pies and hot jam donuts. It was interesting getting to see her expressions when trying typical ‘Aussie’ foods (Vegemite, Tim Tams, Milo).

Salomé is really passionate about art and architecture so it was good to be able to go to the National Gallery and show some unique and cool buildings like Federation Square and parts of Melbourne Central. 

We were able to go to Cardinia Dam on her second day in Australia, and we saw Kangaroos which were only a metre away. The week after we went to Melbourne Zoo and saw heaps of Australian animals, which is something that she really wanted to do as part of her ‘to do’ list. 

As she was here during the School term, she attended BHCS for the whole time she was here and she really enjoyed learning subjects that were different to what she learns in France. She especially liked Business Management, English and Legal. She loved getting to know everyone, in particular our Year 11 French class. 

We were able to have a dinner with our French class at Mrs Halliday’s house with her family. It was great getting to know everyone better and having a really fun night by playing games and doing various activities, like table tennis and Mafia. 

The Year 11s also got to go to Chisholm and Monash in Berwick, which was interesting for Salomé because we were able to test out a nursing course at Monash and had a tour of both campuses.

On her last weekend with us we went and saw the school’s production of Beauty and the Beast. We both loved it so much. Salomé was able to watch some of the rehearsals after school on Wednesdays, which she really enjoyed.

I feel like having a French exchange student was a really great experience and one I will never forget. I loved getting to know Salomé and hearing the differences between France and Australia. If there is anyone thinking about having an exchange student, I would highly recommend it.