The French and Japanese Long Exchange

By Michele Sharp, Head of Languages

During the summer break, four language students undertook our first Long Exchange in some time. Students study at one of our sister schools and live with a host family for a period of six-to-eight weeks. The French students visited Lycée Blaise Pascal in Segré, France while the Japanese students attended Konko Gakuen High School in Okayama. Japan.

The Long Exchange is an opportunity language students can apply for at the end of Year 11, and it is a reciprocal program, meaning those who participate must be willing to host in return. The aims of the program are to:

• gain first-hand insight into other cultures to develop a tolerance, understanding and respect for different ways of life and different values;
• improve foreign language skills through the practical use of the language in a native-speaking country;
• widen perspectives and social experience; and
• gain experience as a host to an overseas visitor at home and school.

We are thankful to the schools we have relationships with and the host families our students stayed with. We look forward to welcoming their partner students this year. Below are some student reflections on their experiences.

Sarah Zhang – Japan

As this was my first time visiting Japan, my emotions were a mix of nervousness and anticipation for the Long Exchange, including meeting my host family, going to a Japanese school and making friends in a different language. However, everyone in Japan was extremely kind and welcoming and my worries quickly dispersed. During my exchange at Konko Gakuen, the sister school in Okayama, I was introduced to various traditional club activities such as calligraphy, flower arranging and the Tea Ceremony Club. As a music lover, playing one of Japan's traditional instruments, the koto, for the first time was also a fun and memorable experience. I gained a lot of cultural understanding and definitely improved my Japanese skills throughout my time at the school. Despite my worries about making friends in Japanese, I connected with many of the students and really enjoyed the school lifestyle there (except for extra school on Saturday mornings). Staying with a host family was also a highlight of my trip, especially spending New Year with them and trying traditional Japanese food that they made on New Year's Eve - mochi (rice cakes) and soba noodles.

The goodbyes when I was nearing the end of my five-week Long Exchange in Japan were incredibly sad. I gained so many wonderful memories throughout the trip and friends that I hope to see again one day. The trip was not only educational, but also gave me confidence in myself, my ability to communicate in a different language and meet new people. This exchange has really helped me to grow as a student and as a person. I would like to end by thanking Mrs Godfrey, Ms Sharp and the sister school in Japan for organising this wonderful exchange opportunity that I had the privilege of experiencing. I am extremely grateful to my host family for taking care of me and making this an adventure that I will never forget.

Olivia Wang – Japan

My time as an exchange student in Japan went by in the blink of an eye and is a memory I will treasure forever. For those weeks, I got to experience a completely different life and attend a school completely different to Radford. There are a huge variety of clubs and activities unique to Japanese schools which I attempted, such as calligraphy, traditional instruments and flower arranging. I was also lucky to have two weeks of winter holidays in which I visited beautiful and historic spots, such as Miyajima, the biggest shrine gate in Japan, which stands in the sea, and Hiroshima, the location of the Atomic Bomb Dome. The highlight of my trip was living with my host family and meeting everyone at our exchange school, who were all so kind to us. Speaking so much Japanese every day boosted my confidence with the language and made Japanese even more meaningful to me. I highly recommend the exchange to anyone and everyone!

Eloise Flynn - France

This opportunity has been such a wonderful privilege that I am so grateful for. When I’m asked how my exchange was, or what the experience was like, I generally use my go-to answer: “Well, it’s a hard thing to sum up in just a couple of sentences.” Ironic but completely true. Trying to explain everything is a feat I’ll probably never complete, but I can definitely point out some highlights:

1. Making some of the kindest and most down-to-earth friends in my life.
2. Noticing a massive improvement in my French.
3. Trying a proper French éclair for the first time.
4. Ice skating (terribly) in a giant disco rink.
5. Climbing the stairs of Le Mont Saint Michel.
6. Watching the terrified fear spread over my classmates’ face when I gave presentations about Australia and introduced them to some of our 'backyard pets’.
7. A wonderful New Year's Eve party with my new friends.
8. Exploring the countryside on long sunset walks.
9. Eating more potatoes, bread and cheese than I could possibly imagine.
10. Laughing over French films and cultural discrepancies with my exchange student, Charlotte.
11. Walking through the streets of Paris for the first time.
12. Realising people like to dress up for school, which meant I got to get creative with outfits each day.
13. Having my first, five-course French meal (yes, every lunch and dinner).
14. Visiting the glowing Christmas markets in Angers.
15. Feeling superior in English class with my revered English skills.
16. Most of all, the games I played and talks with friends in the long lunchtime hours.
17. Finally, the comfort of my host-family's home. They made me feel completely welcome, more than comfortable and cared for.

I can assure, however, that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows; I got horribly sick on Christmas Eve and Day with a raging fever; school days were long and exhausting, running often until 5 or 6 pm; and I definitely missed the quality of a good Aussie coffee. However, the balance of these things reminded me I wasn't just there on a holiday - that I was really living my life with all its ups and downs.

An exchange is a privilege, which I acknowledge is not an opportunity available to everyone - but we are lucky that our lives are long and there hopefully will be plenty of opportunities to travel in the near future. So, if you do ever consider an exchange, travelling with immersion, or are considering learning a language, I urge - please do. You become confident in your independence and make lifelong bonds. I cannot wait for the second chapter of this experience, to welcome Charlotte into my family and show her all the fun and crazy things about Australia. And if you or your family does ever happen to be travelling through France, I urge you to pop in and visit my friends in the towns of Angers and Ségre.