Student Blog: Bonjour Wenona
Our Year 11 French Exchange students, Alix, Solène, Jeanne, Noélie and Hipollène describe some of the differences between Wenona and schooling in France.
Bonjour tout le monde! Quel plaisir de nous trouver parmi vous ici à Wenona! We are in Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ as part of our six-week exchange. We are staying with five wonderful Wenona girls: Anna, Lara, Ashley, Sophie and Lucy, and what an amazing time we are having with their families and here at school. It’s a real adventure because everything is so different than in France. Quelle aventure!
Ä¢¹½´«Ã½n schools and French schools are SO different! The teachers are a lot friendlier here and far more talkative and engaged with their students. Also, there are less students in class; we couldn’t believe how small some classes are as in our schools, we are 35 in every class on average in France. One of the biggest differences for us is also coming to an all-girl school. It was very strange in the first few days as all our schools in France are coeducational, so it was “très bizarre” to not see any boys at school.
The other main difference for us is the uniform. We still think it’s funny looking at each other wearing the same clothes and we have a giggle… comme les jumelles! By the same token, we feel very comfortable during the day and are starting to understand the school identities through the uniform. However, it is one thing that we prefer in our French schools… we wear what we want!
Sydney also is SO different to our French cities, it’s like a film landscape! That’s wonderful! There is so much greenery, and such bright sunshine …and this is winter? C’est pas vrai!
We are lucky because we have seen the wonderful sights of Sydney – The Harbour Bridge, The Opera House, the Botanical Gardens. We have also been to the Blue Mountains – un très beau paysage! We have seen some amazing Ä¢¹½´«Ã½n beaches and of course, met the local wildlife.
We have lived beautiful moments that we will always remember.
We look forward to coming back in summer to be able to live new adventures! And of course, we hope to see many Wenona girls coming to France and discovering our beautiful country too.
Un grand merci!
Alix, Solène, Jeanne, Noélie and Hipollène