“How a desire to learn earned me a ticket to Paris despite the Pandemic!”

Here I am on the Paris train bound for Toulon. Severely jetlagged, but also full of adrenaline as I eagerly observe the French countryside. How did I get here? How am I the only St Catherine’s girl to begin an overseas exchange in 2021?

In late 2019, I had my first Zoom call with my exchange family, the Marteaus Family, in anticipation for an exchange that was supposed to be during the summer of 2020. Unfortunately, as a consequence of the global pandemic I was unable to carry out this exchange. Nevertheless, I kept in contact with my exchange (Bianca Marteau) through social media, with a faint, but at the time unrealistic hope in the back of my mind of doing the exchange in the future.

In October this year, my parents informed me on a regular Wednesday night during dinner that international travel was expected to resume in early November. Initially, this statement did not hold much significance to me. I already had committed my mind to staying in Melbourne for the summer. Then, later that week, an unexpected and far-fetched thought established itself into my mind: What if I could do the exchange in France this year? So, I talked to my parents and texted Bianca and this seemingly implausible thought began to turn into a reality.

It was decided! On the 22 November 2021, I would embark on a 30-hour journey to Toulon to stay with the Marteaus Family for 50 days. My exchange family (famille d’accueil) is made up of my exchange sister Bianca, her brother Alex, her mother Boriana and her father Albane.

Having never in my life visited Europe, let alone France, I thought it was really important to experience some real and authentic French culture before beginning my VCE French studies. Despite the abundance of French films that are on Netflix, there is no better way to learn and understand French culture than to experience it on a daily basis with a real French family.

I am going to Toulon with the primary intention of solidifying a friendship with Bianca and forming friendships with other students from Toulon whom I will be able to revisit well into the future. Additionally, I hope that this exchange assists my French language skills, including my oral competence and aural comprehension. Moreover, I hope that I will leave France with a newfound perspective of the world and French culture specifically.

So far, my time in Toulon has been incredible. I have gone to school with Bianca every day and have participated in a wide variety of classes ranging from Spanish to Philosophy.

The daily routine here in Toulon is quite busy. The school day usually goes until 5:30pm, a lot later than in Australia. And after school, Bianca and her brother Alexandre still have a lot of extra-curricular commitments.

So far it has been an excellent opportunity for me and I’m very happy to be here.

Lan-Tian Yen-West
Year 11 Student of French

Lan-Tian Yen-West contacted us from Toulon. She has studied French at Camberwell Primary School and St Catherine’s School. She also studies Chinese. She is a passionate student of languages who exhibits grit and determination in her studies. She will undertake Year 12 Chinese and French in 2022. At the Exchange Information evening in August this year, 29 students expressed an interest in participating in an exchange in 2022. I look forward to providing you with details of the viability of our travel to China, France and Japan next year.

Ms Anna Pianezze, Head of Languages

Berthe Mouchette Success

At the annual Berthe Mouchette Awards Ceremony, held online this year, Year 11 student of French, Charlotte Myer was acknowledged as the third place winner of the 2021 Alliance Française Berthe Mouchette oral examination.

Charlotte was one of eight VCE St Catherine’s finalists this year. With over 800 participants at the Year 11 level, and thousands of competitors state-wide, the Alliance Française competition is an important celebration of French culture in Australia.

To gain this prize, Charlotte spoke in French for 10 minutes, firstly on topics such as family, school and leisure, and then engaged in discussions on a topic of her choosing. She addressed the methods used to discover new viruses, linking it to the work in this area which is currently going on in French speaking countries in Africa.

We congratulate Charlotte for this achievement.