My name is Gillianne, I’m in Year 13 and I was on exchange in Switzerland for two months over the summer.

The purpose of this exchange was to improve my French. I arrived in Geneva at the beginning of December with 15 other French students from around the country and was met by my exchange host sister Zoe, who had already come to New Zealand earlier in the year. 

I felt like I had been thrown in the deep end when people started speaking to me because I only understood a couple words in a sentence and I had to adjust to the speed as well. 

It was a short drive to what would be my home for the next two weeks in Bulle, a small town in Fribourgh. The next day I started at school, where I would be a student for five weeks. It was a bit overwhelming trying to remember everyone's names at school and trying to understand what my teachers were saying in class. 

After the first two weeks, my understanding had already improved so much and I was getting really comfortable. My host family took me skiing, shopping and to all the cool places around Bulle. As the weeks went by French came so easily to me and speaking with people at school and with my host family became so much easier with only a few mistakes.

By the end, the last thing I wanted to do was leave. I had made so many friends at school and really didn't want to say goodbye to my host family. It was so much easier to comprehend French and coming home to only English and a hot summer was quite a shock to my system.

I highly recommend an exchange to anyone who is passionate about learning a second language. You learn so much faster by immersion and make friends for life. It was the best experience of my life.