Our small senior French class is delighted to welcome Emma Aubry who is here for a seven-week exchange from her home in Switzerland.

Emma has settled in really well and is getting a double dose of Kiwi culture, as she spends four nights a week in a boarding hostel with Jess Guiney, her homestay sister, and three nights with Jess and her family on a beautiful farm in the region. 

Emma is here to perfect her (already good) English, and experience school life in New Zealand.  At the end of the term, Emma will return to Switzerland, and as the exchange is reciprocal, Jess will head over to stay with the Aubry family in December and January.  She will spend seven weeks there, gaining an appreciation of a new culture and a different way of life! 

“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world” – Chinese Proverb 

Madame Thomas asked Emma the following:

 Please describe your family in Switzerland. 

I live with my two parents, my brother and my dog in a small village called Epinassey. My brother is younger than me and he does a lot of sport. My mother is a florist and my father is a carpenter. What are some interesting differences you have noticed between school here and your own school back home? There are a lot of differences between my school and this school. We have 12 different subjects in Switzerland while the students have only six classes in NZ. We begin school earlier, at 7h50 and we finish later, at 16h15, but we have a longer break to eat at midday. We don’t wear school uniforms in Switzerland and everybody goes to the public school. I like wearing school uniforms because it makes things easier.

How do you spend your free time in Switzerland? 

I like to go out with my friends watch a movie with them or go for a walk with Laura in the evening. We often go eat all together. I also spend time with my family; we go for a walk with the dog or do something fun together. 

And here in New Zealand? 

I spend my time with Jess, last weekend she taught me how to ride a motorbike and it was so fun. We also spend time around the farm and we often feed the calves during the weekend. When we are at the hostel during the week, in the evening, we watch movies or go to town with her friends. 

What is ONE thing you would like to have achieved by the time you leave New Zealand? If I could understand almost everything when the people spoke it would be so great. That is my aim. And this is an amazing experience too to discover a really different culture and country and open my mind to the world. I’ve never gone so far and so long from my family, my friends and my country. 

Thank you, Emma! We wish you much fun, laughter and a successful and worthwhile exchange.