Global enrichment

From 14 December 2017 to 4 January 2018, I went to Osaka, Japan for a homestay. Despite my initial nervousness, I found it to be one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did my Japanese language improve substantially, I also became more independent and made lifelong friends. My hosts were incredibly generous and treated me as family.

I attended Ohtani Girls Senior High School, where my host sister was in Year 10. The teachers gave me a warm welcome, and the students made me feel at home.

Other highlights were going to Universal Studios Japan, spending my birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve in another country, and taking day trips to Kyoto, Kobe and Nara.

Learning about Japanese culture was interesting, especially their schooling and transport systems, and it was nice to see their New Year and Christmas traditions.

Maya Rusli, Year 11

In the last week of Term 2, 10 girls from Lycée Notre-Dame-DeSainte-Croix in Paris arrived to meet their excited St Catherine’s exchange sisters. Many fought jetlag to see Vivid Sydney, a concert and Incredibles 2 (or in French, Les Indestructibles Deux). The girls were introduced to St Catherine’s life: wearing their first ever school uniform, attending assembly and helping Year 11 improve their French.

The girls had an action-packed month in Sydney with an excursion to the Blue Mountains, with many going on to see other parts of Australia, including the Northern Territory, Noosa and the Gold Coast.

During the Christmas break, the St Catherine’s girls will reunite with their host sisters in Paris to attend school in Neuilly-surSeine and experience Christmas and New Year French-style.

Cleo Baldwin, Year 11

The St Catherine’s international exchange program hosted an Australian afternoon tea in Term 2, to give the exchange girls an opportunity to meet one another. Excitement was high as we shared our valuable experience of being an exchange sister, over lamingtons, pavlova and Anzac biscuits. Stories ranged from climbing the Eiffel tower to swimming at Bondi Beach, and the room was abuzz with many different languages. Everyone there knew they had made a friend for life, and learned that education not only comes through traditional means but also through friends, other countries and languages.

Rachel

Salem, Year 11

For two weeks during the April school holidays, 10 girls travelled to Japan. We had a great time touring and seeing highlights in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. We ended our time with a homestay and attended our sister school in Osaka.

Japan has a beautiful culture and was a wonderful place to visit. Everyone and everything was amazing, though rush hour was a truly different experience for us! I can’t wait to experience the culture again.

During the first week of the July school holidays, 22 students from Years 7–10 travelled to New Caledonia for a cultural language tour. We were on the move the whole week, sightseeing and immersing ourselves in the culture. The Tchou Tchou Train was a great way to see the city of Nouméa and relax after our flight. The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre taught us the significance of Jean-Marie’s impact on New Caledonian history.

Going to school for daily immersion lessons, then using our new vocabulary in shops and markets was a fun way to meet and talk to locals and purchase goods from the stalls. We spent a day at Amédée Island and climbed the lighthouse, swam with sea life, watched turtles through the glass-bottom boat, learned how to tie sarongs and enjoyed a feast with music and native dancing. Our nightly dinner outings were a nice way to discuss the events of the day and our MasterChef cooking night was a fun bonding experience. This trip was an amazing journey where we made so many close friendships.