RENMARK HIGH SCHOOL ON EXCHANGE

Our very own Renmark High School student Sasha Petricevic has returned to the Riverland after a “fantastique” three-month home stay with a French family.

Sasha has been living near Rouen, France, since October 23. She has described her exchange, organised by Renmark High School's International Education Program and Australian exchange group Students of The World as “magical”.

“I didn’t want to leave, I loved it there so much,” she said.

“I’ve always wanted to travel – I couldn’t even wait to arrive.”

Sasha was hosted by the Saigre family, whose son Liam spent his own exchange in Renmark between July and October of 2019.

“They’re my family, we can’t get much closer,” she said.

Sasha visited the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux and spent many days exploring Rouen. While with her host family, she also vacationed on Reunion Island, and visited Paris.

“Two days before Christmas we went to Paris together,” she said.

“We went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed all the way to the top.”

As well as sightseeing, Sasha experienced real French school and home life.

“The school day can go from seven in the morning to six at night,” she explained.

“Rouen is like Renmark, only life is way more convenient. With all the little towns everywhere, they have less space and way more people to fill it.”

The 17-year-old added that immersion in foreign language and culture was both challenging and rewarding.

“It’s fun, but super tiring,” she said.

“As soon as I left I got thrown in off the deep end, and that was day one.”

Sasha insisted that she would recommend foreign exchange “to everyone, everywhere”.

“Three months is the minimum, but my preference would be to stay in France the whole year if I could,” she said.

Sasha spent her final week of exchange in Italy before returning to Australia a few weeks ago.

“For every new language you speak,” she said, “you live a new life.”

International Exchange 2020

Renmark High School has a long history of international exchange, hosting students from around the world and sending ours to many countries across continents.

In 2019, five of our students headed off on individual exchanges to Germany, France and Italy on short and long term programs. At the end of the term, our Year 10 French students will travel to New Caledonia on a two-week program.

A number of different exchange organisations offer different programs and scholarships for our students from Year 9-12 and in 2020 there are some fantastic opportunities to consider.

Southern Cross Cultural Exchange are offering Renmark High School a maximum of five student scholarships each valued at approximately 10,000 for a 10 month as part of a new 'Give Back Program', an incredible opportunity for our students.

For more information, visit;

https://www.thisisscce.com/givebackexchangefund

For information about hosting a student or participation in a program with other organisations, you will find all the information you need on the following links with other organisations offering a range of different possibilities;

Student Exchange Australia New Zealand

https://studentexchange.org.au

Students of the World

https://studentsoftheworld.com.au

If you are interested in any further information please contact Jasmine Sotiroulis at the high school, on 85 866974.

*approximate figures provided at time of newsletter publication