New Caledonia 2014

New Caledonia 2014

On Thursday 26^th June, 22 excited year 10 and 11 French students (along with Madame Brown and Monsieur Rawson) headed off for an unforgettable week in New Caledonia.

After arriving in the wee hours of Friday morning, we were all up early to head off to our language lessons at CREIPAC.  Students attended four of these lessons during our stay and they were invaluable in consolidating the vocabulary and grammar experienced in the French classroom at St Ursula’s.  Lessons at CREIPAC are taught by native French speakers and the girls were able to experience what it is like to actually have to speak in French with their teachers often telling them, “Je ne parle pas l’anglais.”  CREIPAC is situated on a beautiful bay and the lessons take place near the old convict settlement; this was truly an idyllic spot.  What could be better than being immersed in French ambience while enjoying a tropical climate?

With morning lessons completed, we returned to the hotel and went on a Tchou-tchou train ride of the city where we took in some absolutely spectacular views and learned some of the history of the island from our very informative guide.

Nerves started to set in as the girls prepared themselves to meet their host families for the first time.  As the week wore on, the girls were able to develop a real rapport with their hosts and spoke fondly of how they helped them with their French and took them to interesting places around Nouméa.  Some of the families really went above and beyond in welcoming our students and assuring that they got the most out of their experience.

Perhaps the highlight of our tour in terms of tourist activities was our visit to Amédée Island on Sunday where students were able to relax on the beach, swim with the tropical fish, climb the lighthouse and enjoy a magnificent Melanesian feast.

On other afternoons, after our CREIPAC lessons, we went into town to purchase lunch and explore some of the sites of Nouméa’s town centre.  It was when purchasing lunch that the girls were able to put their French into real-life action and the all enjoyed their croque-monsieur, diabolo menthe, baguettes and Orangina.  After lunch we visited a bookstore, St Joseph’s Catheral, souvenir stores a chocolaterie and patisserie.  We all agreed that the chocolates and pastries were superb!

On Thursday July 3^rd, we sadly had to say goodbye to Nouméa; however, as our plane flight was not until the afternoon, the girls were able to split into two groups for some more activities.  One group went for a final trek into town for some last minute souvenir and supermarket shopping while another visited the beautiful Baie des Citrons.  This second group enjoyed their time at the bay so much that we will make this a regular item on our itinerary in the future.

Madame Brown and Monsieur Rawson were impressed by the girls and their willingness to immerse themselves in French language and New Caledonian culture; they certainly gained much from the experience and for some, the travel bug has bitten!