Spreading the Vegemite

For those of us who love Vegemite, sharing Vegemite toast far from home with someone else is a great treat. Alison Francis from South Dubbo is on exchange to Okotoks and is also a Vegemite fan.

Being on exchange has continued to be a fantastic experience as summer holidays begin. School with my Grade 2 has finished for the summer and our schedule is fully booked for travels and adventures.

My year so far has been extraordinarily rewarding, somewhat challenging, with a new curriculum, different management systems, and having to repeat myself frequently as the accent can be hard to grasp, especially when you use Australian colloquiums.

I have been working with a wonderful team of people who have been so helpful, keeping me organised and on track.

I have also had the opportunity to catch up with the other Australians at various times which has been a rewarding and collegial experience as we swap tales.

I would highly recommend Alberta as an exchange destination. I am living and working on the prairies in southern Alberta but the mountains are in the distance.

Although I miss the ocean, the mountains are calling and I must go (so the T-shirt says). The Rocky Mountains are majestic and a drive through the mountains is a great day out. We have been to many places in south west Alberta that colleagues complain I have been more places than them and they live here!

Interested in exchange? It is fantastic professional learning – far better than any course you would attend. It is engrossing, exciting and at times daunting, but, oh so worth it.

Bernadette Baker St Mary's Cathedral College Sydney and Vice President Systemic, is in Alberta on exchange.