Swiss Review 1/2019

Swiss Review / January 2019 / No.1 24 OSA news Leslie’s dream job in Switzerland educationsuisse gives advice on all matters related to education in Switzerland. It is also involved in the placement of language assistants, as shown in the case of Leslie Schmid. In Swiss upper secondary schools and vocational education and training schools, native speakers enrich language les- sons and exemplify cultural aspects of their country of or- igin. These language assistants, usually young students from abroad, are placed by the national agency Movetia in collaboration with educationsuisse. Leslie Schmid, a Swiss Abroad fromCanada, is one of them. She has beenworking since September 2018 as a language assistant at theKantons- schule Zug upper secondary school and describes her expe- riences in an interview: Leslie Schmid, what made you apply for the programme? As a small child I already knew that I wanted to be a teacher someday. InOttawa I studiedGerman languageand literature andgot a teachingdiploma for foreign languages. Sincea large part ofmyrelatives live inSwitzerland, I decidedtoapplyhere for thepositionof English languageassistant.Movetiahelped me findmy dream job – I love thework! Were you able to settle in quickly at school and in Switzerland? Yes, I settled in quickly at school and also get along well in everyday life inSwitzerland. The teachers and students have acceptedme verywell. I feel at homehere. It certainlyhelped thatmy parents andbrothers inCanada always spoke Swiss German. Are there any specific differences between Canada and Switzerland? There are differences, such as in the school system. What I particularly noticed is that the Swiss engage in less small talk than we do in Canada. It also seems more difficult for me to find friends outside ofmyworking environment. Life here is more expensive; the medical insurance costs were a huge shock for me. In Canada health care is free! What also astonishes me every day is how many people here smoke. Is it difficult living so far away from your family in Canada? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I used to miss all my Swiss relatives. Now I miss my parents and brothers, who stayed behind in Canada. I grew up on a dairy farm, so whenever I pass by a farmhere, I’mreally homesick. Thanks to the new technologies though, I can givemy family a short call at any time. Applications for language assistants for the school year 2019/20 are being accepted until the end of March 2019. For detailed information about the Language Assistance programme, kindly contact edith.funicello@movetia.ch or info@educationsuisse.ch, educationsuisse, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Bern, Schweiz, Telefon +41 (0)31 356 61 04 , info@educationsuisse.ch, www.educationsuisse.ch. Leslie Schmid uses her language skills to support teachers at the Kantonsschule Zug. IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 45 th year of publication and is published in German, French, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 418,000, including 223,000 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. EDITORS: Marc Lettau (MUL), Editor-in-Chief; Stéphane Herzog (SH); Jürg Müller (JM); Susanne Wenger (SWE); Simone Flubacher (SF), responsible for “news.admin.ch” , Relations with the Swiss Abroad, FDFA, 3003 Berne, Switzerland EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Sandra Krebs TRANSLATION: Schnellübersetzer GmbH LAYOUT: Joseph Haas, Zürich PRINT: Vogt-Schild Druck AG, 4552 Derendingen POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Email: revue@aso.ch COPY DEADLINE for this edition: 29 November 2018 All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. www.revue.ch CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to the editorial office in Berne.