Montreux, Switzerland, was beautiful, idyllic, and full of the best cheese, chocolate, and pocket knives money could buy. The ski slopes were only an hour away by train, and everything was clean, ordered, and on time (maybe a little too much so). After a year there I was near fluent in French but hadn't been able to learn anything else - no maths (which I can't even do in english) science, or otherwise. This is one of many things that made re-assimilation back into Australian schooling and culture quite a challenge. Try explaining to a 5th grade teacher that you don't understand fractions, but that you can conjugate French verbs in your sleep. C'est la vie.