The France students have returned with a story to tell. 17 students, including Mr. Swanson, went to France over spring break. They were able to tour Paris and have a homestay with a family in Bergerac. Each day they were able to explore how the French lived throughout many activities. This trip impacted many people and they are longing to go back in the future.
“This trip was absolutely amazing,” said Senior Jessica Eckard, “It makes me want to travel more!”
One student, Senior Ashley Johnson, stayed with her host sister named Benedicte. They went by train to Bordeaux and she showed her the different food they enjoyed. She also attended a French school for a day.
“That for me was one of the coolest things, not only because it was completly different enviroment than my own, but thats where I met many great friends that I will stay in contact with,” said Johnson.
Each day, the group got up fairly early to explore places in France. They were in Paris for about 3 days. During this time, they went site seeing, saw the Effiel tower, ate lunch in fancy places, and were able to break off in a group to explore a place around the city.
“Swanson had only one rule about the groups, you needed to have a guy in the group. Which I think you imagine why!” said Johnson.
This experience changed the way this group of seniors see life.
“It made me look at things a completely different way,” said Eckard, “For instance, the girls didn’t have drama. They didn’t care about the things we do here in America. Everything was just so laid back and they didn’t worry about things that didn’t need to be worried about.”
Many of them will stay in touch with their host family. Leaving the train station to go to Paris for the remaining trip was the most emotional part of the trip for most members of the group.
“As the train rolled away we were looking at our host sisters on the other side of the glass and once they started to cry all of us lost it and were waving our final goodbye, tears rushing down our face,” said Johnson. “Oh well, my host sister and I are already planning her visit this summer!”
“I will stay in contact with my host family, simply, because I connected so well with the whole family,” said Eckard. “This whole trip impacted my life and I really got to see a different way of living. They made me rethink my values, since they followed way better values.”
