If you had the chance to spend 11 days in a foreign country with your peers trying to navigate the streets and the culture, would you? That is exactly what 15 french students and 2 chaperones did over spring break. Lasting for nearly 2 weeks, the students had the trip of a lifetime and learned culture differences not attainable in the classroom.

Their adventures spanned from visiting the Notre Dame, the Fair, and seeing the Catacombs…The students did it all. French teacher Madame Angela Geiszler led the group of students and talked about how the students did as a whole. “Taking my students to France is always an experience that makes me proud.  This group from South made me extra proud.  This was the most independent and confident group of students that I have ever traveled with.  I loved to see them apply everything that they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations in France.   The connections that they made with their host sisters and brothers was the coolest thing for me to see them experience.  I truly hope that they all remain life-long friends.” With all of the fun that came with the trip, the students also got to stay with a host family for 4 days. The host families gave experiences to the students like a traditional Easter day, and spending a day in high school with their host sisters and brothers. Junior Lauren Vega stated, “The high school was really neat and it was cool to be able to compare their school with ours. The school is very dull compared to ours which made me appreciate South even more. But overall a great experience to spend with the host sister Margaux!” In addition to the time spent with their host families the students visited many attractions. Some of which include: the Notre Dame, the Catacombs, Louvre (biggest art museum) where they witnessed the authentic Mona Lisa, and the Fair. Senior Abby Bzdawka shared her favorite attraction of the trip, “My favorite attraction was the Palace of Versailles. It was really neat to walk through the entire castle with more than 2000 rooms and to be able to hear about the history.” Geiszler had a similar experience when she was a Junior in high school. “I went on a very similar trip when I was a junior in high school.  In fact, my host family at the time is now a second family to me.  The connection I made with this family was the biggest reason I wanted to further my studies of French. Mrs. Vega-Raatz and I stayed with my ‘French mom’ that I have now known for over 20 years while we were in Bordeaux. I hope the students have the same relationship I have with my French family.” The experiences made on the trip will be one for the students to hold close with them for years to come. The students spent late nights in each other’s hotel rooms talking and sharing their experiences with each other. Sophomore Hunter Zabel explained what he would miss most about the trip, “The late nights I got to spend with my friends. We had a lot of fun making memories with each other.”

Senior Holly Johnson agreed with Zabel about what would be missed the most. “I’ll miss the trip in general and everything about it. I got to know people through this trip that I wouldn’t normally talk to at school and they are part of the reason why the trip was so great. We shared everything about our host families together and were able to understand each other’s struggles with that part of the trip. I will miss the jokes and laughs with those people while experiencing an amazing country together.”