Sept. 25, 2017

Silverdale, Wash.

Ten French students and four chaperones went on a trip to France last summer as part of Madame Garst’s last hurrah before she moved to Germany. They traveled from Paris, to the Loire Valley, to the south, to Normandy in the north, and back to Paris all in 23 days during June.

“It was interesting because each region was so different temperature wise and like landscape wise,” says junior Bella Cacioppo.

It was a rather expensive trip, but the many activities they did and places they visited were well worth the money spent.

“Our first part in Paris was mainly churches, like Notre Dame…” says senior Treys Neptune, “ And then in the Loire Valley we mainly saw chateaus…And then we went to the beaches in the south and the beaches in the north. And in the north we also saw the D-Day beaches and Mont Saint-Michel … and then, back in Paris, we went to the museums like the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, and the catacombs and the Eiffel Tower.”

Cultural differences and language barriers made the trip difficult. Neptune says he got tired of being in France after the first week, due to culture shock. On the other hand, Kolbas says other students should go to experience the culture.

“Experiencing different cultures gives you a different perspective on the world and you can understand better when you hear about these things going on in different countries, you can understand why it’s going on, or where if you do happen to go to that place.”

Cacioppo says that she made one of her best friends on the trip, and that the trip was her motivation to finish the school year strong. She suggests this trip to anyone who enjoys traveling.

“It’s just, overall, experiencing different cultures gives you a different perspective on the world,” says sophomore Tori Kolbas. “It was amazing. If I could go and do one thing again out of my whole life, I’d do that again.”