As many are aware about every two years the members in French classes and club take a beautiful trip to explore the culture of France. Students are able to make discoveries and see sights they otherwise may not have gotten the chance to experience. In this upcoming trip in 2017 Madame Shahin and Madamoiselle Drahos are once again taking students to France and Italy to explore the culture, traditions, sight-see, and learn new things about the country, but having fun while doing so.

Madamoiselle Drahos has recently joined the faculty as a French I & III teacher and has also traveled to France before, although not with students. She’s excited for the students to see what they’ve been learning about in class like the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, and of course, speak the language in real scenarios. Madamoiselle Drahos is mostly looking forward to seeing all of the open air markets in Southern France. There are so many delicious foods to try and interesting items to look at. Drahos just moved back to the USA three years ago after teaching English to French high school students, so she’s been very lucky to completely immerse herself in the day to day culture. One of the aspects of French culture that she really enjoys is their focus on family and vacation. Many are familiar with Madame Shahin who is a returning teacher on these France trips and is once again accompanying students for the 2017 trip.

So far this is only the third trip, but each tour is a little bit different such as the attractions seen. For example, the students on the second trip visited the Loire Valley unlike those who went during the first trip. In this upcoming tour students are going to go to South France and Italy. Some of the most notable memories Madame Shahin has of these tours is the time spent with kids outside of school and seeing them interact with the French culture. She loved seeing how excited students were when they saw the Eiffel Tower, took boat rides at night, and when they took lots of photos.

In St. Malo, is a fortified city surrounded by water, at night when the water is overtaken by the tides and the water rises over the wall and all the kids get soaked, it’s quite a sight to see. We all well aware that in November 2015, Paris got attacked by the terrorist group, ISIS. It was such a tragedy for the people of France. Madamoiselle Draho’s first thought was to make sure that everyone that she knows over there was okay, and thankfully they all were. She was very upset by it and is glad that she was able to have very mature discussions in class about it with her students. Madame Shahin’s thought was, since she lived and studied there, felt sad for the people she knew who were there and for people to not feel safe in their home is a shame for anyone. It’s most important to live our lives and not let the terror invade us which is exactly what they tried to accomplish. France is on its way to recovery so tourists and residents can enjoy its beautiful sights once again.