World language students in French and Spanish classes are given the opportunity to visit Spain and France every two years. Students hope to apply the knowledge they have gained over the years spent studying the languages and the cultures.

Spain

AP Spanish IV student, junior NicoleLeon, decided to take Spanish because she wanted to improve her speaking abilities as a Mexican American and learn more about the cultures of Mexico and Spain.

“I want to engage in some activities that Spaniards do to be able to relate to their culture and learn from them,” Leon said. “I also hope I gain further knowledge on the roots of Spain and bring that knowledge with me back home.”

Including Leon, about 40 Spanish III, IV and V students will be traveling to Spain from June 7-17. The trip,which was coordinated through InterAct Travel, will start in Madrid and travels throughout Toledo, Zaragoza, Figueres and Barcelona. Participants will be able to use their Spanish skills to communicate and experience a culture very different from their own, yet familiar through their studies.

Spanish teacher Joyce Tully believes working hard throughout their Spanish careers will allow students to appreciate all the cultural and linguistic differences they’ve been studying, and now get to experience.

“[Spanish students] heard all about this stuff for the past however many years...” Tully said. “Here
[is] the real thing, and there’s nothing like if you have the real thing in front of you and be able to really interact with it. Whatbetter lesson is there?”

To apply the curriculum they’ve learned, the group will visit world renowned art museums such as the National Museum Center of Renia Sofía and the National Museum of Prado.

Although the students will visit concrete museums, the architecture within the cities is viewed as artwork themselves. Tully mentioned that Toledo’s architecture and old-world feel is just as influential artistically as paintings are in the museums.

“[Toledo is] kind of a museum outside because it’s just so cool to discover and explore.”

Out of all the stops on the trip, one of the most anticipated sites is Salvador Dalí’s museum in Figueres.

“I’m most looking forward to the Dalí Museum because his art is very wild and unique,” Spanish IV student, senior, Tara Marcoski said. “Also, I’m looking forward to viewing paintings in general because I’ve heard they’re a lot more impressive in person.”

Although learning the necessary language skills for going on the trip is not easy, Tully believes the trip it is ultimately worth it.

“Look at this world that [they’ve] opened [themselves] up to because [they] understand these people,” Tully said. “It gives [them] a real taste of what the language has really empowered [them] to be able to do in the world and hopefully continue with it.”

France

After studying French since kindergarten, French VI student, senior, Neena Patel is considering
studying abroad in college.

“I learned the school I will be attending next year [Miami University in Oxford, Ohio] has an
additional campus in Luxembourg, which is a small country right next to France,” Patel said. “I know I want to spend some time abroad, so I thought I should know more about the area.”

Patel, and other French students, will be able to learn more about France this summer through June 7-22 due to the opportunity the world languages department offers to travel to France.

After arriving in Paris, the students will travel throughout France visiting sites such as the Notre Dame cathedral, the château of Haut Koënigsbourg and Les Hospices de Beaune. The group will then have a week-long family stay in Lyon.

According to French teacher, Mary McDonnell, the trip is “the ultimate field trip.” Most of the sites the students visit have been in the French curriculum and the trip really brings them to life.

“You could break it all the way down to…we’re studying housing in France,” McDonnell said. “They’re going to be living with families and they’re going to see some of the similarities and differences we have.”

The students will not only be able to see sites they have learned about, but completely experience
culture through the family stay portion of the trip in Lyon, which is known for its culinary accomplishments. Each student is paired up with a family and lives with them for one week. Although the chaperons will be in town in case of an emergency, each student is on their own.

“They go to school with their host brothers and sisters,” McDonnell said. “They just live the life of a typical French student...We don’t have kids go to France unless they have completed at least two years of French. This allows them to communicate with their host families.”

French III student, junior, Matthew Tokarski believes this family stay will allow him to immerse himself in the culture and improve his fluidity.

“I hope to get a better understanding for the country in general and [experience] life in Europe,” Tokarski said. “I want to be around just the language and [see] fluent speakers.”

After the family stay, students will travel to Paris, which is one of the most highly anticipated
parts of the entire trip.

“We do a Paris unit where we learn all about the different monuments and sights and the history behind it so then when we go to Paris it just comes to life,” McDonnell said. “Some of the highlights are…having dinner in the Eiffel Tower, taking a nighttime boat ride to see the monuments, going to the Louvre, seeing the Mona Lisa [and] going to the top of Arc de Triomphe.”

McDonnell assured every student will gain a once-in-a-life time learning experience.

“They learn flexibility and tolerance,” McDonnell said. “They learn that different is not necessarily right or wrong but very interesting and they get to see a slice of the world they would not necessarily see not going on the trip.”