Written by Julian Franks-Pollock ’20, recounting March 19

Today, we started the day off by going to classes with other French students. After about four hours of classes, we then had an hour to have an amazing lunch either at or away from the school. After lunch we had our daily meeting to discuss how we felt about the past day and how we felt about the day ahead.

Then we took the metro to meet up with our tour guide Chloe. From there, we walked to Sacré Coeur and saw the amazing cathedral and even better views from the top of the hill. After leaving Chloe for the last time, we took the metro back to Saint Do and went home with our corres for our final night.

Written by Sydney Beverly ’20, recounting March 18

Today was our second to last day in Paris. Everyone is sad because we have to leave to go back to school soon. But today we went to the Pompidou, which is a modern art museum. Everyone enjoyed looking at the art by various artists from surrealism, Dada, expressionism and many others.

After that, we all had lunch at the Stravinsky Fountain. After the fountain we were free to explore the area around the Pompidou. After we explored we went to Belleville, which has many diverse types of people, to see street art. The street art was beautiful, and I enjoyed seeing the artworks on the buildings. Street art is very costly because people have to pay a fines of hundreds of dollars for getting caught. Our guide, Chloe made everything so interesting!

Written by Morgan Aufenger ’20, recounting March 15

On Friday, we started off our morning with a stroll through a park and a tour of the Foundation Louis Vuitton museum. The building, modeled after a ship and designed by Frank Gehry, is a work of art itself along with the pieces inside.  From the viewing deck we had a wonderful view of the Paris skyline and the wooded park surrounding it, which was highlighted by the abnormal structure of the building. This center strives to be environmentally friendly as much as possible; one of the most notable ways is by collecting rain water to fill their toilettes to not waste water. 

After our tour, we walked to a farmers market in Neuilly where some of us had the chance to try out our French and buy some authentic food and jewelry.  For our second activity, we took a boat tour of the Seine on a bateau mouche. We all enjoyed watching famous Parisian landmarks as we traveled down the river.

Written by Pooja Mahesh ’20, recounting March 14th

Yesterday we got to experience a major part of French history: going to the Opéra Garnier. We felt as though we were the rich French people of the 1800s when we walked through the sparkling doors. All the walls were covered with beautiful art, and the ceilings were painted with beautiful classical murals. Although we didn’t see an opera, It was a mesmerizing experience that made my neck hurt because I spent so much time looking at the elegant ceilings. 

After a great lunch with our corres we went to the Louvre. Although we only had an hour and a half, we were able to see the most important pieces of artwork in the museum such as Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa.I got to recreate a picture I took ten years ago with the Mona Lisa (it was très cool). We were able to witness a lot of French culture through art.

Written by Camille Foley ’20, recounting March 13th

This morning we all met at St. Dominique and had our morning meeting. Then, we were on our way to the Île de la Cité. After taking the metro there, we met up with our tour guide Chloé and walked around the island until we got to Sainte Chapelle. Chloé taught us about the stories in the stained glass and told us about the process of the glass making. That building took seven years to build and each window is 49 feet high, and the whole room depicts over 1,000 scenes from both the Old and New Testaments.

After Sainte Chapelle, we went to the Pizzeria Sarno. Then, we headed to Notre Dame, which took over 140 years to build. From the gargoyles all around to the intricate designs on the doorways and stories in the statues, this building has much to appreciate. We all had an amazing day!

Written by Danielle Doss ’20, recounting March 12th

Today we went to Musée D’Orsay and the Eiffel Tower.  At the Musée Orsay, I was so excited to see all the artwork that I had seen before in books.  It made me feel so immersed in the wonderful culture of France, because the Musée D’Orsay was once a train station, beautifully designed of course. We completed a challenge to imitate specific pieces of art throughout the museum.

We all had tons of fun at the Eiffel Tower, as we all styled up with a view of Paris behind us in one of the most iconic places in all of France.  I especially loved how we could walk around the 2nd real floor, and we were able to see different parts of the city we had visited.

Written by Audrey Peck ’20, recounting March 10th

Written by Aidan Dowd ’20, recounting March 9th:

Today, we took to the road and went to Mont St-Michel, a very old church whose construction began in the 8th century. It was constructed on top of an island with a small town underneath. We were given a wonderful tour of the church by Monsieur Chatrousse and then got to explore the town located below the church. We were able to get lunch and shop while practicing our French. The group also had many great pictures with the beautiful Mont St-Michel in the background. 

Written by Sofia Wachtmeister ’20, recounting March 7th 

We had a wonderful day today! We woke up and had a great breakfast with assorted breads and cereals. Then, we went on a 2-hour bus ride to a World War II museum. It was very interesting and ended with a short movie. A tour guide joined our group to show us the beaches of D- Day. Soon we made our way to the cemetery. It was a very eye opening experience!

Written by John Gregoire ’20, recounting March 8th
 In coming to France, one of the things I had anticipated most was the food, and the first day did not disappoint. After a long travel day, after which all of us were exhausted physically, we went to a bakery and got subs and baked treats. Personally, I was feeling somewhat sick, as well as sleep deprived, but once I got that sub into my system, it gave me the energy I needed and allowed me to better enjoy the Bayeux Tapestry. The trend of good food continued at dinner, where we enjoyed foods that we were not used to, which were all good. The meal was capped off with a cheese platter, with three distinct cheeses that I had never tried before. It was fun being adventurous and trying new foods, and I found a lot of new favorites.

Our 2018-2019 Short-Term French Exchange group is gearing up for their upcoming departure for Paris! The group met on Thursday, February 21 to craft some “Group Goals” and “Daily Leadership Roles” for their upcoming experience abroad:

• Group Goals:
  – Improve our French! (speak with St. Do friends, host family, and one another in French; play games when on excursions to hold each other accountable with this; be able to have a full conversation in French by the end of time abroad)
  – Try new things/Get out of comfort zone (eat new foods)
  – Make new friends (open up to NA classmates; connect with corres and host family)
  – Become more familiar with French culture / pick up on “Frenchy” things
  – Focus on being present (Limit tech/phone use)
  – Learn more about ourselves
  – Document and reflect on experience throughout (photos; daily journal)
  – Become a better and more confident traveler (vs. being a tourist)
  – Have fun!
• Daily Student Leadership Roles:
  Leader(s) of the Day
  Caboose
  Navigator
  Scribe/Blogger
  Camel
  Crowd Control
  Photographer
  Tweeter
  Translator

Follow along on their adventure abroad March 6-20 here on the blog and on our International Programs Twitter feed!