As part of John Carroll’s foreign exchange program, 32 students will get the opportunity to travel to Spain, Germany, or France to study their respective languages and cultures.
On the first day of April, a group of 15 students will fly to Paris accompanied by two chaperones. They will take a train to Saint-Omar, a city in the region of Hauts-de-France, where they will stay with host families from the Lycée Ribot school. They will experience the local culture until their departure on April 11. Students who hosted students from France in the fall will be staying with the same student when they travel this spring.
While in France, they will travel to Paris for a day and a half. They will also take a field trip to Bruges, Belgium.
French Teacher Giulia Beccarelli said, “Learning a language often feels like an experience which is disconnected from real life, and it would be good for the students to realize that real people are speaking a different language in real life, consistently.”
Ms. Beccarelli is excited for the food in France. She also looks forward to seeing her students be immersed in a French-speaking country.
Junior Mary Proctor has always dreamed of going to Paris. She said, “I am most excited about seeing the exchange student who stayed with my family when the French students came here. I will get to stay with her and her family when we go there. I miss her so much; she is the sweetest person.”
Junior Lillian Walker is also going on the French trip. “I am expecting to feel super-inspired by the architecture and culture for my art. I am also expecting to get much better at French.”
Eight students will travel to Spain with Spanish Teacher Cathy Edge.
Sophomore Gabe Olszyk is looking forward to visiting Spain. “I love to travel, and so when I saw the information about an upcoming trip to Spain, I was thrilled and told my parents who were also excited about the amazing opportunity. I am excited to experience a country I have never been in before and to do some photography with my new camera.”
A few months later, a similar trip to Germany will take place. Nine students and two chaperones will travel to Germany for two weeks from June 11 to June 25.
Students will fly from Washington, D.C. to Hanover, Germany. They will stay with host families from Gymnasium Mariono Josephinum in Hildesheim, Germany.
German Teacher Mark Canter said, “As for planning, I first had to gauge interest and gather the perspective travelers, then let my colleague in Germany know so that he could find matches for all our students. Fortunately, a good number of the nine who are going on the trip also hosted a German student when they came here in the fall, so they will be able to stay with the same student they hosted.”
He continued, “There were forms to send home and air travel to arrange, and yet to come are meetings between me and the parents to answer questions they might have, and meetings with the students who do not take German to give them some basic phrases in the language and cultural foreknowledge.”
Mr. Canter has never been to Germany before so he is excited to “use the language far away from the confines of quizzes.”
Sophomore Maureen McMennamin wanted to participate in the German exchange to travel somewhere new and immerse herself in a different culture.
She said, “I’m excited to stay with the student I hosted in October, experience school in another country, and explore the country. I’m a little nervous about using my German because people are so good at speaking English there.”
“I’m expecting to see famous landmarks such as the Berlin Wall and also to have fun with my exchange student and her friends. I’m excited to go since I’ve never been, and I think it’s an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” said senior Katya Hansen who is also going to Germany this summer.