Junior Hope Hixson and Senior Carson McGlynn enjoyed a trip of a lifetime this summer to France sponsored by French class. From June 18-22 the two Elkhorn South students were able to explore France, along with several other groups from schools in California, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

McGlynn was excited to travel somewhere unknown and use the language she has been putting effort into learning for so long.
The first stop on the international adventure for the girls was Paris for a few days. Followed by a road trip to the beaches at Normandy. They resided in a small town called Saint Malo for one night and then went back to Paris to finish the trip.

The students were able to use their French skills to help them navigate the foreign country when it came to buying souvenirs or ordering food.

Hope noticed that France was different from America in several respects. The architecture was different, with things like narrower streets. The French were more kept to themselves, but were busy and always had somewhere to be in a hurry, and that they take their meal times more seriously than Americans do.

“They were very respectful and tried to help us with our French,” Hixson said.

During large activities or meals the groups were all together, but otherwise the students were able to split into pairs and go explore the cities on their own and have a lot of freedom.

“My favorite site was Mont-Saint Michelle because it was very calm and beautiful and we were able to spend most of the day there getting to know each other and relax from all the walking

we did,” Hixson said.

After their long days exploring the cities, they treated themselves to exquisite French cuisine.

“Every meal we had was traditional French food and it was so good, I liked it much better than the food we have here,” senior Carson McGlynn said.

They did a lot of touristy sightseeing along with a river cruise on the Seine while in Paris. On the last night they had dinner on the Eiffel Tower and walked around the artist district of Paris as a grand finale to the trip. At the Eiffel Tower, Hixson did get to try duck liver and lamb stew, two things very typical to French cuisine.

“There are differences in breakfast foods and snacks between America and France but most of the food we ate wasn’t very different from what we eat in America it was just cooked differently and presented much nicer,” Hixson said.

Both students that attended loved the time they spent in the country, and have aspirations to go back in the future.

“I would love to visit France again in the future,” Hixson said, “and studying abroad would definitely be and amazing experience.”