On November 3rd, I joined eleven of my classmates, as well as Madame Simonson and Mrs. Miano, on a trip of a lifetime.  On that day, we departed Shore Regional in a minibus on our way to Newark Airport to visit Paris as exchange students.

The first lesson we learned is sometimes your flight gets cancelled and you get to explore airports. In our case, this meant an exploration of both Newark and JFK airports, as well as some hotels. However, within two days the airline got its act together and off we went on our adventure to beautiful Paris!

It was amazing seeing the Eiffel Tower in the distance as we rode into Paris from the airport, and to see the sites and scenes of France. We got to experience Paris through our host families and our sister school, St Genevieve.  Our host students were friendly and extremely welcoming, making us feel like a part of the family from the very first day. Perhaps most surprising was that during the school day, our host siblings have two hours for lunch everyday! They often spend time either at home or at local cafes for their midday break. Their lunches are far more elaborate than what we are accustomed to here. Dinner with my host family was intimate and usually occurred later in the evening. This was the time for discussing politics and the day’s events.

In conjunction with spending time with our host families, we did get to see some amazing sites; such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre where we saw the world’s most famous painting, Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”. We visited Normandy Beach, where the Allied forces landed and began the liberation of Europe from the Nazis during WWII. We even explored a medieval village named Provins! At each location we traveled to, we sampled the variety of ethnic foods.  Food in France is delicious and fresh, and the bread and salads are amazing!

When the trip ended, we said goodbye to both our host families and the beautiful and historic country of France. We all look forward to the day when we may hopefully return and continue the friendships and the exchange of life experiences that make trips like these so worthwhile. Should the opportunity arise to visit a foreign land as an exchange student, do not pass it up!

Should you want to see some of our pictures, you are invited to follow Shore Regional’s International Program on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SRHSInternationalProgram/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/srhsgoesglobal

Gallery • 17 Photos

Shore Regional spends their final days as exchange students at the Institute Sainte Genevieve in Paris, France.