France agrees with Beth-Center students
A group of Bethlehem-Center French students recently had the chance to put their skills to the test while spending some time in France. French teacher Paula Lancas said that the students visited four different areas of France, including Paris, Normandy, Loire Valley and Cannes, and she was very impressed with the way the students utilized what they had learned in class during this real world experience.
“I have been teaching for 26 years and this was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had as a teacher,” said Lancas. “It’s definitely the best experience I have had taking students abroad and that is all because of this group of students. This is the first time that my students have really tried to experience the culture.”
Lancas said that rather than choosing to sit with their friends on the bus, the students sat next to French people and tried to strike up conversations. While on the beach, the students asked the locals to play beach volleyball with them.
“My sister came with us and she is the world’s greatest shopper,” said Lancas. “She actually taught the kids to haggle at the market where the vendors spoke no other language than French. The students were able to get some things at really decent prices.”
While in Paris, the group took a city tour that included visiting the Louvre Museum, a boat ride on the Seine River, shopping at an underground mall, and eating dinner on the first level of the Eiffel Tower.
Senior student Kevin Cline may have enjoyed dinner even more than the others, since he was celebrating his 17th birthday.
“That was pretty cool, celebrating in the tower,” said Cline, whose friends all chipped in to buy him an official soccer jersey of the French National Soccer Team, which had recently played in the World Cup finals against Italy.
Although Lancas said the students were excited to visit Paris, very few of them liked the city better than other areas that were visited. Cline agreed with her, saying that the “love capitol of the world” was too fast-paced.
“People were always in a hurry,” said Cline. “It was slower in other places and I liked the small towns better because then it really seemed like we were in France.”
Cline said even though the interaction with a French-speaking society was a little tough, he thought he and many of the other students did “really well.”
In Normandy, the students visited the historic D-Day beaches of World War II, and the American Cemetery in Colleville. They also spent a morning at the medieval abbey, Mount Saint Michel, where the omelet was invented, and spent the night in the ancient walled pirate town of Malo in Brittany.
The trip ended in Cannes on the French Riviera where students shopped, spent time on the beach and visited the Fragonard perfume factory and the village of Saint Paul de Vence.
Students participating in the trip included Jocelyn Dickey, Courtney Geller, Christopher Statzula, Paige Butka, Cline, Alyssa Ford, Amber Hirschi, Gary Jordan, Cecilia Cowger, Hayley Nicklos and Stasia Jordan.
“I came away very satisfied as a teacher, thinking that maybe I made a difference to these students and gave them something they will remember,” said Lancas. “They took advantage of what they learned in class and put it to use in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”