This Spring, Eagan High School staff have decided to run three out-of-country trips from the language department and the vocal music department. Twenty-six EHS Spanish students will journey to Spain; thirty-eight French students will fly to France and sixty-four choral singers plan on flying to Italy.
Spanish teacher and trip-chaperone, Mrs. Graham, explains the logistics of the trip, piece by piece. The Spanish trip will begin with four to five days touring Barcelona. Then, the students, along with their three chaperones will venture south of the city to stay with their host families from the community of Castelló for a good part of the trip. The trip will come to a close in Valencia, which, Graham says “is the third largest city in Spain.” The students involved in this trip should look forward to numerous parts of Spain. “Barcelona is a stunningly beautiful city with amazing architecture,” she says. “There’s something for everyone.” The part the students are expected to love the most, though, is the bond that they will form with their host families. “It’s the scariest part,” Mrs. Graham says, referring to meeting the families. “but on all the trips it’s always the best part.”
French teacher Ms. Hubbard, a chaperone of the school trip to France, discloses the activities that the French students attending will take part in. First, the students and their three chaperones will fly into Paris, to then stay there for five days. Afterwards, they will take the TGV, which is the bullet train, to Provence in the South of France where the students will stay with host families. Students claim to be very excited about bonding with their soon-to-be families, and, of course, the French food. Students attending the trip should also be excited to see all the sights, “especially the Eiffel Tower,” Hubbard laughs.
Mr. Schafer of the vocal music department, who first took part in the Eagan trip to Italy sixteen years ago, reveals the agenda for the many students and six chaperones taking part in the school choir trip to Italy. The trip begins with a flight to Rome, whereafter they will travel south down the Balti Coast to Sorrento and the island of Capri. Then, they will drive back and spend their last two nights in Rome. “Students will get a different perspective of history than we have in the United States,” Schafer says regarding the experiences the students will get to have. “because we’re seeing things that were used by Romans, by the early Christians.” Another exciting piece of the trip is all of the architectural advancements made by the early Romans that the students will catch sight of. It will also be nice for the students to be affected culturally; to see what it is like for people in other parts of the world. “It’s just a different taste of life.” The members of this travelling choir will sing for whomever arrives to their shows. They will sing in ancient churches and public squares; anyone that is in the space will get to experience their well-trained voices.
Every one of these trips departs on the twenty-first of March and will return on April first. “It’s a life changing experience,” Mr. Schafer adds. “For some of these students it might be their first time out of the United States, possibly even out of Minnesota.” The students staying behind wish the best of luck to those going, and expect everyone to come back with extraordinarily interesting stories to tell.