Ouray High School students studying French will finally travel on the annual spring Paris trip, two years delayed due to COVID, from April 19-28. There are many emotions surrounding this trip: nervousness, fear, and excitement.
“We are really excited to be able to revive this tradition for the French Program this year,” exclaimed foreign language teacher and chaperone, Ms. Chase. “All of the students who have been studying French for at least one year [French 2-4 classes] will get to go try out their language skills and improve their cultural understanding,” she said.
Unlike past France trips, the students will stay in Paris the entire time. Normally, they split their time between Paris and Normandy, where they stay with French students. This year, due to COVID they will stay in Paris.
In October 2019, a group of students from Normandy traveled to Ouray and they all made lots of friends. Some of them still keep in touch and are hoping to take a trip to Paris to see their friends again. “I hope they can come,” said Ms. Chase. “It would be really lovely to see them again. It would be really cool.”
Rachel, one of the Norman students that traveled to Ouray, is “hoping to book a train ticket to go to Paris.” She said that she is “so happy and very proud even if it makes three years since we’ve seen each other, we still speak and have a really strong relationship.”
Ms. Chase has traveled to Paris 11 times, but is experiencing many new things this time, she said, like “the Foire Du Trone, which is the oldest fair in Europe, we’ll ride a ton of rides. I have also never been in Paris during a presidential election. I think that’s going to be really interesting.”
Chloe Kiparsky, the only freshman attending the trip, is “super psyched to go to a new place and see new things,” but is “a little afraid of getting sick before,” as are most of the students going. The trip takes place two weeks after spring break and multiple students from the French club have trips planned during that week. If any of the students test positive for COVID in the weeks leading up to the trip, they will not be able to go, and this brings up many fearful emotions.
Aside from the fear, trip participants are beyond excited to go to Paris and experience the culture, the food, the museums, the Eiffel Tower, and just exploring and walking around the city. Each student got to pick one activity to add to the itinerary. Chloe “was having a really hard time choosing and on the last day it was due I came across Le Marais and it just looks really cute and has a lot of stores and history.”
Chloe is also excited to “go to the Cat Cafe near our apartment and the ballet we are going to go to, and just have a good time with people I like that aren’t my family.”
Lily Feeser, one of the two sophomores going, chose “a department store called Galeries Lafayette which is the one of the oldest department stores in France. We’re going to go shopping and see the building and take pictures and spend money there.” Lily is also excited “to eat cheese.”
Junior Nate Kissingford is “really excited about the Louvre and about the times we get to just explore in Paris in pairs of two [or more] and go wherever we desire.” Nate chose La Musee de Parfum (a perfume museum) to add to the itinerary, “because it will be really cool to learn about how fragrances are made.”
Past all the emotions these students are feeling, “this trip feels like the perfect cumulation of our French learning,” said Chloe, “and everyone who is going is beyond excited to have this opportunity.”