Chapin Today Archived Story
|
 |
Apr. 25, 2007
|
 |
Chapin on the Seine
 A group of Chapin students chose to spend their spring break with their French teachers, Martine Courtial-Eisner and Léonie Seltzer, on a trip to Paris. When the girls returned, they used their freshly exercised foreign-language skills to write accounts of their tour in French, one of which we have reproduced here, translation courtesy of Mme. Courtial-Eisner.
"We stayed in the 13th arrondissement in a little 'résidence.' Each morning, the seven of us took language and culture classes at the résidence for a couple of hours. Each afternoon was filled with something new and different that would open us up to French culture. Among other things, we took a bike ride tour on the Rive Droite to the Jardins des Tuileries; dined in numerous cafés; visited various museums like the Orangerie, the Picasso Museum, the Louvre and the Musée D'Orsay; and sat in beautiful parks. We strolled through various neighborhoods: in the narrow streets of the Jewish neighborhood, the Marais, or on wide avenues such as the Champs Elysées. We did a little shopping in some cute old French stores or some grand department stores. I think the best parts of the trip were the ones that allowed me to forget, just for a moment , that I was a tourist. We sat on benches in the Jardins du Luxembourg one day eating lunch that we had bought from an outdoor market in the Latin Quarter. Looking over beautiful statues, watching families taking walks together, I suddently felt I was part of the culture. I think that in order to really understand and grasp French culture, it is important to feel connected with it in this way."
Click here for gallery of images from the Paris trip
|
 |
This page overseen by the Director of Communications
Questions, comments: E-mail |
