Your Impact: Academic Trips

In Rennes, it is tradition that you and your classmates cross the bay of Mont-St.-Michel. Accessible by foot during low tide, you walk together as you struggle through the muddy waters to reach the island. You think of it as an analogy of your journey abroad; how you may struggle at the beginning, but work together to succeed.

Whether you are sitting in English, Environmental Science or Experiential French, your skills are put to the test as campus is moved to the south of France with half the class traveling to Marseille and the other to Montpellier. In Marseille, you and your classmates tour Château d'If, an island fortresses-turned-prison off the coast and imagine Edmond Dantès being betrayed and imprisoned before making a daring escape in the deadly waters in the legendary novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Then fast forward centuries to the MuCEM, The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, a museum dedicated to give new understanding of the Mediterranean and France’s relation to it. A walk through le quartier du Panier, the oldest part of the port city, ends with a symmetry activity under L’Ombrière du Vieux-Port, a mirrored canopy.

Faculty members lead you on a tour of Aix-en-Provence, where you spot Cezanne’s artistic influence, and maybe can squeeze in a bite at the most popular brasserie in town, Les Deux Garçons, where he and Emile Zola used to hang out. While strolling leisurely around Aix-en-Provence, you come across singing fountains all over the historical center, but aren’t sure if you found all of them, there are nearly 40! Your classmate Tracey, one of our student storytellers, captures this footage while there.

Your peers in Montpellier apply some of their critical thinking skills and facts learned in environmental science class with a visit to les marais salant (salt evaporation ponds) in Gruissan, an ancient fishing village. France’s most productive wine region, they learn about salt production and taste some of the best fleur de sel in the world. These salt beds evaporate in the Mediterranean sun and wind, leaving behind sea salt, which is then harvested. They learn why it’s called the “pink” lake (hint: it’s the algae).

Then it’s off to Nîmes, where they journeyed back centuries to its origins while exploring the Musée de la Romanité. The influence of the Roman civilization throughout the centuries, with traces still visible today, brought the Gauls to life through architecture, statues and mosaics. Well-preserved Roman monuments such as the Arena of Nîmes, a double-tiered circa-70 A.D. amphitheater, are still in use for concerts and bullfights. Both the Pont du Gard tri-level aqueduct and the Maison Carrée white limestone Roman temple are around 2,000 years old.

How better to apply what you have been learning in your Ancient History Through Art class than by exploring the three ancient civilizations that influenced the local territory? Throughout the year, you and your classmates read, analyze and comment on not only written sources, but through archaeological remains and artifacts.

A trip to Sperlonga, a small town perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Mediterranean, brings you and your classmates to the Villa di Tiberio, the Roman emperor’s (14-37 AD) “lost” summer home that wasn’t discovered until 1957. You move about the remnants, down a path that leads you to fishponds and a grotto where Tiberius would have entertained guests. Scenes from Greek Hellenistic literature of Homer and Virgil come to life through grand statues depicting mythological compositions of Odysseus’ encounters, including Polyphemus and Ulysses.

It’s a sunny, blue-sky day as you walk through the 13th century Abbey of Fossanova in Priverno, a Cistercian monastery, just as Thomas Aquinas had. This church complex is considered one of the earliest examples of early Gothic architecture in Italy. Austere, unlike most Italian churches, the rose windows and a faded fresco of the Madonna and Child provide a peaceful and magical backdrop for you and your classmates to write reflective letters.

Moving the campus north to Torino, home of the Shroud of Turin, you and your classmates explore boulevards and grand squares that are lined with stately baroque buildings and old cafes to get your footing. The main theme guiding this academic trip is identity: what factors contribute to the identity of a place and to the identity of the people within that place. Applying cultural competence building skills, you were asked to challenge yourself with observational and interview skills, and further develop your language skills … and tastebuds. A visit to Torino is incomplete without enjoying a cup of bicerin: dark chocolate, espresso and whipped egg whites, a favorite of the Count of Cavour himself.

Traveling a bit more, you reach the 10th century Sacra di San Michele, which evoked an intense mystical atmosphere frozen in time. Rising into the sky atop Mount Pichiriano, you explored this Romanesque-Gothic monastic complex, discovering arches, portals, paintings, tombs and every corner hidden in the mysterious charm of this ancient place. You finally reach the church, after climbing the steep and narrow Scalone dei Morti (Stairway of the Dead), a staircase flanked by arches, niches and tombs in which, until recent times, skeletons of dead monks were visible. The symbolic ascent from darkness to light leads you to the Portale dello Zodiaco (Portal of the Zodiac) with the twelve signs of the zodiac and the southern and northern constellations. After passing through the portal, you finally reach the abbey, which preserves the tombs of members of House of Savoy, one of the oldest royal families.

The abbey served as one of the inspirations for the book “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco and the movie of the same name. As legend states, this complex was built along ancient pilgrimage routes at the request of archangel Michael, with materials transported miraculously to the top of the mountain. You ponder the science and math behind this and learn that there is a mysterious connection to Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, a traditional trip for your peers at SYA France. What you find mystifying is that the six monasteries venerating St. Michael, from Ireland to Greece, are in a straight line leading to Mount Carmel in Jerusalem; and you’re standing on one of the three most important medieval monasteries venerating Saint Michael in Europe, on the same axis, one pilgrimage route, at exactly the midpoint between Mont-Saint-Michel and Monte Sant’Angelo in Puglia.  

Imagine sitting in the Spanish Civilization and Culture classroom at our campus in Zaragoza and learning about País Vasco, the Basque Country, where political conflict from the Franco regime had been present for decades. Days later, you and your classmates travel to that region in Northern Spain, to the western end of the Pyrenees Mountain range. While traces and memories of the longest running conflict in modern Western Europe remain, you find a welcoming community filled with different cultural traditions, cuisine and a distinct language that pre-dates the Romance languages. (Watch this video recap.)

After being in the mountains, your classroom moves the southern coast, back to the eighth century when the Moors ruled Andalucía, the birthplace of Picasso and flamenco dancing. You visit architectural landmarks, all UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the Alcázar castle in Seville, Córdoba’s Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral and Granada’s Alhambra palace. On your way from Seville to Córdoba, you stop in Carmona, an ancient Andalucían village founded by Phoenicians. First, while observing locals going about their normal day, you  a have the opportunity to admire Carmona’s impressive ruins and gorgeous baroque churches. Later in the day, you visit Convento de Santa Clara. Founded in 1460, it was one of the first to be built in the convent architectural style of the city. You enjoy a first-hand experience with the Clarisse sisters, a closed order of nuns belonging to the Franciscan order, learning what living in a cloistered monastery means and watching a demonstration of their baking, followed by tasting of their delicious sweets, many of which are of Moorish origin.  (Here's a quick video recap.)

Next is Barcelona. Starting with the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, you marvel at the only remaining church in the pure Catalan Gothic style. Built in the 14th century on a site that was once occupied by a Roman Amphitheatre, you wonder how it was constructed in only 55 years. Most churches took a century to complete, which explains the combination of styles seen on others. Moving forward several centuries, you attend a concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana, an architectural jewel of Catalan Art Nouveau and the only concert venue in this style to be listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Speaking of art, you visit the Fundació Joan Miró, a museum of modern art honoring painter and sculptor Joan Miró. You study his work and wonder who influenced his style. Then it’s off to Port Olímpic, the site of the sailing events of the 1992 Summer Olympics and the planned venue 2024 Americans Cup. No visit is complete without being amazed by the Parc Güell and the Sagrada Família, where you immediately recognize the designs of renowned architect Antoni Gaudí. From the colorful mosaics in the park to the Gothic and Art Nouveau architect renderings of the basilica, he devoted his remaining life to the basilica project, but died when it was less than 25% complete. He is buried in the church's crypt. Construction was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and a fire that practically destroyed Gaudí's original plans, drawings and plaster models, leading to 16 years of work to piece together the fragments of the master model.