Your Impact: Spring Academic Trips

Faculty Insights: Benjamin Sabatier, Art History and History teacher

Most Rewarding Moment 
These trips allow students to see the cultural diversity of France. Marseille is a city known for its diverse vibrant cultural heritage, with influences from Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern cultures. It was great to see how students applied what they have learned at school during our visit.

My Favorite Lesson
On this trip, we took a little hike to discover the famous Calanques (a national park with scenic cliff walks). It was a much longer hike than some of the students expected and took us a while to get there. In the end, students were thrilled to discover this unique breathtaking landscape, and the faculty had the pleasure of witnessing the strong bond that formed between the students as they overcame a great challenge together.

Something New and Different
What struck me as different from previous trips was the increased awareness and enthusiasm among the students I was traveling with. They were proactive and passionate about interacting with locals and embracing a new culture. Our first walk was to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde where students could see the Vieux-Port which had a great view on the city. They were especially curious about what they were seeing and asked lots of questions.

Student Insights from Chrissy J. FR’23, The Class of SYA France 1971 Scholar

An Unexpected Lesson
I think this trip taught me to trust the process, trust in myself, and breathe. I remember when I went to Cassis, we did this giant hike and I was nervous about falling due to past injuries from hiking. I decided to sit on the cliff, taking a break to calm my nerves. All around me was the beauty of nature, and I was so amazed by the peace surrounding me. It was a moment of tranquility when I realized I was safe, and I had teachers and friends there to support me who would never risk putting me in danger. I was safe.

My Favorite Memory
I was singing karaoke at TopBun with my friends and the waiters. Nobody was singing that night, but my friends and I decided the place needed dinner and a show. We sang so much that others finally began to join in. Eventually, when two waiters took their turn, they called us up to sing with them and it was surreal. I had so much fun, singing with my friends and with strangers. It was a night full of joy.

Embrace the moments and allow yourself to fully experience each one. Even the simplest moments like singing with strangers.

Faculty Insight: Resident Director Pat Scanlon

Most Rewarding Moment 
It's great to see students discover that school can be held in places where others go on vacation, and that they can apply previous knowledge to discover a place way beyond what a tourist can. Previous knowledge can be in the form of language or a similar project that they have accomplished in another context and can adapt that to new circumstances.

My Favorite Lesson
There’s an experience we have come to call "walkabouts" where we simply gather in small groups and, with one teacher, we set out in a new town to discover possibilities. We have no real agenda during that time together because we use the circumstances that arise to direct us. In particular, it’s the people and the places that offer the richest payoffs. We discover places we'd never have heard of, and meet people that bring us deeper understanding of the place they call home.

Something New and Different
I have never stayed the night in Siracusa, so it allowed me more time to see the cycle of the day there. The colors, shape and style of the main square are always magnificent, but I'd never seen it at night. A school group from Holland told me about a movie, Malèna by Giuseppe Tornatore, that was filmed in that Piazza. I was a bit embarrassed not to have known that, but that's why we travel and meet new people. I still haven't seen it, but I will soon!

Student Insight: Louisa H. IT’23

My “Aha!” Moment
During our trip to Sicily, we spent a day in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. Some temples were not much more than piles of fallen stones, while others stood towering over us, reminding us of their great history. The temples shared the valley with the nature around them. Purple flowers crept between the steps and little green bushes nestled themselves in the columns. My friends and I wandered through the valley admiring the flowers and limestone ruins. At the end of our tour, we arrived at a temple in which only four columns of one of its corners remained standing; the rest was scattered in bits and pieces across the ground. Directly behind this ruin was a great landscape of the modern city of Agrigento. Coming from America where nothing can be more than a couple of hundred years old, I was not used to seeing ancient history and the modern world from the exact same viewpoint. Those four remaining columns stood mightily, looking at its present city proudly. As a Latin student, I was very appreciative of these ancient temples and their rich history. Agrigento’s Valle dei Templi was nothing short of a marvel, and I was so lucky to have had the chance to see them with my own eyes and not on a textbook page.

An Unexpected Lesson
Perhaps I should have packed my running shoes for our trip, but no one told me that the ancient conquerors of Sicily placed all their temples and theaters on the peak of the mountains. Of all our visits to ancient ruins, not one of them was an easy walk to get to, making their view all the more worthwhile. After our steep walk up a hill in Taormina, we made it to the famous ancient theater which jutted out from the top of a hill. The Greeks built many of their theaters on hillsides so that the audience could see the orchestra pit well. These seats faced a spectacular view of the city of Taormina and the snowy peak of Mount Etna. I thought to myself how lucky the ancient Sicilians were to have this spectacular view while watching a play. On our day trip to Cefalù, my friends and I decided to hike to the remains of a Norman castle. Being stressed that we wouldn’t be able to make it up and down in time for our train, we practically ran up the path. At a certain point, a few of our friends bailed out, leaving only a few of us to make the journey to the top. Words became laborious as our breathing intensified. After a few minutes, our silence was broken by the sound of our cheers. We had made it to the top. The castle looked down on the entire coast of Cefalù and the mountains behind it. I stood awestruck as I soaked in the natural beauty of Sicily. I was grateful that I pushed myself to continue, as Sicily will never disappoint with its ancient ruins and spectacular views.

My Favorite Memory
In the food markets of Catania lies the true spirit of Sicily. The scene resembles that of a children’s classroom; every color of the rainbow was visible, and voices were coming from all directions competing for the buyer’s attention. The oranges were slightly larger and their color gleamed a richer orange. I had never seen strawberries of such a radiant red. The avocados were twice their normal size. I approached a vendor and asked in Italian for a few strawberries. He heard my foreign accent and asked where I was from. I responded “America.” Despite having said less than ten words, he immediately complimented my Italian, reassuring me that I spoke very well, and gave me an extra orange. I smiled and thanked him. By the seafood markets, you can imagine that the smell of fish is intense. After about thirty seconds, once our nostrils were used to the smell, we were prepared to enter. Our school challenge was to be the first to find a live octopus, so we set out on the hunt. After about a minute, one of our friends spotted an octopus and asked the vendor about it. Before we knew it, she was holding the moving creature in her hand! After getting some photo evidence, it was safe to say we won the challenge. By stepping foot in these markets, I was able to find the true spirit of Sicily all in one place. Its food, its people and its vivacious nature created a beautiful memory of Sicily that will last me forever.

 

Student Insight: Greta M. ES’23

My “Aha!” Moment
In my Art History class, we learned a lot about different architecture throughout Spain’s history. like gothic architecture with its big pieces of stained glass windows (vidrieras), pointed arches (arcos apuntados), ribbed vaults (bóvedas de crucería), buttresses (contrafuertes) and flying buttresses (arbotantes). During our trip to Andalucía, we visited La Catedral de Sevilla. I was able to take what we learned in art class and apply it to the real world. It was a really amazing experience, and this did not only happen when we visited Sevilla, but it occurs in our everyday lives in Zaragoza. You look around and see the types of architecture the city has to offer. Two of my favorites are La Aljafería and La Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar.

In my History Through the Lens of Cinema class, we learned about the Islamic influence in the Iberian Peninsula. The capital of the Islamic Empire was Córdoba, therefore I was very excited to go there and see all of the history that I had learned about. While there, we visited the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. Not only was I able to refresh my memory about the history, but I also was able to remember back when we studied about Islamic architecture in art class. This is one of the most meaningful aspects of SYA. Since we have the ability to travel, we get to see what we learned about in person.

An Unexpected Lesson
This trip taught me that it’s okay to need your own space. I love to be around people, but understandably it is very tiring to be in a big group of people all day long. So, I would take advantage of the time we had in the mornings to leisurely eat breakfast and go on a run. By doing this, I was able to have some time to myself, listen to music, and just take the opportunity to soak in these cities and enjoy what was around me.

My Favorite Memory
I will fondly remember all the laughs that we shared, not only with other students, but with our teachers too. We all got along with each other and enjoyed being in each other's presence, both learning and having a good time.