Never having traveled outside the country, junior Zoe Weinmann felt excited when she heard about the opportunity to travel to Canada on a trip with her French class.

“When I first heard about the trip I thought it sounded really cool, and I got really excited when I heard about the things we will be seeing and doing,” Weinmann said.  “I have never been outside of the country, so I think this a great opportunity for me to have.”

French teacher Kyle Sweeney said, unlike previous years, the class will not be traveling to French speaking parts of Europe, but to Quebec City and Montreal. According to Sweeney, in June 2017, all French students in all upper level French students have the opportunity to go on the trip.

According to Sweeney, the recent terror attacks throughout Europe did not affect her decision, but did affect some parents’ views.

“I’m not nervous about traveling in France in terms of worrying about attacks, but I’m not sure if many parents would want their children to travel to Europe right now, so now they won’t have to worry about any of that,” Sweeney said.

Weinmann said she believes travelling to Canada poses fewer safety concerns than continuing on the routine Europe trip.

“I think that (Canada) was a good decision,” Weinmann said. “At this point, we do not really know if we will be safe or not.”

According to Sweeney, the switch to Canada will allow more students to participate in the trip because the trip costs less than the average $4,000 price of previous trips.
“We usually have smaller groups of students because it is very expensive to travel to Europe. The trip to Quebec will be about ($2,533) so that is much more affordable,” Sweeney said.

Weinmann said the cheaper option will allow her to travel on the French trip.

“I think it is going to be a lot easier than going to France, since it is not as far. Plus, it is a lot cheaper which makes it easier for me to save up for (the trip),” Weinmann said.

According to Sweeney, the Canada trip will allow students to experience a different type of culture they may never have thought about. Unlike their previous trips to Europe, she said the Canada trip shows students non-European French-speaking cultures.

“We’re not really trying to get a feel for French culture; we are trying to get a feel for Quebec culture,” Sweeney said. “French is spoken in Quebec as well, so it is really a language immersion trip with a cultural element for the unique culture of Quebec.”

Junior Thomas Guddal said he does not believe the Canada trip will have the ability to encompass French culture as well as a trip to Europe.

“Although it still sounds like a fun trip, I do not think Canada can really compare to France when it comes to learning about French culture,” Guddal said. “I think that because it is a French class it makes more sense to go to France, which is the birthplace of the language.”

Sweeney said the students will stay with host families, which will expand their knowledge on Quebec culture.

“The most important thing is that the students will have a family to stay (with). That is the best way to learn a culture. They will see what daily life is like with a family and speak French with them while they are there,” Sweeney said.

According to Sweeney, average touristy activities hinder students’  abilities to learn about French lifestyle.

“We will be touring both Montreal and Quebec City and doing some fun touristy things, but that doesn’t give the valuable experience that a family stay does,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney said she plans on distributing times for meetings on a monthly basis. The sign up deadline is Dec. 1.