A group of WY students and faculty have just returned from a ten day trip to France. The trip was one of the many study abroad trips offered through WY.

WY students were able to each stay with a French student and host family, some of which stayed with WY students when they visited earlier this year. All students stayed in the Paris area. Activities for the trip included a day trip to Versailles, visiting Notre Dame, seeing art at The Louvre, and going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

“I wanted to experience the culture, and I’ve always heard amazing things about Paris, so I wanted to experience them first hand,” said Andrea Zelen ’15, one of the students on the trip.

According to the students, the trip was not only exciting and educational, but a bonding experience for those who went on the trip.

“As a senior, this experience was especially moving for me, as the last time that I may speak to these people, whether in English or in French, rapidly approaches,” said Leslie Grove ’15, another student that joined the trip to France.

The trip also allowed the opportunity for students to be immersed in French.

“I spoke French with my host family exclusively,” said Matthew Patrick ‘15.

Grove, who is currently taking AP French, shared that being in France improved her language skills.

“I’d never been very confident in my spoken French before the trip. I found it difficult to figure out what I wanted to say and how I needed to say it, so chilling with an exclusively-French-speaking host family was super helpful for me,” said Grove.

For students who are disappointed they missed out on this study abroad opportunity, there are more trips approaching in the next year. Science teacher Todd Katz will be hosting a meeting in room 318 on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. for students interested in going on several different science and ecology trips. The destinations for the three trips are Alaska, Israel, and Trinidad and Tobago.

According to an email from administration, the three trips are not CPS-sponsored because of water policies. Travel and boarding costs tend to make educational trips pricey, but students that cannot afford these experience to find other ways to study abroad.

Many scholarships and programs allow students to travel the word for educational purposes. WY students are now eligible and encouraged to apply to the 2014-2015 Global Navigator Scholarship awards, which offers $20,000 in scholarships for those who want to participate in one of their 30 summer programs around the globe.

“If you’re ever given the opportunity to study abroad, take it, you’ll learn so much,” said Zelen.