France and Its Borders - Germany

This summer, I was extremely fortunate to travel to France and Germany through the Wilson Grant for Language Study, and it was the most amazing trip I've ever been on. After a fantastic 4 day orientation in Paris, where I got to visit all of the incredible sites, as well as a bunch of really cool, less known areas, I learned a ton about the French culture that I never would have experienced had I not been afforded the opportunity to go on this trip. My group bonded really quickly, and we had a ton of fun together as we prepared for our 11 day homestay in St. Dié des Vosges, a small city in the Alsace region.

My American group of 12 kids from all around the country. It was a ton of fun meeting people from all over, and we had a ton of fun on our trip.

My host brothers Florian (left) and Louis (center), both of whom were incredible guys. We went to one of Europe's biggest amusement parks, went an awesome canoeing trip, and played guitar together. The homestay was way easier than I ever expected.

In the days after our homestay, my group and I travelled to Freiburg, Germany, then to Colmar, France, and then back to Paris. This picture is 4 of us driving a boat in Germany on one of the many trips we took to a lake. The picture on the bottom left is the incredible view from the top of Montmartre, where we ended up after a really intense scavenger hunt all through Paris. We stayed up there for almost an hour just admiring the insane view we had of almost all of Paris.

The very bottom picture here is the Little Italy section of Colmar. There were gondola rides down the river, and we ate at some of the best restaurants and cafes that I have ever been to.

My trip this summer was one that I will never forget because of all the incredible new cultures I experienced, and all the memories I made in a place that was totally out of my comfort zone. This trip was quite an adventure, and it was one of the most amazing gifts that I could have been given as a high schooler. I want to give my utmost thanks to the Wilson family, Mr. Gioia, and all others involved with these grants, because it was an amazing time.

The ecstasy of St. Teresa

The Pantheon

Kids playing soccer in the Circus Maximus

I used my Wilson Language Grant to study in Rome for three weeks in a collaborative program between Brown University and St. Stephen's School. I was with 34 other teenagers from around the world, including Jack Whitson, who won the other Latin grant. We stayed on St. Stephen's campus in the middle of Rome, just a short walk away from the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum.

Most of our time during the weekdays was spent in class. I took Italian I, Music History, and Italian Art and Architecture: Renaissance through the Baroque. Though Italian and Music History were both useful and enjoyable, my art history course was one of the best classes I have ever taken. I've always appreciated art, but this course truly ignited my passion for art in a way that I'd never before believed possible. Being in Rome obviously allowed for a much more in depth, personal examination of the great Italian works. One of the experiences that stands out most in my mind was one of the first days of class, when our teacher took us into a nondescript church and showed us a Michelangelo statue standing in a corner. The fact that we could simply go into a virtually deserted church and walk right up to a Michelangelo truly demonstrated to me how Rome is saturated with great works of art, and that one can essentially stumble upon a masterpiece just off the beaten path. The Borghese gallery was also awe inspiring, particularly the Bernini sculptures "Apollo and Daphne" and "The Rape of Proserpina". In fact, my teacher said that in his opinion the most beautiful sight in all of Rome is Pluto's hand grasping Proserpina's thigh.

When we weren't in class, we were either working on our homework, hanging out with our friends, or taking part in the nightly activities the interns organized. Whether it was a walk along the Tiber or a shopping trip in the Piazza Navona, there was always something to keep us busy. Some notable night activities were seeing "Aida" performed at the Baths of Caracalla, and Erykah Badu concert, and going to tango and jazz concerts. On the weekends we took trips to Sorrento and Florence, with stops in Naples, Pompeii, and Siena. I particularly enjoyed the Uffizi in Florence, especially since they were featuring an exhibit on Caravaggio, whose work I had recently fallen in love with.

My time in Rome was truly the best three weeks I've ever had, and I want to thank Mr. Gioia, Dr. Seay, Dr. Gaffney, Mr. Gaither, and most of all the Wilson family for giving me the opportunity to have this wonderful experience.

Will Granbery-EIL China North

Being able to go to China this summer has allowed me to open my mind towards other cultures. Previously, I have traveled to European countries where the culture is a little easier to understand with respect to ours, but China was a completely different experience. The culture shock was the main barrier I had to cross at the beginning of the trip. It would be hard for me to pick one event that was my favorite, but for the sake of the blog, I will choose one.

While staying in the rural village in the Shandong province of Buyuang Zhuang, we got a chance as a group to play one of the local basketball teams. We were told that in the past years that this Chinese team has beaten the Americans every time. This was about to change. We got there expecting to play a 20 or 30 minute pick-up game only to be told that we were playing four 15 minute quarters! We started off the game strong, taking an early lead. But as we got further

into the game, we began to get tired and they had a surge and took the lead at the half. Since we were limited to the number of people who could play basketball in our group, we had to stick to playing 5-6 players while the other team had around 10 or so.

During an epic second half we began to come back. The entire 4th quarter was a battle, with many lead changes. After a controversial call by the ref as the clock ticked through its final seconds the score was tied. So we broke the streak of Americans losing in basketball in Buyuang Zhuang with a 76-76 tie.

All this to say that my trip to China was a great experience, and I have many more stories beyond this one. I p

lan on continuing my study of the language through college and hope to return to China whenever I get the chance!

Summer of Chocolate- Baker Swain

[image] Eiffel Tower + night= a spectacular light show

My France trip officially began with four days in Paris. There, I learned how not to get lost on the Metro, visited Le Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame all with the fear of being pickpocketed.

[image] Le Louvre from a perfect angle (below)

[image] Notre Dame cathedral (above)

After spending a few days in Paris and a two week homestay in Perpignan, my group went to Tain L'Hermitage, about a 45 minute train ride away from Lyon, where we went to the world-renowned cooking school, l'Ecole du Grand Chocolat. There, we made French pastries that are almost impossible to make in your own kitchen. We made some famous pastries such as eclairs, macarons, succes, and many others. While we were not making pastries, we toured around this small city visiting a vineyard and the factories that made the Valrhona chocolate used in cooking school. The chefs were very nice and got over the fact that we did not know how to fold egg whites or use a spatula correctly since the chefs that come here have very high credentials.

[image] There is me folding chocolate. From my group: Jason (left) and Sophia (right).

[image] My France group in our chef's outfits looking like the next "Iron Chefs".

[image] The vineyard that my group visited during our time in Tain L'Hermitage.

After cooking school and a day in Lyon, my group went to Brugge, Belgium, the chocolate and french fries capital of the world. There, we took a segway tour of the city, consumed many french fries, and climbed the main tower in the marketplace. This stop was my favorite of all the trip because it was so different from France because of the atmosphere, and the fact that everyone understood English.

















[image] Jason (front left), me (front right), and my group leader, Lucas (back left) all on segways taking a tour of Brugge.

[image] There's me at the top of Belfort Tower tired from climbing all 366 steps of it.

Finally, I want to thank the Wilson Family, Mr. Gioia, and the sponsors of this trip for giving me the chance of a lifetime. I enjoyed this trip very much and I'll never forget it.

Paris et la Camargue- Franklin Gaglione

This summer I was extremely privileged to travel to France with my Wilson Language Grant through the Experiment in International Living. Our trip began in Paris with a four day orientation, during which we went to famous sites such as Le Louvre, Notre Dame, and Le Cafe Procope. While we saw all of these famous sites, we also went to some less well known sites in Paris, including the Algerian quarter and the numerous petits cafes all across Paris as everyone in my group began to be better acquainted with each other.


This is the Centre Pompidou, an art museum famous in Paris for its originality.









In this picture group members Annlady, Esi, and I are standing in front of the extremely well-known Eiffel Tower on a beautiful day in Paris



In one of our last afternoons in Paris, my friends Annlady, Taylor and Noah smile for me as we listened to an impromptu concert on the steps in front of Le Sacre Coeur in the beautiful neighborhood of Montmartre.







In our last afternoon in orientation, one of my group members took a picture of our exhaustion as we waited to go to the upper levels of Notre Dame. From left to right my friends Calvin, Hannah, Anamaria, and Kaela were very tired.





As our time in Paris ended we boarded a TGV train and made our way to our homestay in Nimes, a beautiful town in the south of France. This we where I met the Grangette family, an extremely welcoming and warm family that I felt a member with immediately.



This is a picture of the ancient coliseum in Nimes, which was built in Roman times, and is today used as a Camargue bullfighting arena and a popular venue for world class musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Pink, ZZ Top, and Vampire Weekend.







These two photos were taken at my house in Nimes. The Grangette family had one of the most beautiful and unique homes I have ever seen. Notice the fishtank built into the wall on the left photo. The right picture is my backyard, and what you can't see is the swimming pool at the end of the backyard.



These next two pictures are from the goodbye party that we had for our host families. Each member of the group wrote and gave a thank you speech to our families to show our gratitude. On the right is the best picture I have with my host parents Isabelle and Remy, and siblings Eve and Timothee. I became especially good friends with Timothee and I continue to stay in contanct with him.

As we said goodbye to our wonderful host siblings and parents in tears, we pushed forward and began the last segment of our trip. We took a two hour bus ride and stopped at a Mas in the Camargue region of France. During this time, we rode the famous white Camargue horses, lived in cabins, and saw a very different part of France than I had ever considered. We were surrounded by farms, cattle, and horses.



The left picture is of the cabin that Calvin, Noah, Chris, and I lived in during our stay in the Mas, and in the right is one of the many breathtaking views I saw during my short stay in the Camargue.







These final two pictures are from our last night in Paris after we left the Camargue. These pictures show how great our friendships grew as our trip continued.




I first want to thank the Wilson Family for this life changing opportunity. I would never have been able to meet the amazing people that I befriended and go to the incredible places I went to, along with speak the language that I love so much. I can never thank the Wilson Family enough for this incredible grant they gave to me

¡Pura Vida! Costa Rica 2010

I was extremely privileged to travel to Costa Rica in July this summer, with the Experiment in International Living. It was truly an incredible, life changing experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was really nervous at first traveling alone to a different country, but I almost immediately connected with several of the people in my group and had a blast with them throughout the month. We began the trip spending a few days in the capital city, San Jose, just to orient ourselves and become a bit more accustomed to the "culture shock" of being in another country and having to speak Spanish regularly.

One of the many beautiful mountain views in San Jose

The Post Office and behind it the National Bank of Costa Rica

Some ancient mayan artifacts from a museum we visited

Then we travelled to San Gerardo, staying a night at the Subargre hotel. We went bird watching really early in the morning, but we were lucky enough to see the legendary Quetzal, a truly rare and beautiful sight, and the national bird of Costa Rica. Finca Kobo came next, we spend two nights there, where we planted trees and learned about sustainability and conservation.

The view outside the rooms of the Subagre Hotel

Our group then travelled to Campanario, a beach two hours by boat from the nearest town, located on the edge of Corcovado National Park, one of the several national parks found all over Costa Rica; we went on lots of rainforest hikes and one night we hiked to the "bat cave," where we captured bats to collect data as they flew out of their cave at sunset to feed.

After Campanario we returned to civilization, staying a night in La Cusinga Hotel, which was right on the beach and close to another national park.

After that came the 12 day homestay in the rural village of Pejivalle. This was a truly eye-opening experience for me, as I got an authentic taste of Costa Rican culture and daily life. My host family was extremely hospitable, giving me the royal treatment, and making me feel at home and welcome in their house. My host brothers and I played a lot of soccer, as there was a makeshift soccer field just a few hundred yards from my house. Over the course of our week and a half in Pejivalle we worked to restore the town's Senior center as our service project, moving rocks, planting grass, and repainting the whole building; it looked pretty good after we had finished. On the day we had to leave Pejivalle it was a truly emotional experience, and everyone was very sad to go.

The Central Plaza of Pejivalle, to the left just out of view are a soccer field and church.

My host mom, host brother, and me, going for a swim in the river on my second day in Pejivalle.

The house I stayed in during my time in Pejivalle

The senior center we worked on during the homestay

After our homestay we traveled to a major tourist spot in Costa Rica- the city of Fortuna, home to the Arenal Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. In Fortuna we took a zipline through the rainforest, which for me was one of the biggest highlights of the trip; it was both exhilerating and terrifying to fly upwards of sixty miles per hour hundreds of feet above the rainforest treeline. From the zipline we also had a great view of Lake Arenal, a manmade lake at the base of the volcano.

The Arenal volcano- we were really lucky to get this view, as the clouds usually obscure the peak of the volcano

Lake Arenal- from the zipline platform we had a great view of the lake.

We then wrapped up our trip with a few days on Isla Chira, and the day before we had to fly home we returned to San Jose to go souvenir shopping and such. I had an incredible time, and I learned so much about the culture of Costa Rica. I'm truly thankful to have been given this opportunity and I'd like to extend my sincerest thanks to the Wilson family for allowing me to experience this wonderful place. Pura Vida!

Spain: Arcos de la Frontera

My adventure began in Madrid with 3 days of packed hazing. We had places to see and activities to do at all times. In Madrid, the city wakes upat 9 or 10 am and goes to bed at 1 or 2 pm. To fully experience the culture, my group was put on the same schedule the Spaniards were on despitethe jetlag and the exhaustion we were all already feeling from multiple hours of flying. Following Madrid, we spent 3 days in Toledo, one of the oldest cities in all of Spain. Toledo had much tourism, but we spent time with some local Moroccans who had been living in Spain anywhere from 1 to 6 years. In Toledo, we began to get a feel for the three cultures, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, that had dominated Spain. After Toledo my group went to Arcos de la Frontera, a small city in Andalucía, the south of Spain, for a fun-filled home-stay. Spain won the World Cup during this time, giving my group and me a taste of the passion that Spaniards have for soccer. Following two day-trips to Jerez and Cadiz and a bittersweet departure from my host family, Iprepared for a week of community service in Zaragoza, a city in the northeastof Spain. I worked with a Red-Cross camp where I was helped the leaders as a camp counselor helping kids with their homework, playing games, watching movies,etc. This camp was full of Spanish kids as well as foreign children, exposingme to new even more cultures. The final portion of the trip was in Barcelona,where we saw La Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi buildings from the outside. The trip overall was an amazing excursion that taught me a lot about Spanish culture and the Spanish language. I would like to thank the Wilson Family, Mr.Gaither, Dr. Gaffney, and everyone who was involved in making this trip possible.

Toledo from a distance
The Cathedral in Toledo
A park in Zaragoza
La Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi
My group with the children of the Red Cross camp in Zaragoza