Though Christmas is quickly approaching, one group of students is already thinking about the summer ahead – and the voyage of their lives.

  French teacher Stephanie Myers, or “Madame,” as her students call her, has recently organized a non-school-affiliated trip to Quebec, Canada, open to any student enrolled in a French class, one that she has filled with exciting activities.

  “[We will be] eating at different restaurants, seeing different kinds of architecture, speaking the language, of course, and then [visiting] monuments,” said Myers. “I honestly have not been to Canada, so this will be my first time…I’m very anxious to see the difference in accents and pronunciation of words, ‘cause I think that’ll be something that’ll take a little bit to get used to, being always in France, so I’m looking forward to that.”

  Boasting a schedule of events including riverboat and walking tours, a trip to the Olympic Arena, and a waterfall eclipsing the height of the famous Niagara Falls, one might allow the colorful lifestyle of Quebec to fall by the wayside in light of all of the excitement – not so for sophomore and third-year French student Sam Bechtel.

  “[I’m excited about] seeing how the French culture and American culture mix in Canada, because it’s a combination of both,” Bechtel said. “…Because Canada is a mix of British territory and just American influence in general…you have the change in cultures and mixing different traditions…I think that’ll be different.”

  “[It’s important to see other cultures] so that you can learn to accept other people from different places…so that you have experience with the rest of the world…[and] so you’re not so isolated to yourself,” said Wright.

  Indeed, Canadian French and the ideas surrounding it are extremely distinct to those from its place of origin, according to Myers.

  “…French from France is very traditional, they don’t let a lot of English words in, whereas Canada is more heavily influenced by the English language,” said Myers. “As far as culture-wise, [it’s] just different things like meal times and the way you greet and address people, and using the French language in context, not just in school.”

  This aspect of real-world experience is a huge benefit of the trip for many dedicated students such as Bechtel.

  “It’s a really good educational opportunity because you can get a better understanding [of the culture and language by] seeing it rather than just hearing about it, I think,” Bechtel said.

  Myers further stresses the importance of a hands-on foreign language education, particularly involving French, by highlighting its nearly universal applications.

  “It’s good just to be a global citizen, but…with French being the international language, it’s so important that kids are out there using it and knowing of all the opportunities in countries that do speak French,” said Myers. “With there being 35 French-speaking nations, you can pretty much go anywhere, and French will be used.”

  Though there might be a million ways to describe the feelings of the students who are already getting set to embark on this journey together in June, none, perhaps, are as poignant as Wright’s description of her biggest Quebec fear:

  “Loving it so much that I don’t wanna return home.”