Alex Paul
“Scary…at first.”
That’s how SHHS senior Lisa Brocard described her feelings during a summer trip to Europe chaperoned by SHHS Spanish instructor Elaine McHill and her husband Tom.
“We don’t speak their language and they don’t speak ours,” Brocard said. “We didn’t know how to ride the Metro…but we learned the first day.”
Brocard said she enjoyed the group’s tour of Switzerland best, including a night time boat ride around Lake Lucerne.
“In Londa, it rained, in Paris it was in the 70-80 degree range, but in Italy, whew, it was hot,” Brocard said.
The Eiffel tower was her favorite individual site but she was a little put off by some of the people of France. “They seemed rude to me, leaving no personal space and you had to be really, really careful about pick pockets,” she said.
But, Mrs. McHill noted, this trip ranks at the top of her list of seven outings to Europe.
“This was a fantastic group,” Mrs. McHill said. “It really was the best trip we’ve taken ever. The kids were phenomenal even though it was very, very hot.”
Local students traveling were Toni Nelson, Stephany O’Brien, Meghan Schaeffer, Josh Coward, Oakley Tyler, Ashley Rice, Ashley Horn, Andrew McHill from Lebanon and Brocard.
“This group of kids got along so well and never caused us any trouble,” Mrs. McHill said. “Tom and I could actually relax a bit. If they were to be somewhere at a certain time, they were there.”
The group left Portland July 28 and returned August 10.
Althoug originally intended to include a tour of Spain, last minute changes rerouted the group through England, France, Switzerland and Italy instead.
“Because we were bumped out of Spain, the tour company provided us with row three seats to the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in London. It was outstanding,” Mrs. McHill said.
Although the weather was miserably hot (much of Europe experienced a severe drought this ummer) the kids never complained,” Mrs. McHill said.
Although she had expeced some anti-American sentiment, due to the war in Iraq, Mrs. McHill said the group did not encounter any.
“We never felt unsafe,” she said.
Traveling by bus, train and city metros, Mrs. McHill said the group “never missed any sites…it was unbelieable how much we took in. These kids got their money’s worth.”
The Sweet Home students also learned about the wonders of “gelatti” Italian ice cream.
“We ate it every day,” Mrs. McHill said.
They also enjoyed riding the double decker buses in England and visiting the Hard Rock Cafe, a must see for American tourists in London.
A couple also showed their age (or lack of it) when they didn’t recognize the significane of Abbey Road, immortalized by the Beatles.
The Sweet Home students were teamed with high school students from Colorado and junior high students from Virginia.