During spring break, French teacher Deborah Berg took five students with her on a week-long trip to France — senior Damon Heine and juniors Paul Spaulding, Autumn Saldaña, Ryan McLaughlin, and Teresa Mayorga. They flew to Paris, France, and worked their way through some of the city’s major tourist attractions, like the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. The group was accompanied by another group of students from Glendale High School in Los Angeles. They were all chaperoned by their bus driver, Omar, and tour guide, Gilles Chavet.

The group visited several other cities, shops, boutiques, restaurants, and even a few castles, trying their hands at speaking French and tasting the French courses. Berg and the students stayed in various hotels as they travelled from city to city. Mayorga loved the trip, saying, “It would be better if you had more time for yourself.”

Upon visiting a cave where a snail farm was located, the students learned that snails reproduced by sticking their heads into dirt and laying eggs through holes in their heads. A mushroom farm grew inside of the cave, as well, where various types of mushrooms were being grown.

This trip wasn’t entirely for enjoyment. It also had some educational value to it. By taking the students to France, Berg was able to get them to see where significant events in history actually took place. Berg said, “I think it’s really important to expose kids (to historical sites) because people need to see where history took place, to make that connection with what happened and what’s there (now).”

Berg values the idea of experiencing the world first-hand instead of just hearing stories of how amazing the world is. That is one reason why she took her students to Normandy Beach and several castles in the Loire Valley. In Normandy the group learned a lot about World War II. While in the castles the group learned about the history of their making, their purposes, and the people who once lived in them.