The group learns about the Battle of the Somme. Photos submitted
Fifteen students and two professors from Missouri S&T recently returned from three weeks spent abroad where they experienced French culture and witnessed the lingering effects of two world wars on the country. While there, they shared photos and blogged about their trip on the new Miners Abroad website.
Stephani Lind and Robert Redmond in a lighter moment on the trip.
Stephenie Lynch was moved by a trip to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. The senior in English from Bismarck, Mo., wrote “… the impact of the site was still very heavy on us, as standing under the arches of the brick memorial and seeing every name of the nearly 72,000 missing men brought about feelings of intense loss.”
A junior in geological engineering from Sunrise Beach, Mo., Courtney Cocks enjoyed visiting Montmartre, a hill and surrounding area in the north of Paris with a rich history as an artistic center.
“Although it may be a shadow of its former glory … (Montmartre) is once again a very artistically centered community,” wrote Cocks. “Everywhere you go there are street artists of many mediums willing and ready to produce and sell art.”
Zackery Thompson, a junior in history from Waynesville, Mo., found that his history classes could not fully prepare him for the experience. “Throughout school we learn about several key battles of the war and we always read that they were bloody battles,” he wrote, “but being at the actual battlefield, seeing trenches and craters brings a whole new reality and appreciation for the nature of this war.”
“I have seen more in this past month than I have probably seen in my lifetime,” wrote Robert Redmond, a senior in psychology from St. Robert, Mo., who managed a side trip to visit family in Horbach, Germany.
Redmond discovered the beauty of an evening stroll along the river in Paris. “There are few tourists out at this time, so you can see everything and it looks so much more beautiful at night, especially the Eiffel Tower,” he wrote.
Story by Linda Fulps
Read about all the students’ and professors’ adventures on the Miners Abroad blog.
My dear colleagues – Audra and Shannon – thank you for your commitment to the FL studies above and beyond! A++ to you and your brave students! looking forward to hearing more “war” stories from you in the fall. UOu all rock! Have a great summer!
Irina Ivliyeva