*Chaperones: Eidom, Minde, Corral and Shaw in France*
March, 2023
By Josselin Trejo-Urbina, Staff Reporter
During their spring break, KAC’s class of 2023 took advantage of the trip opportunity that KAC offers to all seniors.
As tradition goes, KAC seniors have the opportunity to take a trip during their final year, and for the first time since pre-COVID, this year’s Class of 2023 visited France during their Spring Break. Seniors were accompanied by many teachers as chaperones, one of them being Mrs. Corral. Attending with her husband and being a part of the organization process for the first time was an unreal experience, especially being a history teacher and seeing the places she has taught about. With Versai and Normandi having so much history behind them, Mrs.Corral loved it, but there was a lot of work behind the fun.
*All 39 students with chaperones posing for a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower*
In total, there were 39 seniors on the trip, all of whom trusted while they appreciated the free time they had: spending time with their friends shopping, using the public motor scooters, and trying different foods. Though there was a worry for the kids getting homesick as it was some of the students’ first time on an airplane and being away from home for that long (over a week).
*Castle visited by the attendees*
Senior Naomi Gomez was one of the attendees on the trip. Being on an airplane for the first time, let alone never traveling outside of the US, made Gomez feel nervous but excited on the 9-hour flight from Austin to Germany. While she was unable to sleep on the first flight, it was made up for on the 1-hour flight from Germany to Paris.
But while in the France airport, the tour guide that was supposed to pick up the Cardinals was very unorganized, causing them to lose two hours from their initial plans to explore Paris that day, making everyone’s beginning experience not the best. Not only that, but everyone was tired after a 10-hour flight, making them even crankier.
Throughout the trip, students were having to wake up at 6 in the morning daily (and if lucky, at 7 at the latest), with the last day calling for an all-nighter due to having to be up at 3 am to catch their flight home. Overall, jetlag did not hit Gomez as hard as she thought it would, but she thinks it didn’t catch up to her due to not sleeping on the flight and being tired in general from walking around and exploring so much, making everyone and her used to the time zone difference.
And despite being a continent away, Gomez admits she did not get homesick since there was so much to do during her time away that she had little time to think about her family. But she did call home every night and miss her dog. But it couldn’t compete with how she and her friends felt from seeing the architecture of the castles and walking through historical grounds where King Louis the VI and XIV ruled over their country.
All in all, Gomez and Corral seemed to have loved their experience and would wish to visit again! And, in the end, it went great, everyone had an amazing time, and every single student came back home safely.
The Cardinal Post