EFT Normandy

We landed in Paris and boarded a double-decker bus, which the boys were really excited about,

being seated up front & on top!

Once a semester, the program undertakes an Educational Field Trip (EFT); this fall was Normandy, a French region renowned for food (a climate akin to the Willamette Valley, OR) and a varied history.

We stayed in Caen, almost entirely destroyed during WWII, taking day trips to the surrounding attractions, such as Mont St Michel...

an absolutely surreal sight: a beautiful abbey arising out of the sea - due to its 20 ft tide - becoming an island.

We climbed through its 365 steps,

some of us getting help,

and discovered the stonework,

a striking cloister and scriptorium (library), where the scriptures were transcribed.

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But for the majority of us, Americans, we were anticipating the American Cemetary & Omaha Beach, where the Allies gained a beachhead.

Cone-shaped trees cut at the top form a landscape motif, signifying the young lives buried below.

Grave markers form a Latin cross, structuring our mourning along a Christian framework; the memorial itself a monument to a bygone era, linking national sacrifice with God. This pivotal statue was encircled at the base with the words:

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Many of us were moved by the number of unknown soldiers, as well as the only father & son burial site in US military history. We placed roses, but everywhere were

red poppies - a traditional symbol of death.

In stark contrast to neutral Switzerland, the French countryside is dotted with national cemetaries holding American, Canadian, & British bodies; every village anchored by a memorial for the slain locals of both wars.

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The rest of the trip focused upon idyllic coastal ports, such as Honfleurs,

its countryside an inspiration for Impressionist painters,

such as Monet, whose garden estate outside Paris we visited, as well as the cathedral in Rouen

that he painted.

En route, we passed tiny French villages which produced early missionaries to Japan, as well as famed varieties of apples, appearing daily as desserts, aperitifs, and after dinner liqueur.

Our trip was 5 days (2 travel) and the terrible currency exchange trimmed our excesses, but the trip was great; the normal logistics of mobilizing 70+ persons in one direction, several times a day, is trying on the staff, which I am, thankfully, not a part.