The breadth and depth of experiences in the past few days is significant. I know from previous experience that I won't fully comprehend the extent of the impact of this tour on me personally for months - slowly unpacking and going deeper on each experience through personal reflection. I wept when I first gazed on the Venus di Milo; I laughed when I saw a German soccer fan perched atop the base of a statue of Joan of Arc. I am awestruck both by the personal sacrifice of soldiers to preserve my liberty and by the immense scale of Versailles. I an enamored by the hustle and bustle of Paris; I am captivated by the reflective nature of the rural countryside and sacred places we have visisited. Mostly I am humbled to watch students experience territory expansion on a large scale.
Bus drivers and tour guides continue to lavish compliments to me about our students. Most frequent yesterday was about the high level of student engagement during our tours, and, the impressive nature of the knowledge base in both art and history. Our students are fulfilling their roles as ambassadors to the fullest possible extent.
Today will be a day of travel to Germany as we leave Paris. Seeds of curiosity have been planted in our students through our visit here - we did as much as humanly possible in the short time we were in Paris. I anticipate these seeds of curiosity will germinate and come to fruition through return visits to Paris for many of these students in their future.
