Sonia

Hi, my name is Sonia. August 24th to September 5th were some of the best days of my life. It was very tough deciding what to write about as SHS Europe was filled with many breathtaking memories. Eventually, I decided upon 3 special places/moments that are special for their own particular reasons.

 First is Centre Pompidou. This is definitely one of my favourite places in Paris because it gave me the time to reflect on such beautiful pieces of art and it was a very calming couple of hours. However, these two hours went by insanely fast because there was so much to see and do. One of my favourite rooms was Sonic Boom. It was completely dark when we first walked in and we put on the headphones that were on tables as it said to do. The lights started to magically turn on to the beat of the music. I loved trying to figure out what the confusing pieces of art represented knowing that it was different for me than anyone else. This art brought out different emotions and memories from everyone that looked at them and that to me is truly incredible.

Another memory that stands out would be the dinner at the Bistrot Montagne, as known as the dinner where Mr. and Mrs. Becker's group waited almost 2 hours for the others to show up. Shiraz, Janelle and I grabbed a table and soon I didn't mind waiting at all. The waiter was a very kind man who encouraged me to eat escargots and also switched my drink when Shiraz put pepper in it! We had a great time laughing and drinking way too much coke!  When the rest finally showed up, we saw that they looked exhausted. Nicole sat down beside us, stuffed her face with bread and repeatedly said , "I don't want to talk about it." Although this dinner didn't go as planned, it was one of my favourites because of the memories created with some of my best friends. However, the sugar crash afterwards wasn't so great! 

Last but not, the Reviers Cemetery. This cemetery was particularly special to me because it was the last war cemetery we were visiting. I wanted to spend as much time as I could reading the tombstones. I thought about how each of these men had their own story of how he died but more importantly the story of their family and life. I just waned to know everything about them as people but all we were left with were memos on the tombstones such as "Not in his native land, but under foreign skies, far from those who love him, in a soldier's grave he lies." It was an unforgettable and humbling experience.

Overall, the time I spent in Europe was priceless and I will forever cherish the memories. Everything from the food, culture and music was extraordinary. Never a dull moment with the SHS Europe family! Thank you to Mrs. Becker, Mr. Becker, Mrs. Kenkel and Mr. Dewinetz for this experience. You four encouraged us to try new things and gave us advice that we will never forget. We cannot thank you enough.