Winter Break

So here I am, back at the Chateau after a long week of adventure for our school’s winter break. My weeklong trip began in Brussels, where our study abroad group visited the European Commission, SHAPE (supreme headquarters allied powers Europe) and finally the U.S. mission. While I was honored to have the opportunity to visit all three institutions, I must say my favorite visit was to SHAPE. Our visit to SHAPE began

with an exhilarating entry through security. I have never been to a military base before, so I was pretty taken aback at the site of all the uniformed soldiers. After entering the base, we had the opportunity to eat in the cafeteria where we sat at a table in a room full of soldiers from various countries. It really was a unique opportunity to dine with the SHAPE employees. A NATO cafeteria is the only place where one can find soldiers to the left of you speaking Polish and soldiers to the right of you speaking German. It was bizarre to look around and see the different camouflage uniforms and try to find the patch designating which country each person was from.

After lunch, we were taken back into a briefing room where we heard two lectures from different generals. The first lecture covered the information about SHAPE and its missions, while the second focused more on the relationship between SHAPE and the European Union. I found both lectures to be extremely thought provoking, especially in regards to EU/SHAPE relations. The lectures helped to clear up some uncertainty I was harboring ‘pre SHAPE’ visit. However, by far the most intriguing part of our visit was the twenty- minute Q&A session with the SHAPE General chief of staff. The set up was similar to how a press conference would be, in which the general sat behind a podium while we all had the opportunity to ask questions. It definitely was an incredible experience!

After our school excursion to Brussels was complete, a group of us headed over to Amsterdam for a few days and then finished off the break in Paris. Amsterdam was a real trip. One of the benefits to traveling in Europe is witnessing the

cultural differences of each country and Amsterdam was no exception to that! While the Anne Frank house and the Rijksmuseum museum were important attractions to see, I also witnessed some of the other ‘sites’ in Amsterdam including the red light district. The last night I was there I had the opportunity to attend a pub-crawl through the red light district that the hostel I was staying at hosted. Since I have been living in Europe, one major difference I have noticed between American life and European life is how much more conservative Americans are on certain issues and visiting Amsterdam demonstrated the most extreme case of this observation. While I was on this pub-crawl, I had the chance to speak to a local about such differences.

Finally my break ended in my favorite city yet, PARIS! We arrived in Paris at night and took the metro into the city. As I was walking up the stairs from the underground metro to the streets of Paris, I was able to see the arch de triumph lit magnificently against the starry night backdrop. I couldn’t believe I was looking at it in real life! Actually, I found myself saying that a lot through my trip in Paris. Ever since I was a kid I had dreamed about going to Paris. Just to give you an idea, I used to have an Eiffel tower lamp next to my bed growing up. Now I can actually say I have been to the top of the Eiffel tower and witnessed a beautiful sunset over the old rooftops of Paris. By far, the highlight of my Paris adventure was visiting Notre Dame. I arrived at the end of a mass. Entering the ancient cathedral while hundreds of people are singing and a grand organ is playing above in the balcony was a moment I will never forget. What a vacation! How many people can actually say they have sat in on a Q&A session with the chief of staff at SHAPE, went on a pub crawl through the red light district, witnessed a sunset from the top of the Eiffel tower and listened to a mass at Notre Dame? It definitely was a memorable break!

Kate Bryan