Proctor Academy's European Art Classroom study abroad program enters completed its sixth week of painting, traveling, studying, and immersing themselves in the various cultures of Europe. Their most recent excursion to Florence, Italy proved to be one of the most powerful yet. Check out photos and reflections from Karly '18 in this week's blog.
Proctor Academy's European Art Classroom group welcomed Proctor Art Department faculty member Corby Leith '92 to Aix-en-Provence for a visit this week. They shared the following reflections, photos, and video prior to heading out on their next weeklong excursion. Read more below!
After a week in Paris, Proctor's European Art Classroom Winter 2018 group returned to the familiar streets of Aix-en-Provence and welcomed visiting parents (and aunts and uncles) to their home in the south of France. As the group shared their life on Euro filled with painting, exploring, and sucking the marrow out of the experiences laid before them, Grace '18 reflects below on the past week studying abroad.
It’s amazing how much your surroundings can change in just a three hour train ride. Travelling from our small town of Aix-en-Provence to the bustling city of Paris was a drastic change of scenery.
As we close our second week on Euro, I can’t help but start to get accustomed to life here. Which, in my opinion, is a crazy thought. I’ve seen the breathtaking view of Mt St Victoire from my window every morning when I wake up, and I’ve now begun to expect it.
I've always been antsy to explore the world beyond my little hometown of Andover so when I heard about European Art Classroom - which, as a 'faculty brat', has been since I was about 9 - I was already looking forward to every aspect of my travels.
It can be hard to believe that living in France studying art can count as school, and after completing the program it is even harder to imagine. That is not to say that living over here is smooth sailing 24/7. I am living and breathing art, creating art and seeing art from both my peers and the Dutch Masters. I love developing skills, working to become better at something and in this case art. So if you are taking this program seriously it isn’t always easy, but it can be a lot of fun.
I think that I speak for all of us when I say I was a little hesitant to travel to Lisbon, Portugal. After studying the language for a handful of days, the only thing I could confidently say was "Uma mulheres esta nadando" (the women are swimming) and "ola!" (Hello!). Soon though, when our plane our plane flew over Lisbon and started to descend and touch down, all my worries about the language flew away and I was left with excitement and anticipation for the week ahead of me.
