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.
We landed in Madrid after roughly nine hours of traveling. We were jet lagged and tired, but the excitement of beginning this next chapter of our lives kept our spirits and energy up. After nearly getting lost on our connecting flight in Ireland and and a very uncomfortable and turbulent ride to Madrid, we were ready for our adventure to begin. We met Ryan and Mikaela outside baggage claim, where we hopped on a bus and were on our way to Segovia.
Proctor Academy's term-long Mountain Classroom program reconnected after Winter Break in El Paso, Texas to kick off 2018 and the final seven weeks of their trip to the American Southwest. As the group camped in El Paso and discussed their upcoming adventures, illness swept through the group in epic fashion. While it was not the start they wanted to 2018, there are lessons in everything, including the flu, and the sickness did not stop them from rock climbing and exploring Gila National Park. Read Anna's '19 and Sam's '18 reflections on week four of Mountain Classroom 2018 below.
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom heads into a two week winter break after spending time in Baton Rouge, Lousiana and the enviornmental justice NGO L.E.A.N. Through oral history interview projects, students met and had conversations with residents of those communities most impacted by the enviornmental issues they are studying. Read on for Sam '18 and Augie's '19 reactions to the past week on Mountain 2018!
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program, an intrepid group of ten students and two faculty members, spent a week paddling the mighty Mississippi, fighting unseasonably cold temperatures and becoming closer as a group. With a week left until winter break, Sam '19 reflects on the past week together on the water in the text below. Be sure to also check out more photos on Flickr!
Program directors for Mountain Classroom, European Art Classroom, Proctor en Segovia, Ocean Classroom, and Proctor in Costa Rica have talked about each of these remarkable study abroad programs in assembly over the past few weeks. We have all read the blog posts from each of these off-campus programs, and have seen the transformation in the students who return from studying off-campus. With Off-Campus Program applications for the 2018-2019 school year due one week from today, many of the conversations happening right now between advisors, parents, and advisees center around the excitement, and challenges, that accompany studying off-campus.
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program is off and running on their 46th straight year of the world's most powerful learning experience. The group of ten students and two faculty members will drive across the country in pursuit of adventure and getting to know as many different cultures as possible over the next three months. The bus pulled out of campus on Monday left and the group is now on a canoe trip up the Mississippi River for the rest of this week. Read on to hear Amanda's '19 reflections so far.
Landfall after 14 days at sea… Raising St. Croix from the crosstrees…Snorkeling in crystalline tropical waters…And seeing, first hand, the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria… All of these statements illustrate what our Ocean Classroom 2017 crew has experienced during the last few days. And now it’s on to San Juan and the end of this voyage of discovery.
