First week! We all arrived last Wednesday, of course exhausted. Even though we spent most of the first week getting over jet lag, we were all able to have a lot of fun. The past week and a half has been orientation and getting ourselves situated in our new lives in France.

Our last full week in Aix started out with a typical day of classes and some free time in town, accompanied with the final to-do’s and a dressed-up Saturday night dinner. 

To break things up a bit, this is a group blog, and being visual artists, we'll let the images, and drawing, for the most part, speak for themselves. The vast majority of photos are taken by Thomas.

Despite living a minimally structured lifestyle, my days have been packed with new experiences. Between resolving tensions in my social world and struggling to paint the ripples of the Mediterranean Sea, there are always challenges to be overcome.

The week started off with a Monday of recovery from Paris. Because Sunday was Easter, we had class at the house instead of catching the bus into town.

Four weeks in and I can tell you France is nothing like South Dakota. Having the opportunity to travel, experience new foods and take part in a completely different culture has been both eye opening and inspiring.

Proctor Academy's spring Mountain Classroom students are off and running (or hiking) on the adventure of their lifetime. For the next eight weeks this group of ten students and two instructors will criss cross the American west, winding their way back to New Hampshire through Colorado and the Great Plains before eventually pulling onto campus, parking in front of Maxwell Savage Hall to sprint the rotunda stairs and ring the bell. As Stewart '22 and Alana '23 share in their beautiful prose below, it is the journey itself where students grow, stretch, and evolve as young people. Enjoy this window into the Mountain Classroom experience.