Earlier this year, a group of students from Perpignan’s Pablo Picasso High School and three teachers travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to discover the city, some of its museums, its delicious food, and the role it plays as the headquarter of the European Parliament. The students are from the class Anglais de Complément Terminale ES1-­‐2-­‐3, and were chaperoned by their English teacher Mme Hadda Lamotte ---- who organized the trip ---- history and geography teacher M. Michaël Pardon, and this year’s English language assistant M. Joshua Stockam. The trip lasted three days, from the 11th through the 13th of October.

For at least one student, it was the first time on an airplane. Student Gaëton Ferrer remarked, “While traveling, I was tense because that was the first time I had taken the plane, but I was happy because this was a good experience for understanding what’s going on in the other countries.” The group traveled by bus, plane, subway, and of course, by foot.

Brussels, like other large cities such as Paris, prides itself on its culture. However, it was quite different than France ! Brussels is a constant mix of contrasting elements : new buildings erected to old monuments, a skate park next to a church, and the ultra-­‐casual definitely pervades the city. Sticking with this mixture of new and old, the group visited the museum of celebrated surrealist painter René Magritte as well as the famous Museum of the Comic Strip. Student Emma Poite said, “I really enjoyed the big statue of Gaston Lagaffe at the entrance of the comic museum !” And Marion Roques added, “The Magritte Museum was really great because he [Magritte] shared his way of seeing the elements of the world through his painting.”

The highlight of the trip, however, was the incredible chance to visit the European Parliament. This part of the trip was generously orchestrated by Mme Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-­Schmid, who is the delegate to the European Parliament for the region that includes Perpignan, and her attaché, M. Guillaume Lopez. There, the students listened to a guide explain the duties and functions of the Parliament, listened to a live debate among various delegates, and were then received by Mme Sanchez-­‐Schmid and had the chance to ask her questions. This was a great opportunity for all in attendance to appreciate the work that is happening that betters all of Europe and will impact the future.

Because of generous assistance from the Parliament, the trip was possible with a negligible cost to the students. Along with the teachers, they returned with great experiences and memories, as well as exposure to a new country, city, and center of modern Europe.