by Wade Funderburg | Mar 30, 2010 | News Slider
“The first thing that strikes a visitor to Paris is a taxi,” said comedian Fred Allen. Thankfully the eight Lipscomb students who spent spring break in France as part of the course “Paris as Classroom” have far happier memories of their times spent at The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arch de Triumph, and other famous attractions in Paris. Professor Cliff Tierney led this group from Sunday, March 14, to Monday, March 22 as they traveled from Nashville, Tenn. to Paris, France, where they stayed in Mary’s Hotel outside the tourist-oriented area of Paris. The students were there specifically to study art, but also learned much more about Paris. Every day in Paris, the students had a scheduled time to go somewhere as a class, such as a museum or park, and then free time to experience the city on their own. Joe Ernst, a sophomore studio art major from Stratford, Conn., had never been out of the country before, but embraced the culture, lifestyle and food of the city. Ernst said Paris felt very different than the U.S., but in a way he couldn’t quite explain. “The experience as a whole was eye-opening for me as it was my first time being immersed in a non-American culture and learning how to navigate a non-English speaking city,” Ernst said. Katie Dillard, a junior art major from Hyattsville, Md., also encountered several differences between the U.S. culture and that of Paris. “The way of life was very different [in Paris],” Dillard said. “It’s a fast paced city that you have to slow down to enjoy. Everyone seemed to be smoking...
