convince my parents to let me go to France?

Question

First off, I'm 13.
My school is offering a trip this summer for its gifted students to go to France and Spain for 10 days.

Like most people, my family is not rich, and the trip costs around $2800. (We can also save a couple hundred if we make a deposit of $95 by the 31st)

I've alredy asked my mom, and she said it was fine as long as I could convince my dad. What should I do?!?

I really want to go (a ton of my friends are, and I LOVE France) and my dad is rather shrewd with his money.
Thanks!

Answer 1

There are many reasons why Paris is an excellent choice as a learning experience for young people from the United States.

History is the big reason of course. For many centuries Paris has been an important center of world events, the breeding ground of political, artistic and philosophical movements.

You can visit a Roman amphitheater or see the Roman baths from the days when Paris was part of the Roman province of Gaul.

There is Notre Dame, built in 1163 and an excellant example of Gothic architecture. You can see the 13th century Conciergerie, once the home of the Grand Concierge, a high court official that would become a prison during the Revolution and hold Marie Antoinette. There is Saint Chapelle consturcted in 1246 by Louis IX (Saint Louis) to hold the Crown of Thorns and other relics. In the little winding streets of the Left Bank and the Marias you can get an idea of what a medieval city was like.

At Versailles you will see the Ancien Regime at the height of its power under Louis XIV. You will also be able to understand the excesses that led the people to revolt against his great grandson Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. In the Place de la Concorde you can see where they both met their end on the guillotine.

Paris also played an essential part in the American Revolution. From here Benjamin Franklin mustered support for the revolitionary cause from the French Monarchy. Franklin's favorite cafe, the Procope, is still operating in the same place it was founded in 1689. You can have lunch at the same table Ben Franklin did. This same place was a favorite of such other famous people as Voltaire, Moliere, Danton, Robespierre, and Marat.

In more recent history, you can walk the streets of Montmartre where Picasso and Utrillo stolled and eat at the La Lapin Agile where they ate. You can stroll down the hill and see the Moulin Rouge that Toulouse Lautrec, another Montmartre denizen, made famous with his art.

Walk around central Paris and you'll see little plaques everywhere commemorating the many Parisians who died fighting to free their city from the Nazi occupiers. Behiund Notre Dame you'll find a Memorial to the thousands of people sent to Nazi concentration camps.

On a happier note, have a cup of coffee at the Cafe de Deux Magots where Jean Paul Sartre held forth and go to the Cimetière du Montparnasse to see where he is buried.

And while visiting cemeteries make sure to check out the Père Lachaise Cemetery where you will find the graves of everyone from Eugene Delacroix, Yves Montand, and Edith Piaf to Jim Morrison of The Doors.

The Museums are another big reason for visiting Paris. The Cluny (Museum of the Middle Ages) which contains the famous "Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries) to the Louvre with is classic art (Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa amongs hundreds of masterpieces) to the Musee D'Orsay (impressionists) and the Centre Pompidu with its collection of Modern Art.

And in Paris you'll get a taste of a foreign culture that is close enough to American that it will be understandable yet different enough to show you that there are other ways of doing things.

Even something as simple as when you eat dinner is different in France where people typically have their evening meal no earlier than 8 PM. The French habit of whiling away a few hours in a cafe, drinking espresso and watching the world go by is a contrast to the American rush rush rush lifestyle.

In fact, just being someplace where most people don't speak English is a learning experience.

I began taking my daughter with me to Europe when she was a bit younger than you are now. I think she greatly benefited from those trips and I'm sure you'd benefit in the same way.

Answer 2

My first thought when I read the beginning of your question was: how old are you...and what is your level of maturity?

I see that you are a 'gifted' student, which tells me that you are probably mature for your age, since you have what it takes to succeed in school. But 13 is really young to be abroad, even if it's with other students and hopefully teacher supervision.

Can one of your parents go along with you? I know it's expensive, but perhaps they can take out a small loan and pay it back in larger amounts than required.

I'm a mother, and my son is a 20 yr old, and he's off to Europe this fall as an exchange student, and I know he's going to be fine, but still I worry....that's what mom's do! *sigh*

I hope it works out for you, but if not this year, maybe the next, I 'm sure you will get a chance to visit France someday. Best wishes to you.

Answer 3

I take a trip every year to Europe and take students. I meet with parents at the beginning of the year and tell them about all the things that students will learn on tour. You will have a chance to: practice language skills; meet people from all over the world; learn about and experience famous sites and places; taste foreign foods; learn to deal with airlines, passport agencies, security personnel; learn how to navigate in certain cities with buses, trains, subways and walking; learn to use foreign currency -- I could go on and on.

You also learn to appreciate things in the US that you had previously taken for granted. It's amazing what these things are -- sometimes they are the same things for people and sometimes they are different.

In summary, this is the trip of a lifetime for most students. I view it as a starting point and hope my students will be encouraged to return. Upon their return they will already know how to operate in these foreign cities and can hit the ground running, so to speak.

I sincerely hope you get to go!! But remember, if not in high school, there are lots of opportunities in college for trips and for study abroad. Take advantage of everything available to you!!

Best of luck to you!!

Answer 4

Tell them that you will learn about cultures other than your own, that you may be inspired to learn a 2nd language, that your palate will be challenged by fare other than that which you will find at McDs, that you will learn about medieval history and architecture.

And on and on.

Just stay away from mentioning easy women and the fact that they let kids drink wine at dinner, K?

Answer 5

offer to do some major work for it! and be dedicated to that work!