“It was a powerful experience to see how much our students can change in just one week,” says Gutierrez-Delgado. 

The students spent several days at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, an orphanage.  They played, studied, ate and worked together on a variety of service projects including organizing games and activities for the children living at the orphanage. 

“It seemed that even though the kids didn’t have a family, they were pretty happy,” one student later told a report for the Academy Times.  “Lots of people were happy even though they didn’t have material goods.”

Another student commented: “It was an eye-opening experience in a third world country.  It helped me appreciate what we have here.”

During this trip students also visited the city of La Antigua, the Chichicastenango market, and the ruined Mayan city of Tikal. 

“At the time they have to leave the airport to get back home, I was quite happy they said goodbye to me the Guatemalan way,” says Gutierrez-Delgado. “They got so used to getting and giving hugs to the children, that I got a big hug from each Upper School student while they said ‘Gracias’ and ‘Adios.’”

You can share in the experience by viewing a video of the students’ time at the NPH orphanage. 

Click here to view the 2008 Guatemala Winterim Trip video in high quality or low quality.

“The resources we have at Charles Wright make a huge difference in the quality of education,” says O’Dell. “I have the opportunity to travel abroad with students, to bring French students to them, and to hear them share stories from their travels. At other schools, France was a dream or an image on a map; for many of our students, it’s a real-life experience.”

During the nine day trip, students traveled to historical sights from the battlefields of Normandy to the streets of Paris. The group flew into Paris and spent the first two days in Rouen. They visited the famous cliffs of Etretat, painted by many Impressionists, and worked their way along the Normandy coast visiting the Caen Peace Memorial, Bayeux tapestry, D-Day beaches, Saint-Mere-Eglise, Pointe du Hoc and the German, British and American cemeteries.

They drove to the impressive Mont-Saint-Michel and students toured the Abbey and winding, narrow streets of the charming “island.” The next few days were spent visiting as many monuments and sites in Paris as possible. They visited the Louvre and Tuileries gardens, the d’Orsay Museum, and the Orangerie museum with huge panels of Monet’s waterlilies.

Students shopped for hours on the world-famous Champs-Elysees and then climbed the Arc de Triomphe for a 360 degree view of Paris at night. They visited the Montmartre neighborhood, the Moulin Rouge, and Sacre Coeur. The group went to the top of the Eiffel Tower in perfect weather and also enjoyed the Notre Dame and Saint-Chapelle cathedrals.

The last night in Paris, they relaxed on a boat ride along the Seine river and, in the glow of city lights, viewed many of the famous Parisian places they had visited.

“During the boat ride, the Eiffel Tower would sparkle from top to bottom every so often with thousands of white lights, as if covered in shimmering diamonds,” says O’Dell. “It was magical! We had terrific weather and smooth travels. Everyone stuck together during hectic city traveling on metro trains, even during a hairy, rush-hour-traffic experience. There was very little downtime and the kids really made the most of going full-speed ahead to make the most of nine days in France.”

Charles Wright students, parents, faculty and alums can use the password posted on Get Wright Online! to access two online photo alubums from the trip.