Southern Arkansas University students travel to Lafayette, Louisiana for field trip this past spring
MAGNOLIA—Twenty students from the French Club at Southern Arkansas University got a taste of French culture without having to take an international flight this past April.
These students went to LaFayette, Louisiana and packed a lot of sight-seeing into an overnight trip by visiting the University of Louisiana Art Museum, the Arcadian Village and the International Jazz Festival said Dr. Martine Boumtje, a French professor at SAU. The Arcadian Village demonstrated life in the 19th Century, she said.
“At the Arcadian Village you really got to see the way the first French people lived,” Boumtje said. “Our guide explained their lifestyle, which included farming and raising children. We also got to see one of the first classrooms.”
At the conclusion of the trip, students were required to write a paper in French describing their experiences.
“I always try to encourage students to enroll in the French program. You can always use French for a job or for personal purposes such as travel,” Boumtje said.
For a change of scenery, the French Club may take their next field trip to Baton Rouge or New Orleans.
