Ever since Tessa Aprea was little, she and her family would travel up north to Lake Saint Claire, where her and her mom’s side of the family would spend the Fourth of July swimming in the lake and watching the firework show. Now that Aprea is older, she spends more time away from home, and she actually says that she enjoys the independence she had this summer.
To celebrate the end of her sophomore year and the beginning of summer, Aprea took a trip to France with her French class. The students spent one week in Paris, visiting the Eiffel Tower and taking walks through the beautiful city.
“We went shopping, visited a bunch of museums and saw the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame,” Aprea said. “We ate a lot, we had a bunch of really good food.”.
They then traveled to Nime, where they went to the Coliseum. After Niem, they arrived in Cassis.
“We went kayaking in the Mediterranean for a couple of hours, and it was super fun,” Aprea said. “The water was really clear and really pretty. It was a little scary, cause there were a lot of fish.”
After roaming Southern France, the group traveled to Toulon, where they met up with a homestay family to spend the week with them. Aprea’s family consisted of a 13-year-old girl, Eva, and her mom, Angela, who stayed in a small apartment in the city.
“I went to middle school with her, and it was really strange,” Aprea said. “Not a lot of the teachers would acknowledge me.” “We’d usually go to her grandparents’ house for dinner, and her whole family would be there. It would be her mom, her cousins, her uncles, like her whole mom’s side of the family”.
To wrap up the France trip, the students meet back up in Nice, for their last few days together.
“One thing that surprised me was how nice everybody was,” Aprea said. “I think the stereotype is that French people are really aggressive, but I didn’t have anybody be mean to me. Everybody was super nice.”
Aprea finally arrived back home on June 26 and spent a few weeks at home. Then, Aprea traveled to Philadelphia, where she attended the Philadelphia School of Ballet for a three-week training camp.
“We lived in Drexel University dorms, and I had three roommates from all over, it was super cool, ” Aprea said. “We got up every morning around six, took the subway to the studio, and then we’d be there all day. We’d come back to the University around nine to have dinner.”
At the end of the three weeks, the camp performed Swan Lake
“It was something I’ve never done before,” Aprea said. “It made me realize that it’s something I really want to continue.”
Her experience in France is something Aprea will never forget. She got the unique chance to travel to a new country with her friends, and she lived every moment to its fullest.
“It was definitely an experience I’m glad I had,” Aprea said.
She then got to come home and spend time with the people she loves, before heading off to do the thing she loves.
“Philadelphia School ballet was definitely very different from anything I’ve ever experienced before,” Aprea Said.
Even though summer is over, Aprea is able to start junior year with all her memories of summer. She’s able to think back on her time abroad and on her Swan Lake memories, and she’s ready to make more memories this school year.
