From London to Paris and then to Munich in Dachau of Germany, Professor Bell, who teaches history, went on a sabbatical, a vacation that teachers get paid to go on. The special thing about a sabbatical is that instead of having to be preparing for their lesson plans, they get to learn information by actually traveling elsewhere so that they can experience something new and challenging. She went to London on Jan. 31, to Paris on February 3, and to Germany on Valentine’s Day. Bell enjoyed her trip over in London because she learned some interesting facts while she was over there. You are allowed to take pictures but only in certain places. “I wanted to take a picture of the inside of a cable car, but it is against the law to take pictures of children in Paris, no pictures are allowed to be taken inside of the churches because the statues are very ancient and the flashing from the camera can eventually damage their beauty and structure.” Bell made her way to Paris using the Chunnel, which is an underground subway. Bell noticed that Paris seems to do a lot of recycling because when someone goes shopping they have to bring their own bag, or the people from Paris will think that they are a foreigner, also there are no paper bags. “When someone goes to buy bread the bread gets covered in the middle with a paper covering so that it can be held in the middle instead of in a paper bag.” Professor Bell learned that Paris is also a place where people are anti-Bush but also anti American. Paris is also very unique because of it’s manners and proper behavior, Professor Bell was very surprised by this. “If a person does not say Bonjour, which means good morning in Paris, then the people will act as if that person is invisible. They will ignore you if you do not say hello or good morning. How very proper and a little scary in an interesting way that is.” Just like in London, if you want to take pictures in Paris, you need to ask for permission before you take pictures because there are police carrying machine guns at the train station. “I wanted to take a picture at the train station. There is nothing wrong going on but there are people carrying machine guns.” Some of the museums in Paris that Professor Bell went to are called the Louvre and the Musee D’ Orsay, which are famous for their art. She saw Notre Dame while over in Paris and she rented an apartment during her stay. “Hotels are more expensive then apartments over in Paris.” An interesting time to be going over to Germany is during the week of Valentines Day. “I was a big girl and went to Munich in Germany by train.” This is what Professor Bell has to say about it: “It was very eerie, nothing you want to experience, mostly end, but what was interesting was how descriptive the men were in the Concentration Camps because there was a lot of love and soul, no sexual, nasty, sick, or dead messages. For example, one message read ‘I must see John today, he is my anchor, or someone who gives me the ability to feel strong inside.'” From what Professor Bell could figure, about 95% of the people in the camps were men. “The majority of the people speak English. The education system in Germany says that people must choose a second language and most choose to speak English. They learn English in depth, how to speak it grammatically correct.” Professor Bell enjoyed her trip very much even though she was not able to take many pictures in certain places due to the restrictions that applied. Most people always want to take a camera or some kind of tool to create and keep memories in from their trip. Even though Professor Bell could not take very many pictures from her trip, she still had a really good time and is thinking of joining the Teacher Abroad Program: London in the semester of 2009 and Paris in the semester of 2008. Be sure to be on the look out for Professor Bell and her slide show that is going to be taking place later on in the semester along with a short written narrative of her trip to Dachau in Germany. “I miss it. This sabbatical changed my life. It helped me grow. Experience with different cultures gives you a lot more understanding,” said Bell “A sabbatical is sort of a renewal project. Faculty can recharge their batteries and get a new perspective on the courses they teach.”