Bonjour, Barnes Foundation!

Madame Test's AP French Language and Culture students at the Barnes Foundation.

With all of us snuggled up in the Durango, Madame Test drove us down to the Barnes Foundation in Philly. There are 6 of us, including myself, in AP French this year. We’ve been studying the language and culture on top of studying for the upcoming AP exam. We each recently researched 2 French artists, so Madame Test was kind enough to take us outside the classroom for a field trip to experience some of the artwork we studied firsthand. We arrived at the Barnes Foundation and were greeted by Marshall, the man who served as our tour guide and excellent source of information. He sported a chic French beret, amusing us all as he occasionally spoke some French with us. Marshall displayed his admiration for the French artwork when he consistently tried to get into the head of Albert C. Barnes, founder of his namesake foundation, attempting to figure out what he was thinking. He explained to us his observations of a wall of artwork, discussing why Barnes arranged them as he had; he explained the details of one artist’s painting; he explained the uses of line, color, light, and space in several pieces. With all of this, we only made it to 2 of the rooms within the Foundation! But we all appreciated the time Marshall took because we learned a lot about a few dozen paintings, instead of a little bit of everything.

Stylishly attired Marshall with the class.

When our time ran out with Marshall, we said our “au revoirs” and walked several blocks to make our way to what ended up being an amazing lunch at Parc. I personally had never been before, and every single dish looked amazing. I ordered the Chicken Club sandwich, which was a great decision. We ordered some ‘pommes frites’ for the table and shared fun stories with each other. Going on this adventure with my class was one of the things I will definitely remember about senior year. We all started together (except for one friend who joined us freshman year) as little sixth graders and made our way to Honors French by 7^th grade. Ever since, we have remained a tight knit group and I have always looked forward to going to class. The six of us have made so many memories over the years, and I will always remember our many “blagues”, meaning jokes. We have had the privilege of working with both Monsieur David and Madame Test for 2 years, and I don’t want our French class to end. It has been 7 years in the making, and I cherish trips like the one to the Barnes Foundation because it provides an opportunity to spend quality time with my classmates and my teacher.

~ Kaela G. ‘15