Friday was quite an interesting day filled fun adventures and many meaningful lessons. We started the day with a visit to Robert Schuman’s house and ended the day visiting one of the most important institutions of the European Union – the European Court of Justice.

Our bus ride over was quite an experience! Our EU study abroad group was joined by about 17 students from the GTL 2000 class, so we used a large Schidler bus to transport the group. On our way to Robert Schuman’s house, our bus driver had a bit of trouble navigating the small city streets. We drove down a road that gradually became too small for the bus to continue. With a little help from some local men on the street, our bus driver was able to partially reverse and drive us up to the top of a hill.

Contrary to our hopes that the hill would yield a clear passage for the bus to continue, there was only a house at top of the hill – a dead end. As the bus driver tried to reverse and maneuver us back down the hill, an older French woman watched skeptically from her balcony window and did not seem pleased to have strangers that close to her house. I think she was about 2 minutes away from calling the authorities!

Luckily we made is out – major props to our bus driver! We showed our gratitude with a hearty round of applause. As we made our way back down the hill, we were met by the mayor of the city and he escorted us back to the main road. We all waved goodbye to him when we finally made it out to the main road, but he didn’t seem too please with us lost Americans. Needless to say, with his dutiful public service he’ll have great material for his reelection campaign.

Thankfully we made it to Robert Schuman’s house in one piece. The EU program students had been to the house on a previous occasion, but the GTL 2000 students had not been there before. We all sat through a short presentation on the evolution of the European Union and the important role Robert Schuman played in its development. Because of our extensive discussions of Robert Schuman in class, we were able to actively participate when asked questions and offered nice insights when prompted.

“Say EU!” at Robert Schuman’s House

After the presentation, the GTL 2000 students went on a tour of the house and our group played Kahoot, a game similar to trivia, to test our knowledge about the EU. Shout out to the ‘Cool Team,’ which was made up of Simon, Hamid, and me, for winning the game! We started the game in last placed and made a big comeback to win it all – what a game!

After the game, our group toured the exhibit in the lobby area of the facility and it was pretty fascinating. There were several prints of beautiful parts of the city, pieces devoted to the Found Fathers of Europe, and a timeline of the development of the European Union.

We left Robert Schuman’s house and headed to the European Council of Justice. As I have a deep passion for the law and the vital role it plays in the stability of government, I was particularly excited for this visit! We started off the tour in the main courtroom in which all 28 judges make up the full bench.

As you can see, the room was incredibly beautiful and words don’t do it justice! The tour guides gave us a rundown of how a typical procedure would work. In their description, they highlighted the essential role linguists play in court proceedings. There are 24 official languages of the court and because French is the working language of the court, there are about 1,000 linguist and interpreters working daily to translate court documents from the various languages to French and vice versa. Because all judges and lawyers must speak French, the translation is primarily done for the public and institutions and people in the member states. After our tour guides finished explaining, we took a nice group picture and plenty of individual pictures.

We then went to another section of the building for a more detailed presentation on the composition of the court and some recent high-profile court cases.

Our presenter was a press correspondent from the United Kingdom. She explained how the court is divided up into subsets and how they have different jurisdictions and serve various purposes. Some of the recent cases were especially interesting as they dealt with discrimination in the workplace as well as American companies, such as Google and Uber, and their adherence to European laws.

We finished up the tour after the presentation and went to beautiful entrance of the building as well as a smaller courtroom where a small panel of judges convene for certain types of cases.

As the power of the Court of Justice has substantially increased over time and its purpose of safeguarding the constitutionality of EU law and balancing the power of EU institutions constantly becomes more important to fulfill, it was surreal to stand in such a sacred legal institution. This has definitely been my favorite visit so far! 🙂

Around 8:30 AM, our class boarded the bus and headed out on our next adventure. Today, we visited the Verdun memorial, a WWI museum, the Verdun museum, and the Verdun trenches. During the bus ride, we shared our feelings of anxiety about the upcoming exam. I felt prepared but anxious because I do not like tests. However, all of us were grateful to get the exam out the way before going to Brussels. I took a short nap, as many others did, during the bus ride. 40 minutes later, I awoke to sites of manicured fields and rolling hills. The landscape of Verdun was absolutely breath-taking. The juxtaposition of the calm green environment against the somber war memorial was stark and quite jarring.

We got off the bus and entered the memorial through the gift shop and visited the chapel and memorial area. Verdun is essentially a giant mausoleum. There were scores of names written on the white walls.  Then, we went to the movie theater and watched a film about the memorial. The film began with saying that it was a one of kind theater because behind it were the bones of 130,000 men. It gave some general background on the battle and discussed the development and creation of the memorial. The memorial was built in order to commemorate the Verdun battle of WWI. The project was spearheaded by Maurice Genevoix, a veteran and member of L’Académie Française. The memorial was constructed in the 1960s and opened to the public in 1967. Many prominent politicians have visited the site to pay their respects. The most interesting part of the film was the commentary on tragedy and peace. Despite the mass damage and death caused by WWI, another war occurred. While I am fortunate to have never lived through a war of such magnitude, war and violence persist. I am reminded of the countless civil wars and terrorist attacks. When will humanity learn that war only causes death and destruction?

After the film, we went outside and ambled about the graves. Each grave was marked by a white cross. There were hundreds and hundreds of crosses. They seemed to go one forever. From the names, you could see French and German soldiers. It is alarming to hear that thousands of people were killed in a battle, but it is terrifying to see all of their graves. It visually demonstrates the true price of war. Before we boarded the bus, we peaked through the bottom windows of the memorial and saw piles and piles of skeletons. It was surreal and extremely haunting. Some students were to freaked out to peek through the windows, and I can’t blame them.

Our next stop was the WWI museum. This museum gave a holistic perspective on the war. It showed what equipment soldiers had, explained their duties, and the effects of society. I found it pretty cool that women were able to work during the war. They took men’s places in the factories, trained to be nurses, and joined associations. After the war, French women still could not vote unlike women in the UK and USA. Citizens were affected by the war through rationing. I saw a little ration card for bread, and I wondered what would happen if you lost your card. If I lived during that time, I would probably lose my card. Another segment of the museum talked about the medical and technological advances of the war. Firepower and the number of guns utilized increased. Camouflage was also invented by two artists. Aviation was not only used for observation, but also for combat through bombardments. Additionally, there were several medical advancements such as a recognition of the importance of hygiene and psychiatry becoming a field. We ended our visit by going outside to the gardens and celebrating one of classmate’s birthday. It was a nice break from the somber mood of the exhibits.

Next, we visited the Verdun museum which went into great detail about the battle. There were numerous exhibits about very specific aspects of the battle such as the food eaten, letters sent and received, and clothing worn. This museum was very interactive in that there were numerous video and audio exhibits. You could also walk on fake mud among military equipment. My favorite exhibition was the letter section because it gave great insight into the life and feelings of the soldiers. Interestingly, letters were to be censored in order to keep locations and military strategies secret and families from getting too upset. There was this one letter I read that was from a soldier to his wife. He told his wife how he loved her and that he may be dead soon. He told his kids that he loved them and the child to come. He also told his other family members to take care of his wife and kids if he did not return to war. The letter was beautiful, and I could tell how much the soldier loved his wife. I really hope that woman’s husband returned to her.

The last site we visited was the Verdun Trenches. It was a small exhibit, but it has some interesting characteristics. The trenches were real except for the wood plats on the ground. We walked around and went through the tiny walkways covered in wood. The living conditions were awful. It was hot, humid, and cramped. The living quarters were comprised of small rusty bunk beds and dirt floors. The second and last part of the tour was going over the equipment found at the trenches. There were French and German equipment at the site. The tour guide compared the different weapons. The French had the better bayonet while the Germans had a better gas mask. The tour guide also brought up the fact that this was the first war in which gas was used. They used chlorine gas which has prevented crops from growing in certain areas in Europe. Finally, the tour ended and we took the bus back to the dorm.

The visits today were very informative and reminded me of the perils of war and how society is affected by war. There were impressive technological and medical advancements made, but families were torn apart and entire cities were destroyed. Are wars worth the cost? Nonetheless, it is amazing to see how far Europe has come from the war-torn continent it once was to 70 years of peace. The EU is most definitely responsible for the continuing age of peace and unity in Europe. Overall, I now have a greater appreciation and understanding of the achievements of the EU in bringing peace to Europe.

The day started off with the last of our member state presentations. We went through the 4th enlargement, working our way to Croatia. It was interesting to me because I do not usually keep up with current events in Latvia, Estonia, or even Poland. I know that as an International Affairs major I should keep up with the news, but it is not exactly the priority of American News channels to report on the possibility of Czexit when there are larger stories that are more relevant to their demographic.

My presentation was specifically on Latvia. At first, it was a challenge to find information that was relevant and interesting enough to mention in comparison to the rise of Populism in Italy or the Good Friday Agreement in Ireland. But then, I stumbled across a few articles on the Baltics’ exploration in the digital world.  This really shocked me given that when I was first assigned to Latvia, I was less than thrilled. What relevance does Latvia play in the European Union? Let alone, how many common American citizens were even aware that Latvia was a country? As an International Affairs and Modern Languages student with a Computer Science minor, this truly peaked my interest. It is interesting how if you given a struggling economy the access to technology it turns into a basis of development. For example, Air Baltic, in Latvia, was the first airline to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Latvia is primarily based on an agricultural economy, but ever since they have joined the European Union they have had an increase in competition, especially in agriculture. So they found they explored the digital market with their neighbors Estonia, the European Union’s digital leaders.

I really enjoyed being briefed on each of the member states. I would have never explored Maltan politics before this course, and who would have? It gives students an overall look at the state of the nations, and how the citizens interpret the European Union. I thought it was interesting to see the comparison of states who had self-sufficient economies in comparison to those who relied heavily on the European Union. All of the post-communist states who recently received independence from Russia, all had positive views on the European Union.

After 12 briefings, we headed to the Hotel de Ville as a group to be briefed on Metz. We walked through a brief recap of the past of Metz and looked on to the hopes for the future of Metz. One comparison, he made was that Metz was the “Luxembourg City of the Middle Ages.” And as I looked out the window, it was definitely hard to imagine that this was once a town of great wealth when all of the building (except the Cathedrale of course) looked so modest. Now, 19,000 citizens of Metz commute everyday to Luxembourg for work which really strains the transportation infrastructure.

I have studied France extensively and never have any of my professors mentioned Metz. I was shocked to find out that it was in the Grand Region according to the EU for infrastructures and development and also apart of the Quatropole. Metz is also the only Metropole that shares its border with 3 countries. There seems to be endless possibilities when at the doors of 3 European Markets, but as I mentioned earlier there was a lack of infrastructure to support the transportation of tens of thousands daily. Also, it is difficult because Luxembourg is a state in itself, it does not have to relay information and seek approval before it can make decisions like Metz has to go to Stratsbourg.

However, Metz is swarming with opportunity. It hopes to double its highway in order to account for the rise in transportation. In addition, Metz offers a combination of arts, geography, research and creativity. Soon Metz will be hosting the World E-Sports Convention which kind of relates to my earlier thoughts in that introducing technology into struggling economies helps develop and retain its citizens. Metz is also home to French Tech, which employs more than 2000 citizens of Metz. It is a signal to the young people of Metz to be ambitious and entrepreneurial in terms of start-ups and digital development. Further, in relation to research, there is a slew of Universities that have set up there campuses surrounding Metz including Georgia Tech Lorraine.

Thinking back to the four main draw Metz offers — arts, geography, research, and creativity — I truly understand which Georgia Tech chose to put a campus in this region. Georgia Tech’s Atlanta campus is located in the middle of the hub on the brink of innovation. It offers Liberal Arts students the chance to receive a Bachelor’s Degree of Science mixing art, creativity, and research in a geographic location that allows students to access opportunities within the city or easy access to highways and the busiest airport in the world. Metz is truly a gem of a city, and I hope that many others will come to the same realization in the future.

Bleary-eyed and coffee-fueled, it was our last class before our first free weekend in Europe. As soon as class begun, Dr. Birchfield woke us from our dreams of travelling with a thought-provoking discussion no one saw coming. The conversation stemmed from our viewing of the Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story. The talk underscores the idea that we all have a deficiency to view a group of people who share a common attribute and identify them only as that attribute. We miss out on the individuality of people because we selfishly want to easily identify them. While these identifiers may be true in some cases, they are incomplete and stem from power relationships in society. A person’s position in society clouds their view of their relationships with others and helps to create these labels.

To dig even deeper, Dr. Birchfield asked us to describe ourselves and explain the single story we fear the most. As a class, we decided it best to not read them aloud. To me, this was because reading that single story makes it all the more realistic, and it is our duty not to perpetuate them but to defy them and become so much more.

To transition this into a more concrete example about the European Union, we discussed that people create identities “in opposition to”, and we, as residents of the United States, view the European Union in this same manner. We are able create narratives about nations against how we view our own. This was evidenced by the member state presentations of Greece, Spain, and Portugal.

These three countries were part of the second enlargement and have since experienced varying paths of growth within the European Union. Greece entered into the EU with a very poor economy. Although they were asked to take action prior to entering, their economy remains in a deep deficit. As they continue to pay off their debts, they are also experiencing other crises, including a refugee and an unemployment crisis. On the other side of the economic spectrum is Spain, with the European Union’s fifth largest economy. The largest ongoing crises in Spain has to do with the independence of Catalonia. The people of Catalonia feel culturally unique and have voted for independence from Spain. Spain does not recognize this and neither does the EU. Also, in opposition to the economic imperfections of Greece, Portugal had previous economic problems but effectively used austerity to correct them. They are one of the few economies were austerity was actually observed to work.

Our final class-oriented activity of the day was watching the film, Europe at Sea which began to explain the ever-changing borders of the European Union and the role of the Global Strategy. It detailed the Operation Sophia that has helped to save thousands of refugees travelling from Syria and Libya, as well as, taken action in northern Africa to stop human trafficking at the source. The film also spoke about European Union relations with other organizations, such as NATO. The Global Strategy continues to progress but not without setbacks, and as a few people in the class pointed out, the video seemed to only be portraying the Global Strategy from a positive light. While we may agree or disagree with the Global Strategy, it is always important to show both sides of the argument as to be fully informed.

As our discussion wrapped up for the day, many headed off on their travels. Some students left for Barcelona, some for Ireland, and a small few were left in Metz for the evening. A couple of us that would be in Metz for the evening ventured out to the fair. Walking in, we were immediately overwhelmed with the same sights and smells as the county fairs back home, only more grandiose. The prices were also more grandiose, as the one ride we rode cost 7 euros! But those 7 euros were made worth it at the top of the ride where we could see out onto the varying landscapes of Metz.

In continuation of our exciting evening, we met up with Dr. Birchfield for fondue. Throughout the meal, I couldn’t help but notice how evident it was that each of us are here because of our interest in international affairs. The conversation was littered with talk of future sight visits and the state of current transatlantic relations. And as the evening began to wind down, we parted ways with Dr. Birchfield in pursuit of our own adventure that we would set off for the next morning.