Although language classes dispense fliers on school trips like math teachers dispense tests, once they have ended they fade away into the chatter of post-vacation story telling. However, for the students who have attended, their experiences have continued to affect them long after the plane flight home.

In the past four years, Redwood students have participated in many international trips to places ranging from France to Costa Rica and to Baja California.

Connor Donnelly, a senior who attended the Baja trip as a sophomore, said that the trip helped broaden his global perspective.

“Traveling to other countries is humbling,” he said. “You go in thinking inside your own box, and it forces you to model and shape that box, and figure out who you actually are.”

Donnelly was not the only one whose mindset was shaped by a student trip.

Senior Gabby Griffeth said that on the 2011 Summer trip to France, she became more aware of how many possibilities are before her.

“I think, living in Marin, everyone says we’re in a bubble and we’re so secluded,” she said. “Seeing all of these different places and people, it’s really inspiring and shows me there’s so much more to the world. I don’t even have to live in the United States.”

While a majority of these trips are intended solely to immerse students in a foreign culture, others serve an uncommon purpose: to better the planet. On the 10 day trip to Baja California, students researched whales and other endangered aquatic life.

Donnelly said that the group was very involved in protecting the local wildlife.

“We did a lot of work to help preserve the environment,” he said. “That part was very moving.”

Donnelly also said that the group he traveled with was careful not to overuse resources or litter, specifically focusing on the areas surrounding where whales were known to inhabit. The students advocated resource conservation and strove to better unite humanity and nature.

According to Griffeth, the students who traveled to France in 2011 spent more time admiring the local sights than interacting with the local people. She said that on the trip, she and the other students in her group went to Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and other monuments.

“It was basically about seeing the sights and getting the cultural experience of being there,” she said. “Seeing the differences in cultures helps you with the big picture. We would go down to the French stores and coffee shops, and you see the simplicity of language and how that affects how things work. It’s really interesting to see how these different people live.”

So far, nearly every student trip destination has been in a foreign language country, and the students have dealt with the culture shock in different ways.

In Baja, the students were expected to converse with the locals in their native tongue.

“We would speak, or try to speak, in Spanish, which at first was really intimidating because we were like, ‘This is not going well,’” Donnelly said. “But they really like the effort.”

Donnelly said that his language classes at Redwood helped prepare him for the trip, but once there, his knowledge was brought to a new level.

“What you learn in Spanish at school is a solid foundation,” Donnelly said. “But the coolest part is that once you’re actually speaking it, you don’t even realize that you’re speaking in Spanish.”

In France, on the other hand, speaking the language was a less prominent aspect of the trip.

“There were students who haven’t taken any French,” Griffeth said, “So it was an environment where you had to stay close to each other because you’re experiencing so many new things with new people.”

The students said that they were left with more than stamps on their passports. For Donnelly, the highlight of his trip was watching professionals collect data from dolphins.

“They collect it by shooting a certain arrow with liquid nitrogen on it,” he said. “Then they check out the isotopes to see what they’re eating. It was just so sick to watch.”

Donnelly’s enthusiasm extended far past the 10-day trip, and he said that because of the trip, his interest in science has developed into a desire to pursue science as a career.

“I realized that I have a lot to give, so I definitely want to do something that relates to global warming,” he said.