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Hi everyone! I wanted to make a post highlighting my favorite day spent while abroad! My favorite day was spent at Jean Moulin Preschool. This was a neighborhood school for ages 3-6 with around 180 students enrolled. We got to learn so much about the school and how vasty different it is from schools in the United States. For example, they don't have on site SLPs. Families have to look into outside resources to receive treatment. They also don't use technology for teaching whi

Our last day in Paris was a bittersweet one! It was by far my favorite day of the trip! We started off the morning going to see the infamous Eiffel Tower. Genuine awe! Spent some time admiring and taking group photos. We then headed to Sorbonne University to talk to meet some fellow collegiate speech therapy students. We talked all things program applications, courses, and program associations. The students took us to a nearby lunch spot where we got sandwiches and pastries.

Our last day of this study abroad trip was a good one, and personally one of my favorites! We had a little bit of a later start to the day, so my first stop was to a local boulangerie, where I got breakfast and a coffee. Then, as a group, we were off to the Eiffel Tower! We took some pictures and enjoyed the view before heading to our last site visit of the trip. We had the opportunity to meet with some students who were members of a student organization for speech pathology

Today, we started our morning with a journey to L'hôpital Necker-Enfants malades where we had the opportunity to meet with Speech-Language Pathologist Estelle Sanquer who specializes in working with children with maxilofacial differences, particularly individuals with cleft palates. Estelle consults with about 15 different children and their parents each day to determine their need for reconstructive surgery and ensure their recovery after the fact. The sessions that we sat t

We had an early morning traveling to Jean Moulin Preschool, which provides care for children ages 3–5 years old. During our visit, we learned about how the school operates and the different resources and services they provide for students. One interesting fact we learned was that the principal is required to teach classes in addition to handling administrative responsibilities, which is very different from schools in the United States. The school has around 188 students, and

Paris is a city that invites exploration at every corner, and that's exactly what we did today! This morning, we set out to visit The Louvre was the first stop after walking through the most charming open market on the way to the Metro. The Louvre The entrance to The Louvre was breathtaking and stunned every one of us. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to go in today. Being a weekend, the museum was at full capacity by 9:30 am. Of course, we didn't let that stop us at

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of joining former WKU SLP student Sarah Depaepe for a dialogue on the Dutch language and the options for studying the language as new Dutch speaker. Sarah was extremely thorough and thought provoking as we delved into the various vowel and consonant sounds in the Flemish language. Sarah explained how her training as a speech language therapist has aided in her current role. She now teaches newcomers to Flanders the Dutch lesson with intensive

We spent the day traveling and exploring the beautiful city of Paris! We started bright and early this morning by catching a train from Gent to Brussels. After arriving to Brussels-South Railway Station we waited for our next train to take us to Paris. During this time we grabbed some coffee and pastries, and talked with one another about our excitement for a new country/city along with reflecting on our time spent in Gent. After that it was time for us to catch our train. Th

Our fifth day in Gent, Belgium we visited Museum Dr. Guislain, formally a psychiatric hospital but opened as a museum in 1986 exhibiting the history of psychiatry in Belgium. Displayed were artifacts and art from those who were patients dealing with various kinds of mental health disorders. This offered a powerful look into the minds of the patients and how individuals with mental health disorders have been treated throughout time. This experience was thought provoking and le

For our fourth day of the trip, we had no site visit planned, so the day was ours to explore, eat, and shop. We started the day as a group exploring the Castle of the Counts, which offered gorgeous views (despite the rainy weather) and rich history. After touring the castle, we were off to do some shopping around the city. We stopped in some thrift stores and local shops. One of the stores we checked out, ColorSpiced, featured beautiful handmade bags, jackets, pillows, jewelr

Today, we started off the day bright and early after getting some much-needed sleep, with a tour of the Belfry of Ghent. We got to learn the intriguing history of the bell tower and its purpose for the community and its stability. After grabbing a quick lunch and making a brief pitstop at a store we wanted to go to that was closed yesterday, we walked to a university not too far from the hotel — Ghent University. There, we had a crash course on the Dutch Language, where we le

We definitely didn’t let the jet lag slow us down! Day 2 in Belgium started off bright and early with us traveling to the UZ Gent Hospital to meet with two lovely speech-language pathologists that work in pediatric rehabilitation there along with their university intern. The pediatric rebab section of the facility focuses specifically on care for children (0-16) with acquired brain injuries—such as those caused by vehicular accidents, brain tumors, etc. The therapists initial

We landed in Belgium around 7:30 this morning and successfully made it through customs, which honestly felt like a miracle because the line was outrageously long. After that, we boarded the train, and it was such a fun experience getting to see the different cities and scenery along the way. It was exciting finally arriving and taking everything in after such a long day of traveling. We then made our way to the Jabbla AAC company, which was an amazing experience. We learne

Wheels up! Next Stop: Belgium