◦ The biggest concern was EF shouldn’t ever have paired a mid school with a high school. Several of our kids have already turned 18 and/or graduated. There is a HUGE difference between a 12 year old and an 18 year old. This particular error in judgment, was the cause of many issues during the trip. ◦ Tour guide was late picking up our group from the airport causing us to lose valuable time on our first day. I normally wouldn’t have mentioned this but as the days progressed, our group was penalized and punished every time we were late. This was not the case with the other school traveling with us and they were late several times in a row. ◦ Tour guide often body shamed the high school girls and made passive aggressive comments about what they were wearing. None of which was ever inappropriate. This resulted in several of the girls refusing to tip our guide. ◦ Too much time was spent traveling on a bus. Sometimes up to three hours to only have 1 hour to spend at a location. Locations were too spread out and experiences were limited by time constraints. Free time often translated to “shopping time.” ◦ A cultural immersion experience would be more beneficial than a walking tour or bus tour. Teenagers (and most adults) don’t want to spend a hour or more walking or driving and listening to a lecture, they can do that in school. ◦ Very disappointed the guide made the decision to cancel the Abbey at Mont St. Michele after traveling hours to visit and to then travel hours to “shop” at next location. ◦ Guide seemed knowledgeable enough but her people skills and demeanor was unapproachable and condescending. Example: when asked where the bus was parked, response was, “outside.” Direct questions were never answered to avoid accountability.
