Saxony Lutheran's European vacation

It costs money to use the bathroom and drinks are served at room temperature without ice.

Saxony Lutheran High School students discovered cultural differences, big and small, during a recent tour of Europe.

The water closet, or WC, as restrooms are often called in Europe, presented another cultural stumbling block.

"We were asking 'Where's the bathroom?' and they had no idea what we were talking about," said Cassie Simpher, who will be a senior at Saxony.

Months of planning and fundraising culminated in a 17-day trip across Europe for 18 students, who returned July 2. The group started in Germany and visited Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France and England. Along the way, they explored the Eiffel Tower, Swiss Alps, British Parliament and Sistine Chapel.

"I wanted to give them the opportunity to do as much and see as much as they could," said Timothy Zum Hofe, a religion and social studies teacher at the high school. Zum Hofe, who finished his second year of teaching in the spring, organized and supervised the trip.

He said he wanted to encourage students to explore other cultures. For most of them, it was their first time out of the country, he said.

"Unless they've experienced things out of Southeast Missouri or even America, they really just don't know about it," he said.

He said he went on a similar journey during high school that changed his perception of Europe and prompted him to live abroad during college.

"It opened so many doors for me," he said. Among other travels, he said, he studied in London for six months.

Lucy Gage of Cape Girardeau said the trip taught her how to get around and she intends to return. She said she wants to continue studying Spanish abroad during college.

"I want to do it more now that I've been on this trip," said Gage, who will be a junior at Saxony.

She said she sampled the cuisine of every country as she passed through. The restrooms, she said, were the biggest shock of the trip.

"We all couldn't get over the fact that you have to pay to use the bathrooms over there," Gage said.

Simpher. of Jackson, said the trip helped her appreciate living in the United States.

"I couldn't see how they live there with so many tourists going through," she said.

Gage and Simpher said Switzerland was among their favorite parts of the trip. There, the students stayed near Lucerne, a town near the center of the country.

Simpher said she enjoyed the "enormously tall" mountains and pretty countryside.

"The grass is so much greener," she said. "I don't know what it is."

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

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