I enjoyed the trip I was allowed to go on to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. I met a lot of lovely people and made friends from my group with whom I have kept in contact since. The teachers that went, although strangers to me, were amiable and helpful. Martin Henaghan, the man who brought us on the trip, was also very helpful and friendly. The first day consisted of a stop in Baden-Baden, a beautiful spa town with amazing sights. Then we were given a tour of Strasbourg where we learned a ton of interesting facts about its history. The second day was extremely educational and fun, we went to the European Parliament and we got to meet students from around the world and learn phrases in other languages. We had an on-call interview with the secretariat of the committee on women’s rights and Gender Equality, Henry Alex Wasung who told us loads of facts about the parliament and answered questions on how they implement laws. We also interviewed the vice president of the European Parliament, Dimitrios Papadimoulis. All the students were sorted into four groups (For, Against, Undecided and Central) to simulate a debate in the European Parliament which was a great way to teach us how the debates and voting work. On the last day of the trip, we visited Heidelberg castle and were given a tour. The tour guide told us about the young King who installed a theatre in one of the towers for his wife.

This trip was an amazing experience, it gave me an opportunity to learn how the world works and it gave me a chance to make new friends and meet some wonderful people. Ms Moran, Ms Župa and Mr Heneghan were all so helpful and I hope more students get to experience this amazing trip.