Paris the day the Iraq War Started, March 18th 2003, by Diane Skurka

From MemoryArchive

Who: Diane Skurka
What: Paris the day the Iraq War Started
When: March 18th, 2003
Where: Paris

I was on a high school trip with a group of 15 girls and we traveled to France and Spain for a period for 2 weeks. We experienced a lot of anti american sentiment in both countries. We walked by many riots. In Paris one of the girls on my trip was singled out. They asked her if she was American, she tried to deny it by speaking french. The woman burned her with her cigarette. How French. There was anti Bush propaganda everywhere. In Madrid the city was trashed with them. It was chaotic. I had been to Europe many times before this but at this moment all of my experiences changed. My advice to Americans traveling to Europe would be to keep a low profile. ALso, learned the language of the country, even if it's just a few common phrases. Lets try not to be ignorant. I really think that's important.