Sunday, June 8, 2014

Day 11: Final Thoughts

It feels like I just came to France yesterday and now I'm coming back home. I've had the great pleasure of meeting so many multidimensional people, and the conversations we had about American & European politics & healthcare, EYP, foods/music/hobbies we love, our ideals, things we like and dislike I am humbled by the fact that we share so many similarities while simultaneously the differences are what makes us unique and ourselves. 

I came to France a different person than I am now. I've learned so many things about myself and grew so much from this experience that I will always remember. I moreover learned about a variety of cultures and everything that the word culture entails. I hope I will be able to attend a session or two before I graduate, and even after graduation and starting professional school I would love to be involved in EYP and give back to the organization that has given so much to me.

I would like to thank every single person that helped put together the 2014 D-Day Youth Forum. If we talked you know how thankful and grateful I am for being a part of this, and even if we didn't get the chance to meet please know that I have nothing but positive things to say about the president, vice-president, the organizers, the chairpersons, the media/journal team, and everyone else that had a role. In my opinion, the entire forum was well organized and having any question I had answered is what I appreciate the most. Although we as delegates do not see a lot of the behind-the-scenes actions, I believe I speak on behalf of everyone that this forum would not have been possible without the hard work, long and sleepness nights, and most of all the dedication put into organizing the forum and seeing the forum through to the end by everyone aformentioned.

J'aime la France et son peuple, et j'espère vous voir tous à nouveau à l'avenir. Bonne chance avec tout.

P.S. In the next few days, I will be uploading more pictures and a couple of videos to previous posts :)















Friday, June 6, 2014

Day 9: Colleville-sur-Mer

The American cemetery is located in Colleville-sur-Mer and is one of five cemeteries dedicated to those who lost their lives on June 6, 1944. 




"The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach... and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942."

There is no way for us as people to ever express externally and internally our gratitude to those lost 70 years ago and to the veterans who we were blessed to be in their presence. They fought to protect our freedoms and liberties and furthermore sacrificed more than we can ever imagine in order for the present and future generations to live together in peace. Today, many parts of the world are involved in escalating conflicts and, as President Obama said to us, we must remember the sacrifices made and never forget our fallen heroes and veterans. 










Marc Benioff

Day 9: Franco-American Ceremony - Colleville-sur-Mer





François Hollande, President of the France Republic